5 TV Coffee Shops We Wish Were Real . . . and 1 That Actually Is
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When the fictional coffee shop on Friends, Central Perk, "re"-opened its doors as a pop-up in NYC last month, we got a jolt of nostalgia for all the TV memories it served up as Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey's home away from home. But Central Perk is just one of several small-screen caffeination stations that earned a soft spot in our hearts over the years. Read on for more on five other TV spots where we wish we could actually order a cup of joe . . . and one where pop-culture fanatics actually can do just that.
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The Brew
Rear Window Brew — affectionately called The Brew — is one of the Pretty Little Liars' favorite places to rendezvous and hash out the latest mysterious goings-on in Ravenswood. Aria and Ezra use it for clandestine coffee dates, and Emily even held down a job there at one point. We love it all the more for its name, which is an ode to Alfred Hitchcock, and its devotion to pumpkin-spice-colored decor.
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Cafe Grumpy
Hannah Horvath may not have been the world's best barista, but she did manage to shine a light on real-life Brooklyn coffee shop Cafe Grumpy by holding down a job at the Greenpoint roasters on Girls. Team Grumpy makes one serious cup of joe — the shop sources and roasts its own eco-friendly and socially conscious beans — making one of its six NYC locations a must-stop for any Lena Dunham fan playing tourist in the city.
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Dean & Deluca
Dean & Deluca, the upscale grocery store, is a NYC institution — but The WB borrowed its name for the fictional coffee shop where Felicity held down her college job. Fans of the drama who trekked to Manhattan to check out the actual Dean & Deluca were often disappointed to find a pricey gourmet grocer where they expected to come upon a quirky, co-ed coffee scene the Felicity crew created on the show's LA set.
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Monk's
So many conversations about nothing happened in the second booth from the entrance at Monk's, the Seinfeld crew's neighborhood coffee shop. Fun fact: while the interior of the diner was shot on a soundstage, Tom's Restaurant — near Columbia University — was used for those exterior shots. That's why viewers conveniently only ever saw the side of the building with the word "restaurant" appear on the show!
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Williamsburg Diner
Technically, the Williamsburg Diner is more of a, well, diner, but it's pretty much just a coffee shop you can also get food at. Where else would one go in Williamsburg to loiter and map out a gourmet cupcake business plan?
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Central Perk
Central Perk had it all: overstuffed couches, huge coffee mugs, and Gunther. It was also the spot where so many of our favorite Friends moments unfolded. Who could forget Phoebe's performance of "Smelly Cat"? Or the time Ross tried to punch Joey? For Friends fans looking for a shot of nostalgia in their latte, a Central Perk pop-up shop honoring the show's 20th anniversary is open now through Oct. 18 in Manhattan.