Cairdeas Coffee

So it’s 7:30 am on a Friday. I’m on my way to work. I receive a call from my boss. «Hey if you want your morning coffee, you better stop somewhere b/​c the whole valley has no power». What a sweetie. So I quickly exit highway 40 and turn to my Unilocal app to save me. Coffee, close by, open and fast. Cairdeas is perfect! I follow the little blue dot, but which corner is it on? Where do I park? I’m confused. I call. «Hey so I’m at the intersection, but where are you guys?» The guy rattles off the address, and I vaguely hear dogs in the background. Weird. «No, I know your address. I’m here. But is you’re sign on? Are you open right now?» They are not open. Unilocal says they open at 6am. Is this even a coffee shop? It’s 7:30, wtf? Coffee fail. Unilocal fail. Cairdeas Coffee epic fail! Out of time, back to the highway I go. Luckily as soon as I walk into work, the power comes on. The boss says I’ve brought some luck in the doors with me. Yeah, that must be it:)

CLOSED!
I’m a Dogtown resident, and I walked down to Cairdeas this morning to grab a coffee and got really confused that the door no longer had a sign for the hours or anything.
A couple of guys were working inside, and they told me that La Gra, the adjacent restaurant (same owners as Cairdeas) is expanding the restaurant seating area into the coffee shop space.
SAD! However, it’s probably a smart move for the restaurant, which I enjoy very much. I will miss my walkable coffee house option, though!

Cairdeas is a great Dogtown fixture that gradually morphs from morning to evening to meet the customers’ needs. If you are in the area you owe it to yourself to stop by Cairdeas!

I met my friend Hannah for a friendly breakfast and coffee session at Cairdeas today and I must say that I was impressed with the small local café.
I ordered the Dogtown Breakfast Sandwich — egg, bacon, sausage, and american cheese with an orange slice on the side, along with an iced vanilla coffee. It was, dare I say, the best breakfast sandwich I have ever had. Highly recommended. I also have a tough time being critical with anything involving bacon.
My small coffee was upgraded free of charge for some reason. I didn’t complain.
The staff was incredibly helpful and friendly. One of the employees wanted us to try (for free) a fresh pumpkin breakfast bar that was one part pumpkin pie (soft, rich, and flavorful center) and one part coffee cake (with a crunchy, strudel-​like topping).
For whatever reason, the front door and a front window were open. It was a tad chilly inside, so maybe close them during those brisk fall mornings? Just a thought.
After we were finished with our chat, the barista boxed up our leftovers (since the sandwich was quite large) for us. I love Dogtown and now I have another reason to come back.

I’d would be giving 3 stars but it gets an extra one because I had my puppy with me. We ate on at the sidewalk patio. There doesn’t seem to be wait staff, so we went inside to order. The food took a decent amount of time to come out, about 20 minutes which is probably more than it should for just a chicken salad and BBQ wrap. But I was entertained by the pooch and it was a nice day to sit outside people watching, so it wasn’t a big deal.
The salad was good, it had Gorgonzola cheese which gave it extra flavor. The BBQ pork wrap was pretty amazing as well.
I liked that they have a water bowl outside and a dog «latch» to hook your lease on if your just running inside for a quick coffee order.

The old location was far better. This one feels awkward and forced.
All the same, I like their drinks. The wraps are good. It just all tasted better in the old store.

Excellent coffeeshop. Plenty of outlets on the restaurant side of the shop. Kaldis coffee. Good atmosphere for the most part. The old Cairdeas was def better, there’s no doubt about that. What the new place has going for it is the outdoor seating. During the spring it is absolutely awesome to sit out there and read.

Some of the best coffee I’ve had around here.

I used to eat at the old Cairdeas — and then I stopped because of time it took to prepare the food. When I needed a coffee or a chai tea, I left in a good mood. But when I went for a meal, I always became irritated. I’m all about fresh food made to order, don’t get me wrong. But when my waits extended past 20 minutes, I began seeking another coffee joint with veggie wraps and wifi. Once I took a friend and we sat outside and chatted for over half an hour and I finally couldn’t stand it — I asked the people behind the counter about the order and it had been forgotten. The sad thing was I assumed they were «still making it» due to my previous experiences.
I never even considered eating at the new one until recently. I figured it had been quite some time and perhaps things had changed. The entire experience was amazing — except the wait for the food. The girl at the counter couldn’t have been friendlier, the menu was great, my chai tea was as good as it gets, I loved the new décor. We went after lunch so there was only one other person sitting in the café side and there didn’t seem to be much activity in the dining area. My friend and I chatted, then I pulled out my laptop to quickly check e-​mail, then I showed my dining companion some pictures, then I put my laptop away. After awhile he asked if he could use my laptop to pay some bills. After the bill paying was complete we asked about our food and the obliging girl said she would check on it. After another wait (although a small wait this time), two veggie wraps arrived.

Well, I went here with hopes of being able to actually review it, and I’m always a little excited about a coffee shop I haven’t been to. I had biked over to a friend’s house after somehow not having coffee yet at maybe 1pm on Sunday, and was really ready for an iced coffee of some sort.
We got there and there was a line, not terrible, not out the door or anything, and it seemed that it was just one family. Something was going on and of the two people working, neither of us said anything about the wait that didn’t seem necessary and just didn’t make sense. While waiting and waiting, I realized that the prices on some things were ridiculous. A normal sized naked juice was almost five bucks. C’mon! So kept waiting and I observed the décor and realized that it was not at all unlike going to a coffee shop in a small tourist town. Cutesy and clueless looking. I am a jerk that just wanted some coffee? Maybe. And I will give it another chance, as I’m sure there will be redeeming qualities.
At some point, my friend and I had a conversation that went something like «Hmm. Kaldi’s is pretty close. How about we just go there?» And we did.

