Where to work in Jersey City: wifi, coffee and a table
City Guide · 2 min read
Plenty of Jersey City cafes are good to sit in. Far fewer are places we confirmed you can open a laptop, and the ones that are still pour a decent cup.
Downtown Jersey City is full of cafes you would happily sit in for an hour. Fewer are places we have actually confirmed you can work from. We only count a cafe when we saw working wifi and people with laptops open, and a lot of the rest we simply have not checked.
The good news is that the ones that do work are not a coffee compromise.
The places you can work are not the places you have to forgive.
Where is the best place to work?
Daily Provisions on Bay Street is the roomy one. There are plenty of seats, the wifi works, and you will see other people working. It opens early with a long breakfast menu, and the salted caramel cold brew steeps for 18 hours. If you want to settle in for the day, start here.
Is there a cafe with a porch?
Vis à Vis on Newark Avenue is a rustic room with good wifi, tables inside and a front porch facing the plaza. The latte was nicely pulled and aromatic, and the shakshuka is the order. It stays open into the evening, which makes it the best choice for a late session.
What about a bakery?
Choc O Pain on Jersey Avenue has wifi and a calm room, and the pain au chocolat is the reason to go. It is small, so seats are limited and it is better as a morning stop than an all-day base.
Is Cafe Tabarka good for working?
It is welcoming and easy to settle into, and laptops are fine. We have not confirmed the wifi, and the latte came out flat and milky, so order the Turkish-style brunch instead of the coffee. It closes mid-afternoon.
- Daily ProvisionsDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 8.1/10
An all-day neighborhood kitchen on Bay Street with plenty of seats, wifi, a long breakfast and lunch menu, and a salted caramel cold brew worth ordering.
- Vis à Vis Cafe & BistroDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 8.2/10
A rustic cafe on Newark Avenue with good wifi, front porch tables, and a long breakfast and lunch menu at fair prices.
- Choc O Pain French Bakery and Café - JC Downtown Steep PickDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 8.5/10
A small French bakery cafe on Jersey Avenue with baguettes, croissants and tarts, and a pain au chocolat worth crossing town for.
- Cafe TabarkaDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 7.9/10
A Turkish-leaning cafe on Erie Street with a warm room, a welcoming owner and a menu of brunch and desserts. Order the food, not the latte.
- Dames Coffee Espresso Bar Steep PickDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 8.7/10
A tiny Jersey Avenue espresso bar with coffee-minded baristas and a backyard patio garden out back.
What if the coffee matters more than the table?
Then skip the laptop. Dames on Jersey Avenue is a tiny espresso bar where most people take the cup to go, and the butterscotch espresso drink is the best coffee we had in the city. Hidden Grounds has the chai and the in-house roasted espresso, but the seats are few and the room is not built for a long solo session.
Walk it
The wifi cafes sit on different streets, so pair them with a route. Bay Street to Van Vorst Park starts at Daily Provisions, and Jersey Avenue runs through Dames, Vis à Vis and Choc O Pain. All of them are on the Downtown Jersey City guide.