Novel Cafe

SO SAD :(I loved this place. Wanted to take my dude there and then saw it was closed down. Whyyyy!!?

I loved this place but have been away for a few months. Came back today to find it closed.
: (

Sorry, guys, this place is now CLOSED. It happened very suddenly, with little advance notice to staff or patrons. I’d been going to this place since it was a Groundworks and I really hope something similar opens in the space, but I’m not going to hold my breath. You can always go several blocks down the street to the Corporate Octopus or across the way to the Pie Hole.

Absolutely loved this place. So sad to see it go.
Super relaxed atmosphere, beautiful interior that doesn’t try too hard to be cool but still is, very friendly staff, a sizable coffee bean selection, great coffee, a killer BLTA, and fast wifi.
I will miss it.

Housed in a bright red building alongside warehouses and old lofts is Novel Café. Even though it’s on an always-​changing street that has new businesses coming and going left and right, this little café has managed to stay strong for quite a while!
Easy parking: Only in the early morning weekend hours.
Large drink under $ 5: Yes
Friendly staff: Yes
Indoor seating: Two levels of seating with small tables and dim lighting.
Outdoor seating: A few tables and big umbrellas in front of the window.
Décor: Lots of brick and wood accents with exposed beams and a large self-​serve coffee bean station.
People with laptops: Yes
Hipsters: YEESSS
Famous Faces: No
Foam Art: No
People watching: Great
In & out quick: Yes
The challenge continues!

I came here for a quick lunch and it was stellar. The Polar Bear sandwich with Rosemary bread really knocked it out of the park. Next time I would just ask for my salad dressing on the side. Other than that – awesome, awesome, awesome. I will definitely be coming back for another lunch!

I’d love to give this place a good review, but i can’t because i came here today because they told Unilocal they’re open today and their hours on Unilocal are wrong. They are closed. Now I’m just hungry and irritated. Lame.

Between 2 – 3 stars. The décor is cute and the staff did their best, but the menu needs tweaking. Also, they ran out of bread! You can run out of one sandwich, but you can’t run out of sandwiches. You’re a sandwich shop!
We had the veggie wrap (since there was no bread.) and a tuna melt on ciabatta bread (I got the last piece apparently). The pickles should have more bite. You could tell me they were slightly warmed cucumbers and I wouldn’t have known the difference. The cheese looked a little cheap. Although I did appreciate that tomatoes were included. Also, the veggie wrap had a lot of sprouts. Vegetarians can be hard to please, but wouldn’t you be if you couldn’t eat bacon? Anyway, the menu did say exactly what was in the wrap, so it’s our fault too for ordering, but there really should be something like an artichoke or mushrooms or zucchini besides just lettuce, tomato, sprouts, and cucumber. Also the side salads were sort of a waste, they weren’t very appetizing.
All of these things are super easy to fix. I don’t mean to insult anyone, and I’m looking forward to trying this place again someday to see if any of my suggestions were adopted. :)

Expensive place. The smoothies are alright however I felt like I could’ve made it myself at home.
Maybe if I had gotten something else I would have been more impressed but my last visit was just… ehh…

If there is no one in, not a bad place, but as soon as there is a line, the place seems to fall apart.
I recently went in the late morning. There were two people in front of me. I ordered an egg and cheese on a croissant. The cashier overcharged me significantly (a previous order allegedly snuck onto mine, which I had to call to her attention) and then it took over 20 minutes for a sandwich that takes a moment to throw together.
The orders in front of me were for coffee and a similar breakfast sandwich. There were three or four people working.
I’ve begun making coffee myself, so in a way, thanks Novel for saving me that cash.

Nice place along Traction Ave. People behind the counter are always nice. Never tried the food but I come here to study.
Looks tiny from the outside, but you can go up the stairs and there’s a whole study/​quiet area upstairs. Coffee selection a little limited, and not their forte but good enough.
Lots of hipsters!

Great service and space to do work.
Love their loose leaf tea selection!
My credit card wouldn’t slide once and they still gave us our food.

I have to say I am shocked by the crappy reviews of Novel. In a neighborhood of $ 5 cups of drip coffee (Handsome/​Urth/​Stumptown?) and see-​and-​be-​seen cafes (see aforementioned places), Novel is a laid back, unassuming little place that makes great breakfast food and pours a great cup of coffee. I highly recommend their breakfast sandwich whose name escapes me that consists of egg, cheese, and bacon (I get it without) and veggies on a croissant. They have fab breakfast burritos that are very affordable and totally delicious, as well as bagels and standard breakfast fare. They have a great lunch menu as well. I love going here.
I have not experienced a grease smell while there. I have not been accosted by bums. Are you serious? It’s the Arts District. You’re more likely to be accosted by Skrillex or a screenwriter. Go! You won’t be disappointed.

