Riyadh Specialty Coffee Guide

The first stop we made was BOSS.CO ROASTERY in the heart of the city. This shop offers a wide range of beans and brewing options. With a sleek, dark metallic interior, the vibes here are calm and modern, with a nice view of the Kingdom Center a few blocks away. They have some amazing latte art, but given it was early in the morning, I just got a pour over.

At this point, I realized that while many shops in Saudi Arabia offer pour overs, they are almost always using a machine. This is fine, and the machines still brew quite well, but they definitely lose a few points in my book, as the machine isn’t as precise and skilled as a human. My coffee was one of the best cups I got in Riyadh, mostly thanks to the great roast. Yemisi got a fresh beet juice which was also excellent. The location of BOSS.CO is also ideal, as it sits near a metro station and is near the commercial and financial hubs of the city. Given the great vibes, convenient location, and delicious coffee, I think BOSS.CO earns its place on the Riyadh specialty coffee guide.

I was shocked to find that this shop was selling Saudi Arabian beans. Of course, the Arabian peninsula is very close to Ethiopia where coffee is from, so beans have been cultivated here for hundreds of years. The coffee was great, with a spicey flavor profile and very reminiscent of heirloom Ethiopian varietals. In my opinion, the roasting was better here than at Boss.co, but I was very satisfied with the coffee in Riyadh so far.

Yemisi picked up a milk and ginger, and I got a black coffee. Going off the quality of the milk, I’d say this was a little less high-end than some of the other shops we visited. My coffee was fine, but definitely nothing special. We mostly agreed that while the drinks were only a notch above Starbucks, the seating was pretty amazing. If we had to spend a late night working at a cafe, this is the perfect place to hang out. 

On our last morning, we started off at Amber Coffee Roaster at their Al Olaya location. I picked this shop because the coffee was meant to be great, but the interior design looked amazing as well. We were confused when we pulled up to a shop that was completely different than the images we had seen. It turns out, they just recently moved to the other side of the building, and none of the images on Google Maps were up to date. Thankfully, I was really into the new design, with bright orange pops of color, built-in shelves, and a fun art deco feeling.

I got my pour over, and Yemisi got a matcha. We weren’t expecting anything incredible, but I immediately knew this was great. At first, the matcha was watery and bitter for Yemisi, but as she went on, this ended up being the best one she had in Saudi Arabia. My pour over was the best specialty coffee I had in Riyadh, easily earning it’s spot in this guide. with a perfect light roast and brew. I realized in hindsight that this was the only shop I visited that made their pour over by hand, which gives me confidence that the machines really do reduce the quality, even if only by a little bit. 

Carve Coffee Bar is located in the heart of the city, right next to the Kingdom Centre. This vibe is a completely different direction from everywhere else we visited. All of the cafes we visited in Riyadh were well decorated, with lots of color and unique themes. Carve was the only cafe that was truly minimalist, which is a lot more common in the West. With tall ceilings, massive hardwood furniture, and natural lighting, Carve is a sleek and thoughtfully laid out shop. I would love to spend the afternoon working from here, although there was a slight musty smell throughout the building, which isn’t something we experienced anywhere else in Saudi Arabia.

I got my pour over, and Yemisi got another matcha, this time with coconut milk. Once again, they used a machine to make the coffee, which I really felt hindered the quality. The coffee was good, but not outstanding. Yemisi agreed, this matcha wasn’t quite as good as the one from Amber. Between the odd smell and only decent coffee, Carve was a little less amazing than we had hoped, but still a good place to stop if you’re in the area.

The last shop we visited before heading to the airport was Orne Cafe. This was a bit of a wild card, as I chose it more from vibes than coffee quality. I saw it on some lists, but I was a bit skeptical if it would be any good. When we arrived, we both fell in love with the vibes. The ceilings were massive, with chairs and shelves reaching all the way to the top. I’ve never seen a design like this, with amazing ambient lighting and plants, it was right up my alley. This was also the best experience we had with the baristas, who were super kind to us. 

Orne Cafe has a lot of desserts and food items as well, but we didn’t have enough time to explore the menu. I decided to get a latte, and Yemisi got a blueberry mojito. I don’t usually get a latte, but I had confidence in the barista. Surprisingly, I really liked the coffee a lot, and the milk was steamed perfectly. Yemisi also loved her drink, and we were really glad we chose to stop by. Even though it’s probably better as a brunch spot, Orne Cafe is definitely a sleeper on this list.