Old School Coffee
Old School Coffee — photo 2
Old School Coffee — photo 3
Old School Coffee — photo 4
Old School Coffee — photo 5

Old School Coffee

380 South Mill St, Lexington, KY

★★★★★4.9(527 Google reviews)

Crema's Take

Nestled in a converted historic schoolhouse, this beloved Lexington spot fills its quirky, homey space with vintage classroom touches like chalkboards and old bells while delivering genuinely excellent espresso-focused drinks and pastries that keep locals coming back multiple times in a single day. What really sets it apart is the palpable warmth of the owners and staff, who create an atmosphere of genuine kindness that makes this place feel less like a transaction and more like visiting friends who happen to make exceptional coffee.

What to expect

PastriesParkingSlow sitEspresso focusedTraditional drinksQuick grabMeetingsLaptop friendly

Google Reviews

Kasey Dickens
★★★★★2 months ago

The staff and owners are fantastic. They treat everyone with a level of kindness that’s often missing at other coffee shops in the city. They even go out of their way to make sure guests like their drinks after they’re made, offering to remake them if it’s not exactly what was wanted. (I highly recommend getting an iced Matcha with the raspberry syrup in it. It’s delicious.)

Katelyn Joy Moore
★★★★★5 months ago

This is such a solid coffee shop in Lexington! The theme is amazing. The original location is an old school so a lot of the decorations feel like an old schoolhouse, such as bells, chalkboards, etc. A lot of the drinks and food are named after school things, like “The Counselor” or “The Teacher”. The coffee is pretty good and there are great tea options as well, along with pastries. I really like the flavor options and their seasonal options. I will say that it’s probably not my favorite coffee out there, but the theme and flavors make it really stand out and it’s such a nice cozy spot to visit. I love the service. The employees are very great, quick, helpful, and friendly. I’ve never had any bad experiences here! It is a very popular place so it can get pretty packed sometimes and the line can be a bit long, but they do their best to manage it!! Atmosphere-wise, as you can tell, I love this place! Again, as I said, it can get pretty packed, so it is hard to come by an open table to sit at. I would be prepared that you might not actually have a place to sit and get work done and you might actually have to just take your coffee to go somewhere else. Hopefully, if you plan in advance to get there at an off-time or really early, you can get a spot! Obviously, due to the historical location, they can’t really expand, but maybe a few more tables added in the lobby area could be helpful!

Christine E.
★★★★★6 months ago

As someone who loves coffee and trying out new cafes, I have been to many coffee shops. Old School Coffee is the best coffee shop in Lexington! The inside of the building was house-like and super cool! The cozy atmosphere offers such a cozy vibe for a cafe; it’s somewhere I would study or catch up with friends. I ordered a basic iced latte, however their menu offers various specialty lattes with unique syrups and fun names. The coffee was bold, but not too strong. They have pastries and a wide variety of specials. Old School has drinks called “The Teacher”, “The Student”, “The Librarian", and more. which I thought was such a fun touch to tie in The University of Kentucky. It is also very accessible to UK, specifically North Campus. The service was very friendly and fast. My experience at Old School Coffee was super positive and I will definitely be back to try different things!

Beth Avilez
★★★★★9 months ago

This was amazing coffee and pastries in a historic actual old school! In our visit to Lexington we went three times, twice in one day! Oh myyyyy the pimento scone biscuit thing, I’m in love. And they had a gourmet oatmeal pie from a local company, we just kept buying them! The drinks are fabulous, we tried the “The Principal” and “The Teacher” plus later on one afternoon we tried a refresher type drink that delicious on a hot day. Service was impeccable and friendly. We’ll revisit Old School every trip!

Danasha Smith
★★★★★10 months ago

Very nice ! The coffee was great they come highly recommended. it wasn’t too busy but was consistent traffic. The inside was nice also modern but had a homey vibe they have a VIP board and a bulletin board with local things nice touch . I got the chai latte (my fav) I loved that it was flavorful taste was great and it came quick. I also got the spinach and feta croissant I’m happy I got it over just getting a plain one it was very good. Something I would get again but as a luxury $5 was a little on the pricey side for me. This is a nice spot that i would recommend to others they have tons of flavors tea and matcha and the coffee is affordable when getting a big size that’s a major plus.

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