61C Cafe

One of the better Pittsburgh coffeeshops, with a local, timeless feel. Sure, it’s cash only, but the coffee is reasonably priced — most drinks are under $ 3. Plenty of table space and outlets, free wifi, and late hours (open til 11pm on weekdays, 12am on weekends), which makes it a great place to work — probably the best place to work in Squirrel Hill besides the public library. The patio is nice too (on nice days, at least).
No five stars because the coffee and sweet delights are not mind-​blowing, but everything here is very solid. No complaints!

While on my first visit to 61C I questioned its merit, this little coffee shop has really grown on me for a variety of reasons. First, while it looks meager from the outside, the inside is fairly large, bright, and clean. I have never had to fight for a seat, unlike the delicious but packed Commonplace up the street. There is also a little outdoor seating area, which is lovely in the warm weather.
Yes, they are always out of about half of the fruits for the smoothies, and paying $ 5.62 with tax for a smoothie that may not be exactly what I wanted does not thrill me. But the baristas are really great about helping anyone find a combination that goes well together. Blueberry, apple, banana is always good, and I just tried a yummy blackberry, pear, banana one the other day. I love smoothies and seeing them put all of the fresh fruit into my drink makes me so happy.
I actually like their coffees and hot chocolate too, but I do favor Commonplace up the street for these things. 61C is a better price and larger portion, but they haven’t won me over for those things yet. Additionally, the baked good are yummy, and there are always so many to choose from! They definitely have the market for most options of baked goods with your drink of choice.
Probably the best part about 61C is the hours. They are often open when no one else is, and it is nice that they are open until 10:00 PM. Now if they would just get Square…
Cash only.

Mainly seems like an excellent study store for school children. Not as many lap top factory outlets as there should be it looks. They make great chai and Lattes which is what I mainly get there. The coffee is good. Most of the food available is sweets. Look out for the no charge card price.

A great neighborhood hangout. Open all the time. Great coffee and tea. The atmosphere is the best especially the outdoor patio on nice days. Great location at the corner of Bartlett and Murray. Staff is very friendly.

61C is fine in comparison to most Pittsburgh coffee shops, but nothing that blows it out of the water.
The coffee is fine and the food selection is decent. My biggest problem is with the shop itself. The tables are tiny and outdated, the chairs uncomfortable, and it’s not a good place to get work done. Even though the coffee and food here is much better than Starbucks, I’d rather go there to study because it’s comfortable, clean, and more modern. 61c is dated, and it shows– I remember it was always packed to the brim when I was younger, but have barely seen more than a few tables filled recently.
All in all, a fine stop for a quick coffee or treat, but not the best place to anchor down for a few hours

I’ve come to really like 61C over the last 6 months (with two exceptions below). The coffee is good and they have a decent selection of sweet pastries. The smoothies are very good and reasonably priced — combine your favorite fruits or vegetables from their menu to find your own favorite combination.
There are no savory foods (except for bagels) so don’t come hungry, but then, that’s not really their niche anyway.
Two things let them down — they don’t accept credit cards (I know, right?) and man is it cold in there. If it’s cold outside, you’ll find yourself wearing your coat as you read, work or chat. It was JUST warm enough for me to feel my fingers and type today, but only just.
If Unilocal would let me, I’d give them 3.5 stars, but instead I’ll round up and tell you try it out (with cash and possibly a sweater)

Very conveniently located on Murray avenue close to where my bf lives. We go visit every once in a while when I’m bored at home or want a more complicated breakfast than just plain old milk and cereal. I like their croissants and baked stuff. The ambience is pretty leisurely. People sit and work or bring their dogs along. I really like hanging out there once in a while.

The service was a little slow and it was a long line by the time we got served. However, the cappuccino was delicious. We also had a macaroon which are actually quite huge. Lasted us for several servings. Place is right on Murray and convenient location.

This coffee shop is great. Love the pastries. They are cash only (sorry credit and debit cards). However they have a large selection of non coffee drinks for youngsters.

61C is as authentic squirrel hill as it gets. The bagels and muffins are really good. This place is so much less pretentious than commonplace, (no matter how much better their lattes are). I enjoy coming here and hanging out on the porch when its nice out. The inside is a bit dumpy but that’s Pittsburgh for ya.

Great place! Cash only. Everything is good here, especially the muffins and smoothies. Yum!

Loved this place. So much character and local color. The coffee is amazing and so are the baked goods that are all made in house. I’d highly recommend the baklava!

Stopped in during Squirrel Hill Night Market when the shop was running a special on cappuccinos. For 61 cents I got a caramel cappuccino and it was definitely worth all of those cents. It was a little sweet for my taste, but what I can say about it is that it didn’t at all taste watery, just very sweet. The shop was also very clean and nicely decorated.

