View Full Version : Good coffee shops?



tekkmer
03-30-2008, 12:26 AM
Just moved to town. Are there any good hangout type coffee shops around here?
Preferably one that attracts a younger crowd? Thanks

OKCDrummer77
03-30-2008, 08:09 AM
Do you live on the north side? If so, I recommend Vintage Timeless Coffee at NW 150th & Western. It is popular among local college students. They have a wide variety of coffee products, fresh pastries from Brown's Bakery, and their own creation called a Smooffee ("smoothee + coffee", a blend of frozen yogurt and espresso).

As a regular customer, I have gotten to know most of the baristas working there. When I go there, I don't feel like I'm going to a business. I feel like I'm going to a friend's house to hang out, drink coffee, surf the 'Net on their free Wi-Fi, and watch sports on their HDTV. (Except, I still have to pay, of course.)

FritterGirl
03-30-2008, 09:14 AM
If you live in or near the Mid-Town area, the Red Cup is THE place to be. Lots of funky old vintage furnishings set in an old house painted with vibrant colors. Not the most extensive drink menu, but what they do have is great. Fabulous breakfast and lunch sandwiches, too (the veggie bagel sandwich is my favorite), and scrumptious homemade desserts.

Free wi-fi, as well. Very much the place to be for the funky, fun, eclectic, Mac-wielding set.

It's a approx. 29th & Classen. The only drawback is that it is cash-only, so be warned.

bornhere
03-30-2008, 09:21 AM
They take credit cards now, but there's a $5 minimum.

It's at 31st and Classen, behind the big green house.

Jeopardude
03-30-2008, 12:58 PM
I just tried Coffee Slingers at 1015 N. Broadway in Automobile Alley. Best latte in OKC I've had. They just opened.

mmonroe
03-30-2008, 01:15 PM
If you're in the downtown area, try Uncommon Grounds, it's next to City Walk on Main St.

lpecan
03-30-2008, 03:57 PM
If you like espresso the best place in town is Coco Flow. They use intelligentsi Kid-O beans and pull the best shot I've had in Oklahoma. Their baristi are extremely well-trained; you'll get a mildly bright shot with a good dark reddish brown crema.

After that try Caffe Bella. They use a bit darker roast so you can expect a little more bitter shot. Its not my thing, but if you are more a fan of a french style, that's the place. Also, definitely the best latte in town. (Also not my thing)

Uncommon Grounds will sometimes pull a good shot. Red cup has a great atmosphere, but absolutely terrible, stale tasting coffee. There's a couple of vietnamese places (Bella is also vietnamese) that offer a decent cup, but their name eludes me. They are all located NW of 23rd and Classen.

Stay away from the Buzz, Java Dave's, First edition if you like coffee, though you may like their atmosphere.

Coffee shop-oing can sometimes be more about the experience than the drink. In that case Id recommend the red cup for the bohemian experience, JD's for the family, and maybe the underground in MWC for the comfy couches.


Good Luck!

Also check out coffeegeek.com .. while you'll find a few thumbs up for Bella and Coco Flow, you can learn more about coffee than youd ever want.

mmonroe
03-30-2008, 04:05 PM
I love the underground in Midwest City, it's my stop when I can't make it to Bricktown.

OKCCrime
03-30-2008, 08:34 PM
I just tried Coffee Slingers at 1015 N. Broadway in Automobile Alley. Best latte in OKC I've had. They just opened.

Looks like Coffee Slingers went in right next to Bicycle Alley.

Haven't been yet but it looks promising:
Coffee Slingers (http://coffeeslingers.blogspot.com/)

I'm still trying to figure out how they get the flower pattern on the latte foam.

mcbee04
03-30-2008, 09:23 PM
Definitely check out Coffee Slingers

tekkmer
03-30-2008, 09:55 PM
Thanks for the feedback. I live in SW Oklahoma City, but I'll check them all out. :tiphat:

Martin
03-31-2008, 05:52 AM
i usually just take my coffee and leave wherever i go... but i do believe that blue bean on sw 134h & western and holy grounds on sw 89th & western both have live music on the weekends. -M

lpecan
03-31-2008, 04:02 PM
I went to coffee slingers this morning. I think I was their first customer at 6:30. Fantastic double ristretto. Choice of two different blends. Suffice it to say, I have a new favorite shop!

BailJumper
04-02-2008, 06:01 AM
I drove by Coffee Slingers yesterday. Couldn't find a parking spot close by and no drive thru. and I was in a hurry, so I had to skip it. I looked at their web site. It doesn't say much. Any idea if they do any sandwiches or if they have free wireless Internet?

Looked nice and clean with several customers inside.

metro
04-02-2008, 07:55 AM
I agree BailJumper, the free blogspot page has got to go and get a real website.

BailJumper
04-02-2008, 10:09 AM
There is one at COFFEE SLINGERS (http://www.coffeeslingers.com) but it has even less information.

FritterGirl
04-02-2008, 03:41 PM
I drove by Coffee Slingers yesterday. Couldn't find a parking spot close by and no drive thru. and I was in a hurry, so I had to skip it. I looked at their web site. It doesn't say much. Any idea if they do any sandwiches or if they have free wireless Internet?

Looked nice and clean with several customers inside.

I'm assuming when you say you couldn't find parking that all of the street parking was already taken. I pulled up right in front of their site yesterday morning. I went in about 7:40 a.m. and was the only person in the place.

