The Espresso Bar

One word: love.
This fine establishment has great-​sized tables for solo or shared study, a bright, friendly and diverse environment that embodies Ann Arbor, and the best latté in town.
I come here every Friday (at least!) and love that the baristas know my name and order. As an Ann Arbor native that is familiar with the wide range of local coffee shops that the town has to offer, and as a student that has a difficult time working in coffee shops with bad ambiance, I was worried when E-​bar first opened because of the harsh surfaces that were sure to make it too loud.
The ebar proved me wrong: somehow this is the only coffee shop in A2 who’s noise blends so well so that I can concentrate without headphones and feel comfortable staying for hours without getting antsy (though out of respect for the place, I buy a drink every hour and otherwise tip well).
My only complaint is that the food items aren’t great. Crust just isn’t that great of a bakery, and though they have Tea Haus macaroons (yum!), the options could definitely be expanded to more tasty local treats besides Detroit bonbonbons.

Bright space, great for working remotely
My team at work often works remotely from the office and our usual go-​to place to do so is here at the Espresso Bar. Located above Literati bookstore in downtown Ann Arbor, this coffee shop is relatively new (I think?) but wonderful.
The space is not too big, but there are several tables set up, all of which can be pushed together for bigger groups. The space is bright, windows letting light in and the staff is incredibly friendly.
They also have free WiFi which is great for working remotely. They just ask that you purchase something once an hour if you intend on staying for a while you work so you aren’t a «squatter of Wifi» I’m sure.
The one thing I will say is that this place can get quite loud, so if you’re a student and plan on coming here to study, bring your headphones or find another place. The space gets quite loud with the acoustics in there, and that can be distracting if you’re trying to focus. But aside from that, it’s totally fine.
My favorite item here is their chai! They make the chai syrup in house and it’s delicious! Prices are reasonable as well.

I decided to get some coffee to bum some time a few weeks ago, and I ended up at The Espresso Bar. It’s a part of the bookstore Literati, which is nice because you can just sit around and read a book if you’d like. The baristas were very nice, and when I took the first sip of my mocha, I whispered «yesssss» to myself, it was that good.

Great café on top of a bookstore (Literati).
So many things to love: great coffee and espresso-​based drinks, exposed bricks and big windows on two sides, a super friendly owner, elevated on the 2^nd floor (somehow not being at street level looking at passersby makes it so much more quant…).
They also collaborate with said bookstore, having children’s book shelves upstairs and hosting book club meetings, readings, signing, etc. I have not been to any of those events, but am definitely interested.
If you plan to work here, don’t arrive too late! It’s a popular spot for leisure coffee drinkers as well as the working crowd, so don’t be surprised if you do not find a seat.

«Minimalist,» you could call this place: Nearly bare walls, a worn wood floor, tiny counter near the entry (which can get a bit congested at times), simple tables and chairs. Which is just enough. Definitely a space amenable to working, but also a good nook to dig into the book you just picked up downstairs at Literati.
Drink prices are somewhat high – $ 2.75 for a small coffee, though refills are cheaper.
Though «hidden gem» is a bit of a Unilocal cliché, I can’t think of anywhere in Ann Arbor it fits better.

Liked this place a lot. Great place to get some work done, the ambience makes for a great place to do writing. If you want a table you want to get here as early as possible, we had to wait and then move a few tables before we got a table big enough for two to share.
They do sometimes close early for authors and events, so definitely make sure you check the times before you commit to a long study day here. Drinks here are good, but the options aren’t super extensive.

Espresso Bar is such a lovely place to bring your laptop and get some work done over a delicious latte. Their service is quick and friendly – they have you pay just once at the end if you’re staying a while. It isn’t a large space, so it can fill up quickly, but there are enough small tables that you can find somewhere to sit solo without worrying that you’re the jerk hogging a 6-​seater. Also, they have a nice selection of baked goods to accompany your beverage (something I took advantage of several times during bar study).
Not in the mood to work on your laptop? Sip your drink while reading a good book or people-​watching from their many windows. It also seems like a nice place to catch up with friends, as it isn’t too noisy to hear one another.

The cappuccinos are amazing. This place is the best café in a coffee town. On top of great beverages, it is also a great environment.

Wonderful. The Sumatran espresso was amazing and possibly the best coffee I’ve had. The location above the book store is also the most hipster thing I’ve seen to date.
Highly recommend.

Not handicap accessible. I can’t go there with my wife. Otherwise, excellent, terrific staff, and excellent coffees.

