Philly's Northern Liberties Neighborhood is becoming a very popular neighborhood, with so many new homes being constructed it only makes sense that you’d need a neighborhood coffee shop for friends to converse, read, or work quietly.
By word of mouth, we discovered One Shot Coffee. Walking down a smaller side street off 2nd street we found ourselves inside an incredibly inviting and warm spot. Opening in 2005, One-Shot moved in 2011 to a larger location on the corner of George and American Street. With the help of designer Chris Sheffield, owner Melissa Bruno has built an establishment that offers daily brunch and artfully-crafted coffee drinks in a whimsical and inviting atmosphere.
Not soon after we discovered the spot we found out that the coffee is delicious, and there’s a cozy library area upstairs with additional seating. Come by often and enjoy the weekly drink and brunch specials displayed creatively hand-drawn on a roll of brown paper hanging on the wall to the right upon entering. One-Shot is the perfect place to go when you want to change up your daily work-from-home or study-for-school scene. There’s coffee, free wifi, pastries, and most importantly, Cronuts!
One-Shot proudly serves Stumptown Coffee! The hand-crafted, direct trade coffee is shipped directly from the Red Hook, Brooklyn roastery each and every week. Using Hairbender Espresso, they showcase seasonal and carefully refined espresso drinks every week. For sipping or giving, they offer Stumptown Coffee custom-made One-Shot House Blend on the drip and in retail bags. Additionally, they feature local small-batch roasters in our retail area. All of their baristas undergo detailed training, both at the shop and at Stumptown headquarters in Red Hook Brooklyn. Additionally, their tea program is designed to please everyone, offering Intelligentsia and Tea Source teas, served hot or iced.
When it comes to the drink specials, it’s not just your typical coffee-based drinks. They’ve got a variety of lattes, teas, and ciders to warm up your insides as the temperatures drop. One of our favorites was a Nutcracker themed drink called The Clara was a maple cinnamon white hot chocolate that tasted just like a liquid cinnamon bun. The drink specials are always cleverly related to the season or recent events. Some of the specials this winter include Mexican Mocha made with Guatemalan chocolate, hair-bender, cayenne, vanilla, cinnamon, and steamed milk or soy; or a Salty and Sweet with Guatemalan chocolate, caramel, steamed milk, and kosher salt
We love a sweet treat. When it comes to the pastries here we could easily eat them all. At One Shot, they think that the next best thing to coffee is pastry. Virtually all of their pastry is made in-house (however, they purchase our delicious croissants and most vegan items from Au Fornil and Vegan Treats respectively) including the famous and made-fresh-every-day Fresh Fruit Scones, Rustic Tarts, and the much talked about Baby Kronut. Their selection of sweets changes often so stop by to see what’s just baked.
The Campfire Bar is just like a s’ more complete with marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker. And hand down our favorite pastry here are the Cronuts! They are the perfect combination of half-donut half-croissant and they sell out fast, so make sure to get there early for the best selection! This trendy pastry was created by New York City pastry chef Dominique Ansel and trademarked by Dominique Ansel Bakery. One-Shot also offers yummy Vegan Donuts.
Drinks are not the only specials offered at One-Shot. Make sure to check out their menu for brunch specials (also posted on their Instagram). They have sweet or savory options and we love that you can order breakfast all day! For a sweet tooth we tried a Short Stack Pancake Special and Blueberry Waffles that looked like they came right out of Willy Wonka’s factory. We think the The Farmer and The Bee with a croissant, ricotta, strawberries, almonds, and honey is a nice light option.
On the savory side, the brioche roll for the One-Shot Breakfast Sandwich was so fluffy and delicious, inside was eggs or tofu scrambled, bacon or sausage, and cheddar cheese. You can’t go wrong with a classic. Otherwise, we tried the Huevos Rancheros with 2 sunny eggs, chorizo, flour tortillas, and frijoles negros with chipotle tomato sauce, sour cream, charred corn salsa, and pickled jalapeno which was super filling and saucy. If you’re ravenous you might also want to try the Breakfast Burrito with scrambled eggs, potatoes, bell peppers, onions with pickled jalapeno, sour cream and served with dressed greens. And the Biscuits and Gravy with homemade buttermilk biscuits in sawmill gravy with pork sausage OR pan-seared mushrooms and two over-easy eggs are sure to stick to your bones!
Café hours are 7 am – 5 pm and the kitchen closes at 4 pm. If you find yourself in the neighborhood and are looking for coffee, delicious pastries, or simply a cozy spot to sit and read, then look no further One Shot Coffee is the perfect place. Delivery options are available.
One-Shot Cafe specializes in serving creatively-crafter beverages, brunch, and house-made pastries all day, every day. We’re committed to maintaining high standards of customer service and provide continuing espresso training for our baristas. Let us be your home away from home to meet, work, or simply relax.
