I find my happiness in coffee shops. I love to study there, to read there, to meet people there, to people-watch there, to drink coffee there, to eat unhealthy pastries there. Everything about coffee shops and their atmosphere draws me in. Since coming to UD I have had such a fun time exploring all the various coffee shops in the area and below I compiled a list of my favorites and why they’re so great.
(1) BrewHaha: This is one of my personal favorites. BrewHaha is the perfect place to go if you’re meeting other people and you want a pretty central location with a decent amount of seating. If it’s a nice day outside they have a full patio that you can sit out on. There’s always enough noise that you never feel as though everyone is listening to your conversation. They have a good variety of food choices, too! I personally recommend either their soup of the day or one of their bagel sandwiches, but really everything is good! For drinks, my go-to is the Iced Coconut Dream!
(2) Brewed Awakenings: If you want something less crowded and more home-like, Brewed Awakenings is the place to go! They have AMAZING bagels and you can even get day-old bagels for $1 to bring home. They have board games on their bookshelves and all the staff is super friendly. The place is relatively small though, but if you get a table it’s easy to camp out there for hours. They are also a non-profit that gives out free drinks and food to many of the less fortunate in Newark (sorry college students, this doesn’t mean you)! My go-to drink here is the London Fog.
(3) Little Goat Coffee Roasting Co: This is the newest edition to my compilation of Newark coffee places and sadly I haven’t gotten over there as much as I would like. Even so, this place is perfect for anyone living towards Haines Street! They are a roastery, so you can see all the machinery right there in their shop. They also have a large deck area that would be great to sit out on in warmer weather. When going to a new place, my go-tos are always either Cold Brew or a Hazelnut latte.
(4) Saxbys: Perfect location for business and music students, considering it is right across from the music buildings and behind the business buildings! They have a good, balanced environment, not too loud, but not too quiet. The workers there are really friendly! I wish they had more food options, but they do have an extensive specialty drink menu. I haven’t gone through all of their drinks yet or found one that really sticks out, but I’m sure I will!
(5) Central Perk: The initial appeal of this place is the name, especially for any Friends fans! Central Perk is right on Main Street and is one of the larger, more spacious places on this list. They also have one of the more extensive food menus. They’re fundraisers for campus organizations are really awesome because they last the entire semester and all you need to do is show a picture of a card. This is a great place to check out to raise money and get a good bite to eat.