Extraordinary espresso! This is a true European-​style café conveniently occupying the top floor of Literati. Coffee and books, what a winning combination. Especially when true artistry is on display and quality beans are pulled at the proper temperature.
I had the pleasure of coming here twice on my short visit. The first occasion made me a believer with the outstanding Cortado. Today sealed the deal with an equally outstanding macchiato. Simple and elegant, the baristas are adept at artful designs in the foam.
Ironically, sixteen years ago I thought only Sweetwaters could do that. Today though, they have expanded too much and can only deliver drinks with Italian names, the artistry is either lost or highly inconsistent. In an age where discerning consumers are drawn to quality products, major chains and growing local empires need to step up more than offering a comfortable place to study.
Five stars for taste, execution and friendliness.

Espresso Bar is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in the city. True to their name, they have consistently great tasting espresso — the best I have yet to tried so far in the area. Service is friendly and quick and all of the employees seem knowledgeable. I enjoy the tab style system, where you pay as you leave and drinks are served automatically with water.
The space is very open and decorated in a clean, minimal fashion. There are plenty of tables for doing work or hanging out. Outlets aren’t as plentiful as some other places, but there are certainly enough to go around. Definitely worth checking out!

A pleasant place for a cup of good coffee, this is my partner’s favorite place to study. The ambience is generally quiet, with lots of small tables for people to camp out with books and/​or laptops. Also a nice place to meet for conversation.
This business is on a second floor and is not wheelchair accessible, and isn’t easily accessible if you have trouble with stairs. They have a gender neutral restroom.

Places like this really make me miss going to college. More importantly, places like this remind why I need to stop spending a billion dollars a year in Starbucks, and start making a concerted effort to support more local mom and pop coffee shops.
The Espresso Bar is one such place, located on the second floor of an independently owned bookstore here in downtown Ann Arbor. Visiting from out of town, Unilocal spit out a number of local, non-​chain options for me to go and scratch my caffeine itch. That’s the great thing about most college towns. You can still find a handful of good olé’ fashioned establishments, helmed by hard working people who still believe they can save America from becoming a complete and utterly homogenized country.
Well, today I’m really doing my part to support the little guys. Today I saved my company about $ 1,200 flying to Detroit on Frontier Airlines instead of the monstrously evil United Airlines. I flew from tiny little Trenton-​Mercer airport instead of that nightmarish hellhole known as Newark Liberty. I Über’ed from Detroit to Ann Arbor. And this week I’ll be lodging at the Dahlmann Campus Inn instead of a Hilton. To be fair, there are plenty of corporate entities along this chain getting rich at the cost of other little guys, but it still feels good to buck the trend and support brands that are continually being stomped on by the big corporate chains.
And so here I sit enjoying an iced latte at the Espresso Bar — a beautiful, bright and sunny corner nook, tons of seating, with tall windows looking out on the street, clean hardwood floors, and accompanied by shelves of popular books that sit on walls of exposed brick. The Ramones are playing in the background. The room is bursting with people of all diversities. Those who are not sitting in front of an Apple MacBook are playing chess, chatting with friends, or just quietly reading. A special section of children’s books is carved out on the side for parents or guardians who have children in tow. It’s just a wonderfully cheerful scene that makes spending a Sunday away from my family a little more tolerable.
Hopefully the students who frequent places like this will remember how nice these kinds of experiences can be, and continue to throw their support behind the little guys for years to come.

YES.
The whole experience here was just awesome! Going through Literati book store and going upstairs to this lovely coffee shop, you could easily spend a few hours here. It was pretty full around 4 o’clock when I went, but we managed to snag a table.
The space itself is really lovely with a lot of space, simplicity, and big windows. The barista was very friendly. You can choose to open a tab or pay upfront. When we were seated we got water with our lattes brought to us which was a nice touch :)
My vanilla latte was BOMB. The only bummer was that it was small, I completely inhaled the thing.
I will definitely visit again and can’t wait to drag all of my coffee and non coffee loving friends here!

The Espresso Bar tries to drift away from the classic coffee shop concept by letting you keep a tab open and bringing your orders to your table. They are also annexed to a book store. These are fun concepts for sure, but only the icing of why they get my 5 stars for.
Their wooden floors and large windows see to a very clean and relaxed atmosphere. Lots of light, and very cool views of E. Washington St. Also, seating is very spacious, ideal for work or conversing.
Their drinks are what you can expect from a good coffee shop. They have a really good iced cappuccino and pastries from a local Michigan bakery.

