Located in the heart of Over-The-Rhine, Iris Bookcafe is one of the few places in the city where you can enjoy a delicious brew with cafe food while being completely surrounded by books.
As the name implies, Iris bookcafe is a hybrid between a bookstore and a cafe.
If you’re interested in finding a new book to read, they’ve got you covered.
If you’re interested in enjoying a delicious brew, they’ve got you covered there too.
In terms of drinks, they offer an extensive menu full of coffees, lattes, espressos, and teas. For food, they offer sandwiches, salads, pastries, and even chili during the winter.
And of course all of this can be enjoyed in a laid back atmosphere with plenty of seating.
Another aspect of this coffee shop bookstore that makes it truly unique is the layout. The front of the shop feels like a typical coffee shop. It has plenty of tables, a coffee bar, and some neat art and books along shelves on the walls.
But once you walk towards the back of the building, you realize that there are far more books than you first anticipated. In fact, there are shelves upon shelves of books that adorn each wall, with many book jackets facing outwards that have been curated by the owners.
The genres range wildly from history to science fiction to architecture to travel to romance and everything in between. No matter what type of genre you’re interested in, Iris is likely to have it. Plus they have a variety of books based on the history and culture of Cincinnati, which are particularly neat to check out.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Iris Bookcafe even has an outdoor courtyard with several different tables and chairs covered by umbrellas, which offers a peaceful place to escape from city life.
In fact, you only have to spend a few minutes in the courtyard to feel like you’ve entered a completely different world. It’s the perfect place to escape from the rush of everyday life without actually leaving the city.
Whether you’re interested in getting some work done on a laptop, meeting up with a friend for a cup of coffee, discovering a new book to read, or you’re simply interested in checking out a unique coffee shop / bookstore hybrid, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Iris Bookcafe.
Visit Iris Bookcafe
Iris Bookcafe is open seven days a week and can be found at 1331 Main St, Cincinnati, OH 45202 in Over-The-Rhine.
If you’re interested in exploring other coffee shops around the city, be sure to check out our Complete Guide to Cincinnati Coffee Shops, which is a list of all 45+ independent coffee shops around the Queen City.
If you’re interested in exploring other bookstores around Cincinnati, be sure to check out our post where we share the 10 best independent bookstores in Cincinnati.
