Soma Coffee House

Awesome coffee. Warm environment, if a little on the hipster side. Whatever though, did I mention how good the coffee is? Their lattes actually have FLAVOR, while Starbucks taste extreme bland, and poorhouse just isn’t as good either. 4 stars instead of five just for the few pretentious employees that ruin the batch, but most are very approachable and nice. I recommend this place a lot.

Soma is an institution. Love this place. Great coffee and a place to work and/​or study. If you get hungry just go upstairs to laughing planet. Great food too!

Soma is a cool little coffee shop. They have a wide selection of drinks, and offer several breakfast/​snacky type foods. My wife and I were also able to score some organic whole bean coffee to bring home with us. From what I could tell most items are organic and several are vegan. I’m not vegan, but the vegan muffin I had was pretty darn good.

I debated giving Soma 3 or 4 stars. They undoubtedly have good coffee and options (smoothies, tea, and unique offerings like Dr. D’s Tonic) which is why I’m giving Soma 4.
Two downsides — the dt location has pretty poor service. They’re always crabby or annoyed with me. I buy bags and make my office at home. When I buy coffee it’s usually a specialty drink — a dry latte or a cappuccino. They offer a lot of specialty drinks — so if someone orders a dry skin latte there’s no need to be annoyed — that’s your business.
Rant over. Besides the poor experiences I’ve had downtown, I’ve been to the Jordan Ave location twice and gotten great service. My favorite drink at Soma is Dr. D’s Tonic, a lemon, honey, ginger hot drink that isn’t too sweet and perfect for chilly mornings when you feel a little under the weather.
I don’t prefer their cappuccinos — they make them like a latte whenever I’ve ordered.
If you enjoy black coffee Soma is great, if you want a specialty drink go to Hopscotch.

I like Soma a lot. The ambience is great and the people there are really chill. It gets expensive really quickly, $ 4 for a coffee usually. But its all fair trade natural stuff and it’s in a convenient place on east 3^rd.

A great place to study/​hang with friends. Drinks can be better if the makers are trained better. Had trouble after having their bubble tea twice before. Not so good restrooms (not sure how it is now)

Nice place to stay for long time, they use marble cups to hold coffee, and the whole shop is like nice living rooms, very comfortable and relaxing, you could choose seat in chair or coach as you like, artistic restroom as well, many students and scholars go there to enjoy cup of coffee^^

This hidden gem is so hip it hurts.
1. Loved the artsy, hipster feel to the space. The chalkboard menu was super cute.
2. The iced coffee was delicious! I added hazelnut syrup and cream.
3. Very creative names for their drinks. The Chai-​coffsky (I apologize if I’m spelling this wrong). Half Chai, half coffee. How cute is that?
4. Friendly customer service.
5. Baked goods that make your mouth water just looking at them.
They also offer vegan items if you’re into that. Will definitely being grabbing another cup of joe from Soma the next time I’m in Bloomington!