They don't have a very good selection of breads or pastries YET (they promised they are on the way), but I found the atmosphere very clean, nice and fun, with just the right amount of funky.

The latte I ordered was GREAT. Wonderful nutty espresso, perfect foam. A really great cup. I'm not a coffee expert, but found this really nice (I'm getting really turned off Starbucks and don't like Java Dave's blend at all, so take my opinion on the coffee taste for what you will). And their prices seemed reasonable.

Not sure about the free WiFi. I did not ask.

EvokeCoffee
04-15-2008, 04:15 PM
..they have a private lot in the back if parking is taken in front.

jbrown84
04-16-2008, 10:53 PM
I went in to Coffee Slingers the other day. I'm not big on coffee, and I just wanted to use the internet, so I asked about soda. All they had was natural and organic sodas and such. I ordered a frou frou root beer and sat down with my computer. Well I clicked on their network and it was password protected. I didn't bother asking. I got the feeling I would just be looked at like I was stupid. It kind of had a pretentious atmosphere, between the lack of regular coke and the "cell phone-free zone" sign on the cash register.

alan
05-26-2008, 06:39 AM
Vintage Coffee - 150th (aka 33rd to Edmondites) and Western.

Best coffee and espresso all of it organic and fairly traded, great baristas and atmosphere - nothing elitist there. Lots of parking, free wi-fi, sandwiches and baked goods, cool local art, plenty of seating, 30 foot coffee bar with stools, normal coke drinks.

What more needs to be said? If you haven't tried it, don't think you've found OKC's best yet.

BradR
05-26-2008, 07:45 AM
I used to hang out on the deck at Uncommon Grounds in Bricktown until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes you can see some crazy sights from people wandering around or going in and out of the clubs nearby.

I'm not a big coffee drinker but they had a iced java that was pretty good to me! Parking sucked though

betts
05-26-2008, 07:52 AM
I went to Coffee Slingers yesterday and had a great Americano. My biggest complaint was that they did not have newspapers for sale. If I'm drinking coffee, I have to read the newspaper, so I felt somewhat at a loss, especially considering it was Sunday. I would like to see the NY Times or Wall Street Journal and also the DOK there if I am going to go regularly.

alan
05-26-2008, 08:30 AM
I went to Coffee Slingers yesterday and had a great Americano. My biggest complaint was that they did not have newspapers for sale. If I'm drinking coffee, I have to read the newspaper, so I felt somewhat at a loss, especially considering it was Sunday. I would like to see the NY Times or Wall Street Journal and also the DOK there if I am going to go regularly.

Most Oklahomans don't buy newspapers while they are out. This ends up being a huge money loser for local business, so I don't think you are going to be seeing this anywhere except bookstore coffeeshops.

FritterGirl
05-26-2008, 12:39 PM
Most Oklahomans don't buy newspapers while they are out. This ends up being a huge money loser for local business, so I don't think you are going to be seeing this anywhere except bookstore coffeeshops.

Starbucks carries NYT and Oklahoman. Given that they have multiple stores, they probably get a distribution deal, and as such it's not as great a loss corporate-wide as it would be for a single storefront.

I believe Coffee Slingers does carry the Gazette, and they also have multiple magazines people can peruse while there.

I tried Vintage Coffee not long after it first opened. At the time, I wasn't really impressed with the coffee, nor the atmosphere.

Coffee Slingers is the be all-end all for me. First and only place I've ever managed to actually drink coffee without filling it with gobs of gunk. And the baristas are awesome.

I might have to give VC another try, though, since l live in the general vicinity.

Blazerfan11
05-26-2008, 12:46 PM
I went in to Coffee Slingers the other day. I'm not big on coffee, and I just wanted to use the internet, so I asked about soda. All they had was natural and organic sodas and such. I ordered a frou frou root beer and sat down with my computer. Well I clicked on their network and it was password protected. I didn't bother asking. I got the feeling I would just be looked at like I was stupid. It kind of had a pretentious atmosphere, between the lack of regular coke and the "cell phone-free zone" sign on the cash register.

Sounds more hippie than pretentious...

FritterGirl
05-26-2008, 12:58 PM
For the record, the cell free zone at Coffee Slingers does not mean the entire store, just up by the register where people are ordering.

I wish more businesses would follow suit.

It's obnoxious and rude when you go up to order something to be yakking away on your cell phone. Not only is it rude to the person you're ordering from, but if there is a line, it tends to hold the line up altogether. I've been behind someone where they held everyone up while they finished whatever conversation it was they were having.

I'll save the full cell-phone rant for another thread.

jbrown84
05-30-2008, 04:13 PM
Thanks for the clarification FritterGirl.

alan
06-28-2008, 05:58 AM
I tried Vintage Coffee not long after it first opened. At the time, I wasn't really impressed with the coffee, nor the atmosphere.

.....

I might have to give VC another try, though, since l live in the general vicinity.

I'm not sure what you are looking for, but ask for Alan when you come in. Maybe you are missing something.... :fighting3

actionman
07-03-2008, 06:12 AM
Bump. I am looking for more opinions on the Buzz downtown. I've been going there for awhile and never found anything particularly wrong with it. Sometimes they get overwhelmed and are a little slow.

Looking for other peoples experience.

bornhere
07-03-2008, 07:01 AM
I went there for lunch occasionally when I was downtown. I liked the sandwiches.