Royal Coffee Bar

UPDATE: THIS LOCATION HAS CLOSED!
You can visit their new location in the Phoenix Public Market Space.

Royal Coffee Bar is a small, independent coffee shop. It has lots of windows and high ceilings creating a lot of visual space. My iced americano was very good. The barista was super friendly and even though the register was malfunctioning she kept her cool. The major draw back to this place was the lack of power outlets… there being only one for customers. This is a great place to go to just chill in the downtown area.

Royal Coffee Bar is another one of the Phoenix area’s independent coffee shops and it doesn’t disappoint. Located in a very obscure part of Downtown (across from the County Jail… not that I ever spent a night there for Jaywalking or anything… that was in Tempe), Royal Coffee is a great little place to get away from the mainstream scene to enjoy a great espresso.
From the instant I hit the oddly shaped entrance that surely would make Willy Wonka proud, I realized I was going to like Royal Coffee. The barista looked as though she thoroughly enjoyed her job and took pride in the product she served. The parking does suck, but the atmosphere inside and the quality of the coffee made up for it.
This was a great place for Phoenix OpenCoffee to meet, and I hope we return again.
I live in the East Valley, but Royal Coffee gave me another reason to make my way downtown more often.

As soon as I pulled up to Royal Coffee Bar, I knew it was love at first sight. This place is so tiny you could ship the whole thing for some pocket change. I adore outdoor seating. I am a total sucker for a patio, I can sit outside with a cup of coffee and good book for hours.
The staff is great. I love Cameron, if you know her I’m sure you do too. She will make you something off the board if she thinks you’ll like it.
Best of all, I really love the other customers. There’s something about this shop that is a true third place, for lack of a better term. Last time I was there I was asking someone about apartments because I may be looking in a few months, and I got no less than three phone numbers and emails from people who knew people. It was a great downtown community moment, which in combination with the white chocolate almond latte concoction that had just been brewed for me, left me with a nice, warm fuzzy feeling.

The contrarian review… from an espresso purists perspective.
In my desperate search to find espresso near my hotel (which I think is old downtown, but I get confused easily) I put this place on my list.
To their credit, when I ordered a ristretto con panna, the barista thought she knew what I meant. I clarified, which is fine, and she went about making it. However, it wasn’t drinkable. I got it to stay so I could enjoy it if it was decent, so I had to drink some while the barista watched, but I couldn’t get it all down, even with 3 sugars (did that make sense to anyone?). I don’t think it’s even good enough to make a decent latte, either, so I won’t be back.
On the other paw, they were playing some Flyleaf, so the music is good.

let’s just lay it out nice and easy:
— laid back crew
— free wi-​fi (after you purchase something delicious, just ask for the password).
— crepes with strawberries and cream, oh my!
— barista recommendations… they won’t just sit back and let you order something lame.
and i must mention the door. it’s an awesome first impression. the ambiance is fresh with a mix of santogold and feist. definitely worth the drive from the eastside.

Ding! Another great independent coffee house to add to my list of great independent coffee houses across the country!
*Toddy Bonus* *Toddy Bonus* *Toddy Bonus* *Toddy Bonus* *Toddy Bonus*
Toddy is a wonderfully smooth coffee beverage which is not made at many coffee houses (in fact most don’t even know what it is or how to make it) and I will go out of my way to deliver myself at the door of a coffee house that serves toddy.
The space is small (but they have outdoor seating), the service friendly, the product good and the wifi free. ‘Nuff said.

It’s been almost 2 years since my First To Review of RCB. Two years later, I’m still in love with it, but I feel a bit of sadness every time I walk in. How cool is it to have this most awesome little café within a 2 block stroll of my condo? And yet, when I can make it here (which isn’t often because of its largely daytime-​only hours) I’m usually the only person here. I am sure the owners must be straining to have kept it going for this long. They took a risk and I appreciate the hell out of them for that. But can they keep it going for another couple of years while near-​by Cityscape and other residential projects are finished? I hope so.
They now offer some pretty nice, light lunch options, for downtown workers. The outdoor seating area has misters in the summers and will be perfect in the winter. The parking meters are not a big deal: a quarter (or is it two?) an hour only until 5 pm on weekdays (free after 5 and weekends). There’s also a secret hiding place up the stairs with a single, quiet table, where you can look down on all the peons below without their seeing you. I normally wouldn’t disclose that on Unilocal but given the lack of customer flow I’ll make the sacrifice.
Gems like this deserve to make it, so give this place a try. And bring your laptops for the free wifi.
Light Rail stop: Washington/​Central or Jefferson/​1^st Ave, and about a 10-​minute walk