This little café is a block from my house, so I’m here several times a week.
It’s kind of a no-​frills coffee/​breakfast/​lunch joint. The food is edible and the coffee’s alright. They don’t do foam art here… I told you: no frills.
But there’s seating outside and (shhh) they don’t care if you smoke out there… keep that ish under wraps.
My girlfriend isn’t a fan of the smell, but that’s because there’s almost no ventilation from the grill. They should fix that.
They’ve got affordable pressed juices there. Tastes fine. Fresh.
Sierra is my favorite employee. Bright and bushy tailed, even early early in the morning. Always smiling.

Not too many affordable options in the area, but just went here for a lox bagel and a drink. First off, the price of the supreme lox bagel was great – it was like $ 7.15 or around there. However, the bagels were rubbery and chewy and they skimped on the salmon. Also funny to note, the ceilings and fans were sooooo dusty it looked my apartment fan. Kind of a turn off when I’m eating right below it. Also, what was up with the music? It was like someone just ordered one of those NOW! 5 CDs. For example, they played Hoobastank, Train, Bryan Adams, need i go on? Nothing special here.

This isn’t a huge place, but we still managed to find a place for all eight of us to sit. This is due to the courtesy of one of the patrons who offered to switch tables with us due to the size of our group. Seems typical of the downtown crowd.
You order your food at the counter. We went around lunch time. We had intended on going for breakfast, but missed it by a few minutes. I believe they serve breakfast until noon. So, I ordered their CA club. It wasn’t bad. I had to order a side of bacon to add to my sandwich since it didn’t come with any. Sandwiches do come with a salad, though. I also ordered their special which was a brie, prosciutto and fig spread sandwich. It was okay. I don’t think it should have come in a begetter. We had two of their chocolate chip cookies. They were nice and chewy.
Overall, it was a good experience.

I’m always on the hunt for spacious cafes with good drinks and outlets. Novel Café was recommended to me by two friends, and I wanted to check it out. It doesn’t hurt that it’s right by Pie Hole and Wurstkuche too. Wish they opened longer hours, but it’s a good place to get some work done during the day.
I got the Tiger Chai with soy milk (always appreciate a place that carries soy milk!), and my bf got the peanut butter cup latte, where they use real peanut butter yum!
I wish I didn’t read some of the reviews that mention the itch and ick factor of this place, but it was clean enough for me.
There’s plenty of seats where people are studiously studying, so the neighbor noise level is great. However, the music is pretty darn loud. I’m personally not appreciative of loud rock music while studying. You won’t be able to get any work/​study done without your own headphones if you’re like me. But to his, his own.
The wifi is fast, but someone next to me was playing Starcraft –_​– so I wasn’t too happy about him hogging the internet speed lol. There’s a eccentric, eclectic diverse crowd here, but as long as the noise level isn’t too loud, I’m all about a mixed crowd.
Check it out. I’m an avid coffee drinker, but I really liked their chai. It wasn’t scalding hot like most chais I’ve had, so that was much appreciated.

EDIT:
Trendy part of the arts district. i work 2 blocks away so this is an easy walk for me. walked in and there was a cool hipster vibe to the place. everyone had mustaches.
wanted to try something simple since i havent been to this location. the wait didnt look long and the prices seemed ok.
They have mexican coke. sweet.
Took 45 mins for a club sandwich and it wasn’t even busy. (Mb 4 ppl waiting?) Bad for someone who only has an hour lunch. Came at 2:00 which isnt even the lunch rush hour and it’s 2:45 now. Got a bottle of Coke and finished it.
update:
brought the sandwich back to work and opened it. i could already tell it was lower quality. the chicken was obviously microwaved and a bit rubbery. the bread and bacon we’re ok. Came with a cheap salad with decent dressing. oddly, it burned my lips though. (i have no allergies)
I usually give cafes like this a 2^nd shot. who knows, maybe it was just an off day and i just happened to step in at bad time. im definitely giving the quesadillas a try since they looked good. The one in ktown is much better.
overall: meh. it was alright.

Came here with a friend to get some work done. There were plenty of seating, outlets and free WIFI connection (NO PASSWORD, just sign in!). Lots of people here either picking up lunch or sitting down to do work/​lunch.
Pros:
Food is relatively cheap (breakfast/​lunch) — all plates approx $ 7
Quiet
Friendly service
Cons:
Small variety of pastries/​snacks
WIFI does not work (extremely slow) — not the owner’s fault but it was unusable
I ended up getting a Santa Fe Chicken Salad ($ 7.50) and my friend ended up getting the Greek Salad ($ 6.50). Pretty fair sized and everything tasted fresh. We did end up leaving because the WIFI just did not work :(maybe they need to set up a password?

I truly love downtown and would say Novel Café is a pretty hip spot in the mornings. Even on the weekdays it does get semi busy and the ice coffee is pretty delicious. Way better then Starbucks.
So many choices for your breakfast but I believe this place has a hidden secret. The breakfast burrito Californian style is amazing. I love how fresh it taste and they put plenty of avocado which I am a fan of ! After eating here the next day I came back to get it again with my ice coffee.
The upstairs is pretty nice and plenty of people come here and study, write and just chit chat with people. I love it and this place for just being able to relax and get into what you need to do.