ATLGuide
The 11 Best Coffee Shops In Atlanta
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
There are mornings when it’s hard to move one foot out from under the covers, much less drag our entire bodies out of bed. We’ve found that bribing ourselves with a good cup of coffee is the only thing that can get us up and out the door in minutes.
Whether you’re looking for an on-the-go morning boost, a place to work for the day where your commanding conference call voice doesn't drown out the music, or a meet-up spot to catch up with a friend, we’ve got you covered. These are our favorite places to grab a cup of coffee right now.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Tabia Lisenbee-Parker
Ash Coffee is the quintessential neighborhood coffee shop filled with stroller-pushing VaHi parents, young adults looking for a chat that doesn’t involve a screen, and those here solely for their thick Vietnamese egg coffee (that has a blowtorched foam top). A well-stocked display case reaffirms that breakfast is the most important meal of the day with pastries like giant cinnamon rolls and spicy bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches. Under the cheery glow of natural light flowing in from plant-draped windows, coffee lovers take their place in line. But the wait never seems to matter while perusing fun shelves of tchotchkes a la Richards Variety Store.
photo credit: Mhandy Gerard
Admire the colorful geometrically painted ceiling quickly since there’s no seating inside this tiny, green, retro coffee counter. After you get your coffee (and color inspiration for your next Canva design), take a seat on a bench in their outdoor gravel area. But we mostly use this spot for quick grab-and-go whenever we’re in Reynoldstown. While we love their tasty lattes, what we like most about Con Leche is that they source products from other small, local businesses. Their coffee is made from Flow and Radio Roasters beans, they use milk from Rockhouse Creamery, and Casa Cardoza stocks the place with our favorite egg and cheese empanadas.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Though it sits in a busy West Midtown strip, this cozy spot feels like a small-town college coffee shop. Mismatched couches and chairs sit in the center of the room. We like Urban Grind because there is an energy here—that has nothing to do with the caffeine. On nights when they host live music, comedy, or slam poetry, nearly every chair is filled with a variety of folks. Get a signature drink like the white raspberry mocha, which is more of a dessert and reminds us of our childhood Toaster Strudel days. But what really amps up our sweet tooth is the pastry selection. Endless muffins, cookies, cakes, and even mini whoopie pies keep us sugared up and ready to tackle Atlanta’s traffic jams.
photo credit: Mhandy Gerard
If you spend way too much time on BookTok, let us introduce you to Read Shop in Vinings. Since the number of bookstores with in-house cafes has dwindled dangerously close to zero, this feels like a rare find even if they only sell coffee table beauties and NYT bestsellers. The glass book shelves hanging from the central ceiling are straight out of our dream house Pinterest board (which, we started immediately after seeing these shelves). We’ll gladly sit beneath it to peruse a new book with a caffeinated beverage and relive the (almost) bygone bookshop era.
photo credit: Mhandy Gerard
Typography painted on a gray cement wall relays that Cafe Comma in Vinings doesn’t have inspirational quotes, but they do have good coffee and good vibes. That’s perfect because we can live, laugh, love somewhere else after we get our caffeine fix from this grab-and-go spot. Unique signature coffee flavors like a charcoal coconut or a frothy orange dreamsicle make this our first stop when we’re bored with regular old cups of coffee. Yes, java purists, this is dessert in a cup, but let us enjoy our sugary moment in peace. And then, of course, there are the toasts. Get toppings like egg and garlic, smoked salmon, or an entire avocado on a slice of bread so thick we thought it was four slices disguised as one.
photo credit: Sarah Newman
The Daily in Inman Park bills itself as a coffee shop, but the food is honestly good enough to be a standalone breakfast spot. That's obvious by the huge crowds that swarm the place every morning. Natural light from the wall of windows gives the contemporary, polished decor a more welcoming, cozy aesthetic that we’d like every coffee place to have. Signature drinks like their coveted black sesame latte will keep caffeine seekers happy. But for anyone who hates coffee (we don’t know any of those people), their food items pack more punch than a double espresso. If we could marry a breakfast burrito we’d choose this one. It’s grilled (taking a hint from Bell Street) and packed with eggs, home fries, pickled onions, and the freshest salsa verde we’ve ever had.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Prevail Coffee in West Midtown might just be the bougiest coffee spot we’ve ever been to. Massive pillars rise up to the nearly 20-foot ceilings, and long, elegant white drapes divide the room in half. Slide into a leather, semi-circle booth with a signature drink like their tasty fig latte, sweetened with a housemade (of course it is) fig syrup. No, you're not in Calabasas, darlings, but you are in a land overflowing with milk substitutes—like Myracle Mylk and macadamia nut creamer—and honey. So whether you're with a date or a colleague you're trying to impress, come here to sip coffee (pinkies up).
photo credit: Tabia S. Lisenbee-Parker
Finca to Filter is right inside Wild Heaven just off the Westside BeltLine, so it’s an ideal spot to grab a quick coffee before a morning run. But if running sounds awful, the space tends to evolve as the day wears on. Finca's long cafeteria style tables, countertop seats, and couches provide plenty of space to relax with friends or get some work done. If you prefer to people-watch the theatrics of the BeltLine, grab an outdoor table to sip on your coffee. The coffee corner sits adjacent to the bar, so you can hang out all day and grab a beer after you finish your 10th Zoom meeting of the day. They offer some light bites like bagels and pastries, but the real high point is the empanadas. They go fast so get here early to snag one.
Chrome Yellow is the best hub for Edgewood’s work-from-home crews. Their mid-morning soundtrack features the gurgling of coffee machines mixed with the clacking of keyboards and some light chatter. This cafe cacophony is music to our ears, especially when we’re chomping on their tasty breakfast empanadas and sipping on small-batch roasts of their own coffee blends. We like their oat milk lattes, which give us that silky foam top we love and hardly any bitterness. Be prepared to fight for a table since it’s always busy. We don’t fault them for their popularity since this is a place we’d feel comfortable locking in for hours. Worn concrete floors and homey wooden tables come together for a relaxed (but not too relaxed) farmhouse-chic vibe that helps us stay productive.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Momo Cafe sits at the front of Japanese restaurant Momonoki in Midtown. They offer a variety of coffees and teas at their service counter—the refreshing matcha latte is our favorite order. A display case with appetizing small pastries like mochi donuts and gorgeous, fancy croissants (get the savory onion, gruyere, and rosemary combo) make you want to order food, too. So take your mini breakfast and caffeine crutch upstairs. The small, sleek nook overlooks Momonoki’s dining room on one side and the interstate on the other and feels like a cozier version of an Apple Store. So if your mind is easily distracted, this is the perfect place to crank out the work you told your boss you’d already finished.
photo credit: Sarah Newman
Perc has multiple locations but the one in the Highlands always serves us some small-town charm with our coffee. The surrounding quaint shops of the VaHi strip and retro, mint-colored order counter are a welcome escape from the busy metro (especially after braving the many potholed Peachtree streets). But signature drinks, like My Morning Jacket (a latte with vanilla, black walnut bitters, and spices) still appeal to our big city tastes. Those aren't the only tempting flavors on the menu—Perc also has waffles that are basically desserts, like their Waffogato, a half waffle with vanilla ice cream and a shot of mild espresso. We always try to snag the table by the window for excellent views of the main strip.