My first workday in Bloomington and I decided to choose this location to set up my station since I passed it so many times over the weekend — at least until lunch time. It’s a cute little place — I hear there are other rooms, but I stuck with the main one by the cash register since I needed to buckle down and work. The faster I finish, the earlier I could go out and explore some more. From what I could tell, though, it was cozy and comfortable.
Their menu is quite crowded. I stood there for a good couple of minutes trying to decide what to get. I ended up getting the large (20 oz) of ChaiCoffsky which came in a paper cup — half coffee, half chai latte (you get to fill up the cup with as much coffee as you’d like and they fill up the remainder with the chai latter and foam). I also took a look at their baked goods and chose the vegan Linzer cookie to go with my drink. First, it’s not quite a traditional Linzer (2 cookies with the top half having a «window» sandwiched together with a jam filling in the middle). It was more like a giant thumbprint cookie with a thin layer of jam in the middle, but whatever. :) I just wanted something to munch on. The cashier man (I believe he had facial hair) seemed nice enough, but not all that friendly. OK, he was… but mainly to regulars. To me, he was just doing his job. There was nothing there and I even felt a hint of… disdain? After I told him I wanted the large, I also added how it was because I would be there a while. He didn’t catch it so when I repeated myself, he didn’t look all that excited. Well, that made me feel particularly welcome.
Either way, I didn’t let that get me down. I was there to explore Bloomington’s independent coffee shops and to work. I got a nice table all to myself. The ChaiCoffsky wasn’t really sweetened — or perhaps the chai latte originally is but with the other 50% (I tried to make it as even as I could) of black coffee, it probably diluted the sweetness down a bit. I liked it and the foam on top was nice, too. I also tried the Linzer halfway through. The cookie itself was good — a little crumbly in a whole-​grain way (not the buttery shortbread crumbly) and there was a perfectly even and thin-​ish (around 2 mm — maybe 3) layer of jam in the middle. I liked it — not all that sweet. I probably could have had it without coffee, though it might be a little on the dry side. All in all, I was happy with my drink and snack.
My work station was good and I was also in a good place to look up and people watch when taking a 5 second break between work. I ended up leaving around 3 hours later when I finally finished all of my emails. During this time, I realised a lot of the patrons were regulars with a mixture of college students all the way up to those who looked like they were around retirement age. Many of them knew each other. Yay for diverse groups of people! The actual room wasn’t the brightest or had too much natural lighting, but I wouldn’t call it «dimly lit» either. It provided a good studying/​reading/​catching spot. Not to mention the fast Internet! It also turned out Mr. Facial Hair speaks Tibetan fairly well — or at least I heard a Tibetan greeting (I had traveled and stayed in some Tibetan villages for fifteen days 7 years back; definitely nowhere long enough to learn anything aside from the basic phrases, though) from two guys and next thing I know, he was conversing back.
Despite the lack of friendliness from Mr. Facial Hair, when I left, I decided to go back up to the counter (Mr. Facial Hair wasn’t there at this point) to ask where to purchase band aids in the area since I didn’t see many drug stores when I tried to search for it on my phone’s map. The two guys that replaced him were pretty helpful and even asked their manager for me. I may return again to work later on this week. It’s a pretty good place and though their menu is a little overwhelming for a newcomer, I would love to try some of their other drinks. After all, it was an excellent place to work. :) Plus, Mr. Facial Hair won back some points when I found out he knew Tibetan.

This Bloomington-​Kirkwood staple is a perfect college town coffee house — although I would like it anywhere. Great coffee, good selection of teas and smoothies and juices. Convenient for grabbing a quick beverage to-​go if you’re in a rush or also good for if you want to plant and study or read for hours. Love, love, love! I usually get coffee or a dirty chai.

I can’t drive through Bloomington without stopping here. There’s like a deep coffee gravity that pulls me in…

They have fresh juice! Many places may have smoothies, but I find it exciting they have juice. The TV fish tank is super cute and a highlight in their décor. I was surprised they did not celebrate National Iced Tea Day, but will still return for their drinks.

Holy hell this drink is good.
I ordered the «Miele» which is a latte with honey and cinnamon. It was delicious.
It took me about 3 minutes to figure out what I wanted after trying to make sense of their menu — it’s a little crowded.
It’s got a cool patio with recycled furniture and market lights. Pretty cool vibe.
I really enjoyed the latte. Very well done.

I wish this place would have been here when I attended IU.
This is a nice little local coffee shop with a college feel. It is hidden away in a basement of sorts with multiple rooms often full of young minds cranking away. Not much goes together better than coffee and studying… except maybe beer and studying but I digress.
When here, we ordered a traditional macchiato and a Vietnamese coffee (espresso and condensed milk). I often find that a traditional macchiato is a true test of a good coffee shop. This one was good and strong. Also, the Vietnamese coffee was rich and delicious.
I would definitely visit Soma again. Next time you’re in downtown Bloomington and need a caffeine fix, swing by Soma and check it out.

So many different drinks! It’s hard to make a choice, but the mate latte is a safe bet. You can shy away from the vegan cookies, I haven’t had the muffins though those look great. The chai was nice and spicy without being too sweet. Definitely the only coffee house I go to when I make the trip down to Bloomington.

Walking in, the place had a funny smell to it. I just couldn’t tell what it was. The board to your left on a black chalk board with pink/​green marking is the menu of drinks they offer. They have a good selection of caffeinated drinks. I tried the Oahu and the Swamp thing. This is a hipster like café with plenty of seating. Friendly staffs and good drinks.
Oahu (⁵⁄₅): Yum! This drink is served hot and has a smooth latte taste.
Swamp thing (²⁄₅): I opted for a cold drink because this drink description caught my attention. The peppermint syrup was A-​OK and I felt that the soy didn’t go too well with the peppermint syrup. I just thought this drink looked different and it tasted A-​OK.
*The restroom is a bit interesting. Mini steps, pipings, and writings on the mirror. See for it yourself, it’s interesting.
Overall, a cool café to study and drink coffee/​tea.

