The Online Cafe

A story:
Today I planned to meet here with a grad school colleague to work on a project. I don’t know her very well, and mainly we’re just partners on this project that we need to finish soon. I suggested Online Café because it’s close and open late, and has good ambiance. Unfortunately when I showed up at the café today, there were all these paintings and prints of women with gigantic tits all over the place. Literally every piece of art in the café had a pair of very ample jugs (some disembodied) as its centerpiece. Not that I’m a prude or something; hell, I thought it was great. But for all I know my colleague, who I barely know, might be a prude, and/​or think I’m a creep for frequenting an establishment whose central motif is gazongas. We ended up not meeting up after all, so it was fine. In any case, I thought it was a funny situation to be in.
I recall when I first moved to Capitol Hill and scoffed at this place. «Must be a holdover from the mid-90’s computer café culture» I thought.
How wrong I was.
Even if it does give off that vibe, Online Café is my go-​to place to have a well-​made cup of coffee, eat a snack, and work on homework. It’s been my old standby for the three years I’ve lived in the neighborhood, and provided me with high-​speed Internet access and high-​test espresso in my hour of greatest need. I’ve powered through reports and final projects on its Wi-​Fi, studied for exams at its tables, written innumerable cover letters and job applications while sitting in its comfy chairs and drinking lattes.
The music selection is great too, but it comes out of stereo speakers spaced unevenly throughout the café. I’ve spent so much time here I’ve even realized which speaker carries the right side of the stereo spectrum and which side carries the left.
Bottom line: This place rules.

Been here a few times since it’s close to my place, but it’s not somewhere I’d go out of my way to get to. Spacious, unremarkable food and coffee, supplied computers and lots of outlets.
I don’t know, it feels quite unhip inside. Almost too open and, sometimes, too empty. Soulless? I’d almost always choose another café to this, but it still isn’t bad in a practical assessment. The music selection is sometimes a little odd too, I remember hearing Weird Al and Beastie Boys albums, and while I don’t dislike them, they don’t really create the best café atmosphere for working at.

I stepped into this café to grab a quick drink before I caught my bus home. I like how it is on a moderate bus route (the 8 passes by as well as the 43). The first thing I noticed is that it actually has PCs for you to use. With a drink the first 30 minutes was free but then you have to pay to use the PCs more.
I got a vanilla latte. The latte art was quite lovely and the crema on the top was delicious. The espresso was not too bad either — it was not watery or super sour like some local coffee shops tend to be. I thought the drink was very good. It was around $ 3.50 or so if I remember correctly for an 8 oz.
The lighting in the shop is kind of bad though. Also the crowd that hangs out here is kind of strange; either somewhat creepy or hipster (but not both, strangely). I probably would not go out of my way to sit here, but I will gladly stop by for a cup to go.

The coffee is good but the ambiance leaves much to be desired. The dreary atmosphere just leaves me with wanting something more cozy or with more light. The customers are varied with lots of random people, somtimes street bums that wander in and out.
No doubt the coffee is good with a basic simple menu. Call out the shame on me, but I’d prefer the Starbucks down the street.

Online is only one of many coffee options in the Olive/​Denny/​Broadway area of Capitol Hill. It is, however one of the best because they usually play instrumental electronic music, which helps create a great studious atmosphere where I can get a lot done in a short amount of time on the internets.
Also they have a patio with 3 – 6 tables and outlets so I can work on or just surf the webs outside. Their location on Olive makes the patio a great place to do some people-​watching.
They serve Fat Tire beer in bottles, which tastes great when paired with wifi and evening air.

O internet café, you rare unicorn! This place is aptly named, as it appears to be primarily used as a relatively quiet space to go online (complete with kiosks on big wood desks), with a side of coffee –not many frills besides the creepy bathroom* and standard alt soundtrack playing quietly.
If I had a Second Life addiction, were still a student, lived around the block and somehow did not own a computer, I would probably live here. As things stand, I’ll probably just wander farther down the block to a certain place that rhymes with ‘amerika toffee’ for a fancier cup and delectable brunch. Maybe this place survives because they keep cutting library hours?
*womens bathroom features an extra door leading to somewhere (Narnia? Labyrinth? A creepy peeper?), slightly ajar but apparently locked (no handle on this side), with a trash can pushed in front of the vent near your ankles.