Due to its close promixity to the university, A.'s caters mainly to the student budget (around 8,-EUR for a meal) as well as the student schedule, which means no weekend service. During the week, however, the chic cantina really does serve as a center of respite for anyone with--forgive me--a lot on their plate and offers small reductions to that effect. The vegetarian selection is limited: two sandwiches, a salad, and a lasagna-type Armenian dish called soubeurrek filled with feta and parsley. The cucumber-and-beet gazpacho isn't half-bad, and certainly won't leave you complaining at 3,-EUR. Superb teas, too.

Add five or six years to Harriet the Spy, Claudia Kishi, or Hermione Granger, and they could all work at the Secret Garden, which actually neither as exclusive as the former nor as pleasant as the latter. The antithesis to "classy," "chic" joints in Salamanca and Chueca, this cafe's SO alternative, that you want to look for an alternative, especially because the best coffeeshops, in my opinion, are open for fauxllectual discussions with friends before FIVE in the evening. Then again, you don't want to go that Moby Dick haunt, right? You trudge back in, gloss over the extensive beverage menu, and make your drink last, chortling at the junior-high decor, until the next party arrives.

At roughly two years old, the House of Commons is indeed an "oasis of calm," dare I say, even a HAVEN OF SERENITY. Usually I am the kind of person who's too nervous to step into places with which I'm not familiar, it didn't take me long to feel comfortable and enjoy my pot of imperial gunpowder and a good book. (However, I'm giving it only three stars, because my scone was stale, the last time I went there...)

" Of course, when I think of this concept, I think not only of being wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea reading Rilke but also of being embroiled in a deep conversation with a friend, letting the hours pass by without a care. Surely you can do either (well, sans blanket) at any old cafe, though there's still that cozy--or rather, scrappy, "mismatched"--factor missing from many of the places here. I guess one could make a distinction between a "cafe" and a "coffee shop"; for me the former implies distance and "order" (at least in Paris), and the latter is more indicative of informality, conviviality. The @robase doesn't have a beanbag coziness, but it's much less imposing than the more well-known establishments in town. It helps, probably, that it's in the 13th that's part of the "Rive Gauche" revitalization project, lending the cafe--pardon, coffee shop--an air of toughness along it's otherwise polished edges. It also helps that service is relaxed without being forgetful, the bagels quite good (with Philadelphia cream cheese), and the coffee served in decent sizes, which can be had to go (!).

If your answer is "yes," DON'T come here on a weekday, as you will either be distracted and/or annoyed by the constant tap-tapping of laptops, disperse chatter, and other people pretending to work. If you do venture out here alone, make sure to bring headphones. Otherwise, the drinks aren't bad, especially the iced teas.

There's currently only one official server, but the service isn't at all slow; relaxed is the preferred term at this neighborhood spot. The salads also look interesting; I'll have to come back for either that, or the language exchange that the owners organize, among other things.

You almost step into a time warp and forget the neighboring tower blocks, as your olfactory senses are awakened by lavender, cayenne, and...Rocky Mountain Heat, a mix of wasabi and jalapeño. The pace here is slow and helpful, and the usually lone salesperson will go to great lengths to assist you in whatever you may need. Sweet finds for your foodie friend or the foodie in you.