Paris on the Platte
Paris on the Platte
1553 Platte Street #102
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 455-2451
The coffee: Good. Roasted on site. Purchased directly from farmers.
Ownership: Independent
Friendliness of the baristas: Excellent
Hipness: Extremely
Parking: Metered; can be a pain
Seating: Very good; lots of space with a mishmash of styles
Free Wi-Fi
It had been about 15 years since I had visited Paris on the Platte. This is one of the original hip and funky coffee shops in Denver. Situated in LoDo, it has been here since before there was such a thing as LoDo. It reminds me of when Rock Island was the cool place to visit. Both were considered to be in a rather sketchy part of town. This is not so anymore. We’d visit Paris on the Platte after a night of partying. While I’m a little older and less of a partier, this place has not changed much. However, the surroundings have changed. The area is surrounded by new expensive lofts and has lost that “off the beaten path” feel.
I met the former Banking Commissioner here insisting that he get out of downtown and avoid contributing to the world domination of that other coffee shop. He agreed and except for parking, was pleasantly surprised.
We visited on a Tuesday at lunchtime. There were about 25 people and several empty tables. The chairs were metal and not the most comfortable. There was a mishmash of tables that added to this coffee shop’s decidedly artsy style. There were several paintings on the wall for sale.
The age group seemed to be about 19 -35, the youngest of the coffee shops I’ve reviewed so far. Several guests actually used pen and paper (perhaps they were drawing?) rather than laptops so common in coffee shops these days.
My soy latte was brimming with frothy soy, although the coffee seemed weak, and lacked depth and richness. My guest ordered plain black coffee and said it was quite good. The coffee beans are roasted on site in this old looking contraption in the middle of the shop that doesn’t look like it should work anymore. I understand from the barista that the coffee is purchased directly from farmers. She thought they were free trade but not organic.
Paris on the Platte will be celebrating its 25th year in business next September. It’s definitely worth a visit to check out an original hip coffee shop that is older than many of its patrons and certainly older than the fancy lofts surrounding it. It’s old time Denver at its best. You can check their website for live music. I’m sure glad it’s still around.
Posted at 04:16PM Jan 14, 2011 by Erin Toll Glover in Coffee shops and coffee paraphernalia | Comments[0]