I think a few years ago, this would have been a five-​star review. With retro décor, progressive and subversive literature and clientele, and a cast of baristas that said, «The customer isn’t always right,» it was a spunky and funky alternative to the more Starbucks-​y coffee shops Kirkwood has to offer. As long as you kept the tip jar full, you could spend an afternoon there easily without getting dirty looks, pounding away at a thesis in the silent back room, or plotting hijinks in the front room and patio. It certainly helps to have Laughing Planet right upstairs in case you need some food to soak up the caffeine, and the drink selection was still one of the best in town.
Today, though, Soma is stuck between two very different identities, and I hope they figure it out soon. Every since the purchase of Copper Cup at their 3^rd Street location, the Kirkwood Coffee House has been undergoing some renovations that seem a bit tasteless. While some of the funk is still there, much of it has been toned down since the new paintjob, with lovable couches, artwork, and bathroom decorations removed, creating an aesthetic clash much like a house that is halfway through a remodeling process — the newfangled walls with the old mis-​matched college furniture.
That clash parallels the coffee itself, as Soma has been offering more standard fare like a «Pumpkin Spice Latte» to coffee drinkers who pick up and walk off rather than staying in and shooting the breeze. While I’m sure it’s done wonders for revenue, it has really complicated the feel of the place. Unless there’s space in the back room, which has more or less maintained its style from years ago, I tend to gravitate towards other coffee shops these days.
Hopefully the dust settles on an identity soon.

Soma (Kirkwood)
This well grounded B-​Town staple offers a menu that ranges from regular drip coffee, unique smoothies that flush out toxins, beautifully hand-​crafted caffe breves, to vegan treats. Seating is as bountiful as their menu is vast. Be sure to check out the back room – especially if you’re looking for a place to study and in of a need an outlet!
One complaint: the recently hired newbs need to up their game. Much longer wait times and a lack of friendly communication. Slothy service is easily forgiven if one feels welcomed. Minus 1 for lack of good service.
Recommend hot beverage: Oahu

Not a bad place to study or relax. For a non-​coffee drinker, they have a good selection of tea, smoothies, chai, and other items. And I LOVE their Evening in Missoula iced tea. It’s an interesting herbal tea with a strange but addictive mix of flavors that I can’t begin to describe. Soma also has a nice outdoor area with picnic tables and is owned by the same owner as Laughing Planet so you can have a meal with your coffee. Free wifi and plenty of outlets for laptops.
What I don’t like is that this space is basically in a basement. For someone who likes sunlight while studying or has a little bit of a phobia about being stuck in a basement during a fire, this is not a great place to be. The restroom also freaks me out every single time. Just be prepared that there is an upside-​down headless manikin sticking out of the floor. The light for the restroom is located in the hall, outside the single occupancy bathroom so just hope no one turns it off while you’re sitting pants down next to the scary manikin! Soma is also most definitely not handicap accessible with stairs to get inside and to use the restroom. Some of the chairs and tables are falling apart or wobbly so watch where you sit!

I sort of have conflicted feelings about this Soma location. 3.5 stars and rounded down till further notice.
First the positives:
This is my second favorite place to get coffee in town after Feast (based on taste alone). The pumpkin spice latte offered during the fall (and made with real pumpkin) is super amazingly good. You will be disgruntled with any drink that settles for pumpkin flavored syrup after drinking this one. The speciality espresso drinks on the regular menu are also good. The whip cream on drinks is also especially tasty.
I love the wooden outdoor tables and benches when the weather is good outside and it isn’t so crowded over the summer months. It can be very relaxing to read outside with a book given you have the space to yourself or with other people who are being relatively quiet.
But then there are also the negatives:
This place consistently feels too cool for school. You will feel out of place if you are not part of the hipster elite. Nobody is overtly rude to you. But nobody is super friendly either.
The inside of this Soma location can also feel claustrophobic since it’s usually packed and sometimes during peak times it can be hard to find seating. I prefer to study on a patio outdoors or at least next to a large window with lots of light, so the inside of Soma feels too closed in to me.
But worth checking out though to see for yourself.