Bellwood Coffee has been on my radar, but I had not gone to any of their locations until their newest shop in Grant Park opened up. To start, the location has a big con for me (which has nothing to do with the shop or coffee itself) but it’s on Boulevard SE. I hate Boulevard. Too many cars, so many pot holes, too many people speeding, but the actual little strip that the shop is in includes Ziba’s Bistro (a must visit local restaurant).
The energy of the coffee shop is very antique and muted. The few visits I’ve made the volume and style of music played have been surprisingly pleasant. I’ve been in so many coffee shops that play loud, very upbeat music that does not align with the frequency I want to experience while trying to do work, so I appreciate that about this location, personally.
They have two cozy sitting areas, one right in the front and one all the way in the back. Outside of that there is a line of two seater tables, a few booths, and some bar top seating. Overall a nice mix of options. They also have a few school desk style seats at the front of the shop along the wall, ideally for a quick seat while waiting for a coffee to-go.
I love the thick glass cups they have for iced drinks that you get if you’re staying in the shop. I am notorious for drinking a latte way too fast if I have a straw and the cup keeps me confined to moderately paced sipping. When I’m sitting somewhere trying to do work for a couple hours, it is always more enjoyable when my drink lasts almost the whole time instead of disappearing ten minutes in.
Speaking of drinks, I have tried the Gold Rush and Spring Fling lattes. The Gold Rush is a salted brown-butter caramel latte, and as someone who typically is not crazy about caramel in lattes, I wanted to give it a try for the brown-butter. I must say, I was not disappointed. It wasn’t overly sweet and I think the brown-butter really saved the drink. (p.s. If you have never had a brown-butter cookie, you need to).
The Spring Fling has vanilla, coconut, orange and ginger, which is a combo of flavors fitting of the word spring. This latte wasn’t super strong in any flavor direction, but was a solid drink and one I would recommend if you’d rather have something lighter in taste compared to a drink like Gold Rush.
Overall my time spent at the Grant Park location of Bellwood Coffee has been memorable and somewhere I can see myself returning to. It has also made me all the more determined to stop by their East Atlanta Village location that is part plant shop.