Reviews of Book Trader Cafe (Coffee Shop)

rezart mersini

Great location and the atmosphere is very inviting and relaxing. The iced coffee I ordered was rich and not watered down...the service was very friendly...I tried the scone as well, earl gray flavor and I dis enjoy it. Would definitely recommend this place...last time I was here it must have been at least few years if not longer...

Jamie Besnoff

Cute little cafe that doubles as a bookstore. Great outdoor seating area. Great location, right next to Yale and downtown New Haven

F Cintron

Live this place ; The simple menu has never disappointed me. Great sandwiches, bake goods, soups, coffees and teas. If you're a lover of 2nd hand Books, DVDs , and Music, you'll love to take at look, and see what surprises you might find.

Sal Elder

You can stumble on some good books for cheap, but I wouldn't go in looking for a particular title. Also, some of the shelves are behind tables, making the store look like a café with books for decorations.

Juliette Blanchard

Definitely a good place to work. The atmosphere is cozy. They propose many books you can take, and if you love them, you can buy them. I definitely love this place

Unsung Lee

Quiet and Quiet, so good to drink coffee with reading

tashawn watters

Friendly people and good coffee

Melissa Medina

Rocky road latte was sweet but perfectly tasty at the same time.

Lia Berrocal

Great coffee best scones ever!

Owen Barrett

A nice vibe for a coffeeshop, though service was very confused.

Andy Chernak

Nice atmosphere and good food.

Nadine Horton

Food is a bit over priced for us New Haven natives, but Yalies dont seem to mind.

Lisa Schain

Great little place! Coffee, food and books! The selection of used books is awesome. A little bit of everything. Very organized. There is a great place to work, read and have coffee. Lots of tables. I do wish there was better parking. This is a great book shop! :)

Noah Kopf

Great vibe, good prices

Orange Cub 019

Finally, a different business strategy in USA. It's about time somebody become little bit creative where the creativity is killed daily.

Joneen Nielsen

This is a most enjoyable spot, right in the heart of New Haven. Food is good and the wide array of books, DVDS and CD's is better.

Kathy Nguyen

Amazing bagels! Had the lox and it was super yummy

Yasmin Amico

Good food. Great service. A large variety of books showcasing diverse genres in a quaint, small space. A cute, en plein aire patio garden. Lovely atmosphere. Try the soups and sandwiches. Read a book. Buy a book. Stay awhile. Enjoy the atmosphere in this urban city oasis. A book lovers haven! Affordable prices.

Bina

It's a nice cozy bookstore and sit-down cafe. If you ask, you can get great book recommendations from Dave.

Amy

A 5 for the space (open, patio too) but a 1 for service. I asked for decaf coffee and got regular, little to no acknowledgement of me after walking in.

Lillian Sellati

They generally have a daily gluten free soup & to-go salads (ex. curried chicken salad), which are very good. They occasionally have gluten free bars or muffins too, which tend to be decent but not amazing. The place is often pretty packed so I suggest going at off times or just picking up lunch to go.

Nate Stockmal

This place gives off great vibes. My snack was delicious and the coffee was exactly the pick-me-up I needed. The books were also interesting, especially the pulp fiction section. It's just your typical college cafe, and it fulfills it's role perfectly. Although some people like to work quietly there, they won't kick you out for being "way too loud."

Pedro Enamorado

The best mocha in New Haven and the perfect breakfast sandwich.

Nick Shelton

A great little bookstore, but there are others along chapel that are also great.

M G

Great place to pick up a book or to get cash for your used books.

Deirdre Dolan

Great coffee, used books. Perfect combination.

Steve Dowd

Nice spot but if you have somewhere to be after i dont recommend going here because you will smell like smoke due to a bad quality exhaust fan or none at all. You will smell like something burning in a toaster all day lol.

Mohamed Kandil

Excellent place to study/work/chat. Friendly staff and great book collection. I see myself returning here weekly if not more often.

