While Bucharest is full of great coffee, it’s not always easy to navigate the sea of (often mediocre) cafés. We scoured the city and compiled a list of four of the best, most unique, coffee shops–just in time for exam season.
Origo Coffee Shop
This coffee shop turns into a bar by night, offering specialty cocktails for young professionals downtown. With its impressive urban decor, Origo maintains a hipster vibe, investing in quality coffee and a variety of brews. They also own their own coffee bean roaster!
Location: Strada Lipscani 9, București 050971. It opens at 7:30am and closes at 1am.
We visited the busy café on a warm Saturday morning and were surprised that there was no delay in service. We were greeted by a barista one minute after arriving and received useful recommendations.
Because of the amount of people that visit Origo and its small size, they ask customers not to bring laptops to work inside. It’s strictly a place for enjoying coffee and conversation.
We ordered two types of cappuccinos. Origo’s prized possession is their coffee grinder, and their coffees are of Ethiopian and Colombian descent. We tried both and were not disappointed.
We were pleased to find that Origo serves filtered water free of charge. Overall, the prices were quite low, with 12 lei per cappuccino and 3 lei for a big sesame and honey biscuit. If you have the time, and like strong coffee, pass by Origo next time you’re downtown.
Steam Coffee Shop
Within an extremely small space, Steam Coffee Shop was mainly created for a “drop-in and go” purpose, as there is little room to linger within. Despite this, Steam resembles a shelter for commuters and coffee enthusiasts alike.
Steam has now grown into two locations, placed on Strada Uruguay 22 and
The people inside Steam were extremely friendly, and the barista’s service was spotless. We ordered two chai lattes, which came warm and foamy. They also prepared home-made banana bread and oatmeal cookies!
Natural design and old, wooden furniture gave the place a rustic vibe. They also sell lots of smoothies, which are a great option for anyone interested in organic drinks.
The Urbanist
Close to the thumping heart of Bucharest, The Urbanist is a hybrid café and clothes shop which aims to redefine how coffee shops function. Described by customers as the perfect place for pre-partying, The Urbanist includes a satisfying array of food, coffee, and alcoholic beverages.
Inside The Urbanist, you can find a clothes shop with their infamous P.O.R.C logo, great music, and an overall fit place for studying. They have lots of available space for customers, inside and outside.
Location: Strada Căldărari 3, București 030167. Opens at 11am and closes at 9pm.
Although they serve a multitude of beverages here, but we were only interested in coffee. There was little surprise here – flawless service and delivery. The coffee had a great aromatic taste, and the sweeter drinks weren’t cloying.
We ordered an espresso and a “Love Potion,” which really was a cappuccino mixed with vanilla syrup. As for money, the prices range between 8 to 27 lei per beverage, which isn’t cheap.
Two Minutes Coffee Shop
Taking the expression “I’ll be there in two minutes,” Ionuț, the creator of this famous coffee shop, believes that we should all make the time for coffee. A shared table and wood-based folding architecture sets the stage for human connection–something that often doesn’t happen enough.
Location: Strada Constantin Aricescu 50A, București 014192. Opens at 8am and closes at 6pm.
The reason why we loved Two Minutes so much was the friendliness of the barista and the customers. We chatted effortlessly while enjoying our coffees. This was the concept they have tried to re-implement in our lives, this human link.
Listening to the recommendations, we opted for a foamy latte and an AeroPress. We also tried out a vegan brownie made with raspberries and beets. Hands-down the best brownie we’ve ever eaten.
We were impressed by the range of products they had on offer. They sold roasted coffee, which they imported from Barcelona–and even a cute little squirrel (see below). Their products are of a great quality, and they even suggested other great coffee spots (some of which we had already gone to!).
And, if you’re looking for Instagram worthy latte art, look no more.
We hope you enjoyed our list. Let us know what you think about these coffee shops in the comment section down below!
Great list! I love all of these places, but have recently been frequenting Two Minutes, as it’s right by my house. 🙂
Can’t wait to try all of them! Thank you for giving us such great ideas!!!
Great article and photographs. Perhaps you should consider the future career of becoming a coffee shop critic :).
This was such a well-written article! I also loved the photographs. The descriptions just make one want to go to all of the coffee shops listed above! 😉
Well done! Thank you for sharing this helpful information to everyone (especially those who NEED coffee) and keep it up!