Boston · Downtown & Chinatown
Cafés in Downtown & Chinatown
A Kyoto roaster on Milk Street, Vietnamese phin coffee on High Street, a standing-room espresso bar in the Leather District and a café in Post Office Square.
Photo: Guohua Song, Pexels License
Downtown Boston runs from Faneuil Hall and the Financial District through Downtown Crossing to the Leather District and Chinatown, the only surviving historic Chinese enclave in New England.1 Its cafés follow office hours: many open by 07:00 on weekdays and several close on Saturdays and Sundays.
The coffee here comes from further away than anywhere else in the city. Ogawa on Milk Street is the first American shop of a Kyoto roaster, Phin Coffee House on High Street serves Vietnamese drip coffee, and Gracenote in the Leather District roasts in Berlin, Massachusetts.234
Local tip: Before 07:00 on a weekday, head for the Boston News Cafe counters on State Street or Franklin Street; at weekends, Café Bonjour on Temple Place opens daily at 07:00.
At a glance
35Cafés listed
11With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
- Opens earliest: Boston News Cafe, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–16:00 · Sat–Sun Closed).
- Closes latest: Gracenote Coffee, until 22:00 (Mon–Wed 07:00–20:00 · Thu–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat 09:00–22:00 · Sun Closed).
- Most listed streets: State Street (2), High Street (2), Milk Street (2).
- Most common features: specialty (11%), outdoor seating (9%), open by 6am (6%).
Café Bonjour
- Outdoor seating
- Brunch
Gracenote Coffee
Gracenote Coffee Roasters
- Specialty
Koko Coffee
Milk Street Cafe
Ogawa Coffee
- Specialty
Sip Café
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Air-con
- Card payment
Boston News Cafe
180 Cafe
Aristo Cafe
Bean & Leaf Cafe
Beantowne Coffee House
Bonne Chance Cafè
Boston Common Coffee Company
Boston News Café And Catering On Arch Street
Cuppacoffee
Dandelion Coffee & Provisions
Espresso Love
Joey Bats Cafe
Kneeland Cafe
Little City Feed
Mike's City Hall Coffee
Olga's Kafe
Phin Coffee House
- Indoor seating
- Toilets
Recreo Coffee Roasterie
- Specialty
Red Barn Coffee Roasters
- Specialty
Silver Dove Afternoon Tea
Tradesman Coffee Shop and Lounge
Ziggy's Cafe
Cafe Pulse
KoHi
Say Weekend
Sorelle
Tradesman Coffee Shop
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Boston.
Coffee chains in Downtown & Chinatown
Chain
Starbucks
Show 11 locations
- Downtown & Chinatown
- 1 International PlaceMon–Fri 05:00–19:00 · Sat–Sun Closed
- 1 South Station
- 12 Winter Street
- 125 Summer Street
- 296 State St
- 62 Boylston StreetMon–Fri 05:30–20:00 · Sat–Sun 06:00–20:00
- 63-65 Court StreetMon–Fri 05:30–16:30 · Sat–Sun 06:30–16:30
- 75-101 Federal Street
- 821 Washington St
- 84 State Street
Chain
Caffè Nero
Show 4 locations
- 1 Center PlazaMon–Fri 07:00–17:00
- 10 Summer StMon–Fri 07:00–20:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–20:00
- 580 Washington Street
- 700 Atlantic AvenueMon–Fri 05:00–19:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–19:00
Chain
Tatte Bakery & Cafe
- 125 High StreetMon–Fri 06:30–18:00 · Sat–Sun Closed
- 201 Washington StreetMon–Fri 07:00–20:00 · Sat 08:00–18:00 · Sun 08:00–16:00
- 80 Boylston StreetMon–Sat 07:00–20:00 · Sun 08:00–19:00
Chain
Peet's Coffee
- Peet's Coffee & Tea, 129 Tremont St
- 310 Harrison AvenueMon–Sat 07:00–16:00
Chain
George Howell Coffee
- 505 Washington StreetDaily 07:00–18:30
Chain
Jaho Coffee Roaster & Wine Bar
- 665 Washington StreetMon–Fri 06:30–23:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–23:00
Chain
The Well Coffee House
- 212 Washington StreetMon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat 08:00–18:00 · Sun Closed
- 78 Tremont StreetMon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat 08:00–18:00 · Sun Closed
Chain
Bluestone Lane
Chain
For Five Coffee
Chain
Intelligentsia Coffee
- 225 Franklin StreetMon–Fri 07:00–15:00 · Sat–Sun Closed
Chain
La Colombe Coffee Roasters
Ogawa on Milk Street and Phin on High Street
Ogawa Coffee opened at 10 Milk Street, behind the Old South Meeting House, in May 2015. The Kyoto company roasted the beans in Japan and shipped them every two weeks, built retractable stadium seating so the shop could double as a training lab, and put single-origin espresso flights on the regular menu.2 It opens 08:00–16:00 on weekdays and 09:00–16:30 at weekends.
