steep — a global guide to specialty cafes and bars

Honest, opinionated reviews of the world's best cafes and bars. Tokyo, Lisbon, Oslo, Madrid and beyond.

302 venues reviewed across 35 cities. Every one visited and paid for in person. No one pays to be featured or ranked higher.

Steep Picks

  • Komet Café Steep Pick
    Kungsholmen · Stockholm · Steep Index 9.1/10

    Stockholm's best cafe, full stop: exceptional filter coffee and espresso, homemade pastries that set the neighbourhood standard, and staff who make you feel like a regular on the first visit.

  • Brother Baba Budan Steep Pick
    Melbourne CBD · Melbourne · Steep Index 9.1/10

    One of the heavyweights of Melbourne coffee, a tiny Seven Seeds room with wooden chairs hanging from the ceiling and a flat white to match.

  • Baobá Café Bica Steep Pick
    Bica, Cais do Sodré · Lisbon · Steep Index 9.0/10

    A Brazilian family farm grows the beans in São Paulo, ships them to Lisbon, and roasts them on-site on a narrow Bica street beside the funicular. The specialty espresso is €1.50. This is, without argument, one of the best reasons to be in Cais do Sodré before 9am.

  • Brown Sound Coffee Steep Pick
    Tsudanuma, Narashino · Chiba · Steep Index 9.0/10

    A compact, carefully considered specialty cafe in Tsudanuma with latte craftsmanship that has no business being this good in a room this small. The best reason to come to Narashino.

  • TAKAHARA COFFEE ROASTERY Steep Pick
    Kumoji · Naha · Steep Index 8.9/10

    A hidden, art-gallery-fronted roastery up a dramatic stone staircase in central Naha, serving aromatic single-origin Ethiopian espresso tonic and flat white in locally crafted ceramics and a proper wine glass. A genuine espresso pilgrimage stop and a quiet escape from Naha's busiest street.

  • Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, By Hyatt Steep Pick
    Toranomon, Minato · Tokyo · Steep Index 8.9/10

    The rooftop bar on the 51st floor of Toranomon Hills Mori Tower where the Tokyo skyline does the heavy work and a genuinely imaginative cocktail program does not let it do all of it alone.

  • Capela Incomum Steep Pick
    Baixa · Porto · Steep Index 8.9/10

    A deconsecrated 19th-century chapel turned wine bar in the heart of Porto, serene enough to make the crowds outside feel far away.

  • RØST Bakery Steep Pick
    Rotermann Quarter, Kesklinn · Tallinn · Steep Index 8.9/10

    A Scandinavian-influenced sourdough bakery and specialty coffee shop in the heart of Tallinn's Rotermann Quarter, anchored by a cardamom bun worth the trip alone.

  • The Lab Coffee Steep Pick
    West Tampa · Tampa · Steep Index 8.8/10

    A funky, grunge-edged roastery cafe tucked off a West Tampa side street, found by accident and worth finding on purpose.

  • wine bar juni Steep Pick
    Meguro · Tokyo · Steep Index 8.8/10

    California-born chef Katy Cole opened this eight-seat Meguro natural wine bar and hand-threw every ceramic piece in it. Around sixty bottles, mostly Savoie and Rheinhessen, ten by the glass, in a room that looks like a Georgia O'Keeffe painting had good taste in wine.

  • Nadoya no Katte Steep Pick
    Nishihara, Shibuya · Tokyo · Steep Index 8.8/10

    In a small Nishihara space with garden seating and communal tables inside, Nadoya no Katte runs one of Tokyo's most considered coffee experiences. You choose the bean. The barista explains everything. Then you wait, and you taste.

  • The Bvlgari Lounge Steep Pick
    Yaesu, Chuo · Tokyo · Steep Index 8.8/10

    A 40th-floor afternoon tea lounge inside Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, built around Italian-inspired sweets, scrumptious scones, and a genuinely exceptional tea list.

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