5 Freelancer-Approved Spots for Coffee in Crown Heights

a black and white mug of coffee featuring a heart created with cream

There’s certainly not a shortage of coffee in the Crown Heights neighborhood. Whatever your bean preference—Parlor, Stumptown, Intellegentsia, Brooklyn Roasting Company—you will find the café for you. If you like your space small, you go to Little Zelda; if you want your coffee with an order of tamales, head to Colina Cuervo. Searching for a bright, white space that serves sandwiches? Go to Cotton Bean. You can have it all. Here, a few of our favorites.

Cotton Bean
This coffee shop right off Nostrand Avenue on Bergen Street is a very welcome, bright addition to the neighborhood. The Japanese-style coffee shop opened thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, in which the owner, Mayumi Maeda, talked about wanting to bring the Japanese snack foods she grew up with to a wide audience. There are the customary pastries, Parlor Coffee, matcha drinks and brilliant honey-ginger juices that are perfect for keeping your immune system up through the winter. There are also breakfast sandwiches and veggie burgers for lunch.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ColinaCuervo (@colinacuervo)

Colina Cuervo
The coffee here certainly matches the food menu and pastries for quality. We adore the tamales, and artist Kevin Alvir goes for the pancakes, but there’s also an avocado toast served on pan de mie that will make you feel both virtuous and decadent all at once.

Little Zelda
Go to Little Zelda when you need a break from working to stretch your legs, because you’re certainly not going to set up for the day in this tiny space. They do serve an excellent cup of coffee, though, and generally provide excellent dog-watching in their very cute entranceway.

Manhattanville
This location of the Harlem original invites you to take a load off and plug in your laptop for hours on end. When you’re a freelancer or need to meet someone for a work meeting in the neighborhood, this is the place to go.