First Cup Cafe

My sister and I came here for a place to study, we walked in and immediately were shouted at «no students here!» by who I presumed was the owner. Very rude. And the tables in the back were completely empty too. My sister isn’t even a student, she is a working professional who was wanting to get work done. I can’t understand how someone expects to have a coffee shop near a campus and refuse students.

I came to First Cup today looking for a new coffee shop to study in for a change of pace. After checking reviews on Unilocal,I decided to give this place a try. It’s very cute and eclectic inside, plenty of empty tables to work at, and the menu looked great. There was even a sign outside that said «NO WIFI» — perfect! One less distraction for me. So far, so good. I ordered an Americano at the counter and the man behind it (who I presume to be the owner) first asked me if I’ve ever been here before. I told him no, then he (very gruffly) told me «No wifi! No cell phones! And you can only stay for 45 minutes.» I said «I came here to study for school, not to use the Internet…» and he told me «No. We don’t do that here!» I was a bit flabbergasted that he said I wasn’t allowed to study in the coffee shop for more than 45 minutes. At any coffee shop you go to in New Orleans (or most cities for that matter) you’re bound to see a few people quietly studying, it’s the norm. I’m not a teeny-​bopper coming to play around and make noise, I’m in my 30s and in graduate school. I was not making an outlandish request, but he remained firm on his 45 minute limit, so I turned around and left. What a waste of time! It’s a shame too, because on first impression it looked like a great spot and I was excited to have found it. I definitely will not be visiting here again and will not recommend it to others after the way I was treated.
ETA: Apparently I did not read enough Unilocal reviews before I went because others have reported the same «anti-​student» treatment that I received. DO NOT go in there if you are wearing a backpack and plan on studying!

Bottom line: exceptionally good, unexpectedly strong coffee. Impeccable music track, congenial Mo at the counter.
Affable quirk: Luddite-​friendly. (No wi-​fi is proudly proclaimed here)
Marrying up has many advantages beyond the stellar wife. One such advantage in the deal is a sturdy brother-​in-​law with artistic proclivities and a penchant for all thing NOLA. He moved here nigh’ two decades ago and hasn’t looked back. Which brings me to First Cup.
The shift to daylight savings occurred on the day we shifted from eastern to central — meaning I could live out my EST ways until which time we returned to TLH.
Naturally, I was first up back at the neoclassical manse on State Street — and being, ‘lo, but one street over — knew that the compelling reviews for First Cup would beckon me.
My game? A 4-​shot mocha, toasted poppy bagel (from Zabars, no less. Look it up) and a seat at the big-​boy table on the upper floor in the back.
I must say, I wouldn’t have ordered this up as a Quad had I taken the reviews seriously. There is a seriousness about this coffee that reinforces its position through persisting receding tide marks on the edge of the inner cup.
Yikes-​a-​mighty. For cocaine aficionados, I imagine this coffee would be a suitable substitute for a travel mirror worth of lines.
The bagel itself was perfect. Granted, it was dropped in one of those legendary single-​slot toasters so many of us covet — but on its untoasted own I suspect it would have gone the distance as well.
Where will I be every morning this week? Right here.

Lovely shop. Plenty of seating and great music playing. The owner was friendly. The iced coffee however is jet fuel. Holy bajezus. I’ve spent the last two years living in New Jersey where the iced coffee tends to be super strong. NJ has nothing on this stuff. I was getting the caffeine jitters ¼ of the way through the drink. If you’re trying to quit a nasty amphetamine addiction, I would highly recommend this ice coffee.

Ever since starting medical school and living in San Francisco and Australia (best coffee in the world), I’ve become a bit of a coffee snob. After arriving in New Orleans, the coffee hasn’t cut it for me. I’ve had to resort to Starbucks, PJ’s and French Press as my daily energy boost until I decided to try First Cup Café.
I decided to give this place a try and arrived right at 7am to receive the first cup of coffee of the day. The Café opened right on time and the owner was delightful! He greeted me and gave me suggestions on what to order. I decided to go with the large latte.
Large Latte: Best cup of coffee I’ve had in NOLA to date! Definitely beats Starbucks and Pj’s by a bunch. The latte had the perfect amount of milk, foam and caffeine. The temperature was perfect.
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Overall, this place is a very nice café in the uptown area. There is plenty of seating in the back and is very nicely decorated. The owner is very polite and energetic which seems to be the consensus on Unilocal.Moreover, I didn’t find the coffee to be «too strong» as some Unilocal reviewers have mentioned. I found that many other coffee places in New Orleans have been way too weak compared to everywhere else. I’d highly recommend this place for an awesome cup of coffee and great service!
*** I would like to edit my comment about the coffee not being strong… It is 3am and I cannot go to sleep. I drank my coffee at 7am yesterday morning. I think I’ll get a small next time.

This place has great coffee!!! I have been there several times, each time the coffee is wonderful and it is so clean.

Excellent coffee and fast, friendly service! Don’t go here to screw around on WiFi all day, not gonna happen… However, if you want the best and quickest coffee pretty much anywhere on this side of the city then Mo’s is your spot. Piece of advice: the iced coffe is the BEST you will encounter and extremely strong. The owner will brag about this but trust that he is right, so if you are so inclined try it, you will not be looking elsewhere afterwards! Mo can be a jerk so proceed with caution! «No soup for you!» Haha

Probably one of the worst tasting iced coffees I’ve had. The guy was friendly and the shop was nice and clean but the coffee was not good. It was really bitter even with sugar and vanilla.

