The 401 Cafe

I ended up at this place when down near URI for a walk recently. As you would imagine its full of college kids with very little as to old farts present… But like myself, there is a random one there once in a while. The menu here is very limited, appeasing the breakfast crowd mostly. But what they have is reasonably priced, good size, and very tasty. The coffee I had was excellent, and came at a much better price than what those assholes over at Starbucks charge. Although the coffee is supposed to be ground and local, unlike so many others here I really don’t give a crap where coffee comes from as long as its good, and comes at a decent price. They did well in that respect… Altogether not a bad spot, but not my kind of place that I would be returning too unless I just happen upon it again…

The 401 café gets its beans locally from a good roaster but as another Unilocaler noted the quality is inconsistent. I’ve come in and had a great cup of coffee and then a few days later that same cup is undrinkable.
Case in point, I had the hazelnut blend which was great, two days later it tasted like they had just squirted half a cup of hazelnut syrup into the cup, it was disgusting. If the coffee quality was consistent I’d bump this rating up.
The interior needs work. It looks like someone’s grimy basement. The booths are torn up. They had an episode of Bill Nye the science guy on repeat, it was blaring so loud that I couldn’t hear myself think. The door to the adjoining laundry was open and a manic woman kept on running between the two spaces. While this sideshow was going on the smell of detergent was wafting into the café. Coffee and detergent aren’t exactly a desirable combination.
The URI campus has a dearth of good cafés. With consistent quality and a revamped space, 401 could easily become the best café on campus.

The 401 Café is THE breakfast spot if you’re in the URI Emporium and searching for a really delicious breakfast sandwich. First off, it’s one of the only places that you’ll find a real, fried egg (and not microwaved-​which can leave eggs to be a rubbery texture) to go in a breakfast sandwich. This takes a little bit longer, but I can promise you that it’s worth it. Also, they have an iced coffee wall, as I like to call it, where you fill up your cup with as much ice as you choose and then pick an iced coffee flavor to indulge in. It’s the perfect serve-​your-​self coffee station. They are all locally roasted flavors, so you don’t get the syrup taste of iced flavor coffees. I’ll admit, sometimes the coffee tastes burnt, but I’d say 8 times out of 10 you get a good batch. Their bagels are good, but I can’t tell you much about their cream cheeses. After reading a few reviews, I’d have to agree that inconsistency is their biggest flaw and probably why I can’t seem to give them 5 stars.
The 401 Café is also a cool study spot. They always have some type of weird TV show or movie playing, but it’s a great place to hang out. The tables are cozy and the place really seems to possess a lot of spunk. The staff is interesting, but friendly and work probably as quickly as they possibly can to get orders out. If you’re planning on ordering a breakfast sandwich and the line is a few people deep, expect to wait a bit.
401 café is a little bit on the expensive side (around $ 6 for a medium iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich), but if you’re in the area and in desperate need for a good breakfast sandwich it’s worth it to spend the extra green! They accept cash or plastic and have coffee loyalty cards.

Clearly this place has some work to do, but it has decent potential. One of the reasons I go here is that the beans they serve are roasted right in South Kingstown. I love supporting local businesses.
There are various reasons I like 401. The first is that they have a great variety of ice coffees, set up in a serve yourself style. I also like that they cook you your egg sandwich on a griddle rather than microwaving (you just get more flavor). And, I believe most of the scones and even bagels are made in house. It is hard to tell what is made in house any given day and that brings me to some of reasons 401 received 2 stars.
401 lacks consistency in the product they serve. One day you’ll get a high quality cup of coffee or ice coffee. Another day, you’ll get a cup of ice coffee that tastes like soap. And I wish I was joking about this. My friend and I went to 401 to get iced coffee and I poured from one bin (I got toffee something) and she got regular (non-​flavored; other than coffee flavor, obviously). However, upon returning to our office she realized her iced coffee had an «off» flavor. So I tasted and after deliberation we realized it tasted like citrus soap or something. We concluded she not to drink it or risk «digestive issues». I think one of the employees forgot to rinse :/​This is actually quite common at coffee places that do large quantities. Thats why Dunkin’ Donuts brews into plastic bags…
I think if they work on consistency in product, they have the potential to be the best coffee shop in the Kingston area of SK.

Sea salted caramel iced coffee with a PB cup cookie… heaven! The beans are roasted with the flavors here, so no flavor shots to muddle the flavors. The new owners are wonderful, and the atmosphere is relaxed and casual. So yummy!

Great service, good ambiance.
Iced coffee is too watered down and diluted. Quality varies from batch to batch and is inconsistent. Need some improvement on that…
Pastries are delicious.
Overall okay.

In the last month things have just gotten better and better here. Service is spot on and the space keeps getting more comfortable.