12/15/06

Best Coffee House

by janeplain

I have traveled to Venice, Paris, London, and New York, and Arabica Coffee Houses are hands down my favorite in the world. They are not pretentious in the least. They serve great mochas, fair-trade coffees, and a wide selection of hot and iced teas. They have nice pastries, wireless (at some locations), and live music many evenings. There are always seats and cozy nooks, and no pressure to leave. Once inside, time escapes you. You can sit for hours talking with friends or reading.

• Pros: Cozy, charming, lots of character. Rooms upstairs for studying, downstairs for socializing

Ordinary on the outside, interesting on the inside: This is the best bean scene around.

by Contributor

In Short
This University Circle location is housed in an old mansion and offers patio seating, live music, a fireplace and the kind of cozy nooks that all coffee conversationalists crave. It's a refreshing alternative to the growing lump of lackluster lounges around town. The java falls somewhere between the sting of Starbucks and the caress of Denny's--offering a slightly bitter but consistent cup of coffee. Also noteworthy is the selection and quality of teas and the chocolatey hot chocolates, available in white and dark.

03/23/06

Worst coffee of any gourmet chain

by senatorsmith

I travel throughout the US on business and sampling local coffeehouses and chains is my passion and this chain is the single worst I have ever encountered. They offer an unbelievably bland product at premium prices ($3+). You can get identical stuff, better even, for under $1 at any gas station.

• Pros: Unexpectedly popular
• Cons: Bland coffee, Poor employee hygiene, Poor quality control

06/04/03

Atmosphere

by MichaelPerkins

Besides having some of the best coffee to be found in the Cleveland area, the atmosphere is incredible. You can choose to sit on the deck and enjoy the beautiful garden in the spring/summer/fall or the fireplace in the winter or you can go to any one of the many rooms to have a private conversation or to study quietly. I have traveled much of the Midwest, New England and Mid Atlantic states performing as a singer/songwriter/guitarist and this is the nicest coffee shop I have ever been in. I really enjoy playing on the deck in the summer and look forward to playing there sometime on a winter evening.

• Pros: great coffee, quiet neighborhood, great deck

05/13/03

Best Coffee on this side of the country

by stef_

How could anyone have anything bad to say about Arabica? It's a University Circle institution! It's been around for so long, and served so many stressed-out CWRU students, that's it's one of the best-known coffee houses on this side of town. Forget Starbucks, this place takes the cake! Literally. Their cake is excellent. So are their other pastries, soups, food (all catered off-site, but tasty nonetheless) and coffee, of course. The staff is a little on the disaffected side sometimes, but hey - they work at a coffee house. The patio is great for outside dining in nice weather, and the inside is a remodelled vintage house, for when it's chilly outside. Try a mocha, and definitely have a slice of oreo cheesecake.

• Pros: quiet, outside dining, close to many things

04/23/03

location, location, location

by andyburrows

If it weren't for the location in the center of CWRU's campus, this place would never survive. They close very early for a campus scene. While the service is good and polite, the place is usually very dirty and dark. They play very bad 80's music all day until they have a live act perform, nearly every night.

• Pros: location
• Cons: not at all hip, dark/depressing, bad selection of food