Without a doubt, best coffee I've had in Baltimore

The upstairs is great for getting work done (much less crowded than Starbucks), the smoothies are great, and everyone is very friendly. Biggest downside is that they don't have a griddle, so the eggs are microwaved just like Sam's Bagels. read more

It is hard to overstate how impressive this place is in terms of its customer service. I came across town to grade final exams here based on Yelp reviews that listed it as a good café to work at. I was very warmly greeted when I arrived (the woman at the counter actually suggested I check out their upstairs lounge before deciding whether or not I wanted to order a coffee). That upstairs lounge is indeed an awesome place to work. Tons of light, exposed brick and large work spaces with free wifi and abundant plugs for your laptop. I decided to stay for lunch and when I ordered something a little off the beaten path (a ginger lime chicken salad wrap), the gentleman at the counter offered me a sample without my asking to make sure I liked it before placing my order. He also found me a colder coconut water (again without me asking for one) when I went to pay and then offered a free refill on my coffee. The guy was looking out for me at every turn -- again, very impressive. Lastly, the ginger and lime chicken salad wrap was indeed interesting -- I liked the limey punch it had to it, though it probably isn't for everyone. If there's a downside to this place, it's the drip coffee, which is serviceable, but not on the level of a Zeke's. Overall, I can't recommend the place strongly enough if you're looking for a place to camp out and get some work done. It seems like a such a simple thing to really take an interest in your customer's well-being, but so few places do so. Fortunately, we have Koba. Added bonus: signed photo of 90's Colombian soccer star Caros Valderrama. Props! read more

Koba Café - Perfect spot to settle into some grading. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

Average but great service and HORRID parking options. This is about as good as it gets around here so suck it up and support the cafe so they can step up their diversity of options. read more

While on my way to Philly from DC, I decided to stop in Baltimore for breakfast. Found this place through yelp. The place was really impressive. upper level is real nice place to sit back and work/relax, they also have free open wi-fi. downstairs is bit active with music and customer chitchat.. loved their smoothie, real fruits, no powders.. egg sandwich was good too, nothing special there but 10 out of 10 for ambiance :) A chill place to start your morning !!! read more

Love this place! Fiance and I decided to check out some of Baltimore's coffee shops. We found this place on Yelp and was more than pleased with the service and food. We used the upstairs to do wedding planning, which provided a nice and quiet atmosphere. Since visiting this place, we've been to other coffee shops, but none has compared to this one as of yet. Free WiFi and great customer service, not to mention we found parking almost next to the door. You can't beat that! read more

My wife and I were able to sneak away for a quick coffee and it wad great! Atmosphere was quiet enough for me to take a conference call and comfortable enough for us to relax after! read more

Really friendly staff. A nice change from chain coffee shops. The Ginger Lime Chicken Salad wrap was delicious.

Koba Cafe is a great neighborhood gem in Federal Hill. Good coffee and food with reasonable prices (this morning's large iced cafe au lait was $2.50 and most sandwiches are around $6.50, including a side). Most importantly, however, the owner Adam is one of the nicest and hardest working guys you'll ever meet. He has an amazing knack for remembering customers by name and making you feel at home. A very different experience than larger coffee chains. read more

The BEST and friendliest coffee shop in Baltimore. Tell the owner your name once and he will never forget you. Dog friendly (although I'm sure if you walked your cat they would let you in too). Coffee is very strong, smoothies are fresh and breakfast is delicious read more

Visiting for a few days and I liked the look of this place so I decided to check it out. The people behind the counter were extremely nice and welcoming. I ordered a breve hot (very yummy) and they told me that I could sit comfortably upstairs. Upstairs is great! Lots of fun places to sit or do work. I sat and listened to an audio book on a couch next to a window for 2 hours. I will most likely be coming back here again! Great vibe :) lots of people here working on computers. Free wifi?! Yes please! read more

The coffee/tea/etc... and food here are very good but the service is EXCELLENT! It's great to see a small business that embraces their community and genuinely provides good service. The owner and staff remember your name and order after very few visits and always seem genuinely thankful that you've stopped by. Please support this business! read more

