Espresso Royale

If you’re looking to relive 1995 and pretend you’re in a Gin Blossoms music video you should definitely come to Espresso Royale.
literally the second you walk into the place, you’ll feel me on that one.
If you’re a germaphobe or are looking either a good cup of coffee or a tasty nibble, keep on walking.
So, the coffee isn’t good and the place isn’t clean and the furniture one hundred percent has probably not been replaced since Sister Sister premiered but this place has two really great things going for it: space and outlets.
This place is big. If you are someone who is super social and has so many friends and is frequently upset by the lack of space that downtown A2 establishments has to house all of them, you should absolutely come here. There are a lot of chairs and tables. If you don’t have any friends and simply need to meet and do group work this also a great place to go. Also, this place is so big that you can get a lot of privacy. Not that I’ve ever seen it happen at this establishment, but if you wanted to you could bring an ornery employee here and have a very heated argument that ends in a firing and nobody would notice.
And outlets. I frequently need to recharge my computer, my phone, my bluetooth headphones, several rechargeable batteries for large electronics but need to be recharged nonetheless and my old ipod. Whenever I go somewhere, having an excess of outlets is very important to me and finding a place that can meet my needs is rare. Despite the fact that Espresso Royale is disgusting and I hate pretty much everything else about it, they always have so many outlets; it keeps me coming back.
If I haven’t sold you on Espresso Royale, I really don’t know what will.

In my opinion one of the most comfortable places to do work in ann arbor. They have a number of larger tables, outlets (not everywhere but a pretty good amount), and comfortable couches if that’s your thing. People are friendly and drinks are good. The only negative keeping from 5 stars is that it seems to be just a little bit pricier than ann arbor standard. Overall great place though.

I come here frequently to study (it’s right on campus). I like their café latte.
They have a downstairs, where you can go there and study. One tip: downstairs is cool during the summer. However, it can get REALLY chilly REALLY fast, to the point where your hands will begin to get so cold you can’t type that well. You will freeze. Upstairs is nice. There are tall round tables, a couple booths next to the windows, and regular tables. But they can get busy and there will be no room upstairs.
They have flock tag here, so get a card.

Why is Starbucks so busy when this place is right down the road. Nice relaxing music, comfy couches, open early, great coffee, and little bags of chocolate covered esspreesoo beans for those rough Monday mornings.

Just wandered into this place for a little pick me up while exploring Ann Arbor. Had a cold brew toddy and it was quite good. Simple, but the coffee was incredibly smooth with no hints of acidity. Really great brew!

The staff there are incredibly friendly every time I go. The stamp cards are awesome– free latte, here I come! Not to mention their daily deals, I go there Wednesday for the $ 2.50 lattes (any size). If you go there around closing time, they’ll often set out day-​old baked goods for free, which are always really tasty, and you definitely don’t see any other coffee shops doing that. I’ve never been disappointed in the coffee, and if you like matcha, their green tea lattes are to die for. Atmosphere is great. Comfy, quiet, and the best music of any coffee shop.

Pros:
— Great amount of seating space
— Electric ports available and placed in corners
— Tea/​coffee is decently priced
— Flock tag integrated for extra deals and regulars
— Useful wireless that doesn’t conk out
— Local Ann Arbor company
Cons:
— Food:
* bakery items are fairly forgettable/​tasteless + unhealthy (troublesome combo)
* does not apply to wraps, which are alright (but not good/​great by any means)
Best fit:
— Good for long study sessions

Bad: Toilet is smelly and wet. Internet is quite slow.
Good: Spacious. Less busy/​crowded usually than the two central campus Espresso Royales.

With all the great, locally owned coffee shops in Ann Arbor it’s hard for me to understand how Espresso Royale is still standing. The space is beautiful. But it kind of ends there. The midday staff is kind of aloof and often neglects to do things like wipe down the tables. Of course this is understandable since most of the workers, unless taking an order or in the middle of a transaction, are on their cell phones. The issue there is that I can go to any number of locally owned, good for Ann Arbor businesses, and sit at a cleaned table and not have to listen to someone yammering on about nonsense. And so that’s what I usually do.

This place is definitely a step-​up from the State Street location. It tends to be quieter, the furniture is in better condition and is situated to naturally section off more areas for study nooks. But again the layout is a bit unwieldy as you have to walk through a narrow corridor area to order your coffee before it opens up into a nice beautiful space. Less undergrads here, more grad students so it’s quieter and less busy.

