Review - Ultimo Coffee Bar

15th and Mifflin Streets
215.339.5177
Website, Twitter, Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 9 pm, S - S: 8 am - 9 pm
Free Wi-fi, several tables, several outlets

Ultimo Coffee Bar

Ultimo Coffee, located in South Philly, has taken the Philly coffee scene by storm. For those of you who may be unaware, Craig LeBan (Philadelphia Inquirer's Food Critic) recently wrote several pieces of the changing coffee scene in the City. Though La Colombe's Todd Carmichael still remains King of coffee in the City, there has been a recent increase of fresh new competitors who take pride in a "craft coffee." Though somewhat controversial, this new movement of cafés and baristas identify themselves as the "third wave" of coffee (Folger's being the first, and Starbucks being the second, "hipster" coffee roasters being the third). Less than two years old, Ultimo (named after its owner Aaron Ultimo) is one such café, and probably considered to be one of the top cafés in the City. They also host a monthly "latte throwdown" where barristers from all over the City compete in the latte art competition. Due to all the publicity (some positive, and some negative), I decided to check this place out - even if it meant going far out of my way to visit. Fortunately for me, a friend graciously offered to drive me there! I have to admit, I had to mentally prepare myself for the onslaught of hipster culture. I have nothing against hipsters, but I have never been to a café in either Portland or Brooklyn so I didn't really know what to expect...

I was pleasantly surprised however, to learn that though my attire was pretty much the exact opposite of hipster attire, the baristas were quite friendly. I chatted with one of the baristas (he apparently won 2nd place in the most recent latte throwdown) for about 5 minutes about the café and the different coffee selections. He was very knowledgeable about his coffee, and contrary to my expectations, he didn't try to shove down his coffee philosophy down my throat. They had a selection of six different coffees all from Counter-Culture: Valle del Santuario (Peru), Baroida (Papua New Guinea), Buziraguhindaw (Burundi), Kagumoini (Kenya), Alarcon & Carhuachinchay Microlot (from a micro lot singled out for its superior quality from a farm in Peru), and an Espresso blend. I was tempted to get their espresso especially after Craig LeBan raved about it, but I ended going for the Microlot brew from Peru. I was a bit disappointed that they brew coffee via Chemex only before 11 am. After 11 am, your only choice is to get it hand-brewed using the pour-over method. My barista asked me whether I wanted my coffee "to-go" or "for-here." When I replied that I definitely would rather have my coffee in a mug over a paper cup, he jokingly responded by saying "we don't judge you at this cafe (this in reference to Craig LeBan's review of Elixr coffee where owner Inatome apparently protested LaBan's choice to get his coffee in a paper cup).

Having coffee brewed to order is always a refreshing experience, especially if the barista knows what he or she is doing. My coffee had a very smooth body, with no hint of bitterness or burnt-ness. And though I'm still working on my coffee-pallete, I could definitely taste the subtle flavors of pear and milk chocolate. Admittedly, I can see why many people are against the pour-over method - perhaps it's just a gimmick to justify charging more, and taking longer. If you're in a rush to get a to-go coffee, I would say pour-over method definitely isn't worth it. But I'm a student who likes to study at cafés. For someone like me, paying $3 for coffee instead of $1.50 may be worth it to know that the coffee isn't going to be burnt or old coffee. I honestly have nothing against regular drip coffee and places like La Colombe have great drip coffee! But I've had too many bad experiences at cafés where the coffee is disgusting (e.g., Tuscany Coffee, Saxby's, Last Drop, etc).

As for the ambiance and the environment, the café is fairly pleasant. I'm not too fond of "hipster" music, which I find pretty distracting when studying, but fortunately, it's not too loud. It's a lively café with many interesting conversations going on. They have a giant glass garage window thing that they apparently open up when the weather gets better. It's a shame I didn't get to experience that, but what I love about this place is that it's very well lit as the windows let in a huge amount of natural sunlight. Plus during the afternoon, there's absolutely no direct sunlight (which I'm not a big fan of). The decor is simple and definitely hipster-ish. But I think it's fine. It's also not the cleanest café, but it's not anywhere to the point of being disgusting. It's not a terrible place to study at - but I have my complaints. It's not a big café (only 9 tables). They do have good Wi-fi (4.3 mbps) and several outlets, but I really think it's probably impossible to find a table to study at. If you do happen to find a table (which we were luckily able to do), the studying experience is fine - good internet, outlets, big tables, and well-lit. However, I would expect that it's normally quite difficult to find tables because the slow pour-over method of coffee brewing caters less to the "to-go" coffee drinkers, and more to people who like to sit at a coffee table and chat or study for hours.