Couldn't have a better neighbor than Koba. Great coffee, awesome choices for vegetarians, great smoothies, warm atmosphere without any of the small local coffee shop snobbery. Adam is just about the best dude on the planet. The 2nd time you walk in he'll remember your name and your drink will already be in process. read more

This is my favorite place to go and escape and work! I love the upstairs lounge which has recently been redone! The almond joy mocha is to die for and there tomato mozzarella panini on the lunch menu is bit filling and delicious! The staff is friendly and remembers a face! When I need a quiet place to get away from my home office, I chose Koba! read more

Koba is a great little urban cafe in Federal Hill! I love the feeling of walking into a place and being a "Regular". They always greet me by name, and know my order. You can get in and out quickly and parking is not typically and issue. I usually just stop to pick up coffee, but I did sit upstairs one time. Its cozy and they sometimes allow pets. This place really feels like your "neighborhood" coffee spot! read more

Cute little coffee shop in Riverside. Unfortunately it's about a mile walk from my house, but that also allows you to work up a bit of an appetite. The food and drinks are both good with a nice homey atmosphere. read more

This cafe is so charming, it feels like a home away from home. I walked into warm greetings from the staff and a calm and work friendly environment. There are 2 seating levels (Upper/lower) which is conveniant for those who are easily distracted. (Me) The music isn't too blaring and distracting so I can still focus while sitting upatairs. The atmosphere is comfortable with plenty of seating, free WiFi and electrical outlets. The coffee is reasonably priced and there are a ton of healthy food/snack options. It is very clean AND there is free parking!!! Can't beat it! This was my first time here and I will definitely be back soon!! read more

Ugh. Not a good sign when that's the first word to come out of my mouth to describe this place. It's a warm day outside so I was looking forward to a nice cool place to sit. Nope. Super warm. Ok. But how about the coffee. Watery muck. I had to dump most of it. No outlets. Good internet but need power to work. Moving on to the place around the corner read more

Yummy coffee. Relaxed atmosphere. Friendliest service ever. I'll be back again and again-- they've got a new regular!

Not a fan. I tried one of the egg sandwiches, where the egg was microwaved. Then the quesadilla had zero (exaggerated) cheese in it.

Amazingly good coffee, delicious homemade food, and the human warmth of caring that is rarely seen in the hurry up day to day lives we live. Koba is immaculately clean too. read more

This lovely little neighborhood coffee shop is our absolute favorite! The service is so warm and friendly, the coffee is great, and their lentil soup is fantastic!!! We have become friendly with the owner, Adam, and are enamored by what a kind, gentle soul he is. Koba Cafe is the epitome of a true urban neighborhood gem. It makes me want to go to Starbucks and stand out front imploring people to support small local businesses like Koba! Why would those of us who live in this small but charming city do anything else? Shop local no matter where you live!! read more

The service here was great! The staff is very friendly and the food is delicious. The prices are very low. I love the fact that this place has free wifi also. I would definitely recommend going here. read more

Very cool ambiance in this two story row-house converted to coffee shop. Friendly owner on premises who remembered our orders from the day before. Oh yeah - good coffee, too! read more

Excellent coffee, smoothies, salads, soups. Fast Wifi, very friendly service. Everyone there remembers your name, remembers your kids names, remembers your order. Upstairs they have more seating, some bigger tables if you need to do a little meeting, and even a private room in the back if you need to take a call. read more

I just went for coffee as a tourist and the coffee was probably 3.5 stars. Good but a bit watery. But the service pushed everything higher for me. The baristas let me try samples, gave refills and were genuinely enthusiastic about their work. I would go back. read more

City chic! Great positive vibe. A beautiful Resturant with an outstanding Resturant owner who not only makes great food (especially lentil soup)but loves to make customers comfortable. He's a nice family guy. They have fun kid food and everything is generally healthy and well made without breaking the bank. read more

We stopped at Koba on our way through town - we were enroute to Wilmington DE and stopped for a Craigslist handover in South Baltimore - this is where the meet was suggested so we had lunch. A very quiet Saturday at the café, but the staff was great and the food was really fantastic. We split three plates: avocado toast, deviled eggs, and lamb sliders. I'm on a bit of a deviled egg run of late, and they were good, but the lamb sliders were the best of a very good set of food. Great flavor, just the right combo of ingredients, and three to split were plenty for lunch. To top it off, a great French music soundtrack playing. This is a really nice café that we'll take advantage of in the future. read more

