Philly coffee shop ranked #1 in America
Ultimo Coffee in South Philly's Newbold section gets a shout-out from DailyMeal.
Philly coffee shop ranked #1 in America
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Philly's Ultimo Coffee, which started at 15th and Mifflin Streets in 2009 and opened a second shop last year at 22d and Catharine Streets, just snagged the #1 spot on TheDailyMeal.com's list of America’s Best Coffee Shops.
"What makes Ultimo tick — and brings in Philadelphians in flocks? Simplicity, and a little bit of love," the blurb reads, in part. "And many will argue that Philadelphia, often seen as the underdog to the big cities of the Northeast, is hands-down the winner for the best cup of coffee because the coffee scene there is hardly home to the snobbery that can come with 'Third Wave' coffee." No atty-tude!
Town Hall in Merion Station - open about two years on Montgomery Avenue - came in at #33 nationally. The blurb reads, in part: "If we could transport the vibe from Cheers — where everyone knows your name — it could only be found at Town Hall Coffee Co." (Owner Tim Noble is about to open a second shop, downtown, in the Ben Franklin House at Ninth and Chestnut Streets.)
TheDailyMeal says its drink editor, Marcy Franklin, went through hundreds of listings of coffee shops. A panel of coffee aficionados and surveyors - coffee bloggers, coffee roasters, shop owners and baristas - then weighed in.
Editors also calculated the national “craft” coffee chains to be ranked among the list of independently owned coffee shops (in order to be considered “national,” the chain must have shops in more than one state).
After Ultimo, the top five was rounded out by Gimme Coffee of Ithaca, N.Y.; Barista of Portland, Ore.; Courier Coffee of Portland, Ore.; and Cafe Grumpy of New York City.
Philly newcomer Joe was ranked #9 on the list.
Ultimo not only is a great name. It's the owners' name. Aaron and Elizabeth Ultimo set up their flagship location behind St. Agnes Hospital in a corner store shared with Brew, the craft-beer bottle shop owned by South Philadelphia Tap Room's John Longacre. Their Southwest Center City location is also shared; it's downstairs from Counter Culture's training center. Coincidence, perhaps, but both Ultimo and Town Hall sell Counter Culture Coffee.
Reached just after the list's midnight release, Aaron Ultimo said: "I'm obviously completely proud, honored and utterly blown away."
good for them!— APhillyDump-1.jpg)
I won't consider it until Guy Fieri tries a cup.- Ugh. Just read the Daily Meal article. Should have stopped at "Case in point: a DeLorean car in the back of one shop. You just can’t top that."
Yeah, you can. How about the coffee??? I don't go for the gimmicks; I go for the best coffee. I haven't been to Ultimo yet, but now that they opened near me I might try. I've been to a lot of coffee shops, and nobody has every topped La Colombe in my book.— Tatt2 - It's all relative according to which little magazine and who you know at the moment that works there. It's all business. Give me my Wawa mocha wake-up 24oz. at a buck when they're on sale.
-3.jpg)
— MS. LOU. - ha! very good friends in college with mr. ultimo. awesome guy. funny guy. very happy for him. he earned it.— murdock101
- what??? Wawa not #1?— flyersjoe
Ultimo! Optima!
Grazie!— 24sDad- It's all relative according to which little magazine and who you know at the moment that works there. It's all business. — MS. LOU.
- Good job. Simplicity. I'll stick with my black Folgers in my Mr. Coffee maker, though.— road515
- Cool...we pass there every day on the way home. It's a bad neighborhood for parking so we've never stopped. Hope to try it soon. Good job, Ultimos!— POF
- Aaron looks a little tired in that first pic. MAYBE HE SHOULD HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE.— teardownthisfishwrap
- Positive news on Philadelphia. I would like to see more and we could if our citizens would vote for city council members that are not corrupt.— misterpond
- Yo Aaron & Elizabeth...way to go bab-eeee ! You guys rock ! ')— Mona Lisa
- Great job, Utimo's!— xing
- "...bigger cities of the Northeast?" New York is bigger, but which other cities can can you name?— Timo Mac0
- Cafe Trieste in San Francisco is the best...IMO— donjuango
- Awesome!