I’ve been attending The Espresso Bar for a while and, after much thought, felt that they fully deserved 5 stars — especially relative to the other coffee shops of AA.
Although the atmosphere is a bit hipster, everything is minimalist and clean. The bar is spacious, yet with seating aplenty; aside from the hours between lunch and dinner, it’s relatively quiet usually with light Indie playing in the background; because of their collaboration with Literati, the bookstore displays new books daily on the shelves; for me, the best part is how they have many windows for natural light to seep in and also provides a nice view from the second story.
I usually order an Americano and I can say that, befitting of their name, their espresso is definitely top two of AA. Even better is that they provide a small glass of water to accompany all of their beverages.
For me at least, it’s not the norm for baristas to bring your drinks to you like at a restaurant, but The Espresso Bar does so and it’s rather nice — gives me all the more reason to tip them well. When you order you can simply give your name and close your tab when you leave.
Overall, everything is not only done well, it’s done tastefully and with finesse. I always enjoy my time here and only regret that I didn’t come here sooner.

Spent several hours working here today and loved it! Had a nice seat by the window overlooking 4^th Ave – add my headphones, a laptop and a delicious and powerful latte and I had one fantastic and productive afternoon.
There’s plenty of seating and you can set up a tab so if you’ll be staying for a while you can take advantage of that and pay just once at the end. Staff is really friendly and helpful, the coffee is solid. Also they’re open until 9pm during the week and 10pm on weekends is nice for late night meetings and study/​work sessions. There isn’t much by way of food but what they have is top notch – delicious Crust pastries like croissants and cake. Yum yum! Not a ton of non-​coffee options but again, delightfully curated stuff like Gurnesey lemonade, hops and hibiscus soda from Proper Soda Co in Grand Rapids (first place I’ve seen it outside of GR), hot chocolate and such as well. Oh and affogato! Delicious affogato for your summertime desserty type pleasure.
Stroll downstairs and you get to take in all the awesomeness that is Literati bookstore too. Every time I go in I’m taken back to the awesome 90s with coffee + books and I couldn’t be happier!

I really like the atmosphere here and the view is very nice. Definitely filled with intellectuals and they host a lot of events, including book clubs and story book readings.
I ordered a peppermint orange tea which I liked a lot. I appreciate that they also bring a glass of water with your order.
I wish that they provided tea pots so that we can refill hot water as needed. I really like other coffee/​tea shops that have this feature.

I heard rave reviews about The Espresso Bar when it was located in Kerrytown’s Courtyard so when it moved upstairs of my favorite bookshop I knew I had to try it! My first visit I bought a book at Literati and made my way up. I placed my order and was told to be seated, they would bring it out (you settle your tab once you leave!) Within a few minutes my Cortado arrived and I was blown away. The espresso was delicious and the milk was steamed to perfection!
The layout of the place is also really cool. Aside from being above a bookstore there are a good number of tables and chairs. There are also multiple windows that look out to downtown Ann Arbor. I’ve been a few times and the staff has always been very friendly and helpful. The Espresso Bar has quickly become my favorite coffee shop in Ann Arbor and I would definitely recommend grabbing a book, a seat by the window, and enjoying some of their delicious drinks!

I first fell in love with The Espresso Bar when they were located in Kerrytown. It’s even better now that it’s located above Literati. The atmosphere is great for studying/​doing work (if you can get a seat by the window). It can get kind of crowded in there. This is the only other place I will order a flat white (besides Astro Coffee) and be perfectly content. You set up a tab when order and pay when you leave.

This place is pretty sweet! Coffee and lattes here taste almost buttery, yes, and I love that they bring the coffee to your table with a glass of water. Also, bonus points for the fact that you can keep the tab open until you’re out of there.
It’s located above the Literati bookstore so the atmosphere has an erudite/​indiellectual vibe. A smell of wood floors, paper, and coffee greets you as you walk up the stairs (which reminds me: don’t know if it is wheelchair accessible). It’s got great light for studying, but good luck finding a table because you can’t knock a Herschel bag without bumping into a graduate student editing their dissertation. Not the best for a grab and go coffee if you’re in a hurry, as they do run a little on the slow side as others have mentioned (similar to Comet down the road). And they’re kind of limited in terms of food offerings with only a cake or two on display. But all in all, I’d say this place is definitely worth a try since, as Dale Cooper would say, they serve a damn fine cup of coffee!