Thinking Cup

Great classic, European atmosphere. Wood everywhere, old newspapers as backgrounds for the tables.
Lots of pastries, salads, sandwiches and coffee. They offer gluten free bread on their sandwiches.
This place was awesome!
The food was fresh and had good flavor, but the chicken in my panini-​style sandwich was cold and the cheese mostly unmelted, even with the bread toasted. I just wanted a little more attention to detail there.

Thinking cup is very reasonably priced for such delicious coffee. I typically order the cinnamon honey flavored ice coffee, you can never go wrong!!! Excellent customer service, all the employees are very welcoming and friendly!
Great atmosphere to meet up with friends to enjoy pastries and coffee drinks or even to sit by yourself and get work done!
The only thing that leaves me to give 4 stars is their hours. I walk to my parking garage at 6:30 every morning to go to work and they are not open!!!
The place can get a tad bit busy– being on hanover street and all– the line goes fast though! You can either sit down or take it on the go. I will be back! Great job thinking cup!

This popular North End spot is always busy, but I came here right when it opened before my 9AM boxing class to get some work done. It was fairly empty, but just beginning to get bustling. I ordered a cold brew and sat down at a table to work; it’s pretty dimly lit in the back. Their cold brew is good and it was cute to see all the families come in or the old men reading their newspapers; it’d also be a nice place to peoplewatch, but beware: it gets extremely crowded at peak hours and you probably won’t be able to find a seat.

I am truly mind-​blown by the uniqueness of this large cold ice-​less latte as it has turned out completely unexpected, undeniably a thinking cup for sure! Who would have thought a «LARGE» «COLD» Matcha «LATTE» with no ice would become a lukewarm half cup latte with no espresso taste.
The milk taste blends beautifully with the lukewarm temperature, the latte reminds me none of the stressful office latte I usually have and instead the non-​organic milk powder formula from my childhood. A taste like home! With no sweetness, my harsh childhood that harnessed me into the man that I am today was fully recollected between the pallets of my tongue. In addition with the lack of fluid for a LARGE, I finally understand what the ladies has been saying about size matters and how it gets you down when it turned out surprising small! It definitely got me thinking!
PS. The barista said, «that’s how much it would be with ice»
The best purchase you can get in North End indeed!

Was looking for a «locals» breakfast and coffee joint and stumbled upon this place in the North End. Trendy artsy spot and a very nice change from the touristy spots in Faneuil Hall. Had the breakfast burrito — eggs, spinach, tomato and bacon and Kat the quiche. Both excellent — very fresh and flavorful. Coffee is excellent as well. Plenty of seating and while the place is crowded, the long line moved pretty quickly. The perfect place for a nice relaxing morning cup of coffee and meal.

The Thinking Cup was such a great find. It’s a small, cozy coffee shop with a good atmosphere, friendly staff, and great food. They have quite a few options for baked goods and tasty hot food options too. We had a bacon, chive, and cheese scone that was amazing. I also had a sausage, egg, and cheese english muffin sandwich that was far better than you would expect for a fairly standard option.
It was pretty busy mid-​morning on a Sunday when we were there, but we were still able to find a place to sit and the line moves pretty fast. Looking around, there seemed to be a good number of locals there as well as travelers (like me). Wish they had one in my neighborhood.

Excellent place for a coffee. Can go there with friends or alone. If you want to work, study or just read a book while having something to drink and you don’t want to do do at home, that’s the place to go. You can also enjoy the sandwiches or the desserts they offer. The sandwiches are freshly made and the sweets are not bad either.

Lattes and Bagels were great. Calm atmosphere right in the north end. Friendly staff.

My new love~ after walking around North End looking for a place that can make a tea latte, Thinking Cup said they can make London Fog! Woohoo! Not only did they make a perfect cup, they even sprinkled a little bit of cocoa on top which gave it a nice touch, yum!
The shop itself was absolutely adorable. It a 1930s feel (think Dick Tracy!), very stylish. And there’s a lot of room to sit down, even though it may not look like it since it was a little dark inside. It’s definitely the kind of place you go once and you’ll brag about how great this place is!

Artsy and roomy coffee shop in the north end. We needed a quick stop for a little breakfast bite and stumbled upon this place.
Get yourself a bowl of oatmeal with some almonds and bananas!

Out of the three Thinking Cup locations in Boston, this is my favorite one by far. I love how much more spacious and (seemingly) secluded it is– it’s nearly impossible to find a seat in the Newbury and Downtown locations. I come here to catch up with friends and have study dates. The atmosphere certainly allows it! The lighting is pretty dim but it’s not distracting. Rather, it adds to the vintage-​esque vibe I really adore.
The food selections range from pastries to sandwiches and I love that they offer such a broad variety. I personally love the B.A.L.T. sandwich because it’s perfectly toasted and super flavorful. However, the pricing is a bit high for the size of it– but overall, it’s pretty filling.
In terms of pastries, I’ve tried their granola coffee cake (the cake itself is too dry, but the crumb/​granola topping is great), bread pudding (sweet and moist and topped with fruits– I definitely recommend it), and carrot/​chocolate cake slices (incredibly moist! but super sweet after a few bites). The prices are moderate for the sizing of these portions.
I’ve tried a few of their drinks, such as the chai latte (the flavor is very subtle and not very prominent, which could be a good or bad thing depending how you like it. The flavor fell flat for me here), hazelnut latte (boasts an amazing, rich flavor– it’s one of my favorites), matcha latte (a super bland drink and frankly, disappointing! I love matcha, but I just can’t vibe with this particular one), earl grey latte (it has the right balance of tea/​milk flavor), and the vanilla ginger latte (one of my favorites, by far! It’s a perfect combination of both flavors and it’s not too sweet, either!).
I’d definitely recommend coming to this specific Thinking Cup location. The staff are generally pretty nice and the food/​drinks are prepared quickly and precisely!

