SK Coffee: Whittier

The cold brew at SK Coffee's Whittier cafe gets called the best in the Twin Cities, often, by people who have tried most of the contenders. That is the headline, and it is worth knowing before you walk in, because at seven dollars a cup you want to know what the seven dollars is buying. SK took over the old Muddy's space at Lyndale and 24th in Minneapolis, where the previous tenant had run for years. The room is small and modern. A plant wall, warm tones, upholstered bench seating, and an interior that has been put together with intent.

The espresso program is serious. Flat whites land where they should, the espresso tonic is on the menu for a reason, and the matcha latte comes with a housemade honey that turns it into something other than the green default. Vanilla oatmilk lattes and pour-overs round out the regular ordering. Pastries are delivered fresh every day from Laune Bread, which is the right move if you are not going to bake in-house.

The music is the catch. One customer flagged it as too loud for studying, more like a bar on a Saturday night, and the room is tight enough that it fills quickly and stays full through the busier stretches of the day. If you are coming for quiet focus, this is not the cafe.

If you are coming to pick up whole-bean coffee from a neighborhood roaster, or to drink something you cannot get anywhere else in town, the price and the volume are part of the deal. Regulars treat it that way, which is why they keep coming back. The cold brew is the order to start with. The whole-bean bag is the order to take home. Plan around the volume, do not expect to study, and the cafe pays back what you came in for.