OCF Coffee House

i love this place. it is comfortable and cozy, and the baristas always remember my order. this may be because i go nearly every weekday to write for an hour before i go to work, but i like to think they like me. nice selection of teas (i don’t drink coffee), decent pastries. the bagels used to be better, but i go more for the place to work than the food.

Something is very wrong here. Not sure if it’s the bad music, intermittent wi-​fi, or sketchy vibe. Maybe all three. Avoid at all costs.

This place is a disappointment. This shop is owned by a (nice) guy in the real estate business who uses the coffee shop to promote his real estate business. The truth is that it’s just not a good coffee shop. It’s dingy. My coffee was not good. There wasn’t much of a pastry selection, and my pastry was dry. To be frank, this place would appeal more to people who just don’t have high standards on coffee. They don’t do pour-​overs, and their french-​pressed coffee was lousy. (I actually added cream to the coffee to cover the taste.) There aren’t too many good coffee shops close to the intersection near the Graduate Hospital. The other nearby shop is LaVa, which is better but not awesome. If you have time, I’d recommend going south to Ultimo, which is absolutely excellent, or west to Rival Bros., which is also very nice. Even the Starbucks north of here is better, in my opinion.
Edit: I should mention that the shop didn’t smell very good, either. But if you desperately need to get some work done near the hospital, this is a decent spot.

Why do people allow animals in eating establishments! The bowl of dog biscuits and guests sitting with their animals at their tables clearly shows their welcoming of dogs and the last place I want to be eating. Wet dog smell, someone untrained dog sniffing at your ankles and rubbing against your legs and loose dog hair all over the place… Will be avoiding this dog kennel at all costs

I live right around the corner from OCF and go there just about everyday. Everyone who works there is awesome even at 7am. Coffee is always decent… but the bagels were my favorite! (until last week) They changed vendors apparently :(please bring back those delicious bagels!

Overall 3.5 stars.
I work as a nurse across the street so this is my go-​to place for a cup of coffee. The coffee here is definitely strong and can be on the acidic side. However, the specialty drinks I indulge in on occasion are really delicious. I am dreaming of my next carmel latte or Nutella mocha.
No large servings (no Starbucks venti here) the largest cup is 16oz. The price is a bit expensive $ 2.75 for an iced coffee and $ 5 for a latte. However, they do use quality ingredients.
I get my coffee to go so cannot comment on relaxing or studying at OCF.
The bagels and croissants are from kermits and are super delicious. Sandwiches are OK. Staff has always been friendly to me.
Solid coffee shop but not the best.

Although this location is a mere shadow of the OCF in Fairmount where I often went when I lived up there, it’s the closest coffee shop to my house, and they’ve always had decent coffee and fairly friendly service. I will not be returning, however, after being kicked out for occupying a corner of the sofa without a drink in front of me. I understand that it’s rude to get one coffee and sit there all day, but ordering a french press at 1:00 and putting it in the dirty dish bin when you’re finished should not warrant a stern reminder that «seating is for customers» at 4:00. Yikes.

*Disclaimer: coffee review only.
Their roast was a great blend, rich and oily, fresh with golden créma.

Iced coffee was good but I was really disappointed by the roasted veggie sandwich. It had good flavor but it was too soggy to even eat the bread at 11:00am. I can’t imagine what it would be like at a lunch rush.

Friendly and strong coffee, all pluses in my book! Nice tea selection as well. Decent amount of tables if you want to hole up and get some work done durning the day, not super loud.

Delicious iced coffee and a laid back vibe. I really wish they had more outside seating though!

