Black Coffee has been brewing in Newtown, Wellington since 2014, describing itself as "Newtown's favourite hideout" and the home of great coffee. Alongside coffee, the café serves home-baked goods and toasted sandwiches, with gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options available.
Black Coffee's current signature blend is Black Coffee Raven, poured in collaboration with Dark Horse Coffee Co. The café is also a rotating art space, changing its exhibitions each month to showcase creatives from across the motu (country), alongside a retail and merch shelf for browsing while you eat.
Beyond its day-to-day café service, Black Coffee offers venue hire and gift vouchers, and welcomes enquiries from artists interested in exhibiting on its walls.
On Riddiford Street in Newtown, Black Coffee has been serving the neighbourhood since 2014, describing itself as Newtown's favourite hideout — a place built around great coffee, good food, and a rotating gallery of local art.
Black Coffee's current pour is its signature blend, Black Coffee Raven, made in collaboration with Dark Horse Coffee Co. The café frames its staff as bringing award-winning coffee skills and a bubbly personality to the counter, aiming to create a relaxed, inspired atmosphere for anyone who walks in.
Alongside coffee, Black Coffee serves home-baked goods and toasted sandwiches — described on the café's own materials as "triumphant toasted sandwiches" worth giving a go. The café makes a point of catering to a range of diets, with gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options available across its food and drink menu.
One of the things that sets Black Coffee apart is its ongoing exhibitions programme. Each month, the café rotates in new artwork from creatives across the country, turning the space into an informal gallery alongside its usual café service. There's also a retail and merch shelf to browse while you eat. Artists interested in exhibiting at Black Coffee are invited to get in touch directly.
Black Coffee also offers venue hire for those looking to book the space for an event, and sells gift vouchers for anyone wanting to share the café with someone else.
Black Coffee is located at 133 Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington. It's open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 3pm, Saturday from 8am to 3pm, and Sunday from 9am to 3pm. General enquiries can be sent to [email protected], while enquiries about exhibiting art can be directed to [email protected].
What comes through in Black Coffee's own description of itself is a café that doesn't separate coffee culture from the local art scene — a spot where you can grab a well-made coffee and a toastie while taking in a fresh set of artwork on the walls, in a space that's clearly meant to be lingered in rather than rushed through.