The 10 best coffee shops in Iași

Iași drinks coffee like the student city it is: quickly, between lectures, but paying more and more attention to what is in the cup. In 2014, good coffee here meant a tiny corner on Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare, where two people started explaining to locals what specialty coffee was. Today there are roasters in the city centre, V60 filter made with coffee roasted in Amsterdam, cold brew with tonic, properly made ibrik and bean-to-bar chocolate. Ștefan cel Mare alone, between the Palace of Culture and Piața Unirii, is home to three of the best addresses on this list.

For this guide we read the ratings and reviews on Google Maps (checked on 26 September 2026), TripAdvisor and European Coffee Trip, the local press and the menus the cafés publish, so we can tell you not just where to go but also what to order once you get there. The Google rating is the starting point, not the verdict: a 4.9 from a few hundred opinions says more than a 5 from a few dozen, and a place with an excellent brunch is not necessarily the best place for coffee.

Under each name you will find the rating, address and opening hours from Google Maps. Prices are those on the menus the cafés published in 2026, where they exist, and may change.

1. Jassyro: our pick

Ask anyone in Iași where specialty coffee started and most will give you one name: Jassyro. Silviu and Daniela opened it in 2014, on Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare, as a takeaway coffee bar, at a time when specialty coffee was almost unknown in the city. Twelve years on it is still a small place, but it has one of the best ratings in town, on a large volume of reviews, and a community of customers who come back day after day.

The takeaway idea did not survive contact with people: Jassyro became a place where you stop for ten minutes and stay for an hour, on the wooden stairs or at the tables outside, looking out over the boulevard, listening to Silviu's stories about the farms the coffee comes from.

What to order

• flat white (14 lei), the coffee by which every specialty bar is judged, at the lowest price among the published menus
• a V60 (24 lei) or a batch brew (13 lei), if you want to taste the origin itself
• ibrik (14 lei), Turkish-style coffee made with specialty beans
• in summer, an espresso tonic or a cold brew tonic (22 lei)
• with your coffee: a Pastel de Nata (10 lei, at weekends), a Levain Cookie (16 lei) or a seasonal tart (20 lei)

The vibe: a small space with the feel of a neighbourhood café right in the centre, a few tables outside and baristas who keep you talking. Dogs are welcome, and if you are in a hurry, call ahead and your coffee will be waiting for you.

What people praise

• the coffee, for many “the best coffee spot in Iași”
• the baristas and their stories, mentioned in review after review
• the warm atmosphere of an “unexpected gem” on the boulevard
• the vegan options in the cake display

Good to know

• it closes early: 14:30 on weekdays, 15:30 at weekends
• plant milk costs 4 lei extra, and cold drinks are noticeably pricier than hot ones
• budget: 14–30 lei per person

Why it is number one: it is the only café in town that combines a 4.9 rating, a twelve-year history and prices a student can afford every day. It put Iași on the specialty coffee map and, after all these years, it still makes coffee the way it did on day one.

2. Navar: Europe's great roasters, on the boulevard

Navar opened in August 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, with an idea its founders summed up simply for Iașul nostru: to bring the big roasters from abroad to the city. Over the years, coffees from Friedhats and DAK, both from Amsterdam, La Cabra and Fjord have passed through the grinder, so from one week to the next there is something different to taste. For filter lovers, it is the first place to go.

What to order

• a filter: V60 from 22 to 30 lei, depending on the coffee; the barista will briefly suggest a few options
• batch brew (14 lei), the cheapest way to taste a top-tier coffee
• flat white (17 lei) or cortado (16 lei), with oat milk or, rare in Iași, pea milk
• in summer: cold brew tonic, espresso orange or matcha tonic (22 lei)
• with your coffee: brownie, banana bread or carrot cake (14 lei)

The vibe: a small, friendly, modern café with a terrace facing the boulevard and books to leaf through at the tables. Regulars come every week, and the question at the bar is always the same: “what are we trying today?”.

