Algeria has a great coffee culture and I found two great coffee shops in Algiers.
Best Coffee In Algiers, Algeria
Using Google to search for “third-wave coffee,” I found a great coffee shop called Narcoffee Roasters in the Hydra neighborhood of Algiers. From my hotel, I took a taxi there, a journey of about 25 minutes.
Narcoffee Roasters Algeria
Blv Sidi Yahia
Hydra 16000, Algeria
+213 558 19 19 19
7:00 am – 11:00 pm (daily)
Narcofee is based in Romania, but has now opened its first location in Algeria.
I ordered downstairs and then headed upstairs to a shared dining room that even had a kid’s play area.
I started with a flat white…it was perfect.
Next I had a cortado, which was even better.
I greatly enjoyed speaking to the two young men who were running the coffee shop. I loved the enthusiasm for coffee and the beautiful little café, with a great La Marzocco machine.
They recommended I try El Hyl Coffee as well, which I did visit the following day.
El Hyl Coffee
36 Rue Hadj Ahmed Mohamed
Hydra, Algeria
+213 542 46 49 51
8:30 am – 8:30 pm (Sunday – Thursday)
10:00 am – 8:30 pm (Saturday)
Closed Fridays
I took my driver in here and bought him a cup of coffee and he shook his head, stating that the pricing was ridiculously high. For sure, this was a bougie coffee shop appealing to foreign expats located in the neighborhood in which many foreign embassies are located.
Nevertheless, I greatly respect the entrepreneurial spirit of the coffee shop, and judging by the people inside it, there is certainly demand for such a venture. Cakes and brunch were available too.
Here, I enjoyed a great cortado and a lovely espresso macchiato.
I realize it’s somewhat tragic to pay exponentially more for coffee than I would have paid at a roadside stand even within the city limits of Algiers, but I salute the premium coffee culture and those who endeavor to bring it all over the world. Like wine, coffee is meant to be savored and appreciated.
CONCLUSION
The third-wave coffee culture is alive and well in beautiful Algiers, and I found two gems that I highly recommend and look forward to returning to. Both El Hyl and Narcoffee offer exceptional coffee in the Algerian capital.
This post is part of my Algeria trip report.
I’m growing fond of you coffee posts, because of them I have had some good coffees.
Over the weekend United posted something on their IG stories about a new codeshare agreement with JSX, but later deleted it. Curious if anyone knows anything about this. Looked like you are going to be able to book JSX flights directly on the United app and earn miles. I think that is a super exciting new partnership (or expanded partnership) another great way United is innovating in ways miles ahead of their competitors.
Any screenshots? I forgot that there is already a relationship of some kind:
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/earn-miles/airline-partners/jsx.html
25 minute taxi ride for a cup of coffee? You are dedicated!
Hah!
Matthew loves coffee, so the first posts about Algiers is about… coffee, of course!
🙂
That’s two interesting places.
Thanks for the post.
“it’s somewhat tragic to pay exponentially more for coffee than I would have paid at a roadside stand even within the city limits of Algiers”
The real tragedy is traveling to another continent and visiting establishments that you could basically find anywhere else in the world…as opposed to seeking out local coffee places offering traditional local fare.