This is what a coffee shop/cafe should be, especially since there aren't any in SoBo. The staff is really nice. The coffee is made to your liking and they always make sure to get it right. I've had the sandwiches there a few times, they're always made fresh. The paninis are very good and the pasta that it comes with is simple but yummy. read more

This coffeeshop has nice character, a quiet atmosphere, great selection of coffee and tea drinks (reasonable prices too), but the trashy barista yelling on her phone about an expensive water bill and turning out the lights half an hour before closing time really detracted from the away-from-home space I desired. Not relaxing, nor professional. For everything else, I'd come back another time. read more

I'm shocked at my experience there today considering the reviews below. It is a nice place and has a good selection of drinks and food, but the man helping me today got my sandwich order wrong THREE different times. I don't know if he was new or completely out of it for certain reasons, but it had gotten ridiculous at that point. Also, once I got the right sandwich, it wasn't very good. read more

One of my favorite coffee shops in Baltimore. Its a great two story place that offers good drinks, free wifi, and a nice place to relax or get work done. read more

I often go to Koba just to quickly grab a coffee; sometimes I go to sit and comfortably linger while doing some work. I love this place! I love it so much I even hosted a baby shower there recently. Their upstairs space is set up like a very large living room and is quite comfortable. We were a party of 16 and we had plenty of space. The owner, Adam, was a pleasure to work with. He was incredibly attentive and accommodating. The staff was also considerate and friendly. I am thrilled with the service I always receive. In a nutshell, it's a little gem of a coffee shop! read more

The reason this is not a 5-star review is absolutely no fault of the owners. The food? INCREDIBLE! The drinks? PERFECT! The staff? VERY COOL! However, if you go to the supposedly quiet upstairs to get some work or studying done, you are flipping a coin, sorta like that Two-Face guy on Batman. I have been there when it was wonderfully serene...only to have that serenity shattered by inconsiderate people who bring their kid(s) up there and then proceed to try and impress us all with how smart their kids are by having loud convos about schoolwork and other things. If you are an adult, and you come to an establishment where everyone else is quiet, on their PCs, taking notes while poring over books, you should be smart enough to leave the quiet alone and drag your kid back downstairs. Please. read more

It was just okay. I think I ordered wrong. Pasta salad was the saving grace of my meal

It is USUALLY quiet on the second floor. However, today, around 11:15AM, clueless Mommy and her rambunctious child showed up. She made a comment how it's quiet so that people can work and then proceeded to be outrageously loud and annoying by demonstrating how she likes to play with her child. I will still come here, and the 3-star rating is just for that incident, but I really wish the owners would put up a couple of large QUIET PLEASE signs upstairs. I know that you can book the long table for meetings but, on the weekend, it is best to keep things quiet up there. And now, a trio just showed up and one of them feels the strange need to do the I'm-in-Starbucks-and-talking-loudly-so-you-can-share-in-how-terrbile-my-life-is voice. 'You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. - Sherlock Holmes -A Scandal in Bohemia When you enter a room where no one is talking, it is clear that that is the way it should stay. To most people. Who can think. And observe. Then think some more. read more

i love koba! a great local business with beautiful art, good drinks and good foods. the staff is friendly and the owner is always there, a sign that he really cares about his business, the community, and his customers. read more

I always come here when I have a day off or on the weekend when I need to study. The owner and employees are so nice and attentive. The upstairs is usually quiet, some people quietly talking, but still a good study spot! read more

Hung out there for a quick study session. Great place with a lot of character, food and coffee was good. It was our first time there, so we could have used a friendly greeting and a few minutes to look over the menu, but instead we felt a little rushed to order. read more

One of the few coffee places that I actually like in the baltimore/maryland area. Just the perfect amount of syrup for flavored espresso drinks(mocha, caramel, etc). Also the flavor/syrup didn't become more stronger as you drank it. read more