Debra Fraulo

Always friendly staff. Great quick food! Lots of varieties changes daily!

Bianca Bolaños Aparicio

Great place.

Hadas Be

Great coffee!!

Brick Capo

Quiet nook in this crazy new haven cranny. Great books. Some semi-rare finds. A bit overpriced but comparable. You can also get food and drink here as well. If u love hardcopy and not ebooks or if u owe your library$$ and can't get card this place is the next best thing.

M Borrus

One of my favorite places in new haven. Part coffee shop, part used book store, part (human) greenhouse. There's no type of room I like more than one that has windows for walls, so I might be partial to this building. The staff is really nice, they have hundreds and hundreds of books on everything- I love to come in and browse before working. Food is pretty good, good variety of options and can fit your dietary needs.

Owen Recchio

Great bookstore and cafe also buys books and media

Joe Wehry

A terrific selection of used books in great condition adjoining a small café with outdoor seating. An intimate and intelligent alternative.

Arthur Schiller Casimir

Great place for lunch and chat over coffee. Wonderful place to browse and purchase used books.

Kelly King

The staff are always friendly and efficient, the coffee and food are great, and browsing for books is an adventure.

Alba Morillo

Food is not good. Eggs seems to be liquid from a box. Bread is good though and waiting time. Coffee is good, I drink it black with sugar.

Peter Sorensen

My favourite coffee place in town, and a bookstore!

Louise Cameron

Love getting DVD's there !

Jere Adametz

The staff is always super nice. I love their Lemon Bars. My friends love their vegan lunch options.

Paige Blankenship

Love Book Trader Cafe! Their drinks and baked goods are always yummy. The peanut noodles from the cold case are one of my favorite items. They often have gluten free and vegan options. It's also a great place to go and study or to shop for used books!

Gina Macholl

Food and service was excellent. Food was very fresh and made to order. Coffee was delicious and the service was fast and very friendly. Nice place to sit and enjoy the city.

Tom McWilliam

Excellent collection of books

Frank Fraulo

Awesome cafe and books everywhere!

Pierina DaRos

Nice place to sit and read a book

Jeffrey Dorwart

Awesome coffee and snacks while shopping for a good book. Right next to Yale and Gateway Community College.

Gregor Nobis

Nice sandwiches and the Thai sesame peanut noodles were great.

Chris Glass

A wide variety of unique sandwiches all served on fresh bread -- with lots of books all around. Amazing service! My favorite place to have lunch in New Haven.

Wolf

Love this place! Great food, friendly staff!

Rob Delach

Great espresso drinks, amongst shelves filled with books. What more could one want?

Sabrina Whiteman

Great welcoming space. However they are currently under renovations.

Robert Condon

The Book Trader Cafe has used books and a sandwich shop with coffee, muffins, soups, and seating under a greenhouse wing. You can sell your books here as well. Because of it's proxmity to Yale University the are looking for books as academic as possible. The used books are strong on foreign languages, history, art, travel, paperback fiction but not real big on computer books or math and science. They have excellent blueberry muffins. The coffee is strong. The pea soup can be very good. The sandwiches are named after famous writers such as the Melville, Hemingway, Jane Rare etc. If you buy $100.00 worth of books you can get a 10 percent off discount. I have done this four times so far. If you are a book junkie this place is for you.

Alicia Fowler

Great book selection -- it's actually organized and alphabetized! Lovely staff. Delicious treats and coffee.

Ciro Romero

Great used book variety, organized but not too organized, decent coffee, and tasty sandwiches with an outdoor eatery. Enjoyed my time there.

S S W

Bring cash if you only want a coffee. $5 min on credit cards.

Sohum Pal

extremely well-priced books, and the sandwiches are quite good as well.

Paul Rocheny

Best deals on books. Love to visit when I'm in the area.

Peter Sparks

Nice place, great outdoor seating. Sandwiches were STACKED, and came very quick. Soup was also good. Lively place, also great book browsing!