What people praise

• the coffee: for many long-time customers, “the best specialty coffee in Iași”
• the milk, well textured in the flat white and cortado
• a team that recommends a coffee to suit your taste
• the cakes, praised even at events, where Navar does the catering

Good to know

• the beans on the shelf can be bought to take home
• if you want to hear the story behind your coffee, ask the barista: the introduction does not always come unprompted
• budget: 14–35 lei per person

The place to take friends who think all coffee tastes the same.

3. Coffee Story: the roastery next to Palas

Coffee Story is first and foremost a roastery: founded in 2017, it imports green coffee from farms that meet specialty standards and roasts it right here, on Strada Sfântul Lazăr, a few steps from Palas. The café is where you taste coffee fresh out of the roaster, 100% arabica, much of it single origin, such as the Ethiopian King Solomon, one of the roastery's latest arrivals.

What to order

• an espresso or a cortado made with the house blend, to see how they roast
• a V60 or Aeropress brewed with a freshly roasted origin
• a flat white, if you want your coffee with milk
• in summer, the house cold brew, which you can also find in their online shop
• on your way out, a bag of whole beans, for ibrik, V60, Aeropress or moka pot

The vibe: relaxed, with tables inside and out and a team of baristas who have built a community around them: customers who came for the coffee and stayed, week after week, for the people. Good for an hour's work on a laptop, too.

What people praise

• the baristas: skilful, friendly and happy to explain anything
• the freshly roasted coffee, which many also buy to take home
• the calm atmosphere, away from the bustle of the mall
• the prices: on Google, customers put it in the 1–20 lei per person bracket

Good to know

• the roast is somewhat darker than at bars serving Nordic roasters: one customer used to very light coffees found it too intense
• at the same address you will also find Cafeneaua Noastră (4.8 from nearly 500 reviews), with a Brazil–Ethiopia blend, sandwiches and its famous peanut butter cookies
• Google shows several sets of opening hours for the address: check before you go
• budget: under 20 lei per person, by customers' estimates

4. Capuchin Coffee Roasters: coffee and chocolate from bean to bar

Until recently, the café on Ștefan cel Mare was called Prăjitoria de Cafea (the Coffee Roastery), and the company behind it, founded in 2017, still bears that name. Now it is called Capuchin and it takes two things seriously: it roasts specialty coffee sourced from farms in Ethiopia, El Salvador, Peru, Kenya and Brazil and, more recently, bean-to-bar chocolate, made from cocoa beans also roasted here. The tall shelves, full of bags, tea jars and chocolate bars, look like a luxury grocery for coffee.

What to order

• an espresso or a filter made with an origin from the shelf: Kenya Kirinyaga, El Salvador Los Pirineos or a less usual Colombian
• a cappuccino made with the Capuchin Blend, the house coffee, 100% arabica
• a tea from the house selection, if you do not drink coffee: black, white, green, oolong and pu-erh
• to take home: a 70% bean-to-bar chocolate bar and a bag of whole beans (from 60 lei in the online shop)

The vibe: half café, half roastery shop, smelling of freshly roasted coffee, with a team that tells you the story of the beans “from farm to cup”. Dogs are welcome, and the long hours, until 22:00 on Sundays, make it a good stop after a walk through the centre.

What people praise

• the coffee, “very aromatic and high quality”
• the bean-to-bar chocolates, tasted side by side as at a tasting
• people who know every origin they sell

Good to know

• it also runs coffee courses; the schedule is on its website
• there is a second café at Șoseaua Păcurari 35
• at the same address is Bistro “La noi”, with vintage decor and coffee from the same roastery, if you also want something to eat
• budget: bar prices are not published online; beans to take home start at 60 lei a bag

5. Gist: the café to linger in, in the heart of the city

Opened in March 2021 by Tudor, a web designer who wanted a “third place” between home and office, Gist is one of the most talked-about specialty cafés in Iași, with more than 850 reviews on Google. The space is designed on two levels: downstairs for conversation, upstairs for those who want to read or work, all wood and metal, industrial yet welcoming.

