Alternatives to Starbucks?

[elgordo]

Hi, I'm travelling to Boston from Scotland with my daughter for a short vacation.
We really like good coffee and would like recommendations of good places to drink good coffee in the city.
Cheers,
Gordon

[NahantNative]

If you want people who are friendly and value your business go to Wired Puppy.

If you want suburban hipsters who could care less about you and don't value your business go to Cafe Fixe.

The choice is your.

-----
Cafe Fixe
1642 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02445

Wired Puppy
250 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02657

[elgordo]

Thanks for all the recommendations, we'll have a ball trying out some of the places!
We'll be going to see the Sox play the Rays (I'm a Rays fan, perhaps the only one in Scotland but you'll ber pleased to hear my daughter shouts for the Sox).
I might look for some recommendations for good places to eat later.
Cheers,
Gordon

[emannths]

"I'm a Rays fan, perhaps the only one in Scotland but you'll ber pleased to hear my daughter shouts for the Sox."

I hear this is what it feel like in Tampa too.

[grant.cook]

Head to Caffe Toscana in Medford and watch soccer with the old Italian gentlemen that frequent the place..

-----
Caffe Toscana
4110 Mystic Valley Pkwy, Medford, MA 02155

[Stride]

You might want to take a look at this article from today's Boston Globe, about specialty coffee shops:
http://www.boston.com/business/articl...

[Matt H]

Voltage is very very good.

[jonthekingdon]

I would like to second Espresso Royale, Cafe Fixe, Wired Puppy, and Thinking cup.

-----
Cafe Fixe
1642 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02445

Wired Puppy
250 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02657

[emannths]

If you're in Harvard Square and don't mind a little walk (maybe 10-15 minutes), Simon's on Mass Ave makes some of the best espresso drinks in Boston. I can't comment on their drip coffee, though.

[bear]

The drip coffee at Simon's is quite good.

[PinchOfSalt]

They use Barismo beans, or do I have that wrong? I have rarely been disappointed with any coffee roasted by Barismo.

-----
Barismo
169 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474

[emannths]

They sell Barismo and George Howell beans, but I think they usually brew Barismo in the shop.

-----
Barismo
169 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474

[MC Slim JB]

Here are a few indie cafes I like: Uptown Espresso in the South End. True Grounds, Ball Square. Somerville. Bloc 11 Cafe, Union Square, Somerville. Ula Cafe in Jamaica Plain. Simon's Coffee House between Harvard and Porter Squares, Cambridge. Many of the Italian caffes in the North End are respectable; I like Caffe dello Sport and Caffe Vittoria.

The locally headquartered, now national megachain Dunkin Donuts is ubiquitous in Boston; you could navigate the city by their little outlets, and many Bostonians can't go a day without a visit to one. But I'm guessing you would find its filter coffee disgusting (it's too light and watery for my taste), and its so-called espresso drinks are unspeakable.

-----
Simon's Coffee House
1736 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

Ball Square Cafe
708 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

True Grounds
715 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

Bloc 11 Cafe
11 Bow St, Somerville, MA 02143

Caffe Vittoria
296 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113

Uptown Espresso
563 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118

[Bob Dobalina]

It's a shame because the taste of the beans themselves I think is pretty good, if a little mild. But I would triple the amount of coffee to water.

I would also be willing to bet money that 5 out of 10 people in a blind taste test of Dunks' regular iced coffee would not be able to discern any actual coffee flavor.

[PinchOfSalt]

Ha ha maybe a little exaggerated but I agree with the sentiment. It is cold, it is brown, it is a canvas upon which sugar, creamer, and other flavorings are applied... but coffee flavor itself????

[Science Chick]

Second Uptown Espresso, MC. It's a gem of a spot in all respects. Also very fond of the coffee at Espresso Royale on Newbury, suggested by other posters. Since they never have brewed decaf in the afternoon, they always make me a decaf Americano and only charge me for a drip coffee. What sweethearts!