Phin Coffee House, at 10 High Street, opened around 2021 and is run by a woman from Hồ Chí Minh City. Its house special is the cà phê phin, Robusta brewed through the phin, the small metal filter that sits on the cup, served with condensed milk and ice; the espresso and filter coffee use a house blend from Barrington, a roaster in western Massachusetts.3
Gracenote and the Leather District
Gracenote Coffee opened its first coffee bar at 108 Lincoln Street, on the corner of Tufts Street, in October 2015, after roasting in Berlin, Massachusetts, since 2012. The bar is standing room only, with a narrow wooden counter along the front.4 It opens 07:00–16:30 on weekdays, 09:00–16:00 on Saturdays and 09:00–15:00 on Sundays.
Gracenote also runs a counter at 100 High Street, which stays open until 22:00 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Chinatown Gate, a gift from Taiwan in 1982, stands a few blocks away at Beach Street and Surface Road.1
Recreo, Red Barn and the Faneuil Hall end
Recreo Coffee belongs to Hector Morales, whose family farm in Jinotega, Nicaragua, grows all its coffee. Its first café and roastery is in West Roxbury, and in July 2017 it won the city’s tender for a permanent coffee counter in Boston City Hall.5 Recreo’s downtown café is on City Hall Avenue, and Red Barn Coffee Roasters is at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
The Exchange Coffee House stood nearby on Congress Square: seven stories with a five-story atrium and more than 200 rooms, financed through fraud by Andrew Dexter Jr. and destroyed by fire in November 1818.6
Early coffee in the Financial District
Post Office Square holds a 1.7-acre park, completed in 1992 over a garage that reaches 80 feet below ground, with a café, fountains and a pergola around a central lawn.7 Sip Café there opens at 06:30 on weekdays and has outdoor tables and Wi-Fi.
The two Boston News Cafe counters, on State Street and Franklin Street, open at 06:00 from Monday to Friday and close at weekends. Café Bonjour on Temple Place, near Downtown Crossing, opens daily 07:00–15:00, and Koko Coffee on State Street stays open until 19:00 every day.
Sources
- Chinatown, Boston, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Espresso Flights and Stadium Seating at Ogawa Coffee's First U.S. Shop (Nick Brown, June 16, 2015), Daily Coffee News, accessed October 2026
- Phin Coffee House (Brian Williams, May 3, 2022), Brian's Coffee Spot, accessed October 2026
- Gracenote, Boston (Brian Williams, August 6, 2016, updated 2022), Brian's Coffee Spot, accessed October 2026
- El Recreo's Second Retail Outpost is Boston City Hall's Permanent Coffee Spot (Howard Bryman, August 1, 2017), Daily Coffee News, accessed October 2026
- Exchange Coffee House, Boston, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Post Office Square, Boston, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring
More of Boston
North End
14 cafés
Back Bay
16 cafés
South End
15 cafés
Kendall Square & East Cambridge
19 cafés
Central & Inman Squares, Cambridge
17 cafés
Harvard & Porter Squares, Cambridge
16 cafés
Somerville: Union & Davis Squares
32 cafésIn Downtown & Chinatown, also browse: Wi-Fi Outdoor seating Open late Early morning
FAQ
Downtown & Chinatown cafés: questions
Where can you get Vietnamese coffee in downtown Boston?
Phin Coffee House at 10 High Street serves cà phê phin: Vietnamese Robusta brewed through a cup-top metal phin filter and served with condensed milk over ice. It opened around 2021 and also makes espresso and filter coffee with a house blend from Barrington, a western Massachusetts roaster.
What is Ogawa Coffee in downtown Boston?
Ogawa Coffee at 10 Milk Street is the first American shop of a Kyoto roaster. It opened in May 2015 behind the Old South Meeting House, with retractable stadium seating so the room could double as a barista training lab, and single-origin espresso flights on the regular menu.
Which downtown Boston cafés open earliest?
The Boston News Cafe counters on State Street and Franklin Street open at 06:00 from Monday to Friday and close at weekends. Sip Café in the Post Office Square park opens at 06:30 on weekdays, and Café Bonjour on Temple Place opens daily at 07:00.
For café owners
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