A.J. Rocco’s

Coffeehouse by day, neighborhood pub by night. AJ Rocco’s is a great local spot reminiscent of a Cleveland «Cheers». You often see the same familiar faces and there is a welcoming atmosphere. They serve Cleveland Coffee Company coffee… which is my personal favorite here in town. All of the food & sandwiches are great — they use Boar’s Head meats and the pizza is delicious. Nice selection of craft beers — they carry a lot of the local breweries, but also have domestics if you’re into that sort of thing. I saw someone else mentioned the Irish Coffee… and yeah, it’s the best!
Get there early for a breakfast sandwich or a Bialy’s bagel before they run out for the day… Rocco’s is one of the only places in the downtown/​near downtown area where you can find a decent bagel! It’s always a good spot to pop in before events downtown or even to watch the games… they host a lot of fun things too like live music, pumpkin carving in the Fall, the occasional trivia nights, etc.
Rocco’s holds a dear spot in my heart and is one of my favorite places in Cleveland.
FYI they also rent out for private parties where they have catering services as well.

I recently moved to Cleveland and this wonderful place is near my apartment. The atmosphere is very laid back, good for watching sports, and the owner is extremely attentive and friendly. The coffee is great and I highly recommend any of the paninis. WOOHOO A.J. ROCCO’S!

Great little neighborhood-​y place close to the Q and Progressive field. Our family went there pre-​Indians game for lunch. Italian Sanguini sandwich was amazing. Wish I could’ve tried their coffees while I was there as well. They looked great!

I work in a building right around the corner from this little joint. Service can be spotty during the lunch rush, but that’s because everyone behind the counter is running on all pistons. My advice: always call ahead your breakfast and lunch orders. The coffee is fantastic (although u am not a coffee drinker myself). The lunch specials make up for the wait during lunch and breakfast.
And then there’s the bar. A full service bar night and day. Heaven forbid you need a drink at 10 am but they’re available to quench your thirst. The happy hour is great (Monday nights it’s all night, Tuesdays — Fridays from 4 to 7) with $ 2 bottles.
While most would complain about service I choose not to. The service is friendly and accurate. How much more can you ask from shotgun coffee shop slash lunch joint slash bar?

When I’m in Cleveland and want a drink at 7:00 in the morning, this is where I go! Great service, cool vibe, excellent food, and fun location.
Also a great place to watch Brian Freaking Hoyer win games!

Great establishment before or after a sporting event… or even for just some random night!
Great bartenders, cheap drinks and great food! Also the coffee is top notch.

Stopped here before the Cavs game. It’s perfect if you’re looking for a quick bite to eat before attending an event at the Q. Menu consisted of sandwiches, pizza and a bunch of vegetarian options. The Craxton sandwich was delicious. Red potato salad was a little too creamy. Everything was cheap and they had $ 2 beers before the game. Oh, and it wasn’t crowded, which was a major plus! We’ll be back!

I really liked this bar. Their prices were very reasonable and their beer and liquor selection says a lot about the place. It was also very quaint for being located in the center of downtown Cleveland. I’ll be back.

I love the ambience of this little place. What is a cozy coffee shop by day transforms into a quaint and hip place to have a beer after a long day at work. One of my favorite things about this place is the atmosphere and welcoming staff… it’s like walking in and being enveloped in a big warm hug. The Guinness doesn’t hurt! :) I can’t really give a review on the food here since I’ve only had one thing: an egg, cheese and sausage sandwich for breakfast. It was good but not something you couldn’t get elsewhere.
Another tip: If you come on a Tuesday then be sure to get the coffee for $ 1!

Came here to kill an hour or so before a Tribe game.
Ordered two pints of Columbus IPAs ($ 4 happy hour) and relaxed outside. Friendly, casual atompshere. The servers were very outgoing and chatty and the owner even stopped by to introduce himself and chit chat for a bit. Pretty solid beer list for a good value and the food looked good. I’ll be back for breakfast/​lunch in the near future.
Absolutely recommend as it may be my new favorite place to grab a pint or two.

I read the reviews before coming here. I was looking for a good beer and a nice dinner. The Reuben was awesome and a pint of Guinness to wash it down. I will be back!

Great espresso drinks and really good soup and sandwiches. The staff here is so nice too!
This week I went in asking when the delicious clam chowder would come back in rotation and they asked me when I wanted it. I came back on the day and they had a cup set aside with my name on it!
This is my favorite coffee shop in Cleveland by far.

AJ Rocco’s is a great pub to visit before or after Tribe games.
Excellent food, beer selection, prices, and atmosphere.