The BEST Uptown coffee shop! You can also buy coffees and teas for home brewing. The barista/​owner is fabulous and funny.

I wanted to give this place 4.5÷5 stars, but was unable to. Overall for the price I paid on the 16 oz hot coffee, I was satisfied. The coffee tasted good, the owner guy was friendly and courteous and the coffee shop had a quaint décor to it, which made it a chill place to relax in. I’d like to return in the future!

First Cup is a unique coffeehouse, mostly due to its owner, Mo. Sugar and such are served in real vessels and there is a feel as if this is somebody’s home. This is not a chain store and Mo believes in a culture of coffee and conversation with regulars that come as much for a chat as they do for the coffee. Mo adds his own spin, crafting with care an iced coffee with warm foam on top as he truly believes you will be made more whole from his work, and expects you to appreciate that but doesn’t need your approval, the «no wi-​if» and political critique posts on the walls aren’t kitsch but clear expectation setting. There are modest shelves of mostly European biscuits, sodas, teas, coffees and chocolates for sale as well as pastries from Maple Street Patisserie. If your looking for a different, less sterile coffee experience, stop by Mo’s First Cup.

All I had was a latte but they also had a great selection of artisanal sodas, which I very much appreciate. I’m giving this place five stars simply because the barista had a great sense of humor and I want to go back simply to hear his ideas about the world, HA! Also, they have non-​dairy milk options which is so sweet (it irritates me that there are still coffee shops that refuse to pick up a carton of almond milk).

Just my luck that the closest coffee house to me is also the best. Mo the proprietor and barista extraordinaire is a man of opinions and integrity. Always a pleasure to chat with whether it’s politics or the fine city of New Orleans. No wi-​fi ! What a terrific concept. Put your smartphones away for 20 minutes and have an intelligent conversation for a change. Just sayin’… Nice jazz too as a backdrop.

This is a very nice coffeehouse. It was sparkling clean and there were a good many dry goods on the shelves. The proprietor was very friendly and the iced coffee I got was amazing. He told me it would be strong and it was but it was powerful without being at all bitter. Delicious and Saturday was definitely iced coffee weather. My brother and his family live somewhat in this vicinity now so I’ll be back.

This is a special, old-​school, neighborhood kind of coffee house for serious coffee lovers, poets and conversation. Not for hogging tables with your laptop — there’s no wifi. I’m not saying I don’t do that elsewhere, but that’s not what you come here for.
Mo loves coffee, it’s clear, and has the best beans you can buy. I’m looking forward to trying the iced coffee, which I’ve been told will turn one into a jittery wreck. Can’t wait!
Anyway, love this spot, reminds me of the old beatnik poet cafes you used to find around this country.

If you plan on having a quiet place to study/​work do not go here. Even after buying a cup of coffee from him each time I drop off my dry cleaning next door, the owner saw my backpack today and told me to leave. Specifically, he told me no one is allowed to study here! Nevermind the fact that I pointed out to him that zero people were in the coffee shop and that I was his only business. He claims that if students were allowed to study there, he’d have no business. (Because that makes total sense when your coffee shop is empty at 1 pm on a Monday) Guess he won’t ever have my business again, studying or not. I’ll take his recommendation and ‘go to Starbucks because they have tons of tables.’

I can see myself coming here every morning. That was the best mocha I’ve ever had.
Extremely good coffee. I can’t even… I just can’t even…

BZZZ
Someone told me that this coffee shop has some of the strongest coffee in the city. I either love a challenge or I’m a masochist, because upon hearing this I thought to myself, «We’ll see about that!»
I stopped in and I could immediately tell that this was the kind of place where everyone knows each other. The woman in front of me was super chatty with the barista and upon ordering the last fruit tart, was nice enough to turn around and make sure that I didn’t want it. I didn’t, but I thought it was super sweet of her to ask. There is a huge space in the back with tables and chairs if you need to study or do some work. All in all, a really cozy place.
Upon ordering a large iced coffee with 2% milk, the barista warned me, «Sip this ssssslowly. If you drink it fast, it will be bad.» Well, jeez. I’ve never had coffee come with a warning before. Now I’m kind of nervous. I took that first sip and… yeah…that definitely has some serious kick to it. Here is where I mention that I drink coffee every day. And I drink (what I thought was) fairly strong coffee every day. Oh, what a fool I was.
I drank some of it. I ate a huge lunch. I drank some more of it. After about drinking half of it, I was electric. I could have painted a house. I could have swam the Mississippi river. I could have jogged around the city… twice. In short, this coffee is no joke. Maybe I’m a caffeine lightweight. Maybe I just can’t hang. I don’t know. What I do know is that after drinking half of a large iced coffee, I threw the rest out for my own sake. Don’t get me wrong; it was good coffee, but I was afraid that if I had any more my heart would explode, is all. Next time I will get a small and make sure that half of it is milk. Whole milk even. Oof.
My name is Marielle and I can’t handle super strong coffee.
In short: good coffee. Very strong. Small for me next time. Woosh.

Outstanding neighborhood coffee shop. Excellent coffee, lattes, and snacks.
The owner is warm and friendly, and the place is full of comfy couches and a great quiet work/​study room in back. Always playing great jazz and classical music. Great ambiance!

This is my first time here and I kind of love it. Now, it’s kind of a down season time so there’s only one other person here, but the mood in here is wonderful. There’s a dude up front who just started playing the guitar randomly and it’s peaceful and I want to learn from him.
The study space in the back is so quiet and calm and my soy chai is delicious and my bagel is delicious… conditions are perfect.
I’ll be back and see how crowded it gets next time. :D