-----
Uptown Espresso
563 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118

[BostonZest]

The Wired Puppy or L'Aroma Cafe on Newbury Street and Sip Cafe inPost Office Square.

http://www.sipboston.com/
http://www.wiredpuppy.com/
http://www.laromacafe.com/

Penny
http://www.bostonzest.com/

-----
Wired Puppy
250 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02657

[JoeM]

Here are a few that are likely to be in areas you may visit (and may be repeats):

Flat Black Coffee on corner of Milk & Broad in the Financial District (downtown)
Espresso Royale on Newbury St also has good bagels & sandwiches (back bay)
Thinking Cup on the edge of the Boston Common
Pavement on Boylston just past Mass Ave
Crema Cafe on Brattle St in Harvard Square
1369 Coffee House on Massachusetts Ave in Cambridge

Also, some of our Starbucks have a machine called a Clover which is a fancy press that makes individual cups. Very good tasting if they don't have them on the other side of the ocean; the Starbucks on Charles St at the Boston Common/Public Garden has one (beacon hill).
There's good espresso in the North End, but not brewed coffee, at least that I've found.

Places to avoid (in my opinion):
Dunkin Donuts (gas station quality coffee at Starbucks prices)
Boston Common Coffee Co

-----
Crema Cafe
27 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138

1369 Coffee House
1369 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Boston Common Coffee Co
10 High St Ste 1, Boston, MA 02110

[hckybg]

Pavement is a great coffeehouse, and close to Fenway. My personal favorites are Simon's, Pavement, Bloc 11, the new Voltage, in the Kendall Square area, Thinking Cup, and Barismo, one of our great roasters and a nice place to stand with an espresso (though in Arlington, a little out of the poster's close range). Clover restaurant in Harvard Square makes very nice pour-overs. The Starbucks in Harvard Square also has a Clover machine (not to be confused with the restaurant Clover, which doesn't have a Clover machine! Confusing.). I haven't been but George Howell took over Taste Coffee House in Newtonville.

-----
Bloc 11 Cafe
11 Bow St, Somerville, MA 02143

Taste Coffee House
311 Walnut St, Newtonville, MA 02460

Barismo
169 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474

[Beachowolfe]

What's wrong with Boston Common?

[scotty27]

Dunks.

[emannths]

Preface: I'm not a native New Englander.

Comment: DD's coffee is about as far from "good coffee" as I've ever had. But it's definitely a NE thing. Go get a small coffee regular (meaning w/cream and sugar) and cross it off your bucket list.

[Chris VR]

I'll clarify further, since we Bostonians have a tendency to use language that nobody who hasn't lived here for years can interpret. scotty27 and emannths are both discussing Dunkin' Donuts, a chain that is franchised across America but started here in New England. Whether or not DD meets anyone's standard of good coffee, I don't think anyone can argue that it doesn't meet your criteria of a "good place", with its uncomfortable molded plastic searing and garish pink and orange color scheme. Definitely not worth seeking out if you're coming from out of the country and looking for good places to drink good coffee in the city.

[PinchOfSalt]

For the techy-geeks among us: What are the odds that the Dunkin Donut color scheme and the color scheme used on Digital Equipment Co (DEC) minicomputers of the '70s (I am thinking PDP-11) being the same is a coincidence?

[elgordo]

I live in a very small town in Scotland 10,000 pop.
It was the site of a USA Navl base until 1992 and the first place in Scotland to have a DDs! I have friends from Baltimore who swear by DD coffee but I'll give it a miss!

[Berheenia]

On the Boston Common there is The Thinking Cup. Cafe Fixe in Brookline. There is a small chain called Espresso Royale in back bay area. Do you know exactly where you are staying?

-----
Cafe Fixe
1642 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02445

[elgordo]

Close to Fenway...Go Rays!

[PinchOfSalt]

Maybe you meant go Sox? hehe

If you don't mind a chain experience, try any Peet's location. Dark roast done well and it is not Starbucks.

If you enjoy a lighter roast and are more into serious single estate coffee drinking, try any coffee shop that serves Barismo coffee or drop by their location in Arlington for a cup and some coffee geek conversation. Arlington is not a big tourist destination but it adjoins Lexington, which is.

-----
Barismo
169 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474