One of the many great things about Deep Ellum is that it’s easy to stay caffeinated with the number of quality coffee shops throughout the neighborhood. And one on the northeast corner of the district offers a lovely space, where you may just want to set up with your laptop and get a productive day going.
If you hang around East Dallas, Fiction Coffee isn’t a new name with its original location on Ross Avenue. But dare we say it, we especially like its Continental Gin Building location, which opened March 2021.
The interior is spacious and beautiful, an instant, welcoming environment when you walk in. There are plenty of places to sit, and a variety of different seating arrangements, whether you want to have a professional meeting with someone at a two-top, have a group meeting on a larger table on the front or back patio, snuggle up with your person on the couch or chew the fat in the living-room-like environment.
And it’s a perfect spot to put on headphones, ignore everyone around you and get work done, if that’s your jam. All the seats are comfortable enough to lounge a while or sit up straight with your laptop. The space has light flowing through it, from the windows to the thorough overhead lights. There’s an energy in here that easily sweeps you into a productive state. It’s surely partly the design, but we bet the deep history of the Continental Gin Building helps, too.
Plus, the coffee’s good.
They’re brewing the excellent Counter Culture beans for traditional drinks along with Fiction-created ones, both seasonal and fan favorites. You’ll find a lavender latte, sure, but there’s also an intriguing juniper latte on the menu.
All the current seasonal favorites sound fantastic, including The Godfather, a vanilla-black pepper cappuccino with a salty-sweet spice garnish. Or the Hellfire Club, a jalapeño-brown sugar latte garnished with “sugar crystals from the Upside Down.”
And, of course, they have drip coffee, a cortado, espresso and all that jazz, along with iced tea and loose-leaf, hot tea. They make syrups in house and have oat, almond and soy milk alternatives.
An extra special aspect of this location is its collaboration with the great Commissary in Downtown Dallas. Here you can get a few of their sandwiches, salads and baked goods. In the morning, you get a variety of breakfast tacos from Tacodeli, and bagels are available from Starship Bagel in Lewisville.
Whatever you get, do say “yes” to a receipt if you’re planning to get work done: There’s a code on there to get you free WiFi for a while. (If you want to loiter longer, you can pay for the WiFi. Or, even better, get more coffee.) There’s also free two-hour parking for Fiction folks. But the weather’s nice now! Feel free to ride your bike there.
And if you’re an early riser, there’s extra good news here, too: They’re open early!
Fiction Coffee in Deep Ellum is located in the Continental Gin Building at 3309 Elm St. and open from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
