The High Ground Cafe

I’m a big fan of High Ground. I come here a lot. It’s a lovely place that tends be full of grad students (less undergrads). The food is always fresh and tasty. My favorite thing to get is the Avocado Slam. They let you stay for hours. One of my fav places in IC.

Great atmosphere. Good seating. However, the food was below average. Ordered a hazelnut latte, orange espresso brew, and a white chocolate raspberry scone. Hazelnut latte was delectably presentable and tasted as it should-​rich. The orange espresso drink is very unusual tasting-​more of an acquired taste. The scone was noticeably hard and it was difficult to piece it if you know what I mean. Most importantly, Internet speed was slower than a snail in a 40 yard dash.

I’ve been meaning to try more coffee spots around town, and first up was The High Ground Café.
First off, they have a fantastic music selection! Otis Redding, Nina Simone, Etta James, etc. – always the perfect coffeehouse jams, in my opinion. They have lots of space, with plenty of tables for work, and a cute couch area near the fireplace. (I admit, based on the reviews, I thought the fireplace might be bigger, so I was a little underwhelmed, but it’s still cozy.) I’m sure in negative temps, that is a primo spot.
I finally tried a pour-​over coffee, and it was fresh but a bit strong for me. I’m not sure what I’ll get next time, but I typically like a medium roast and they have plenty of options for me to come back and try again. The menu is quite extensive with bakery and lunch items. I had a delicious cinnamon roll, pictured below in all its glory.
I appreciated that no one rolled their eyes when I asked what a «pour-​over» was, but I did feel like I needed to have my order ready, so I understand what some of the other reviews have mentioned about that. It was an odd mix – they were friendly, but I still felt rushed, if that makes sense. (And it was pretty dead inside, with no line behind me.)
Since I live in Coralville and always drive into Iowa City, I’m big on ease of parking. There were decent spots out front, and within walking distance, so if I’m in the neighborhood again, I’d definitely stop in.

They have a nice tea selection from Numi Tea and serve well-​crafted coffee beverages from Kickapoo Coffee roasters. Coffee-​wise their Americano is my go-​to, while the chocolate pu-​erh is my tea of choice.
Oh and the food? Those scones. I’m not usually a fan of scones but these are worth it. They’re not dry like your average scone and go so well with an Americano or chocolate pu-​erh tea! They also have Yotopia frozen yogurt which goes awesomely well with the streetside patio. When I’m looking for a coffee shop where I can get some work done, I like to pop in for my morning coffee/​tea and hang around until they open their lunch menu at 11am. At which point, the Avocado Slam is the way to go. Wowzers, so fresh and healthy and… finally! Avocado toast in Iowa City. Hello, west coast deliciousness!
All of this goodness, yet the customer service is generally sub-​par, sometimes even rude (know what you want to order before walking in or they get huffy). This is one of the coffee shops I visit on a regular basis but one extraordinarily poor experience has made it hard to call this my favorite café workspace. Two months ago I ordered a hot tea to-​go and the lid wasn’t snapped on all the way, so when I picked it up the lid popped off and half the container of tea spilled on my arm and clothes — it was hot enough that the skin on my wrist blistered within the hour and I had a raised red welt the following month. All of this wouldn’t have been a horrible deal (seriously, accidents happen), but the grumpy staff member who had served me witnessed the entire thing and didn’t apologize or do anything to help.

A really nice place for studying and hanging out with friends. Was there for the first time yesterday and ordered the white rose tea. It was very good. All natural! The only complaint I have so far is that the lighting by the window can be quite dim, more so for yesterday since it was raining. Hopefully they can improve the lighting by the window.

This review is for the food, not the coffee.
It’s fine. The portions are small and it’s overpriced. The sandwiches are very simple and feel like something you can make at home very easily. Overall it is a comfortable café with nice seating.

I must say that I am Very very very disappointed in this place, the food wasn’t the best, my sausages were hard because they were burnt and not to mention the service was terrible. I expected great things from this place

Love the strawberry banana smoothies. Soups great too. Tried the turkey bacon sandwich and found it most satisfying and filling. Place had been discovered so it’s busy now. I’m a regular!

