Hiram Haines’ Coffee and Ale House

This is a great little place. The food is fantastic, and the staff are superb! We love the whole Poe theme and can’t wait to come back!

An amazing place especially if you are a Poe fan! The atmosphere
Is fantastic and the hospitality is superb! Jeff, the owner and his wife were outstanding hosts! Please visit!

My daughter was in heaven today. She loves books. The food was decent. Desserts were pricy for the size slice you get, but yummy. I didn’t go for the food so it was a fun experience… if you like books. Was quiet and relaxing.

Awesome place! Food is great, atmosphere is great, & such a relaxing place! So many neat books as well! Recommend the veggie wrap for a different taste & definitely the limoncello cake! DELICIOUS!

My friend and I met here for dessert and coffee. Service was appropriate. Ambiance was nice with a violinist playing holiday music in the background. We ordered the bread pudding, chocolate cupcake and two coffees. Bread pudding had great flavor, nice delicate sauce. we were happy. The chocolate cupcake, was dry, dry, dry. we were sad (and surprised). WE returned the cupcake and were offered the Thalhimer’s cake.
Now this cake resonates with me, because I remember sharing this cake with my Grandmother many, many years ago. Cake was delicious. we were happy!
Coffee was good and complimented the desserts but the saddest part of the night was the little plastic containers of half and half offered with the coffee… really, you can do better.
Quality coffee deserves quality cream. There are several antiques shops in the area, go buy a dozen nice elegant creamers. Buy a carton of half and half! Presentation and flavor in one shot! The plastic gas station creamers suggest lack of consideration for the patrons. and what would have been a 4 star experience immediately became a 3.
Quality counts at each level of the dining experience.
Go get the bread pudding and the Thalhimer’s cake. bring your cream from home…

Best spot in Petersburg with very good coffee and food.

The coffee and stout was great. Meatloaf was yum too. The interior was great as well. Here’s a question for those of you that’s been there. Anyone get the heebee jeebees in their bathroom? I had this feeling of my hairs in back of my neck stand– and my husband felt the same thing.

Nice atmosphere, but it seems like they placed more importance in that than on their coffee. It was a good cup of joe but very expensive. They described a coffee as medium that was pretty weak and they didn’t grind the beans well for a french press. A so-​so coffee shop that probably isn’t the best place to go for coffee.

Fantastic find in Petersburg. Totally cool history and food! Check out the back they have their own private alley!

what a great place… atmosphere of 19^th-​century coffeehouse, great books, lovely people… the food was great. go there.

What a surprise this place is! I’ll be honest, I’ve avoided Petersburg like civility avoids Snooki. Last night however I ventured out to an informal Irish session at Hiram and Haines’ and was blown away by both the couple of blocks this place sits among, as well as the restaurant itself.
The food and drinks are nothing spectacular. Rostov’s coffee is prepared in more classic press methods although not professionally prepared or presented, while the tea falls to the same fate. The food is good, definitely edible, but won’t blow your mind. But that’s not why you go here. You got here because it makes you feel like you aren’t in Petersburg, and that you’re in what Richmond WISHES it could be if they could ban the hip hop clubs from the potentially historically great Shockoe Bottom.
The atmosphere is incredible, decorated with old Kerouacesque pictures and articles. Black and white Bob Dylan pictures hang next to Alan Ginsberg. Edgar Allen Poe stuff EVERYWHERE. And books. Those things people read before Gates and Jobs screwed over society and inevitably aided the downfall of society.
Trust me everyone, visit this place. Pick a night when they have live music (it’s free) and plan to stay a few hours. You won’t regret it.

The atmosphere, food, service, and coffee are the best around. We moved to Petersburg a year ago and were hoping to find «our spot» — and we did. Old Towne has great stuff going on, and Hiram Haines is at the top of the list.
We probably visit once a week, always greeted warmly. Sit in the «Rue Morgue» for an intimate meal. Bob Dylan and Tom Waits on the radio — it’s a cozy place to sip a coffee and enjoy a book. I bring all of my friends here.

Such a good place to spend an afternoon or morning with you love one or by yourself with a lot of books to read you cannot wrong with that, after a stroll stop by to enjoy a pleasant afternoon.

I visited Hiram Haines for the first time last week. I’m a native of the area, but have only just moved back after some years away. Hiram Haines opened while I was away, and wow, what a GREAT addition to the area! As soon as I entered and saw the pub-​meets –Poe décor, I knew I’d found a treasure. The owner and staff were friendly and attentive without hovering. I had a delicious bourbon chicken wrap — it was pressed like a panini. Really good. The French-​pressed coffee was so good I only wanted it black, though I’m usually a cream-​and-​sugar person. I also got a lovely ruby port. The atmosphere, the food, the history of the building, and everything about this place was great. I’ll be back often!

Hiram Haines is a wonderful and one of a kind establishment in Olde Towne. The atmosphere is relaxing and the walls are lined with a large variety of inexpensive books for purchase. Their menu offers delicious sandwiches, wraps, and salads served with sides that are just as good. They have lots of coffees and loose leaf teas that are served french pressed, and a large selection of beer and wine. The owners are very pleasant and will sit and talk with you, and the staff is just as knowledgeable and pleasant. Their desserts are the best. Where else you you shop for books while enjoying coffee or tea, a meal, and a dessert? Nowhere but Hiram Haines! They also do special dinner nights (ie spaghetti dinner night, live music nights) so check them out and ask them what they’re offering.
(There’s also a great history about the place, Edgar Allen Poe and his wife honey-​mooned in the establishment and the history adds a wonderful theme to the restaurant.)

This place is awesome

My wife and I took a stroll over here after having dinner in Petersburg. It was great, very laid back and quaint, just what we were looking for after dinner. The waitress here, her name escapes me, but she had brown hair, kind of wavy if my memory is correct, well anyway she was great. She chatted with us a little while, talked up their desserts and gave us suggestions on my coffee and even offered to make a hot chocolate for my honey even though it wasn’t on the menu. My coffee was good, a little weaker than I would have liked but I think it is because I told the waitress I didn’t want to be up all night, but my wife really seemed to enjoy her hot chocolate, she didn’t even offer any to me, which is an unusual occurrence so it must have been really that good! (She did comment that it wasn’t too sweet like most places and that scored bonus points with her.) They didn’t have any Poe books in stock that day which was odd since that is the whole theme they’ve got going, but they had a ton of other choices to chose from if you wanted. The desserts looked good but we did not partake in any, so I really can’t give a rating on that yet, but we will be back to try their food and desserts soon!