Daniel

Meh

Kayla Gonzalez

I absolutely adore this place! The setting is wonderfully welcoming with a nice home feel to it! The service is always fantastic, everyone is always so polite, smiling and making sure they do their best to help you in any way they can. The food is without a doubt delicious. My personal favorite is not only the wonderful wide variety of books and DVD's they offer but the fact that everything is more than fairly priced...I truly consider this place a true New Haven gold mine!! I would also like to thank Dave for doing such an amazing job with always coming through and helping me find any and every book or dvd I need..in store or not he always finds it! Thank you, Book Trader Cafe! ❤ Love, A very happy customer

Princess Puffles

Food was not bad, decor was nice, like the patio area. Service was really lacking, they should train the staff better.

Ben Silvert

Great place to hang, read, work and snack.

Brad Devas

Let me tell you!!

satyaprakash pareek

Nice place to work, good coffees and A LOT of interesting diverse books. I like to work in my afternoons there. Internet is super fast.

Anne Marie Champagne

Books!

Ismael Garcia

Un sitio genial para alguien que le encante los libros y degustar un buen café. Uno de mis rincones favoritos en New Haven.

Kat lam

Good for studying, reading but the coffee and food were pretty bad. The coffee was too burnt. The latte foam is non-existent. Grape tomato&fresh mozzarella wasn't too bad. They are just how they are. The homemade pesto sauce was really plain. No favor at all.

david quinones

Great for geting a From common public library's or even school areas for studying

Benjamin Hand

99 cent mini muffins are the only thing that gets me through the week. Great selection of art books as well.

C W

Their scones and muffins are BIG like in Grandma's day, the biggest in New Haven, thankfully unlike the shrunken ones found everywhere else. The scones are baked in oven right behind the counter and often with flavors like Turkey / Jalapeno / Scallion, some of which are really good. Sometimes odd, never boring! If you want to experience the real New Haven, this is a real local business serving New Haven for 20+ years.

Sophie Cooper

I hate that I'm writing this, because I used to really love this place. It's been one of my favorite study spots the past few semesters, so the first few times I left with a bad taste in my mouth, I was quick to chalk it up to an off day & dismiss it as a fluke. Which wasn't hard, because the space itself is quite charming, the atrium is gorgeous, and up until that point all my interactions with the staff had been pleasant. In fact, last year it would have been the first place I recommended to someone looking to grab lunch. However, it's slowly gone from a generally pleasant spot with a few sub-par experiences, to somewhere with an atmosphere so tense and employees so utterly unkind and pretentious, no amount of quirky charm (or misplaced loyalty on my part to my local 'spot') can make me want to go back.

Judy O'Krongly Deshpande

Excellent food, latte and great staff. Oh, and there are books and DVDs too :)! You gotta check it out. You may find a treasure you never thought you would! Outdoor and atrium seating sets a great vibe with its cool exposed brick. Many star sightings as well! A favorite stop of actors performing in the New Haven area!

dean reece

Place is nice and cozy. I didnt get to try any of thier food items. But I like the book selection they have. And prices seem very reasonable for used books.

Susan Servin

Cozy atmosphere, great deal on used books, love their tuna salad on bagal.

Patrina Huff

Nice, cozy, sort of "busy" (visually) shop. Good place to stop in on a brisk day.

RKKA 123

Atmosphere was quiet and comfortable. Stopped in to study and get something to eat. Soup we had was delicious. Definitely a great place to eat and study!!

Carole Scillia

BEST book store, food and most of all people in town! Love this place!!

Zia Quee

They have a great selection of media. I especially love the variety of books. It's like a mini library. The prices are amazing. Not concerned with some of the rude patrons, it's a great place. Bring your own energy.

Franklin Eccher

Usually my favorite coffee shop in town, until one visit at which I ordered a sandwich, sat down and worked for an hour, and then was forced to leave because they didn't think I had ordered anything and the lunch rush was coming in. Was singled out of a room full of people for no reason and asked to make room. Incredibly rude.

