FIKA
“Really into the matcha lattes and the chocolate balls here.”
“And, although the design of the space is impeccable, the design of the coffee supplies are not.”
“Try the chocolate with goat cheese.”
FIKA
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Good for Working: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
5 reviews
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If there's one thing the Swedes have mastered, it's Design. This location feels more like a cozy museum than a coffee shop. I know people have suggested an Ikea feel to the place, but I disagree and think the quality is much, much better. It's really a beautiful spot and could see why people would hang out here for hours.
But, if there's one thing that the Swedes have not mastered, it's Coffee (and Food to a lesser extent, although, they do have two of the top 50 restaurants in the world – Faviken and Frantzen, but that's a story for another day). I would rate the coffee 3-stars and dare I say that I actually think Starbucks might be better?…hoping I'm wrong cause I'm not a fan of Starbucks. I just thought there wasn't much flavor or complexity to their coffee.
And, although the design of the space is impeccable, the design of the coffee supplies are not. For example, I ordered a small coffee and the coffee cup sleeves that they provide on the communal supply table are too big for the size of the cup (see my pics). Meaning, each cup is a different width, so the sleeves only fit the medium & large cups, so had to wait for my coffee to cool off before I could walk with it. Also, the sugar stirrers are very pretty, but they're extremely thin for stirring (see my pic), so I had to use two of them combined, which is a waste of plastic. Surely, they would've figured this stuff out given their expertise in design, but apparently not.
Lastly, the size of the small coffee was more like a tiny (which I know is true to European standards), but then the cost shouldn't be almost $3. I never complain about price, but $3 for an average tasting Tiny size coffee is too much in my opinion, when I can get an a good sized portion of pour over coffee from Kaffe 1668 or Cafe Grumpy for almost the same price, two blocks away.
All that being said however, it's still pleasurable sitting in such a beautiful spot enjoying a morning coffee, even if it is just above average tasting. And I'll be honest, I'm a little biased as this is a local neighborhood spot for me and, well, I like having nice places like this to go to, so I'm giving it 4-stars. And I haven't had the food (brunch) yet, but looks like it could be good.
So, overall:
Location: 5-stars
Ambiance: 5-stars
Coffee: 3-stars
Value: 2-stars
Food: tbd
Overall: 4-stars
Minus 1 star for having a barista who doesn't drink coffee. On second thought, that's actually a great excuse for the uninspired coffee (and pastries).
I'd like to make the lazy, uninspired Ikea comparison because, frankly, all I really know of Sweden is DIY take home furniture – oh, and girls with dragon tattoos – but the design and quality of this place is of a slightly higher ilk.
The chia and pumpkin seed oatmeal is a sensational breakfast – tasty AND (presumably? hopefully?) healthy. The coffee is solid if unspectacular. Bonus points for the Auber-stocked condiment bar which, besides every percentage of milk fat known to science, has enough generous additional options (cocoa powder, cinnamon, honey) to suit any coffee, latte, chai or oatmeal tastes.
They have a nice assortment of lunch sandwiches, salads and entrees as well, with a slightly Swedish bent, of course – lots of dill and pickles and horseradish adorning their sandwiches – and a fine Swedish meatball entree, of course. They also sell an interesting array of take home items which I am anxious to try (e.g., peanut butter, coffee beans, the de rigueur Swedish lingonberry spread).
Most enjoyably to me, it's an incredibly lovely space to sit and read or write or just sit and ponder out the huge windows. And I'm really not a "hang out in a coffee shop for hours" person – I mean, I love coffee AND coffee shops, but they are largely functional for me – I generally like to stay and enjoy while I have food and beverage to consume. But something about this place induced me to hang and linger with my book long after consumption was complete.
I had a raspberry cardamom bun, open faced hard boiled egg sandwich and a chocolate chip cookie.
The cardamom buns are one of my favorite fika items and the raspberry twist made it even better. I also liked the egg sandwich a lot – it had some sort of roe sauce that was just fishy enough to evoke lox but wasn't overpowering. The chocolate chip cookie was good but nothing special.
Friendly service and lots of seating at this location!
Really into the matcha lattes and the chocolate balls here. A super nice afternoon treat and pick-me-up!