Bottom-line: if you're lucky enough to grab a table, it's a descent place to study especially with the guarantee that your coffee will be of excellent quality. It's definitely out of the way though and I think there are far better options in more accessible locations. The coffee is good, but I don't think it's worth it to make the trek just to try their coffee. It might be better just to buy your own gourmet coffee and brew using the pour-over method by yourself at home (just google it, it's really easy).

3.5 / 5 "beans." Let me know what you think please!

Review - Tuscany Cafe

222 W. Rittenhouse Square (approx 19th and Locust)
215.772.0605
Yelp, Google Maps
M - F: 7 am - 8 pm, S: 8 am - 8 pm, S: 8 am - 7 pm

Tuscany Cafe

Located on the Western edge of Rittenhouse Square, Tuscany Cafe has some serious competition (most notably La Colombe). However, there is enough traffic in the Rittenhouse area that I think Tuscany has sufficient business. I went in with rather high expectations actually. Philly Magazine ranked Tuscany as the best café in 2004. I checked out the place mid-afternoon on a weekday and fully expected the place to be packed. I was rather pleasantly surprised to see that the café was fairly empty and made it a rather enjoyable experience. There's one thing that I hate about trying to study at a café - lugging a heavy backpack loaded with your laptop and heavy textbooks only to find that there's not a single open table at the café. I'm not sure what Tuscancy Cafe is like at peak hours especially considering they have a posted sign asking customers to refrain from studying during peak hours. But when I went, there were probably less than 10 customers.

Unsurprisingly, Tuscany Cafe uses La Colombe coffee, which is pretty much the gold standard coffee in Philadelphia (I've mentioned this before). They alternate between the different La Colombe blends offering a different light and dark roast each day. I chose the Venetian blend, which is a dark roast blend, which I paid $1.91 for with my credit card (I love places that don't have a minimum credit card charge). Perhaps it was because I went towards the end of the afternoon, but the coffee was honestly disappointing. It tasted slightly burnt and watered down. It was probably brewed several hours before... perhaps the coffee tastes better in the morning, but I was very disappointed. The café also boasts the usual selection of espresso drinks, pastries, and and sandwiches, but nothing out of the ordinary. The barista definitely knew what she was talking about and was very quick and speedy. But she was rather too curt to the point of being slightly rude. I didn't mind too much because I prefer quick service above anything, but I didn't really see the point of being that curt especially because there was no line behind me.

As a place to study, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the café has fairly spacious tables. And there's a lot of them, 22 to be exact. Moreover, they have pretty speedy Wi-Fi (measured at 2.39 Mbps). But take that with a grain of salt. As previously mentioned, there were less than 10 customers in the café at the time. The place has a great ambiance too. Pretty good music track that isn't too loud. The walls are painted in pleasant colors, which gives it a very homey feel, and they display neat photographs of the surrounding Rittenhouse and Center City area. Moreover, the café is pretty clean too. On the other hand, there are some characteristics that make it a terrible place to study. First, it's pretty dark and gloomy in there, which is a shame! They have such a great location right next to Rittenhouse. I think if they had huge windows (like La Colombe), they could let in a lot more natural light. They do have a bunch of windows, but they're all tiny and do a terrible job of bringing in natural light. Second, they have absolutely no outlets. Actually, I'm wrong. They have ONE outlet near the entrance. I think it's probably a strategy to prevent people from camping out there all day and studying on their computers. Tuscany is probably a good place to read a book or chat with a friend. But if you want to do any kind of serious studying, I'd suggest finding an alternate location.