Kasia Thomas

good vibe, nice staff. it's a good place to meet a friend or get some work done. i'm not much of a coffee drinker, but i love their lemonades. the book selection is good — they have a variety of genres & a decent foreign language section.

Christine Youn

easy way to buy old clean book. various LGBT books, yes. not many selection for Catholics and Hebrew, good sources for Islam, Buddhist, Other. cook books, yes, politics, yes. a little outdated CDs, yes.

Alana Smith

Quiet, great for conversation. Interesting books to gaze at. Coffee was yummy. Baked goods were hit or miss.

Najeeb Abdullah

Great atmosphere. Nice selection of books to read while drinking coffee.

Cameron Page

This place has an amazing selection of books! Really well curated used books, great deals, even hardcover books are often $5. Great selection of novels and literary non-fiction, not so much genre fiction and other areas. Coffee is good, and they have some yummy cleverly-named sandwiches (Ernest Hamingway, etc). Lots of seating in a really nice well-lit indoor area, as well as an outdoor patio when it's sunny out.

Mario Perez

Friendly place, I love it

Riz Noire

Great coffee shop and used book store. More vegan options would be great!

Jennifer Fay

I love puttering through the ever-changing array of books on my lunch break. Perfect for picking up everything from a beach read to obscure academic texts.

Ichiro Ikuta, MD, MMSc

Small bookstore and cafe

윤미혜

진짜 좋은 책을 싸게 구입했습니다 보물창고!

Hannah K

Cashier seemed irritated and rude, my cake was so dry I choked on it, and my drink was lukewarm with huge clumps of cinnamon on the bottom. Really disappointed.

Chinman1966 Spalding

Awesome

James William Gross

Terrific spot to catch up on some reading, surfing, texting over a delicious coffee.

Chris Malis

A great place to peruse a great selection of used books, then grab a bite at their small café, then sit, eat, drink (coffees), and read in the nicely airy table room before checking out at the friendly register. The books are arranged by topic, and they also have a nice and expanding selection of CDs for sale at very inexpensive prices. The staff is also very friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommended as a destination, or just to sit a spell with a snack and a good book.

Cam Kelly

this is the spot. good coffee good books good people. lots of seating including a sweet outdoor area.

Holly Winslow

Delish!

David Kelly

We need more bookstores! Open one in Palm Springs, please.

Markus Frömmel

While the coffee was average the cake was delicious!

Rene Zelkin

Relaxing atmosphere and great vanilla chi almond milk latte.

Martha Dube

I discovered this place after I went for a that message next door and in so thankful I did! This is very close to me and so worth it! The price points are GREAT and the shrimp dumplings in chilli oil are my favorite item! The pork buns are also amazing and the soup dumplings. You really can't go wrong here but this has definitely become my staple go to dumpling place and I'm sure it will become yours too!

Jocelyn Knazik Phelps

Great food at a cute used bookstore with a pretty wide selection

Angela Lee

This place is awesome! The food is so good, especially their Lox sandwich and soup. Their baked goods are made fresh everyday and their special soup of the day has been on point (particularly the lentil soup). The tea is good there. The one drink you absolutely must have is the orange juice (as basic as that sounds). It's so fresh and it tastes REAL (unlike those super sugary orange juice brands). The vibe is nice there and it's so relaxing to be surrounded by books (as nerdy as it sounds). It's a great environment to work in, especially outside during the summer months. I would 10/10 recommend!

John Brandt

Really chill spot nice vibe, lovely book store. Descent joe, I had a cappuccino it was cool.

Dylan Brennan

Small but cute

Desiree Pina

Had a very terrible time here. Discrimination!!!!!! Will never go back

Mark Feltskog

This cafe features used books, good coffee, and pastries; what more do you want?

Aaron Wong

Quaint bookstore with a cafe. Friendly staff.

Lukas Duong

The coffee is nice. But the atmosphere is great. I fell in love with the cafe at first sight.

