Coffee
Best Coffee Shops in Bushwick for Working Remotely
The best coffee shops in Bushwick for working remotely — WiFi, seating, and espresso worth the second cup.
The best coffee shops in Bushwick for working remotely aren’t the ones with the best latte art. They’re the ones that combine three things: reliable WiFi, seats you can actually sit in for four hours without your back giving out, and coffee that’s worth the second cup. That’s a shorter list than the Instagrammable Bushwick cafe scene would suggest.
Little Skips: the working writer’s answer
Little Skips on Willoughby Avenue is the Bushwick cafe that a lot of freelancers, writers, and remote workers have been using for over a decade. Big room, plenty of tables, actual electrical outlets in visible places, and a menu that includes proper food if you need lunch. The espresso is good, not showy. Bring headphones. It gets busy but there’s always a seat if you’re willing to share a table.
Molasses Books: coffee, books, and a whiskey bar
Molasses on Hart Street is the coffee shop that’s also a used bookstore that’s also a wine and whiskey bar. Different modes work at different times of day — mornings and early afternoons are quiet enough to work, evenings become a bar. Coffee is standard-good rather than remarkable, but the environment is one of the more thinking-friendly rooms in the neighborhood.
SEY Coffee: the specialty coffee flagship
SEY on Meserole is the Bushwick answer to the specialty coffee movement — single-origin pour-overs, precise brewing, coffee educated to a fault. It’s not the place to spread out a laptop for six hours (the room is small and the vibe is more sit-and-drink than work), but if you want a truly great coffee to start a work day, this is where you go, then walk your cortado to another cafe.
The Woods: bigger space, patio access
The Woods on Flushing Ave is technically a bar with a coffee counter in front, and the front room in the daytime is a legitimate work spot — big communal table, natural light, back patio in warmer months. Coffee is decent. Best used for a change-of-scenery mid-day break rather than an all-day base.
Little Zelda: neighborhood spot, no laptop drama
Little Zelda is the coffee shop where the working-remotely question is a little more mixed — laptops are welcome but the room is small and getting territorial with a table for four hours will earn you looks. Best for a 90-minute focused session, a good espresso, and a walk to the next stop.
What makes a coffee shop actually work-friendly
Three things. First, seating that doesn’t destroy your back — a proper chair with a back, not just a stool or a bench. Second, WiFi that doesn’t drop every 20 minutes, which is a bigger problem than you’d expect in older Bushwick buildings. Third, an implicit or explicit tolerance for laptops — some cafes will physically hide their outlets, or put up “no laptops after 12” signs, and those places are telling you something.
Coffee shop etiquette when you’re working
Order more than one drink over the course of your visit. A single $4 cortado does not buy you five hours of a table. Tip on each order, not just the first. Give up your table if the cafe is packed and you’re clearly not actively working. And if the cafe is small and full, don’t take a four-top by yourself.
The best coffee to order for a long work session
An espresso wears off in an hour and you’ll want another one. A drip coffee lasts longer but the flavor deteriorates as it cools. A cortado — the small milk drink — is the sweet spot: enough caffeine to matter, enough milk to sit with, small enough that you can order another one in a couple hours without getting jittery. Order the food. A pastry or a proper lunch is what gives the barista a reason to see you as a regular rather than a squatter.
Alternative Bushwick work spots
If the coffee shop scene isn’t working, the Bushwick branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is a legitimate work space with free WiFi and quiet. WeWork and similar coworking spots in the neighborhood are the paid alternative. Some breweries — Kings County Brewers Collective, for instance — will let you work from a corner during off hours if you buy a drink.
Combining a work day with a real meal
Bushwick’s food scene is one of the reasons a work day here is worth planning around. Roberta’s for a proper lunch or dinner is a walk from most of these coffee shops. Ops for pizza. Boba spots on Knickerbocker if you need a mid-afternoon change of pace. Our authentic Neapolitan pizza in Brooklyn guide covers the pizza stops in the neighborhood, and every coffee shop mentioned above is on the NewYorkEatsguide map.
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