Innisfree Poetry Bookstore & Cafe

Category:	Book Store
Address:	1301 Pennsylvania Ave, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
Phone:	+1 303-495-3303
Site:	innisfreepoetry.com
Rating:	4.5
Working:	7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–6PM 7AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 25

My Bad Reviews Account

THE SHORT REVIEW: Internet - If the place is packed, you wont get on. He throttles the internet & I believe the router kicks people off when theres too many connections. Coffee - Just par. Not great, but not bad. Want amazing? Try the Boxcar on Pearl. Brewing Market Coffee & The Laughing Goat are pretty good too and nearby. Food - Overpriced & only decent. Service - The employees are awesome! The owner... well just read my story below. Misc - The place has book shelves of poetry for reading and buying. If thats your thing, this might be your heaven. THE LONG REVIEW & STORY: I had a similar experience to Vivian M. (on Yelp) I got a cappuccino and started working, after an hour or so, an employee took my empty cup away. Later, a man (I believe Brian the owner), asked me "Can I take your order?" That was awkward and confusing, I said "I dont have an order." He said the tables were for customers only, so I told him I had cappuccino earlier and he said something like "never mind then." At first, I thought it might be racist. He didnt ask anyone else and they didnt have coffee or anything in front of them either. But here it gets weird. One minute later, some guy comes in from outside, sits a table away from me, doesnt order anything, and starts working! I get the feeling Brian doesnt care for the computer coffee environment, which is fine. My recommendation is that he just get rid of the internet all together and try to make a living off of cappuccinos and poetry. Other coffee shops have done it. Otherwise, he needs to have the employees leave the dishes on the table so he knows who are customers and who are moochers. & if he does want to ask, ask like a normal human being: "Sorry to bother you, but have you ordered anything while youve been here?" Thats a much more polite and social way of asking. In the end, this place is getting one star because of how awkward and rude the owner came off as, especially since I still cant wrap my head around why he asked me and no one else.

C B

Great poetry selection. Really nice poetry readings on Tuesdays after 6. This is the best place for poetry related merch in a really pleasant environment. The music is always calming yet compelling. The WiFi doesnt work, dont even bother. Its always a little hot and stuffy in the summer though. I think thats more an issue with the building and the landlords than the business itself though, as they seem to try to keep the place well ventilated with lots of fans and whatnot. The fact that refills on coffee are basically the same price as the original coffee is a terrible business practice though. Id really like to know how many people would have spent more money here but declined due to that. I know I have on multiple occasions. The coffee is good but its simply not that good. I love this place with all my heart but I think they would benefit from a better location and more reasonable coffee prices.

G K

Ive been going to Innisfree since the day they opened on The Hill and have had nothing but fantastic service, amazing coffee, and a nice place to study. The nitro coffee on tap now is amazing. The owner goes out of his way to be inclusive and to respect diversity. The staff also knows how to actually make many coffee drinks correctly (Ive found many places in Boulder use too much water with their espresso, and it isnt nearly concentrated enough to present the correct flavor profile). Innisfree works hard as a local business and member of the global community as well, working to buy coffee in the least oppressive way possible. This place is amazing and I wanted to make sure its reviews werent overrun with people that have been here once, or are just bad at reviewing places in general.

Beth Fonseca

my roommate and I are here at least twice a week. absolutely love this place. great lattes and bagels (I hardly order anything different, usually rounds out to a bit under $10 for a full breakfast with coffee and snacks). not the best to meet up with any more than one other person, however, it is a compact little cafe (with precious few outlets) but charming as diamonds and oh so cozy--if a bit cold in the winter! so many windows. bring your sweater if youre gonna sit here for hours on end like I tend to.

David Clair

I would so LOVE to give Innisfree a 5 Star rating. And hope I can come back in a few months and do that. I love Brian and all he has done with the cafe. But I can barely write this review as the internet is SO SLOW that you can barely bring up a web page sometimes. Hands down this is the one place that sometimes I have to use my mobile hotspot. Before I head to Innisfree I do ask myself if I really need to have any internet service or not. A shame as everything else is 5 star!

Billy Phillips

Nice coffee shop next to the University. I like that they broke the room in two with bookshelves,I just wish one side was dedicated to laptops, the other one for people who just want to chat, read or do anything other than computer work. Good coffee that you enjoy surrounded by shelves crowded with books. They have poetry reading nights, singers, story tellers.... Nice place on the Hill!

Fiona W

The coffee is good and expensive. The amount of books and art is great. The day I went, two baristas were friendly, two acted like they couldnt be bothered to interact. I dont know if they were having a bad day or it was something about me. Overall a good place to sit around, drink coffee, read, work on a laptop.

Heraa Hashmi

Quite crowded but thats to be expected as its right next to campus and full of sleep-deprived anxiety-ridden students saving up on coffee.

Andrew Maurer

Great coffee, atmosphere, and service. Smaller than other coffee shops in the area, so you might have to share a table at peak hours.

Lisa Angello

Quaint little cafe with poetry readings. Good coffee and tea and enjoyed the readings. Employees werent overly friendly.

Greta P

Its nice to be surrounded by poetry books. Coffee is decent. I havent tried the food since they moved locations

Sabrina Sideris

What an incredibly special, independent, friendly community establishment full of character & conscience!

Ace Gallagher

One of the best places in town, serves Concious Coffees a local roaster. Great space. Great service.