I come here a lot because it's right across the street from IU Jacobs, and it's the only…read moreindependent coffee shop that opens early (they open at 6 am M-F and actually have food out when they open, unlike the nearby Crumble and Inkwell that open at 7/7:30 but don't have baked goods out until about an hour later). The baristas are always friendly. The place is spacious with a good amount of seating, but it can sometimes be hard to find a good seat inside because, as you would expect, students come to study/work and stay for a long time. I love their baked goods - they have interesting and unique offerings and everything tastes wholesome. Besides their Soma-made bakes (muffins, loaves, scones, dessert bars, cookies, and more), the bagels (I think from Gables) and Piccolo Dolci pastries are great, but they have these two muffins that are from a different supplier that I didn't think were of very good quality - I recommend avoiding the chocolate cheesecake muffin and banana nut muffin. I think the veggie/cheese sandwich is decent. It's just deli cheese slices with lettuce, cucumber, pesto, and mayo, but the bread is good and if you want something simple it's surprisingly satisfying. The coffee is pretty good. I am a decaf drinker so I appreciate that they have both decaf coffee and decaf espresso. They have a really good loose leaf tea selection and the teas are legit. Between the variety and quality it's the best tea selection I've found at a coffee shop in Bloomington. The quality of the chai and matcha are less impressive. I feel like there's a slight artificial flavour to the matcha, but to be fair, I've only tried it with flavour added, so maybe it's better unsweetened. When I asked for half sweet, that was better than regular sweetness. Both are still better than Starbucks. But I'd definitely recommend the loose leaf tea lattes over the chai/matcha. As mentioned in my previous review, some things are self-serve. It turns out they do have glasses and mugs available if you ask, but if you don't ask for dine-in, the default is disposable cups. Brewed coffee is self-serve, with your choice of (usually) two regular roasts and one decaf. If you want a toasted bagel, you have to slice and toast it yourself in the toaster on the condiment table. It seems like you sort of have to know what to order here, but as I'm learning what's good, I really appreciate the offerings that are good, the comfortable unpretentious environment, and long hours at Soma.

You will find this coffee shop right across the street from the main IU campus. There is a small…read morelot available in front of the the shop that has spots with a 20 minute max. Since the shop is so close to IU campus, most people walk here. The dining area is large and has couches, tables/chairs and bar seating along the front window. You can imagine that the place is usually filled with IU students working away on their laptops of in small social groups, given the shop's close proximity to the campus. The women that were working during my visit were all so very helpful and friendly. they helped my make my selection. They serve a wide array of hot and iced coffees and also has teas, smoothies and juices as well. The coffees come in 3 sizes, yep you guessed it, small, medium and large. The light food options that they have includes cookies, scones, muffins, parfaits, quiche, zucchini bread, brownies, and cinnamon rolls. I ended up getting a large iced pumpkin spice latte. It took about 7 minutes for me to get my drink. It was very savory and hit the spot. It was gone in a matter of seconds. Anyway, I highly recommend checking this place out. It is a traditional coffee house, with a great staff, savory drinks and delicious treats. I highly recommend checking this place out.

This walk up location is small, but was conveniently located for me to stop by and grab something…read moreto go. I ordered a pumpkin chai off of their seasonal menu - it's served hot and I also added an espresso shot. I LOVED the chai - it had a lovely flavor and the spices really came through and paired beautifully with the pumpkin flavor. Even though a couple people were ahead of me, I didn't have to wait long and was able to get my order in around 5 minutes. I can't wait to try some of their coffees next time!

WOW! This place has an incredible espresso and crafted latte game, ordered the basil mocha and…read morefennel Black pepper lattes. Both made quickly by the lovely barista in a minimalist tiny Hobbit store perched along an annoying expensive street, why is all downtown Bloomington parking paid? What a mess to try attracting tourists who have to shell out for a Monday completely empty of any traffic. At least Hopscotch proves the down payment worth it! There's no ambience here which is a bummer, could see myself sticking a nose into a book for hours eventually ordering another latte but not even a stool to sit. Both drinks were sublime, unique twists on common herbs and spices to enhance the java juices, this is the stuff that gets me excited for the brew!

I grab my Friday morning coffee almost every week at Soma. I love the atmosphere & the music they…read moreplay, it's become a beloved weekly routine for me. It's not my favorite place for espresso drinks, but their Blackbeard drip coffee hits the spot for me. My husband also loves their juices. The back patio is a perfect spot for meeting with a friend during the summer, and they have a prime downtown location as well.

Went here after work for a matcha. It was well-mixed; however, the barista was very light-handed…read morewith the vanilla syrup. Not too inviting... definitely a grab and go spot. Service was decent.

Very slow, snail slow on whipping up a luke warm latte, salted caramel is the featured latte that…read moretasted good, but say it was luke warm is being overly generous on the heat. Definitely the college vibe of the decade, no one talks and has their faces on a Saturday planted in the computer. If not being socially inclined just sit in the dorm/apartment. The sweets were pricey but tasty. You can sit on the porch, inside or get out of there (never liked tolerated but liked a place so much as this spot). The cashier was swamped, asked about her having help, which I was told she was cleaning (4p), but she finally slithered over to help get orders rolling.