Pros:
1. Large open space for working with many tables.
2. Good variety of food options. They have a few bakery items, serve sandwiches, and froyo.
3. Tons of drinks, hard and otherwise.
4. Free WiFi.
Cons:
1. Staff seems to always be cranky and I feel I am bothering them by ordering.
2. Coffee is good but not great. Prefer other places such as java house or bread market.
3. Wish they had a bigger selection of bakery items to fit the café feel.
As a side note, they do have live bands on occasion. Would like to try that sometime.

I love this place. It has a funky, relaxed vibe. The coffee is great, the food delicious, and a nice place to meet friends.

Very disappointing in this coffee shop. Staff wasn’t friendly or helpful. We ordered our latte to drink there in a coffee mug not a paper cup, they told us they were out of mugs and clearly I see many mugs sitting around and plus they weren’t busy at all. Latte was ok and the banana bread was ok nothing outstanding.

I love the atmosphere of High Ground. Plenty of space, a fireplace and couches near the counter, and lots of natural light coming through its tall windows. It’s pretty crowded with students around finals time, but otherwise, I’ve had no issue finding a seat. The hours are really flexible also, so you can stop in any time, even on weekends. It’s a cool spot just a couple of blocks from downtown in the Northside Marketplace — I like to give the Northside some love, plus have a good cup of coffee while I’m at it.

Coffee and food is excellent. I had a latte and spicy turkey bacon panini and wow! Delicious! Wish we had this in Gainesville!

I think HG has the best coffee in Iowa City. The service is wonderful. Lunch is good, service sometimes slower then, but overall this is a great place to get coffee — friendlier, tastier than JH.

My favorite coffee shop in town, I love their cinnamon rolls, banana breads and scones, sometimes I ask them to heat them for me, because I like pastries warm, I love the London fog, cappuccino and their tea served with pots, sometimes they will do latte art! Which I think it’s cool, depends who serves you (guys make better drinks than girls, except one petite curly short hair girl she is the best!) very big space, I don’t like setting by fireplace because there are no electricity outlet in that area, some Friday’s they have some events like movies or poetry etc, it’s a little bit pricy but they serve very good drinks and food.

The coffee and drink are fine, and the lunch menu is a good addition to the area. My biggest complaint (beyond the generally slow service) is the music is surprisingly loud for being a coffee shop. I am baffled that people find this a good place to read or study. Maybe the music isn’t always this loud, but it will probably be the last time I try to read there.

High ground is easily my favorite place to grab lunch and study a little or meet up with someone for lunch. The atmosphere is laid back and relaxing, and not crazy like most coffee shops. The coffee is great, some of the best I’ve had and at a fairly low price. The panini sandwhiches are also fantastic. I would recommend this place to anyone!

Great pour-​over coffees, Kickapoo brand. The espresso drinks are good, great panini sandwiches, awesome atmosphere. They have a nice patio, the lighting during the day is the best in Iowa City, and they serve beer/​wine in the evenings. Staff is very friendly!

It’s really good. I definitely will go there again. Great food and drink. Good atmosphere. Good palace for friends getting together.

Great atmosphere, good drinks, not ridiculously busy like Java House. Nice that they serve food and alcoholic beverages as well

I only stopped in to get a mocha, so not much experience with them yet. The mocha was overpriced and the place didn’t feel very friendly.
On a positive note, they seem to have opened up the back seating area, allowing more butts in the seats.

One of the best macchiatos served anywhere, and I’ve been around: Berkeley and SF in the 70s, Starbucks in Seattle in the 80’s before it was franchised, dozens of draws in Italy…
Everything done with care here, panini included. Lots of natural light and great vibe for quiet conversation or surfing.

When I recently moved to Iowa City from Chapel Hill, one of my first goals was to find an interesting coffee shop that *gets* the coffee experience. Not just a place that pumps out burnt drippings like Caribou or Starbucks. A place that brews coffee to order using artisanal techniques like pour over, sources ethically responsible beans, and sets up a place to savor the coffee with the appropriate ambiance (music, intelligent conversation, and spots to reflect).
High Ground is that place. Don’t get me wrong, Java House is nice too… but it gets a bit crowded and tight. Here, there are available tables, outlets, room to spread out (and I personally haven’t had issues with flies). And good music and conversation to boot. Plus the coffee is from an environmentally responsible roaster (Kickapoo) and both the espresso and pour over are spot on. Only recommendation would be to add French press to the brewing styles, which I’ve seen at Bread Garden but nowhere else. If you’re a coffee nerd, this is the place to go.