Bottom line, not the best studying spot and the coffee was weak. I'm not exactly sure why Philly Magazine ranked this place as te best café in 2004. Either their quality has drastically failed in the last 7 years, or the number of actual and legitimate cafés in the city have dramatically increased. If you're in the Rittenhouse area looking for a place to study, you'd do better going to other neighboring cafés (e.g., Elixr, La Citadelle, La Colombe, Nook, Cafe Loftus, and yes, even Starbucks).

2 out of 5 "beans." Comment below!

Review - Cafe 12

212 S. 12th Street (Between Walnut and Locust Streets)
215.893.5680
Yelp, Google Maps
M - R: 6:30 am - 8 pm, F: 6:30 am - 9 pm, Sat: 7:30 am - 9 pm, Sun: 7:30 am - 8 pm

Cafe 12

I apologize for two things.  First, for the recent dearth of reviews.  Unfortunately, I've been a bit busy and haven't had as much opportunities to sample new cafés.  But I'll be back on my usual schedule of at least one review a week.  Moreover, if you're willing to do a guest review, drop me a line!  Second, while reviewing Cafe 12, I forgot to bring my camera so unfortunately, there is no picture, except this one I took on my phone.   I'll see if I can add a better one later.  Without further ado, I present my review for Cafe 12.


Cafe 12, formerly known as Brew Ha Ha!,  is located in the heart of Center City in the Gayborhood.  While under previous ownership when it was still known as Brew Ha Ha, this café was recognized as the best café in Gayborhood by Philly Magazine.  Even after ownership changed, Cafe 12 has been able to maintain quite a loyal client base as it remains one of the top independent café in the vicinity.  I visited Cafe 12 Tuesday around 3 pm, which is generally not a peak hour for most coffeeshops.  So I was a bit surprised to see that the place was packed.There are about 12 smaller round tables towards the front, but they were all taken.  Fortunately, I didn't have any serious studying to do, so I was content to head to the back of the café , where they have several sofas, which were all open.  I gladly sat down and found them to be reasonably conformable.


I went up the barista to get something to drink.  I was pleasantly met with very prompt and courteous service.  Though she didn't really to be the type of barista who's willing to engage in long conversations with customers, she was friendly and quick.  She didn't seem to know too much about the coffees though.  They had all the usual selection of coffees, espresso drinks, teas, Italian sodas, pastries, etc.  But as you may know from my previous reviews, I tend to just sample their coffee.  My theory is that if they can't get their coffee right, why try anything else?  But yes, back to the coffee.  I asked what kind of roast they had and she kind of hesitated.  I'm always surprised by the number of barista's who are seemingly afraid to talk about their coffee - as if they know they don't know too much about it.  She did mention that the blend of the day was a Honduras medium-roast coffee.   After paying $1.89 for the coffee with my credit card (I love places without a minimum charge), I took my coffee back to my sofa.  It had a pleasant aroma so I thought it would be pretty tasty.  So I was shocked when I tasted it.  It tasted very watered-down and pretty bitter.  Not even worth finishing it in my opinion.


The ambiance is fairly pleasant.  It feels very different from the typical chain café (e.g., Starbucks), and is very much an independent and local establishment.  My big gripe though, is that it's very crowded and packed.  If you're willing to sit on the sofas in the back, you won't feel that way.  But if you're somehow able to sit at one of the smaller tables in the front, you'll be bound to feel extremely claustrophobic within minutes.  It's almost as if the owners played a game to see how many tables and chairs they could fit in a confined and limited space.  They do have a few power outlets disbursed throughout the café.  But honestly, I don't think it's worth even trying to study here.  The tables are impossible to get for one thing.  But even if you're able to grab one, they're small.  The space is packed.  And the Wi-Fi is absolutely terrible (I measured it at .13 Mbps, which is extremely slow).


**Edit***
I forgot to mention.  They have two bathrooms.  In the spirit of Gayborhood, neither are gender labelled, with which I have no trouble.  But the bathroom on the left doesn't lock!  Another strike against Cafe 12.


Bottom-line: it's a cool little place in the heart of Center City.  They have fast customer service, but coffee was unimpressive and it's impossible to study there.  2 beans out of 5.  Share your thoughts in the comments!