— centercityisthebest - As long as laxative in an expensive cup(aka Starbucks) never wins Everyone is a winner. As far as parking goes POF. Park on the sidewalk. They park all kinds of ways in South Philly no one seems to notice or cares— vrb1955
- Grounds for a debate . . .— Disco Dave
- Nice! I go there on occasion. They do make a great cup of coffee.— roguefiftyone
- Great job! I hope the clown mayor doesn't push ultimo out of business and out of town.— OohChildNoPhilly
- POF said "Cool...we pass there every day on the way home. It's a bad neighborhood for parking so we've never stopped. Hope to try it soon. Good job, Ultimos!" It's not only a bad neighborhood for parking, it's a bad neighborhood period!!! Don't keep valuables in the car, don't walk around at night, be careful during the day, make sure your packing.— Anthony Palmer
- Thanks for bringing gun paranoia into what had been a fairly civilized discussion of coffee. You're wrong about the neighborhood, too. I know it well, have walked around it day and night without "packing" and never been accosted, and have parked my car without any special precautions. (Nobody keeps visible valuables in the car even out in the 'burbs where I live, so your observation about that proves nothing.) My daughter lived in the neighborhood for three years, biked and walked all over the place, and never experienced any untoward incidents, either.
- Obviously never considered Kean Coffee in Newport Beach & Tustin.
Hand pour just a marketing gimmick.
On site, fresh roasted beans is quite another story.— narkose3535 - Coffee sucks— john_dallas_bowers
- Timo MacO - It said "big cities", not bigger cities. I agree, NYC is the only bigger city in the northeast.— gaffer broadcaster
- NY is the only bigger city on the entire east coast.— Poit
- La Colombe coffee is much better, and this place is way overpriced— intelliwoman
- Take that, Starbucks. Philly #1 woo! At least we can win at something. :)— Fly Guy
- In a related story...Mayor Nutter authorizes property re-reassessments for every house in a 4 block radius around Ultimo, raising the perceived city value of every 100k rowhome into the million-dollar range, with corresponding property taxes due immediately.— Santa Satan
- Actually if you're counting the metro area, both DC and Boston are substantially larger in population— intelliwoman
- If I go there and ask for a cup of coffee-flavored coffee. Will they make me one?— DonQ
- Philly will never have a #1 sports team, they might as well have a decent coffee shop....— toiletofphilly
- Philly has no "downtown". We locals call the area Center City. And is the Daily Menu national, and how?— gb
- Jovie: "It tastes like a crappy cup of coffee". Buddy the Elf: "No, it's the world's BEST cup of coffee".— EaglesPhilliesIrish
- If you are talking about combined statistical areas, Philly is fourth behind, NY, DC, and Boston. And seventh overall in the country.— Domenic
- If you are talking about combined statistical areas, Philly is fourth behind, NY, DC, and Boston. And seventh overall in the country.— Domenic
- If you are talking about combined statistical areas, Philly is fourth behind, NY, DC, and Boston. And seventh overall in the country.— Domenic
- If you are talking about combined statistical areas, Philly is fourth behind, NY, DC, and Boston. And seventh overall in the country.— Domenic
- My daughter lived around the corner from 15th and Mifflin in 2009, so I had frequent occasion to patronize Ultimo right after it opened. Yes, indeed, most delicious and lovingly prepared coffee! I hope they're keeping up the good stuff now that they've expanded. Expansion can be-ach up quality.— Dave Clemens
- actually Philly is the fifth largest city overall and 6th largest metro...both 2nd on the east coast behind NY— AshbourneRd
- I buy a can of Melita Classic Blend every week in my local Thriftway. I've had all kinds of coffee from all over the world and have been in all kinds of coffee houses all over the country. I prefer my Melita every time.. My kitchen is the number one Coffee Shop as far as I'm concerned so, to each his own.— sadtruthis-
- In my opinion the best coffee ever is Folger's Colombian.— Disco Dave
- I was shopping and stopped in to meet a few girlfriends with my portable cup of Joe in tow. I drank my own and tasted a sip of theirs. It wasn't anything special to me.
- I agree with Lauren Bacall when she said, "Aaah ... deep brewed flava'. That's all a REAL coffee lover wants." So true.
- I haven't tried Ultimo, although I pass it frequently and have thought that the shared space between a coffee shop and a craft beer shop is brilliant. I have been to Town Hall several times and indeed, it is what a small-town coffee shop should be - friendly, neighborhood-y, and not only do they serve great coffee, they also feature delicious, seasonal baked goods. Their peach scones are incredible.— hedges
- Great, the coffee will now be $10.00 a cup.— Haat Rod
- On with the franchising.— krautmef1
- Awesome, Ultimo's a really great place!— thegreengrass
- I prefer Old City coffee— phillyPeteZ