Oh the memories!
I worked at Espresso Royale when I was like 14 and the most awesome time! It was just so much fun to make all these amazing drinks and chat it up with the Ann Arbor business elite (I’m elite now too foo!).
This is where I learned what a short shot was, what a breve is.
OH YAH!!! This one crazy dude used to come in with his little mug and order an 8 SHOT MOCHA!!! He was just so jittery and all about his espresso.
State street was even crazier.

I like this ERC. It’s not the one I usually frequent, since I tend to be closer to the state location, but it’s quiet and great to read or work in. And tea lattes are great regardless of which one you go to. Wish I could come here more often.

One of my favorite coffee/​espresso places in downtown Ann Arbor. A bit cheaper than Starbucks, but it has way better atmosphere, its quiet, and the space is deceivingly big. What I mean by that is, you walk in, and its just doorway width hallway, but then it opens up into this back room where you can sit, read and relax with your beverage.
Its got that real Ann Arbor feel to it, with a nice décor (oldie building style, hard wood counter, etc;). I just really like this place :)

I still like this place, it’s got a lot of space and people are still very chill, another plus is that you can have a cell phone conversation usually without having to leave the room (and there is a hall way where you can chat fairly in private or if it is busier than normal)

The polar caps I get here are always too icy and bland, but I’ve had better experiences with the mochas and lattes. The interior is not very well lit, and occasionally there’s some random guy who decides ERC would be the perfect place to practice his guitar (sometimes not very well)… so… not an ideal study spot.

In one form or another, I have been coming to this Espresso Royale location for 17 years now.
A group of us meet Saturday mornings. Our kids have grown up coming with their Dads on Saturday morn coffees:). Of course that means I’ve watched more than one barrista come and go too.
In general, this location is a good all-​round meeting location. Family friendly. Also appropriate do business meetings (like I’m about to start).

This Espresso Royale is on a great spot on Main Street, but their interior leaves something to be desired. However, I would choose to go here over Starbucks around the corner any day. I get excellent service from Ian, who is a great barista. I also love how they are using the eco friendly cups now!
I usually order their mango smoothie or a Spanish latte because I love the condensed milk. Though I am not a fan of their atmosphere, I do know I can usually get a table here and use their wireless. I also have a great chance of having room for my son in his stroller as well.

My soy latte was quite good – crisp and clean, sharp but not bitter. I also appreciated the powdered chocolate at the napkin station, but what really grabbed me was the ambiance. I love the dark colors, the spaciousness, and the quiet – you can really immerse yourself in whatever you’re reading without fear of distraction. I also liked the pen-​pal program that ER has established with kids in third-​world countries.
If I lived in AA, I’d spend pretty much every morning lurking in the shadows of ER.

I couldn’t believe how big this place was! I like it because it is spacious, I think that you could still find a seat even during the busy times of the day. Also, It is very set back from Main Street, even though it is still on Main Street.
I went here to meet up with someone. It was the perfect setting… it was quiet and uncrowded. If you want a quiet place to just sit and work or make some phone calls, this is the place to go. I didn’t actually order anything, so I can’t exactly critique the food and bevs.

For some reason I hadn’t gone to this location in years. It’s the same distance from my house as the one on State, but I always forget about this one. I had a meeting here the other day, and after totally going into auto-​pilot and ending up at the location on State Street, I hustled over here.
It really is a great meeting, studying and working spot. It’s much quieter than the State Street location, and people are pretty focused and in their own worlds, which is just fine by me – less distractions! In fact — a friend and I were both *so* into out own work yesterday that it took us about an hour to notice each other! Most of the crowd seems to be grad students, professors, or professionals/​regular folks working on things.
There was a somewhat odd woman staring at me for a long time as I was typing. At first I thought she was eying my computer or bag or something to nab it, but when I looked over at her, she said «I’m just watching you type,» and didn’t seem threatening, just kinda out of it. I think she just wanted a place to get warm. OK. There was also a couple into extreme PDA right next to me when I was trying to meet with someone, but hey — it happens in a college town.
The chai I had was just fine, but most of all, I’d give this place love for providing a quiet, free wifi environment.