The Coffee Method

While Newbreak feeds the pre-surf rush with volume and speed, The Coffee Method operates on a different clock—this is where you post up mid-morning when the waves are flat and you need to pretend you're working. The setup's unusual: coffee bar shares square footage with a full plant nursery, so the usual café hum gets replaced by the quieter rustle of people shopping for pothos. Outdoor seating catches the ocean breeze without the ocean view, which somehow feels right for this block of Niagara that locals call their corner of OB.

The baristas lean friendly without the performance—they'll tweak your drink if it's off, then go back to pulling shots while you settle in with a laptop or a chessboard. Nitro cold brew runs smooth and strong, the caramel latte sweet enough to justify ordering it but not so sweet it tastes like dessert. The cacao drink gets called out in reviews more than most menu items, which says something when people usually default to standard espresso orders.

What makes this spot stick is the permission structure—bring your dog, stay three hours nursing one coffee, play chess while the afternoon stretches out. The bathroom's clean, the playlist's not trying too hard, and nobody's rushing you out the door. It's work-friendly in the way good neighborhood cafés manage: present enough WiFi and table space to enable productivity, chill enough that you don't feel guilty taking up real estate. The plant-shop integration could read gimmicky but instead just makes the whole thing feel like someone's exceptionally well-curated living room that happens to serve espresso.

Parking's the usual OB nightmare—side streets or get lucky. Worth it for the rare combination of decent coffee, actual calm, and a vibe that doesn't demand you perform your café experience for Instagram.