I really have no idea how this place intends to stay in business. They have gone the way of many cafés, which is to say they’ve become a haven for local students with their laptops who want to study and otherwise tool around on the Internet all day having bought all of one cup of coffee. I am absolutely guilty of this, myself, but I do try to keep purchasing things as the hours tick by. Still, this happened to the old Toscany place by the Dorchester, and has happened to Plenty on Spruce Street.
I don’t know that there’s a good solution, either. If you start asking your customers to pack up and leave after a certain amount of time, there’s a good chance that they’ll never come back. If you just let people lounge around all day with such limited seating, there’s a good chance that you’re not going to sell anything else all day. I’ve gone to this place many times-​especially on Mondays when my favorite places are closed-​and it’s been packed with people sitting on their laptops, often medical students (who at least will be saving lives in the future…)
The rest of it is fine. The coffee is just okay-it’s not so great as others have mentioned here, but maybe they haven’t gone to the myriad of other excellent coffee shops in the area. The atmosphere is perfectly fine-​clean, somewhat antiseptic, a little cold… Service has never been unfriendly, exactly, but it’s ranges from pleasant to completely uninterested. A little bit of food (baked goods) they have I would say is a notch up from Starbucks, and so isn’t too bad but nothing to write home about.
In a way, it’s exactly what you might expect a café affiliated to a real estate company would be.

I love this coffee. I actually crave the java from this joint. Each coffee is made by the barista, or you can order a ‘quick-​cup’ on your way to work. The baristas are friendly and kind. There is nothing pretentious about this place, they are just friendly neighbors. This is a neighborhood gem.
I also highly recommend the bagels. :)

I love putting on my work-​mode face and indulging in a latte here. I tried something offbeat that the barista recommended with cinnamon on top and it was delicious. Solid drinks every time. The barista was attentive and asked how I liked the drink before I left — so sweet! There are a good number of little tables and it’s a very warm environment. Their drink menu is great and has a lot of variety. I found their pastry/​snack selection to be just average during the evenings that I visited but you can’t expect that much at that time of the day. Free consistent wifi and nice mellow music.

The cappuccino was strong and delicious, and the design was adorable. The shop itself is very friendly for studying and hanging out.

I had a very positive experience at OCF yesterday. It had been a while since my last visit. I’m not sure why; this place is in my neighborhood and there always seems to be plenty of seating available. They have free wifi and the music is great, ranging from indie rock to jazz during my visit.
The baristas were so nice and I really enjoyed chatting with them. And these guys make an absolutely delicious (and pretty!) chai tea latte with real tea. I noticed some really tasty-​looking pastries and cookies, but didn’t partake. Next time! I won’t wait so long before my next visit, either.

I used to love this place but I was studying there today after my boyfriend, friend and I all bought breakfast and coffee and the barista came up to us maybe 10 minutes after we had finished and told us to order something else or leave because «we were the definition of hogging tables!» And while we were packing up told us he was «just telling it like it is.» I literally used to come here 3 times a week and give it my business but after this incident my friends and I will not be returning. Hope you have plenty of free tables now sir.

Next to the Penn Hospital and a local South Street neighborhood coffee, the Wifi is great and for a coffee shop– the sandwiches are not bad at all.
I recommend the teas over coffee here. For coffee, go to the Blue Bottle place down the street. Now, this place does get crowded and people tend to stay for a while. If you can get a table and next to an outlet, score!!!

We stopped by OCF for some tea — my friend got the iced green variety and I got the hot honey green. I’m a big fan of the glass pots that steep the tea right before your eyes. I somehow feel more a part of things than if they gave me a tea bag in a paper cup a la Starbucks or Saxby’s.
The interior was super cute — we sat in a deep, comfy corner couch around a wide, low table and enjoyed our tea as well as some hummus and pita chips they were offering up. The hummus was fantastic, though the portion could have been a bit bigger.
The staff were helpful and we didn’t feel rushed at all, sitting and loitering with our tea on a Sunday afternoon. If I’m in the area, I’d come back to OCF. Perhaps the perfect stop after walking South Street for the day!

There’s something sort of clinical and uninviting about this place. Rigid lines, neon green, wood, I don’t know, I just don’t get that fuzzy feeling of a friendly neighborhood independent coffee shop when I come here.
Pros: Not usually too crowded. Convenient spot. Reliable internet. Great selection of teas. Music was fine, not overbearing or memorable, which is always good for studying.
Cons: Drinks and food are kind of on the pricey side. Tables are small, hard to spread out on. The barristas are fine, not overly friendly or attentive, and sometimes downright absent. Not too many seating options: tiny tables or weird back couch area.
I’ve studied here a few times over the course of the years and it’s a convenient spot, but not some place I’ve made a habit of going back to.