The space is really cool, I love the open loft type look and high ceilings and glass.
On the other hand…
— Parking is all paid parking — parking meter. Teh suck.
— Don’t go here if you like people watching — it’s dead, probably because not many people want to pay as much to park as it will cost to buy a coffee.
On the other hand, the music has been stuff like The Clash and Depeche Mode.
I so want to like this place — I think it’s a victim of geography, though.

I enjoy this place. My friend brought me one of their business cards and we were both oohing and ahhing over the design (we’re nerds.) At my first opportunity, I drove downtown and ordered one of their signature drinks. It was delicious and the staff are very friendly and welcoming. Drink in hand, I sat outside and caught up on some reading. There’s plenty of downtown flavor in this neighborhood, think you’ll enjoy it.

I’m digging this coffee bar. I really like the name, the location and the look. The coffee seemed a bit weaker than what I prefer but besides that, I enjoyed my first experience at Royal Coffee Bar. (** I like really strong coffee, so I really can’t hold this agains them)
I plan to go back.

Good coffee, a great tea selection, and easy access to great cookies from Sweet Pea. The people are extremely friendly and it’s a nice comfortable space to spend time.
The hours seem a bit limited, but I’m never in that area during their off hours, anyway.

This place (and a sampling of others) are what make me hope/​cross fingers/​pray that Phoenix continues to pick up and thrive. This is such a spot. And it so hidden by the ostentatious court buildings and rail road tracks.
Besides the fact that it was fairly dead down there, the coffee was good, the barista man was adorable and friendly, and the bar was aesthetically pleasing.
Move to phoenix and go to cool places!

I have one, gigantic, overarching issue with this joint, this Royal Coffee Bar: Why make a coffeehouse serving really great coffee and awesome cookies and having a DJ set-​up upstairs and free WiFi and a sleek, loft setting with extremely friendly service…
…and then never be open?
7 am — 3 pm M-​F, and 8 am-​12 noon on Saturdays can assure you that I’ll never be there. I remember that when I read about this place first opening on
last year, I immediately got into my car and drove downtown to check this place out. Imagine my disappointment that I end up in this nook of downtown to locked doors and a homeless guy looking at me funny as I stew and curse on the corner. Considering I didn’t have any nearby alternatives, I turned around and went back home.
This scenario plays out time and time again with a lot of downtown establishments. I’m just wondering when is it going to hit critical mass of people living there for these businesses to stay open longer. Next year? 5 years from now? Never?
Anyway, back in spring I finally had a chance to catch this place open during Art Detour (they’re open for special events, First Fridays, a block party they’re hosting on October 6^th, etc.). My friends and I really dug it and it seemed that a brother-​sister team ran the place (although I could be wrong). My cappuccino was excellent and so was my cookie. Great music playing and the folks behind the counter were cool & hip but also extremely friendly. I’m not kidding, this is one great coffeehouse. I could totally see myself spending countless hours here.
If only they were open.
4 stars.

Great service. Amazing location. Good drinks. A DJ booth in a coffee shop? Oh yea…
So this place is pretty much postage stamp sized, but they make up for that with swanky style. They don’t offer many «snacks, but those can be grabbed at the neighboring business Sweet Pea Bakery. They offer indoor and outdoor seating which is so important considering their tiny location.
Yes, it’s close to the jail. Yes, a homeless person might walk by. But this is coffee you can walk to before a game/​event or grab on the way into the office.
Personal note — I wasn’t so into their brownies. They look luscious, but as big as my sweet tooth is, they were too dense and sweet for me. Some folks will love them, just not my thing.