I was trying to find someplace to grab a sandwich and drink before an Indian’s game and literally found this place by accident. What a hidden gem. Sandwiches are named according to buildings and Cleveland landmarks. Prices are good for what you get and food is well prepared with good portions. Beer selection is great. Service is really friendly and timely. Has that hole in the wall feeling, and is Cleveland at its best. Worth a stop.

I get breakfast takeout and it hits the spot every time.

Talk about a pleasant surprise!
What do you do when it’s 3pm, you have two guys who want to drink beer and one woman who wants coffee (the good kind, not the «grow-​chest-​hair» kind)? You go to AJ Roccos.
We wandered in from the cold, and I was immediately in love with the color of the walls (yes, I was the one who was not drinking) the g! uys quickly found their first round and I was befuddled because there were coffee OPTIONS! I went with a English Toffee. Very good decision.
Music was in the background, but not so loud that we weren’t able to maintain a conversation the entire time. Our bartender was really laid back and friendly.
Overall, an excellent experience. I will make sure to return again in the future!

I invite you to take the A.J. Rocco’s challenge (which I’m inventing right now… on the fly…)
1) Go to A.J. Roccos
2) Order the Irish Coffee
3) Try to not FLIP OUT because it is RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS!!!
That’s it — let me know how it goes.

With our trip to Cleveland we wanted to hit several local food joints. We initially were going to go to the winking lizard, but unfortunately there was a pretty long wait. So we ditched it and went to A.J. Rocco’s instead. When we arrived we noticed there was NO ONE there. Like it was us and maybe 7 or 8 other folks. We also saw they had a pretty small menu but everything was very reasonably priced food (everything under 10). I had a ham sandwich and Steve had some other kind of sandwich. He really liked it. I walked away for 7:50 with tip.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking «Ok Josh, why only 4 stars if it was so fantastic» Well. The chips and the pretzels we got were from a big ol bag in the back. So not stale, but close. Just substitute it for potato salad or something else.
But other than that it was a great place to eat. Also, whoever was working the door, trying to bring people in was very knowledgeable and upfront with us. When you’re not used to a city, you need people like that. You really do. Kudos to him too.

I work in the same building in which Rocco’s is located, so there is a convenience factor that must be accounted for in this review.
That said, I love A.J. Rocco’s. The employees are nice, the food is delish, and they have a solid beer selection + full bar. Oh, and coffee. Swoon.
I am (mostly) vegetarian, and in my opinion, Rocco’s makes two of the best vegetarian sandwiches in Cleveland. (In fact –Melt excluded — I can think of only two that come close: the hummus/​taboulleh pita at Nate’s Deli and the tofu-​pineapple concoction at Southside.) I’m pretty sure this is because they were designed to be vegetarian, and don’t just taste like sandwiches missing the meat.
Anyhoo, I just got the CLE veggie or something like that (it used to be called Veggie Tuzzio, but is portabella mushroom, tsatziki, tomato, roasted red pepper and romaine on ciabatta) and I’m seriously in awe of how delicious this sandwich is. You know how sometimes sandwiches don’t feel sufficient for dinner? This does. You know how some places try to offer a vegetarian version of a gyro? This is what it should be.
(In case you’re wondering, the other tasty veg sandwich is the Addy Veggie: hummus, romaine, tomato, cucumber, red onion and kalamata olives on a pita. This, however, is more of a lunch dish. But, it’s one of my favorite lunches.)
Also: Rocco’s recently started selling these tiny little petit fours. The dark chocolate-​covered cake balls are excellent. You need one. Trust me.
So yeah… Rocco’s is awesome. And for the meat-​eaters: try the Hometeamer sandwich. It’s the bomb (even without the meat).

AJ Rocco’s is a quiet casual bar and coffeehouse nestled amongst the groups of bars near Progressive Field and the Q.
More than 75 thirsty people [following a critical mass bike ride] descended on the place within 10 minutes. Given that, the service was really good. $ 3 draft Guinness for Happy Hour, hell yes. They had 3 beers on tap: Guinness, harp, and something else; but a pretty good bottle selection of micros and domestics, I’m guessing 20 or so [commodore perry $ 4.50 a bottle].
Although there were a bunch of us there, the place came off as a quiet and casual atmosphere.
There’s also a small patio in front of the place, which is small metal chairs and tables on the sidewalk. Nice, but don’t expect anything fancy.
If you’re downtown and are looking for a place that’s not a dive, filled with hooknasties, or very expensive, AJ Rocco’s was a solid pick.
I’ll definitely check this place out again next time I’m downtown.