Best Cafes & Coffee Shops in Cambridge

Israeli-inspired bakery and cafe. Beautiful pastries, shakshuka, fresh salads, and excellent coffee. Multiple Cambridge locations, Instagram-worthy.

Award-winning bakery with breakfast and lunch. Sticky buns, sandwiches, and pastries. Multiple Cambridge locations.

Joanne Chang's Harvard Square outpost of the Flour Bakery + Cafe empire she started in the South End in 2000. The sticky buns are legendary — Bobby Flay famously couldn't beat them on Throwdown. Sandwiches are substantial, cookies are perfect.

Turkish, Lebanese, and Greek pastries and savory flatbreads from Ana Sortun (Oleana) and pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick. Across from Mount Auburn Cemetery in Huron Village — worth the detour for the morning bun alone.

Serving wholesome and healthy sandwiches, salads, multigrain rice bowls, and noodle dishes. High grade hot and iced teas, espresso and coffee. First in Cambridge to introduce bubble tea in 2002!

Inside Lovestruck Books in Harvard Square. Founded by coffee legend George Howell (Coffee Connection, 1975). World-class beans sourced globally, meticulous roasting.

Independently owned specialty coffee shop in East Cambridge. Famous for Liège waffles and quality coffee. Transforms into a natural wine bar some evenings.

Popular Somerville donut shop expanded to Harvard Square. Artisan donuts with creative flavors like Brown Butter Hazelnut, Maple Bacon, and seasonal specials. Fresh coffee and espresso drinks.

Independent roaster five minutes from Harvard Yard, roasting single-origin beans on-site twice a week. Known for pourover, a small but considered food program, and the kind of quiet space that attracts writers and grad students.

Long, narrow neighborhood coffee shop between Harvard and Porter Squares. Quality espresso, pastries, bagels, and sandwiches. Rotating local art, a loaded community bulletin board, and regulars who treat it like their second living room.

The Central Square satellite of Gerry Wolf's 1369 Coffee House. Same house-made chai, same union-shop ethos as the Inman original, closer to the Red Line. A default Central Square study seat for MIT and Lesley students.

Coffee by day, wine bar by night. The space is beautiful - high ceilings, exposed beams, Central Square industrial chic. Great for a morning coffee or an evening glass of wine. The kind of place where you can spend an entire day.

Cafe at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Porter Square. Croissants, cinnamon rolls, breads and more made by pastry chefs and students. Opened December 2024.

Inman Square coffee institution, named for its street number at 1369 Cambridge St. The quintessential Cambridge 'third place' — living-room feel, strong iced coffee, a steady population of readers and writers.