The concept of a “third place” refers to a social setting apart from two other places we often find ourselves constrained. The home (the “first place”) and work (the “second place”). The Third Space Café name is not only a play on this concept, but also brings a casual and relaxed setting to enjoy contemporary café food, revitalizing coffee, and a third space to escape from our busy or mundane lives.
The Third Space Café, while a little further away from campus (located in the Whittier neighborhood), is a relaxed and quiet café where one is able to mingle with friends for brunch or to meetup for coffee. The café has a homely, intellectual, modern aesthetic and its menu reflects a modern and contemporary take on brunch.
Their menu features many classic café coffee takes including café au laits and refreshing cold brews. Though, they also offer a variety of espresso variants, that is, lattes, mochas, and Americanos at the quality a local café can offer rather than your multinational chain coffee places can. In addition, all of these can be made iced or they offer a variety of milk substitutes and syrups for your lattes. I, personally, will always give extra kudos to a place that offers oat milk.
On top of reliable and stimulating caffeinated drinks, they also offer elevated modern café breakfast and lunch items. Tangy arugula peppers many of their dishes and is offered as a side salad and pickled red onions make a lovely accompaniment to their take on grilled avocado toast. Of course, a contemporary coffeehouse such as this also offers a wide variety of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options. On their menu, these are not merely secondhand thoughts on their dishes but are made (and advertised to our animal friendly readers) readily available. Though, for those not inclined towards a plant diet, they also offer a variety of delicious sandwiches. Many of their dishes were found at reasonable prices as well and one could easily walk away with a revitalizing lunch and coffee for around $15.
The Third Space Café provides friendly and efficient service. Even at relatively busy times, the line is quick and there’s little wait for food or coffee. The one drawback some may encounter is parking. While there is a good amount of street parking, much of this parking is metered. There is a small parking lot attached to the building, but the spots there are few and also metered (if you’ve never heard of a metered parking lot, neither had I until I saw it myself. The parking spots in the parking lot are literally metered). Though, this is to be expected in a Whittier neighborhood or neighborhoods adjacent or similar to the Uptown area.
The Third Space Café, while a bit further away from campus, is a great and relaxing place to visit on a Sunday morning with friends. The café and its namesake hopefully spread as a place to meetup or make friends outside the confines of home or work.