The original location of Cairdeas Coffee will be sorely missed. Back then, I could order a tasty beverage and something to eat on my way to Forest Park.
There was plenty of sitting room, and a well-​stocked table chock-​full of current newspapers and magazines.
They offered doggie biscuits for my pup, and had a really cool water bowl shaped like a coffee cup.
Cairdeas had a quaint little patio where I used to nurse my hangovers on their breakfast bowls, or tap away on my laptop with a bagel. The place was cozy and relaxed and totally Dogtown.
What happened?
They moved one block and they lost their character. A coffee shop should have neat little quirks that make it a coffee shop. There’s got to be a reason for me to spend $ 4 on a latte’. Funny menu item names will suffice. Witty attitudes from college-​kid baristas do too.
The new locale kinda… well, sucks by comparison. I feel like I’ve walked into a Starbucks and that’s no fun at all. They might have streamlined the place in terms of itemized sales, but they certainly lost what can make or break a coffee shop: a community.
Cairdeas simply doesn’t have it anymore, and I can’t justify buying overpriced coffee drinks and pastries without an option to simply wonder at the quirks of most REAL coffee shops.
Cairdeas is also located in/​on/​around a «tapas» bar called La Gra, which always seemed to be closed, or just seriously lacked patrons. Personally, I think combining the two places is like mixing oil and water, or adding extra salt to a pretzel, or driving on the left side of the street. While one can do such things, they always lead to disappointment or danger.
I can’t comment on La Gra, but if it’s the same lacking atmosphere as the «new» Cairdeas Coffe, the only way I’ll be going to this place would be to criticize the logic in 1) Combining a coffee shop and tapas bar in DOGTOWN and 2) Ruining a good thing.

Located in the heart of Dogtown, Cairdeas Coffee has a great location. Recently when I was over at Forest Park and having finished up bouncing around and fiddling around there with friends, we were looking for something else to do and like always, we found that we were a little bit hungry and a little bit thirsty. We decided to check out Dogtown because it was just a stone’s throw away and more specifically «that one coffee shop we saw during St. Patrick’s Day» was there that we were curious about.
When we came into Cairdeas Coffee we found that it is a nice place to go and relax. I find now that on the recent multiple occasions I have been to this coffee shop it is not overly crowded with people and it is rather mellow and friendly; friendly service and friendly people just hanging out around there. Cairdeas isn’t like other coffee shops, trying to be cool and trendy, wanting to be the hip kid in the class who goes by only their rules and no one else’s. Cairdeas Coffee is a great place to go if you are looking to have a nice cup of coffee, relax, and enjoy yourself.

I love the feel of Cairdeas. It’s an adorable little coffee and deli shop in the heart of Dogtown on Tamm Ave. The employees are nice, the food is good, and the coffee is, of course, fantastic– yay Kaldi’s!
Keep your coffee cup cozy and bring it back to get stamped each time. When you get 5 stamps, you get a free drink.
The spiked coffee they make for the St. Pat’s Parade is amazing! Even if you don’t like coffee, you will love it made this way.
They are dog friendly and always have a bowl of water outside the door for your best bud to get a drink.

Great place to sit and read the paper or get work done on their free wireless. Friendly service, good coffee and when they are serving food the soup and wraps are tasty. (I say «if» because they go through periods of time where they don’t serve a full menu).
Fun mix of people, you get to experience the flavor of Dogtown, especially if you sit at the tables on the sidewalk out front. No matter where you sit the staff is happy to have you sit there all day if that is what you desire.
Edit: Recently I visited Cairdeas and was said to say that they added a restaurant and bar that is now attached to the coffee shop. The restaurant which is an Italian tapas place is called La Gra. I have yet to eat there but this is unfortunate because Cairdeas is now left with only 4 indoor tables to sit at. You can no longer sit on the other side which is now designated restaurant space. So now if all 4 tables are taken– well tough cookies!

I don’t drink coffee, but Cairdeas has great food and chai. Just as important is the fabulous, stylish but unassuming vibe prefectly suited for the neighborhood.

a lovely little coffee shop, or chai shop if that’s your preference. their breakfast burrito is the perfect vegetarian day-​starter, and their chai latte specials have never been anything short of delicious. with both indoor and outdoor seating, it’s a wonderful place to enjoy a morning drink while observing the dogtown natives.

I used to live in St. Louis and Cairdeas was hands down my favorite coffee shop in the city. I have yet to find a coffee shop outside of St. Louis that serves coffee as good as theirs. In most cities, it’s hard to find a local coffee shop (i.e., not Starbucks, Coffee Bean or Peet’s), let alone a coffee shop serving coffee that comes close to Cairdeas’.

A great neighborhood coffee house. (The hood in question is Dogtown.) The java is good and draws a wide demographic from college kids to seniors to moms. Not the pretty people scene that Kaldi’s can be sometimes. Very laid back and inviting. Good food too.