Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Coffee: La Colombe's Hometown and What Grew Around It
La Colombe started here. What grew up around it is the point.
5 min read · May 2026 · Curated by the Crema team
Philadelphia's coffee story starts with La Colombe, which opened on Frankford Avenue in Fishtown in the 1990s and spent the next three decades becoming one of the most influential specialty roasters in the country. The draft latte they invented is now in airports. The original Fishtown location still exists and still matters. What grew up around it matters more. Rival Bros roasts in West Philadelphia and takes sourcing seriously. ReAnimator built a following in Kensington on beans alone. Uncle Bobbie's in Germantown is a bookshop and coffee bar that does both things correctly. Philadelphia is a city that rewards walking. Start in Fishtown, head south through Northern Liberties, end up in Rittenhouse Square. Stop at everything that looks interesting.
A few of Philadelphia’s finest, as seen on Crema
Neighborhoods to Know
Fishtown / Northern Liberties
Where La Colombe started and where the city's specialty coffee culture is still most concentrated. Frankford Avenue from Girard north has more good coffee per block than anywhere else in Philadelphia. Walk it.
Rittenhouse Square / Center City
La Colombe's flagship, Rival Bros on Sansom, multiple serious options within a few walkable blocks. More polished than Fishtown, better for a working morning or a long sit.
South Philly (Passyunk / Point Breeze)
Rival Bros' Tasker Street location, Gleaner's Cafe, and a growing cluster of neighborhood shops that the rest of the city is still discovering. Go before it gets too crowded.
Germantown / Mt. Airy
Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books is the destination. The neighborhood rewards a full morning if you're willing to take the 23 bus north. Completely different city from Rittenhouse.
Shops Worth Your Morning
La Colombe Coffee
1335 Frankford Ave · Fishtown
The original. La Colombe invented the draft latte (cold-pressed espresso on nitro) and changed what canned coffee could be. The Fishtown location is where it started and still feels like the right place to understand why. The espresso program is impeccable. The space is beautiful. Go here before you go anywhere else in Philadelphia.
Rival Bros Coffee
2400 Lombard St · South Philly
Philadelphia's most serious specialty roaster after La Colombe, and the one with the most intentional sourcing program. The Lombard Street location in South Philly is the original and still the best. The single-origins rotate with the seasons. The espresso is well-dialed. The room on a quiet weekday morning is exactly what you want.
Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books
5445 Germantown Ave · Germantown
Part independent bookshop, part serious coffee bar, entirely Germantown. Named after a beloved uncle and community figure, it operates on the principle that coffee and books belong in the same room. 4.7 stars from 1,400 reviews on a stretch of Germantown Ave that most visitors never reach. The reward for making the trip is one of the best rooms in the city.
Middle Child
248 S 11th St · Washington Square West
Best described as a sandwich shop that takes its coffee as seriously as its sandwiches, which is very seriously. The espresso program is legitimate and the breakfast sandwiches are the reason people wait in line. 4.7 stars from over 1,100 reviews. Order the hoagie and the cortado and sit down.
Traveler’s Tips
- 01Philadelphia is walkable in a way that surprises visitors. Fishtown to Rittenhouse Square is about 3 miles. If the weather is good, walk it and stop at everything that looks good.
- 02La Colombe has several Philadelphia locations. The Fishtown original on Frankford Ave has the most character. The Center City flagship on South Penn Square is more convenient if you're staying downtown.
- 03Rival Bros has multiple locations. The Lombard Street South Philly location is the original and the best. The Sansom Street location is closer to most hotels.
- 04Reading Terminal Market is worth a morning detour for the Dutch baker stalls and the espresso at the Flying Monkey. It's not a specialty coffee destination but it's a Philadelphia experience that happens to have good coffee.
High-rated, low-profile spots that don’t show up when tourists Google “best coffee near me.” You’re welcome.
Cafe Couleur
323 Arch St · Old City
Five stars from 231 reviews in Old City, a neighborhood that mostly exists for tourists and history. Cafe Couleur exists for neither. It's a serious neighborhood coffee shop that happens to be on a block full of people who came for the Liberty Bell. The regulars found it first.
Gleaner's Cafe
917 S 9th St · South Philly / Italian Market
4.9 stars from 308 reviews in the Italian Market neighborhood, which is where South Philly locals actually shop and eat. Gleaner's built its following on the neighborhood, not on press. The kind of coffee shop that the Italian Market deserves: unpretentious, excellent, completely local.
Coffee Cream & Dreams
1436 Fairmount Ave · Fairmount
4.9 stars from 309 reviews in Fairmount, the museum district neighborhood that most visitors walk through on the way to the Art Museum steps. The regulars here are joggers, museum staff, and people who live on the block. They've kept this shop honest and highly rated for a reason.
Philadelphia's coffee scene is more serious than most visitors expect, and it keeps getting better. Use Crema to find every shop in the city.
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