Greater Cincinnati Coffee Shops That Are Better Than Starbucks

Coffee Emporium

110 E. Central Parkway, Over-the-Rhine; 3316 Erie Ave., Hyde Park
A Queen City staple with multiple locations, Coffee Emporium has been serving up artisanal roasted beans for decades and offers up some of the best breakfast pastries in Cincinnati. Lunch options are simple and hearty, with daily homemade soups. A hip, laid-back atmosphere makes it feel like you’re at a book club meeting with 20 of your friends.
Photo: Emerson Swoger

Deeper Roots Coffee

3056 Madison Road, Oakley; 1814 Race St., Over-the-Rhine
Deeper Roots started as a roaster in 2012 with a primary focus on selling wholesale coffee beans. But as their single-sourced beans grew in popularity, selling to local favorites like Rohs Street Café, BLOC and 1215 Wine Bar & Coffee Lab, owner Les Stoneham says the coffee bar concept became the next logical step in his business model. With a white-walled minimalist design featuring a Modbar pour-over system, quartzite countertops, a coffee display case and a large wooden table with shared seating (and millennial pink legs), the OTR shop has a clear mission of bringing people together. In fact, the bar for customers is next to the La Marzocco espresso machine, on the same side as the barista, which Stoneham says was an intentional choice to help demystify the coffee-making process.
Photo via facebook.com/deeperrootsoakley

Haven Cafe

332 Scott Blvd., Covington
This Covington coffee shop opened up in August and offers natural coffee, pastries and baked goods from local spots like Brown Bear Bakery and light bites like avocado toast. In addition to your typical coffee-based bevs, you can also order creative and tasty sips like the matcha lemonade, mint mocha latte and cereal milk latte.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Mom ‘n ‘Em Coffee

3128 Colerain Ave., Camp Washington
Mom ‘n ‘em is a passion project four years in the making for the Ferrari brothers, Tony and Austin. A “third place” that’s not home and not work, the Camp Washington coffee shop and wine bar is located inside a former 1890s home and is reserved for talking shop, drinking vino or a cup of joe and hanging loose for a handful of hours. With a table-and-comfy-chair-filled living room and dining room spaces, there’s a diverse offering of wines, coffee options, a full liquor license, snacks and even tinned fish. If you want to take a little of the Ferrari brothers’ spirit home with you, you can grab a bag of their special namesake-blend espresso, created in partnership with Deeper Roots Coffee. But it is best experienced in person.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Carabello Coffee

107 E. Ninth St., Newport
Husband-and-wife owners Justin and Emily Carabello roast and sell their coffee on the premises, but they’re also entrenched in local and international philanthropy, giving much of their profits to third-world coffee regions in Nicaragua and Kenya. The shop also carries frozen ice pops called Bello’s Bike Pops and features a six-seater Analog Coffee Bar, an intimate and interactive experience with baristas.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Unataza Coffee

620 6th Ave., Dayton, Kentucky
This local coffee pop-up opened their brick-and-mortar location in fall of 2019 in Dayton, Kentucky. The coffee shop offers Honduran coffee drinks, a light breakfast/lunch menu and pastries.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

BlaCk Coffee

824 Elm St., Downtown
This newer coffee shop is from the owners of BlaCk OWned. BlaCk Coffee’s coffee is supplied by La Terza and their house “Wakanda” blend is a mix of Ethiopian, Rwandan and Brazilian beans. The popular downtown coffee shop offers more than just a cup o' joe. Their menu features a selection of teas, cider, fall-infused coffee bevs, hot cocoa and pastries like quiche or muffins. Now available on DoorDash.
Photo: Liz Davis

Rohs Street Cafe

245 W. McMillan St., Clifton
This not-for-profit coffeehouse close to the University of Cincinnati fully embraces ethical sourcing by offering only fair-trade coffees and teas. Choose from a selection of locally roasted coffees to sip with a fresh pastry.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

BLOC Coffee Company

801 Mount Hope Ave., East Price Hill; 801 Plum St., Downtown
The shop primarily serves locally roasted Deeper Roots coffee. They also offer an all-day breakfast menu featuring items such as their Chipotle Egg Deluxe (egg, goetta, havarti, red onion, microgreens and Sriracha on an English muffin) and pastries either baked in-house or brought in from local bakeries. The majority of the coffee shop's proceeds go to BLOC Ministries, an organization that helps with job placement for formerly incarcerated people and supports safe houses for female sex workers, drug recovery programs and after-school programs for children in the neighborhood.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Highland Coffee House