What to order

• flat white (17 lei) or cappuccino (15 lei), the most ordered drinks
• Weekly Selection: every other week, a more adventurous coffee, as a V60 (26 lei) or Aeropress (26 lei), for 3 lei extra
• in summer: cold brew latte (26 lei) or double espresso tonic (23 lei)
• with your coffee: Cardamom Bun (13 lei), Apricot Rosemary Danish (25 lei) or Savory Pain Suisse with pork tenderloin and brânză de burduf, a sharp Romanian sheep's cheese (21 lei)
• in the evening, the same place serves cocktails, wine and beer

The vibe: bohemian and relaxed, with plenty of window seats, ideal for a long afternoon with a laptop or with friends. Its hours, until midnight from Thursday to Saturday, are among the longest in the centre.

What people praise

• the atmosphere, “really lovely” and relaxing
• the coffee and the brownie, “absolutely delicious”
• friendly staff, always smiling

Good to know

• it runs latte art (150 lei) and alternative brewing workshops; they sell out fast
• some customers find the prices high, but the portions are generous
• budget: 15–45 lei per person

6. Negru Zi: coffee and theatre in a house from 1908

The loveliest story on the list. Negru Zi is the project of a local couple, a geographer and an actress, who opened the café in Casa Streit, a 1908 building near Piața Unirii, close to the Theatre and Music faculties. There are two rooms, the Amphitheatre, for performances, and the Atelier, for the visual arts, plus a terrace, with around 70 seats in all. And at the bar the rule is strict: single-origin coffee only, 100% arabica, scoring more than 85 SCA points, roasted medium to light.

What to order

• a V60 (23 lei) or a French press (19 lei); ask which origins are available
• flat white (17 lei), cortado (16 lei) or a galão (14 lei), the Portuguese take on the latte
• matcha latte (23 lei), which one customer compared to the ones she drank in Asia
• in summer: espresso orange (21 lei) or cold brew tonic (22 lei)
• with your coffee: the pistachio croissant, praised in reviews

The vibe: quiet by day, good for work or a long conversation, and lively in the evening, when the Amphitheatre hosts theatre, improv and travel talks. For those evenings, the menu also has wine and beer from local producers, plus cocktails.

What people praise

• the calm: a “really lovely, quiet” café where you can work or talk
• the matcha and the filter coffee
• the building and the theatre nights

Good to know

• follow the events programme on their page so you can catch a theatre night
• there is also a babyccino (8 lei) for little ones
• budget: 15–40 lei per person

7. Fika: the Swedish coffee break, on Piața Unirii

“Fika” is the Swedish coffee break, with something sweet and people around you, and Andrei discovered it on holiday. With Roxana he spent three years looking for the right space, until they found a former clothes shop on Piața Unirii, next to the Junimea bookshop. The result is one of the cafés that taught Iași about specialty coffee, with simple Nordic decor and no logos on the cups, because, as Andrei puts it, respect for coffee shows “first of all in the cups”.

What to order

• flat white, the drink Fika made its name with
• a cortado, for something shorter and more intense
• with your coffee: a fresh croissant or something sweet from the display
• at lunchtime: house-made sandwiches and quiche

The vibe: colourful, young and always busy, with a cosier upstairs favoured by those who come to work or read. Besides coffee, Fika hosts book launches, small concerts, wine tastings and debates.

What people praise

• the fresh desserts and the sweet and savoury snacks
• the upstairs, the cosiest corner of the café
• a good spot for anything: working, reading, socialising or simply relaxing

Good to know

• it is one of the most popular cafés in town, with nearly 1,600 reviews: at peak times, service slows down
• some reviews praise the food more than the coffee; for a collector's filter, Navar and Jassyro are close by
• budget: 20–40 lei per person

8. Status Coffee: double espresso, hidden in Palas

A small café in the basement of Palas, near Auchan, that you will not find unless you know about it, but that those who do put in their personal top list. Status has one rule: every drink is made with a double espresso, from coffees that change often, from Burundi, Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala or Kenya.