Gelato was a bust. but the pastries, however, were quite good!
The coffee was nice and strong. Plenty of seating but it got very cramped and loud. Service was relatively fast, but the baristas seemed a little lifeless.

Great place for a delicious but casual lunch. We ducked in out of a rainstorm and were greeted by the cool but comfortable ambience and friendly staff.
All three sandwiches we tried were great — I especially recommend the Jittery. Way better than the typical coffeeshop fare you’d expect. Their selection of pastries is another highlight, including filled-​to-​order cannoli.
Definitely worth checking out for drinks AND food!

My favorite coffee place in Boston! Get a cortado and find yourself a nice little corner, and just chill or people watch. The décor is nostalgic and I particularly love how they reuse old newspapers from the 1900s and use them as part of their table counter tops. A nice spot to take a little break after exploring North End.

Pretty delicious! It’s a bit confusing where to order and pick up (at least on a busy weekday lunch hour) but it was quite delicious. The lattes are cheaper the Starbucks and the grilled cheese is heavenly.

Super inconsistent in quality.
1^st visit: hazelnut latte — ethereal. Their homemade hazelnut infusion seemed too perfect for this world and maybe it was because on my 4^th visit, when I ordered it again, it was SO TERRIBLE: watery and hardly hazelnut flavor. I really think they made me just a normal latte, but there were some hazelnut bits in it. idk man, I don’t trust these guys.
2^nd visit:
apple challah slice — challah was dry and there was maybe a 1 cm cube of apple distributed in the slice of bread
vanilla ginger latte — nothing notable
3^rd visit: matcha latte. I love matcha/​green tea, but this was a matcha overload — not really much of a complaint, bit of a warning.

Stumptown coffee? Sign me up! We swung by here for a quick coffee pit stop based on good reviews and such.
And the coffee was good. I got their cold brew coffee. I ordered it black and found it was on the milder side in terms of flavor and bitterness, making it really easy to drink.
The line here was really long though and the coffee shop, while beautiful inside, was incredibly cramped. Part of the reason was that it seemed a bunch of tourists would buy cannolis from Modern and Mike’s and bring it into the store to eat while drinking Thinking Cup’s coffee. I’m not really a big fan of bringing outside food to another restaurant and felt especially so with Thinking Cup. It’s such a beautiful space but you can’t really enjoy it because its so crowded. And even if you bought a lot of food, there’s no guarantee you’d get a spot to eat it. My group of four people crowded around a spot that was tight for even two people. We ended up just leaving after getting the coffee.
Plus, the clientele were kind of rude. A lady (who clearly wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings) literally walked (quite forcefully) into my friend and then turned around and left without even saying sorry.
Maybe I just went on the wrong day (it was a Saturday afternoon if I remember correctly). But unless its less crowded, I wouldn’t want to go back. I like to relax at coffeeshops. And while the coffee was good… it was not THAT good that I’d willing deal with long lines, no seats, and rude people.

Pretty cool and chill coffee spot in North End. The coffee here is pretty good — probably one of my favorite coffee shops in Boston. What lured me here was all their pastries and desserts! They are all so good and delicious.
I used to stop here every time I was in North End. It is a good place to catch up with friends if you are showing them around and just enjoy North End.

3.5 Stars to be exact.
An European style café right in the heart of the Little Italy section of Boston. I love cafes and I really cannot get enough of them. A great spot for a sit-​down coffee after strolling around. Thinking Cup has a vintage décor with old newspapers, paintings, and musical instruments. It gives you a feel of how it might have been like in America’s past. It is a bit dim in there so that everyone can just sit back, relax, and taste coffee.
My party enjoyed a cup of cappuccino, matcha green tea latte, and cold brew. Both coffee drinks are bold in flavor and dark in taste. Before we saw the sign, It is clear to us that it is Stumptown Coffee just by taste recognition! Latte art just needs to be more clean looking for the amount of bubbles and holes that I see. Cold Brew was on point and strong in flavor. Matcha green tea is bittersweet and actually really good. I ordered a variety of macarons to-​go as well. It comes in a nice gift box when you order half a dozen or a dozen. The macarons are made quite differently from how I have had it before. Instead of this super sweet thick jam, it comes with cream which I thought was alright.
Overall, a very unique café that is worth spending some time in if I am around the area.

Got a salad, sandwich and some COLD BREW.
Cute little spot, great for breakfast, brunch and lunch. Check it out.