Emerson Cheney

Great Coffee. They do bagels right. I can get lost in the books for hours

Matt Sachs

Cool little cafe that's part cafe, part bookstore, and part community library. Good place for a coffee and quick bite

Christopher Mazzacane

Easily my favorite place for coffee downtown. They have a great selection books spanning every genre you could think of. Also a great place for pulling up a chair and getting some work done!

Lorrice Grant

The staff is kirt

Piotr Pawlowicz

Fine establishment. The book store is a nice feature but I come mainly to hang out and drink coffee. Love the outdoor sitting area

Jonathan Carothers

Really cool place to write a paper, study, read, or just enjoy a good cup of coffee.

Jorel Velazquez

It's a nice place to enjoy books and sit down and eat definitely will be coming back again

edairy almonte

Yes

Glenn Duke

Felt welcome here among the books, really decent coffee too!

Erin Sward

Chai latte with lavender is very very yummy

Jon Eckerle

A book lovers wet dream.

Elaine Chou

Well-curated book collections by themes in the bookstore.

Georgia Benjamin

Down to earth and alternative venue. Tasty, healthy cakes with gluten free options. Good place to study.

Robin Gilmore

Love this place!! One of ny favorite stops whenever I am in New Haven!!!!

Peter Butler

Great used book store! Manager was super friendly and welcoming to my kids and I. Tasty treats, too!

Libby Cummings

The big windows and ample natural light make this a great place to study. I also love their patio when it's nice out. Their bagels are brought in from New York and outstrip other poor New-Haven excuses for bagels. For lunch, definitely try the house-made veggie burger.

Francine Melvin

This place is hit or miss. During the week, I nearly always have a great experience.The majority of the staff is kind, especially Rockie. who has been making my latte for years now and is just a real sweetheart......The last few times I've been by have been Sunday mornings, and perhaps that is the problem. Two people in front totally swamped with orders, and one standing in the back very clearly on her phone.. Weird, but okay.. My order comes out and is wrong, no big deal, go over to the cashier to rectify the situation and the girl from the back comes out and gives ME an attitude! This is not the first time this place has been total chaos on Sunday, and with the rudeness on top of it... I'd only come here during the week!

gagan verma

great coffee, pastries, and sandwiches. my go-to study space.

Joanna D

Great selection of books, sometimes obscure ones, for cheap. It would be nice if they could enlarge their science/math section. Otherwise, a very, very special place.

James F

Not bad. Books and coffee - what's not to like?

Bill Goode

There are two kinds of used bookstores: Those that will take anything, and those that attempt to curate their wares to a certain degree. The Book Trader Cafe definitely feels like it fits into the second category. I've found some good, unexpected, books here on multiple occasions. Just don't come here hoping to find a specific book, it's a better browsing store than somewhere you'll find exactly what you want.

Naree Viner

The egg sandwich I had (kale, grape tomato, and bacon) was delicious. Great bakery items and yummy side salads.

Emmett McMullan

Always a clean and welcoming space. Excellent collection that changes constantly. Delicious soups and cafe drinks!!

Greg Greenberg

Great place to find a used book and very comfortable place for holding meetings.

Joseph Janiga

Jane Rare,a great sandwich! Vegan chocolate cake, the best!

Ryan Goding

Great coffee shop atmosphere.

Ederjson Pierre

The staffs are very friendly. Great place to meet with a friend. Or to get some reading/homework done.

Shu Fukuya

Good coffee and excellent space for reading books!

Dean Langsam

Very nice people, very good food. The vegan options are great and the staff are always helpful in picking the good dishes.

Ozgur Satici

Nice place, cool atmosphere

Nathan Pirakitikulr

Baked egg sandwiches. Who would have thought they could be so delicious?

Randall Rode

My favorite spot for lunch

AJ Sensei

Good Place

Everett Stuart

Nice place 2 get very good books

Maxwell Lovell

Great food and friendly staff, excellent to sit outside on a good summer day