What to order

• a double espresso from the origin of the moment, the most ordered drink
• the house “cappuccino”, which is really a flat white, with two shots
• in summer, iced coffee, a customer favourite

The vibe: quiet, a hideaway for a short break between shops or after a stroll in the Palas Gardens. Not a place for a whole afternoon, but for a good coffee, drunk without hurrying.

What people praise

• the espresso, which is “a nice surprise every time”, another culture, another taste
• an intensity you can taste even in the milk drinks
• the best specialty coffee around Palas

Good to know

• there is no classic single-shot cappuccino, so milk drinks are more intense than you might expect
• it is inside the mall, so there is parking
• budget: under 20 lei per person, by customers' estimates

9. The Beginning: champions' coffee, in Copou

Opened more than a decade ago and described by Iașul nostru as “the first specialty coffee shop in Iași”, The Beginning is Copou's café, on Bulevardul Carol I, a few minutes from the park and the university. Over the years, Robert, the owner, has brought coffees to the city from some of Europe's most awarded roasters, such as La Cabra, April, The Barn and Gardelli.

What to order

• flat white, “the smoothest”, according to a loyal customer
• an espresso, which Iașul nostru called one of the creamiest in town
• in summer, the frappé, made with whole ice cubes rather than blended ice

The vibe: a university-neighbourhood café with a terrace, good for a break between lectures or before a walk in Copou Park. Dogs are welcome, and laptops are at home here.

What people praise

• the distinctive coffee and attentive service
• the frappé and the espresso
• the friendly staff

Good to know

• the best place on the list if you live or study in Copou
• one recent customer could not taste a difference between the cappuccino and the flat white; the team says it calibrates its recipes daily and asked for details so it could check
• budget: 20–40 lei per person

10. Harmony Cafe: Copou's garden, with coffee roasted in-house

The most talked-about café on the list, with nearly 2,000 reviews on Google. Harmony is a family business that has served Copou for more than nine years, behind the Chamber of Commerce, with a garden that is rare in the city. The family then went a step further and started its own roastery, Ecce Coffee Roasters, with coffees from Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia and Costa Rica, and a motto that says it all: “But first, people”.

What to order

• a large latte or a flat white made with Ecce coffee
• pancakes with banana, chocolate and peanuts or with forest fruits, the most popular dishes
• an unhurried brunch, if you come before lunchtime
• on your way out, a bag of Ecce coffee (40–85 lei, depending on the origin)

The vibe: spacious, bright and calm, “an oasis” in Copou, with a garden in summer. It is more a café with a kitchen than a specialty bar, good for a long catch-up with friends or a family breakfast.

What people praise

• the generous portions and the smell of good coffee
• the pleasant atmosphere and friendly staff
• the garden, on warm days

Good to know

• closed on Sundays
• you can book a table
• budget: 40–60 lei per person, with food

In short: where to go, depending on what you want

• our pick: Jassyro
• a filter from Europe's top roasters: Navar
• coffee roasted in town, to take home: Coffee Story or Capuchin
• working on a laptop: Gist or upstairs at Fika
• coffee and an evening of theatre: Negru Zi
• near Palas: Status or Coffee Story
• in Copou, near the university: The Beginning or Harmony Cafe
• coffee after 20:00: Gist, Fika or Negru Zi
• a flat white at a student price: Jassyro (14 lei)

A few tips

• specialty cafés close early: Jassyro at 14:30 on weekdays, Navar at 17:30; in the evening, Gist, Fika, Negru Zi and Capuchin stay open
• plant milk costs extra almost everywhere, 3–4 lei
• on Bulevardul Ștefan cel Mare, Jassyro, Capuchin and Navar are a few minutes apart: a coffee crawl on foot, in a single morning
• if you are on the go, the NOIR Coffee Roasters vans in Copou, by UMF (the medical university), at Palas and on Piața Unirii are rated 4.8–4.9 on Google and stay open until midnight

Opening hours, menus and prices change, and Google ratings move with the reviews. Check each café's page before you set off.