Coffee shops are abundant in New Haven, with at least a dozen within walking distance of campus. They are also varied, providing everything from a cozy spot to study, a place to meet with friends or a quick caffeine fix, depending on the customer.
In the past year, New Haven’s coffee shop scene has undergone some significant changes, with three Blue State locations closing their doors and new shops — Common Grounds and Pistachio Cafe 2 — opening for business.
Atticus
Located on a heavily trafficked section of Chapel Street, Atticus Cafe is a cross between a coffee shop and a bookstore.
“Their French toast latte is in my opinion one of the best coffees in New Haven,” Stuart Baker ’25 wrote to the News. But, he added, “It’s the people there who keep me coming back.”
Baker specifically acknowledged employees Margarita, Bonnie, Brian and Martín for their kindness.
The shop is often lively and usually full of students and professionals working on laptops, chatting with friends and browsing its shelves.
“It’s also one of those Yale places where you never know who you’ll run into, and that’s part of the charm,” Baker wrote.
Book Trader
A block down Chapel Street from Atticus, Book Trader Cafe is stuffed with books of many genres, stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves.
The shop also features an outdoor seating section and employees often wheel a free book cart outside.
“If I need a cozier spot for the day, I like to curl into a corner of Book Trader with a bagel sandwich and coffee,” Eleanor Schoenbrun ’25 said. “It’s especially gorgeous on a rainy day with the glass ceiling.”
Common Grounds
Common Grounds is an established name in the region, with seven coffee shops in the New Haven area and an eighth on the way. At the same time, Common Grounds is a newcomer to the blocks surrounding Yale’s campus.
Common Grounds’ two campus locations took over the recently closed Blue State coffee shops on Wall and York Streets, with another opening soon on Orange Street. The shop boasts an extensive menu of coffee and baked goods to enjoy on their unique tree stump tables and also sells an assortment of flavored coffee beans.
Fussy Coffee
Fussy Coffee is on Winchester Avenue, right down along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail from Benjamin Franklin and Pauli Murray colleges.
On a visit last Sunday, the News observed a large number of families with young children at the shop.
One frequent customer is Jordan Fitzgerald ’23, a former WKND and University editor at the News. “It’s the best cup of coffee in New Haven, no contest,” Fitzgerald said. “Everything they make there is delicious and wonderful and tastes like serotonin.”
G Cafe Bakery
Of G Cafe’s six Connecticut locations, three are housed in New Haven, offering freshly baked pastries at their Ninth Square, Chapel Street and East Rock stores which feature distinctive red leather booths and large windows.
The cafe also runs a stand at the Wooster Square Farmers Market, which often attracts a long line of customers waiting to buy their specialty bread and drinks in their signature pink coffee cups.
Kaiyden’s
Kaiyden’s is located on Chapel Street in the Wooster Square neighborhood. Customers sit on Kaiyden’s distinctive yellow couch and snack on popular pastries they offer.
Koffee?
Located on Audubon Street, Koffee? has dark lighting and mismatched seating arrangements, as well as a large collection of board games. The shop also offers a variety of food items, including sandwiches and gluten-free options among their baked goods. They also operate out of a completely nut-free kitchen.
Every day at 3 p.m., Koffee? turns into “Koffee Afterdark,” featuring a selection of wines and craft beers.
Mew Haven Cat Cafe
On the main strip of Whalley Avenue in Westville, patrons can get their caffeine and cat fixes at the same time at Mew Haven Cat Cafe. The cat cafe first opened in 2018 and their cat lounge has facilitated over 200 adoptions since their opening. Booking a visit online or coming to events such as paint nights or yoga guarantees time with furry friends.
Pistachio Cafe
Pistachio Cafe is a modern cafe that specializes in Syrian and Turkish coffee as well as an extensive “Middle Eastern Fusion” menu. Their signature pistachio latte, baklava and other artisanal desserts can be found across the street from Mew Haven on Whalley Avenue.
Residents in downtown New Haven can also settle into Pistachio’s ornately decorated interior with the opening of their second location — Pistachio Cafe 2 — on Chapel Street earlier this year. The cafe has also hosted live music performances while customers eat their pastries and sip on their drinks.
Pointdexter
In the back of the Graduate Hotel’s lobby on Chapel Street, Pointdexter hosts a mix of students and hotel guests in front of its blue and white wallpaper.
“[It] feels like you are at home, with the beautiful shelves of books and Yale memorabilia in the lobby’s different studying rooms and the cafe itself,” Schoenburn reflected.
Tous Les Jours
Tous Les Jours is also on Chapel Street, located just off the New Haven Green. The bakery specializes in French-Asian-inspired baked goods and also offers handcrafted beverages, including a tiramisu latte — a highlight of their new autumn latte series.
Willoughby’s
Willoughby’s Coffee & Tea is a local specialty coffee roaster that first opened its doors in New Haven in 1985, and now boasts two campus locations: one on the corner of Church Street and Grove Street, the other in the Yale Architecture Building on York Street. Both locations sell their own freshly roasted coffee beans, an assortment of brewed coffee and espresso beverages, loose and brewed tea and numerous other pastries.
“The nice thing about having so many vendors is that it allows you to have a special order for each coffee shop, ” Natalia Wyszkowski ’25 said.
The one thing Wyszkowski said she feels New Haven’s coffee scene is lacking is a 24-hour coffee shop.
There are several other coffee spots on Yale’s campus, with cafes in residential colleges including the Beanjamin and the Acorn, as well as the Elm at Commons, Steep at the School of the Environment and McNay Café at Yale School of Management.
According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine, the mean daily caffeine consumption for all college students was 159 milligrams.