Coffee. The college student’s staple drink, rarely to be seen without it. We have become connoisseurs of everything caffeinated, so the urge to seek out new coffee shops and new study spaces becomes more compelling. These little excursions are a fun way to simultaneously spend time with friends and get work done. Enter Arcade Coffee Roasters — The Bakehouse.
Arcade has four locations across Riverside. The Bakehouse, found in the Canyon Crest Complex, is known for making all the pastries for these locations. When you walk up to the building, you are met with gorgeous curling vines and an open seating area next to a fountain. This creates a serene effect that makes productivity more attainable. Even the inside is open with big windows that don’t detract from this effect.
Next to the front doors is a poster of their spring specials and a tray of menus with non-seasonal items below it. Along with coffee, Arcade offers matcha, kombucha, various teas and hot chocolate. They also offer foods like burgers and burritos alongside pastries like cookies and scones. Here are some of the items I decided to review …
Salted Caramel Latte
Price: $7.25
Rating: 3/5
I ordered a small, hot salted caramel latte which ended up being rather disappointing for the price. The syrups are made in-house and I did add oat milk ($1.10), raising the price from $6.15 to the one you see above. This puts the prices in line with several coffee shops in Riverside, including Coffee Bean. Unfortunately, the flavor just wasn’t to my liking and made spending that much on a non-seasonal coffee seem more painful than normal. However, it was a decent enough coffee fix despite the unsweetened caramel and lingering burnt taste.
Bakehouse Burrito
Price: $17.50
Rating: 2.5/5
I wish I’d known how much The Bakehouse was known for its pastries, but I unfortunately didn’t learn about the different locations and their specialties until I left this one. Normally, the Bakehouse Burrito comes with steak but I asked for it to be removed. What was left was a dense chunk of egg and a thin slice of hashbrown that you didn’t taste until you took several bites. The monotony of the flavors could be broken up with the salsa that comes with it, but it was overall a mid burrito.
The Bakehouse has a lovely atmosphere for studying and chatting with friends. The big windows and the environment of Canyon Crest creates a more free space to study than a stuffy library. While perhaps I chose the wrong food and drink this time, there are more than enough options to find your favorite. I would recommend perhaps starting with the specials and the baked goods so that you are getting a bigger bang for your buck. Keep Arcade Coffee Roasters in mind for your rotation of study spots. It opens everyday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., bringing with it a bright, open space to study. With its outdoor seating, you are able to breathe easier and it comes with sweet treats!