Food is delicious, variety of cookies and croissant and muffins
The coffee is good
And the staff is fairly nice
Best thing is the open access wifi
Take cash, cards arent accepted there

This has been one of my top three coffee shops since I’ve moved to Pittsburgh. Hasn’t changed at all since my first visit.
Good selection of coffees, beverages and cookies/​desserts. They have a small outdoor patio, and the customers range from students, to young professionals and older. A varied, but interesting/​cool mix.
Definitely worth stopping by if you’re in the area, and want something locally owned that’s not a chain.

I need to remind myself to go somewhere else next time.
The coffee was fine, the bagel was quite nice, and the baristas are friendly.
But with the acoustics in there, the noise from the coffee grinder and the other people and copious children allowed to play noisy video games, this is no place to have a conversation or to do some work. Not cool!

Meh! This area has tons of unique coffee and tea places, as well as the chain coffee bars and to attract people here, they really need to stand out.
Pros:
–Drinks are inexpensive (example, just 2.75 $ for a small mocha cappuccino)
–Many snacks options available (biscottis, danish pastries, freshly baked cookies)
–Ample seating available
Cons:
–The décor is a little dull, it’s kind of dark inside. When I go to a café, I sort of like an uplifting environment. The outside seating area seems nice when the weather is good.
–My drink was cold! I ordered a hot drink, and it was not really hot. It was kind of warm, but not hot to the level I expected. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I left without asking the barista to redo it. It tasted just alright, and nothing spectacular!
–Cash only.
Overall, the café could definitely improve!

I hate to do this, but based on my experience last night, I feel that I need to write an update and decrease my rating. First, the positives: The baristas last night (both female) were very helpful and upbeat, unlike the baristas I’m used to dealing with here. One of them made me an awesome smoothie consisting of blueberries, pineapple, cherry, and pear (see photo), and it was amazing. My only complaint is that I noticed there was some left over from the blending, and it would have been nice to have offered it to me (though I didn’t notice until too late). I also ordered a mocha cappuccino that was pretty good, and well-​caffeinated, as my friends can attest by my high-​energy talkativeness after drinking it.
Despite these positives, we encountered several issues. First, one of my friends ordered a red velvet biscotti, and tasted a moldy flavor when he bit into it (I confirmed the odd taste). He informed them of the problem, and they did credit him for it, but I’m not sure if they discarded the rest of that type of biscotti. Second, when I went to use the bathroom to wash up, the toilet seat was sporting some pretty gross stains (please pardon the graphic image). Third, when we returned our dishes when we went to leave, I noticed that one of the «clean» water cups had some serious residue from some other drink. I grabbed it and placed it with our dirty dishes, but still, the baristas should eyeball them before placing them in the clean stacks, so that obviously dirty cups don’t end up there.
In general, I still like the 61C and most of what they serve, and my friends and I will probably be back, since it’s convenient for them and a great hang out spot. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt of half of a star due to the friendly service and delicious smoothie, but they really need to take care of the blatant issues I mentioned to avoid scaring people away. 3.5 stars.

So, until I became the hip East Ender that I am I thought it was the «61 cent café» until one day, while strolling along Murray Avenue, I looked and saw the 61C bus dropping folks off right in front of the «61 cent café». It all came together — this local spot was named after the bus route that clogs Squirrel Hill!
Cash only here my friends — but reasonably priced coffee and lattes and fancy little pastries and snacks. And it’s cozy here, small but not on top of the person next to you. Such a breath of fresh air compared to the coffee chains out there.
If it is nice out sit in their sweet little outdoor courtyard and enjoy the wildflowers (beautiful sunflowers sprout every year) and watch the bustle of the heart of Squirrel Hill.

I think this is a great place to come for a drink if you’re in Squirrel Hill. I like that it’s open until 11, which is 1 hour later than some of the other coffee/​tea places on Murray. I liked to come work on my thesis here, and at night there were generally seats available, but not very many outlets. The fruit smoothies they make are great, and the cookies are good here. They have a decent tea collection, and I’ve never tried any of their coffee.
Good for groups or flying solo. There is lots of seating inside, and there is a really cute patio outside for when the weather is nice! It has a nice feeling inside, and the atmosphere is generally very enjoyable.
Cash only! There is an ATM at a bank about a block north on Murray if you need to stop by one on your way in.
My only real main complaint is that a couple of nights before 11:00 closing when I was there it would get REALLY loud. There was sometimes a large group of homeless-​y looking people (I have no idea if that’s an incorrect judgement on my part, and if so, I apologize) that would come in and hang out with the barista and be really loud and chaotic. It was pretty disruptive so I stopped going as often.