2839 Highland Ave., Corryville
Open since 1978, this is not your traditional coffee house — Highland doesn’t open shop ’til 5 p.m., and alongside a bunch of coffee drinks and a full bar, there are delights like boozy milkshakes, iced Thai coffee and fresh cookies and pies.
Photo: Holden Mathis

Collective Espresso

207 Woodward St., Over-the-Rhine; 4037 Hamilton Ave., Northside
Inspired by some of the best espresso bars and coffee shops in the country, this big-city-style coffee bar offers cool blends like cortados and espresso lemonade. There’s no pretense; just really, really good coffee
Photo via facebook.com/collectiveespressoOTR

Cheapside Cafe

326 E. Eighth St., Downtown
With a menu featuring kale salads, breakfast sandwiches with pimento cheese and modern espresso drinks (like the bubbly chinotto, with housemade tonic, espresso and soda), along with a trendy interior decked out with a white floor, rustic wood seating and live plants, the ambiance feels decidedly West Coast — especially when you glance at the patio. The focal point of Cheapside’s al fresco seating is a large wooden tepee, constructed out of slatted cedar, in which you can sit at a bright red table (when the weather is warm) while enjoying a cortado and challah French toast. People magazine and The Infatuation named Cheapside's breakfast sandwich the best sandwich in Ohio.
Photo: Paige Deglow

Fairfield Cafe

700 Fairfield Ave., Bellevue
Located in Bellevue, Fairfield Cafe is a Pinterest board come to life. With a manicured peg board menu, hip decor, a spacious bar and a patio, the coffee shop and cocktail bar is the perfect place for a tasty lunch and a Friday night out. The menu is pretty affordable, too. Espresso is $2, lattes are $4.25 and they offer a variety sammies and pastries and snacks to enjoy.
Photo: Liz Davis

Trailhead Coffee

648 Monmouth St., Newport
Trailhead Coffee is a craft purveyor serving various local coffee brands and assorted pastries from the likes of Allez Bakery and Marty’s Waffles. The coffee shop is located inside of Reser Bicycle Outfitters, a specialty bike shop in Newport that carries everything from road and mountain bikes to electric varieties and even BMX. Sip a pour-over while scouting for bike gear or after dropping off your ride for a tune-up; Reser also does repairs, including major overhauls. It’s a Northern Kentucky gem worth checking out — for both their coffee and their bikes.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Iris BookCafe

1331 Main St., Over-the-Rhine
A combination of an art gallery, bookshop, coffee shop and wireless café, Iris BookCafé has both meat and veggie (and vegan) options on the menu. Soup selections run the gamut from chicken gumbo to vegan lentil kale, while sandwiches are simple with fillings like egg salad, salmon or turkey. They also serve scoops of local Aglamesis Bros. ice cream.
Photo: Holden Mathis

1215 Wine Bar & Coffee Lab

1215 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine
This cozy shop offers two of the finest things in life: an incredible wine selection and artisanal coffee. It's also one of the few spots in the city that serves coffee late-night. If you're looking to mix a little of the earth's greatest gifts, try one of their caffeinated cocktails like the Rye Chai ($9), a housemade chai latte with Bulleit Rye bourbon.
Photo via facebook.com/1215winecoffee

Muse Cafe

3018 Harrison Ave., Westwood
The Westwood coffee shop opened in July of 2017. It has coffee, tea, pastries, wine, craft bottled beer and a food menu that includes a tasty grilled cheese with havarti, fontina and mozzarella on ciabatta (you can add ham or turkey for $2). We’re drooling.
Photo: Erin Gardner

Cyndi’s Garden and Coffee Shop

3399 Lawrenceburg Road, North Bend
Drive fast and you might miss it. Nestled off of River Road, Cyndi’s Garden and Coffee Shop is a joint flower and coffee shop. They roast Deeper Roots coffee and even have a drive-thru for those on-the-go mornings.
Photo via facebook.com/CyndisGardenandcoffeeshop

Bow Tie Cafe

1101 Saint Gregory St., Mount Adams
The cute coffee house and café brews Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee and espresso can be served in drip, pour-over and mixed coffee drinks — along with coffee cocktails. The expansive food menu features breakfast, weekend brunch, burritos, wraps, subs and salads.
Photo via facebook.com/bowtiecafe