The service is impeccable. The baristas are lovely and very helpful! The vibes were definitely…read morecollege town, so as someone who was just visiting the city, I felt nostalgic to my old college years, haha. I don't know if it was a bad batch or what, but my latte wasn't great. I think it was the syrup. It didn't really taste like maple syrup at all. It was kind of metallic-y in a way. I would be interested in trying some of their other house made syrups if I'm in the area!

Wonderful, local coffee shop! Clean restaurant, friendly…read morestaff and a good variety of teas/coffees. They offer food as well, I did not order but will order next time-menu looks great tho! Seating is fantastic-outside tables, inside by the bar area and a decent room to the back with lots of outlets if you need to plug in.

If Yelp allowed zero stars, that would be my rating…read more My wife and I took our two daughters to Inkwell for breakfast around 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday. It was busy. That's fine. It's Sunday morning in downtown Bloomington. Busy happens. What followed was not "busy." It was astonishingly poor service and even worse problem-solving. My wife and daughters ordered, and then we waited. After AN HOUR, my wife went inside to ask what was happening. She was told, "Sorry, the IU basketball team is here. Let me see what happened." Apparently the arrival of the IU basketball team creates some kind of breakfast singularity in which ordinary customers cease to exist. The employee said they would check. They never came back. Another 45 minutes passed. So after ONE HOUR AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTES, my wife and daughter -- both of whom had been loyal Inkwell customers -- were left feeling like they simply did not matter because more important people had walked through the door. That is what makes this experience so disappointing. Restaurants get busy. Orders get lost. Mistakes happen. But when you discover that a family has been waiting an hour, tell them you will investigate, disappear for another 45 minutes, and then offer essentially no apology, urgency, ownership, or attempt to make things right, that is not a kitchen problem. That is a customer-service problem. Eventually they agreed to refund us. So the single star is awarded because Inkwell did, in fact, return our money after failing to provide breakfast and did not lock the doors to prevent our escape. Cherish it.

I'm visiting from out of state and was looking for somewhere to grab a tea since I'm not a coffee…read moredrinker! I originally planned on going to Starbucks, but it was absolutely packed, so I decided to find somewhere local instead and I'm so glad I did! This place is absolutely adorable, and my tea was delicious! Seriously, skip Starbucks and support this cute local spot instead. Such a great little find! If I'm ever back in town, I'll definitely be stopping by again! Customer service was great too! Thank you!

So excited that Bedford finally has a locally owned and operated coffee shop! My husband, son and I…read morevisited and were instantly hooked! They have amazing coffee & delicious danishes. They even have cute little kids cups for the little ones. Highly recommend!

Fun bagel brunch spot with annoyingly expensive parking, inviting simple industrial atmosphere, big…read moremenu and enjoyable staff, my friend and I got the hangover and Godzilla bagels. Both were sized right and filled up with all the right stuff, bagel seemed a bit aged but ingredients worked well together. Can see why it is rated so well!

Bagels were alright at best... customer service was horrible 3/3 times ive been there. Don't…read morerecommend

Good service, cool old space, great donuts…read more The case when you walk in has sample donuts, but it looks like the frost/fill donuts to order. There is a big window so you can see the process. I got a mini donut and got the option to fill with coconut cream or raspberry. I should have said one of both, but I got the coconut cream and it was a great bite. The filling was creamy the outside was crisp. My daughter really enjoyed the Chocolate carnival. The bathroom situation is interesting. The toilet is not straight there are random holes on the wall and a covered tub. But I figure it's part of the charm with the old building.

Their specialty layered donuts are like a croissant/donut hybrid, flaky like a croissant but fluffy…read moreand chewy like a yeasted donut. When I was there early in the morning, they were glazing all donuts to order. This location doesn't have the vegan/gluten-free doughnut (there's a sign on the menu that says "temporarily out", but they haven't carried it for at least a year). I got the cream & crimson donut, a strawberry jelly-filled donut topped with whipped cream and a strawberry syrup drizzle, unique to the Bloomington location. It was substantial! There was lots of jelly inside which made it pretty messy when coupled with the whipped cream on top, but that's not a bad thing. The donut was fresh and tender, and I really liked the unique texture, but I thought it was overly sweet. The jelly was very sweet and there was that syrup drizzle, plus the donut itself was rolled in sugar. I still enjoyed it, but it's like a once a month at most kind of thing for me. I would like to come back, just not too often. I got an iced matcha latte with my donut. This was a pretty decent matcha latte, honestly better than expected for a donut chain. It was unsweetened by default. The donut came in a paper box which was good packaging because it's relatively eco-friendly and protects the structure of the donut if you're taking it to go. I did see they had also had plates but forgot to ask for one. There's actually a pretty large seating area in the back of the shop plus a patio. The two workers there were helpful and friendly.