Thinking Cup — Restaurant in Boston

Squeezed between Boston's gray granite facades, Thinking Cup manages to pack more studious energy per square foot than a library during finals week. Their matcha latte arrives like a zen garden in a cup, each frothy swirl suggesting the barista might have a side gig in fine arts.

While you won't find eggs benedict or hair-of-the-dog remedies here, they've mastered the art of grilled cheese alchemy, though at $7.99, you might want to solve a few differential equations to justify the splurge. The brick-walled space plays musical chairs with an ever-rotating cast of characters: bleary-eyed students transforming caffeine into thesis pages, locals performing Olympic-level laptop camping, and the occasional tourist wondering why everyone else seems to know exactly what "cold brew with a nitro finish" means.

The weekend morning rush creates a sort of caffeinated musical chairs, where securing a table requires the strategic planning of a chess grandmaster. The wooden benches along the wall offer prime real estate for observing this peculiarly Boston ballet of coffee seekers and sandwich enthusiasts.

Fair warning: if you're planning to gather your book club of more than four people, you might have better luck finding free parking in the North End. But for solo contemplation or caffeinated tête-à-têtes, Thinking Cup proves that sometimes the best thinking happens over a...

People with allergies beware! My wife and I normally enjoy this location, and find it to be a lovely experience and atmosphere. However, our experience today left me shocked and disappointed. We abided by the café’s policy to alert our barista of any allergies; in our case, we have Celiac disease. We cannot consume gluten, even in minute amounts. When we requested that the steam pitcher for the milk in our drinks be cleaned to reduce the chance of cross-contamination from oat milk, the barista refused to accommodate our allergy by brushing our request off (and interrupting my explanation of this dietary restriction). After we left the counter, I watched as she rolled her eyes and whispered to the barista on the bar. I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. Many of the baristas at this location are welcoming and warm, and I am sad that this barista convinced us that we would be safe in the sake of getting us to leave her alone. It is partially my fault that I was not alarmed by her demeanor and indifference to our allergy. I never thought that a barista at one of my favorite café’s would endanger the health of my wife and I. My wife has been sick for hours and has to call out of work. What could have been a lovely experience has led to me making the decision to not return. I apologize for the lengthy review, but I would like to avoid anyone else getting sick...

Walked in and the line was pretty long, and there’s a lot of options on the menu to choose from as well as baked goods in the displays. I ordered an Iced Chai with oat milk but it wasn’t anything to write home about. It was watered down and didn’t really have that “Chai”/cinnamon-y flavor. I also had ordered a bagel with cream cheese, they put the cream cheese on the side in a tiny little packet. I was only given one, and when my boyfriend went to ask for one more, the woman told us we had to go all the way back in line to ask for a cream cheese. For just A CREAM CHEESE PACKET!!!! Like whattt. And keep in mind it was packed with people. Regardless, the bagel itself was pretty good. My boyfriend ordered a burrito and he rates it a solid 7/10. After my bagel I ordered some macarons which were to die for. I recommend the pistachio ones, they often go overlooked but they’re amazing in taste. The atmosphere is cozy, the lighting is warm toned and dim. The prices aren’t too ridiculous considering...