Coffeeline Campus Coffeehouse

Great coffee, great food, and great prices at a hidden gem of a café. And it really is hidden – you have to enter the Atherton YMCA building to find it. Once you try this place out once, you’ll soon start becoming a regular. The eclectic selection of tables and chairs all seem to have been collected second-​hand, and it’s filled with a variety of random items collected over the years by the owner, lending the place an eccentric atmosphere, but one with a lot of character. It’s a great place to study, work, read, or chat with friends, and even though it closes at 2pm on weekdays and noon on weekends and holidays, you can continue to sit in the front area by the counter (i.e., the lobby of the YMCA) or in the outdoor section in the back after it closes. Also, whereas other area coffee shops suffer from chronic over-​crowding, there is always plenty of seating available at the Coffeeline. Wifi works well too. Just don’t necessarily expect your coffee to be served with a smile – the owner didn’t go to that school of customer service. All his aloha goes into the coffee and the food, not the customers – know that beforehand and you will leave a happy patron.
Last point: the Coffeeline also caters, in case you have an event that needs catering.

A non-​corporate, grass roots coffee shop. Great food and coffee

Someone should go to the Starbucks in Campus Center, grab every customer by the ear, and drag those dummies across University over to Coffeeline.
The coffee here is good, and the food is great quality for a low price. The owner is an cool guy, too. He’s not chatty at first, but he opens up once he sees you a couple times. He’s got eclectic taste and great tips for finding cool stuff to do in town.
The best part? UH turns into a ghost town on weekends, with fewer food and drink options than a POW camp. But Coffeeline is open and ready to ply you with BLTs and massive double espressos.

Best place near campus. Weird atmosphere (in a good way). Very laid back and interesting people there. I wish he was open longer for the students with night classes.

A little gem. My husband heard about this place from a friend and grabbed two breakfast sandwiches this morning.
Fresh, good quality ingredients, and quick service.
We will definitely be back!

Hi I’m mcMuck and I’m kinda deaf and here’s what I think about coffee line.
Dennis, made me feel like a baboon for simply asking to repeat himself. This man mumbles and expects customers to decipher his jargon and then gives you a tongue lashing is you ask him to repeat himself. He is the epitome of a jack-​ass and his bagels are stale, do not waste your time or money here. Take your business somewhere that is appreciated and where you will not be castrated for asking a question. Dennis needs to attend cotillion lessons and learn some manners.
I heard he also mixes horse meat into his chilli
Thanks xoxox,
McMuck

Awesome place. Awesome coffee.
The atmosphere makes me feel like I’m on the show American Pickers. There’s so much cool stuff and the place is full of character. The music selection is good, the customers are pleasant, the owner (from the few words I spoke to him) is great. Plus, the coffee is the best I’ve had. Ever.

In the Mary Atherton YMCA (to the right of the pink house)… took me 15 months at Shidler College (across the street) to find this place.
Good café fare, dark coffee, + smoothies and the like. Lots of couch seating and an open deck area.
Give it a try if you’re on the West side of campus. Embrace the dickishness.

I’ve been visiting this coffee shop every Saturday for over a year. I would look forward to sitting in the café and taking in the uniqueness of the setting. It’s off the beaten path, unusual and serves excellent coffee. I would sit there and work or read while my children were taking a Saturday class in the adjacent classroom. What I’ve witnessed in the past year has left me extremely disappointed. I seriously question the cleanliness of the sitting area and the kitchen. At first I didn’t notice because I was so distracted by all the stuff everywhere, but once you start to really look, the place is not clean. The kitchen is very cluttered and it’s hard to imagine it being properly cleaned as well. I stopped ordering coffee because the cup did not look clean and the spoons that sit on the front counter appear unsanitary as well. I can’t imagine this place getting a ‘pass’ grade from the DOH. Lastly, and most upsetting, is how the owner «Denise» treats people. I have witnessed him be rude and condescending every time I’ve been in there. At first I thought he was quirky, but curt. I didn’t mind he wasn’t friendly, in fact, I defended his right not to be. But now, I think he’s just mean and a truly unhappy person. He went from having a regular to someone who will never go there again. I witnessed him completely berate a nice woman for what seemed like a very minor thing (she threw her bottle in the wrong recycle can). She did nothing to aggravate him, but he followed her into the classroom where her children were (along with mine!) just to confront her about something very silly. He used foul language and called her a name. Very inappropriate. After a year of being there, it appears he is a hoarder, recluse disguised as a hippy, coffee shop owner. I will never spend a dime there again.

The owner is a miserable excuse for a human. He followed a woman into a children’s class (with kids there) to confront her after he swore at her because she didn’t throw a bottle in the correct recycling bin. She was not rude to him, but he is a jerk. Don’t go there.

Best coffee and ambiance in Honolulu (no– SERIOUSLY). Just don’t ask «what’s good here». And fine talk about politics it theory unless you are ready for a good battle! Hand made food, with excellent presentation and flavor. All organic natural and fresh. DO NOT ask for a to go box, simply walk to the recycling bin and wash out your own «to go» box.

The food here is excellent – homemade breads, local produce, and Dennis takes the time to do it right. Quaint surroundings with lots of plants and books and quiet. It’s a refuge from all the traffic outside the YMCA. The tea and coffee are excellent, too!

Dennis is a trip, the breakfast dishes are the best, try the potato and cheese omelet and the quesadilla and eggs plate, both are good and cheaply priced

Go in happy, leave upset.

Best coffee I’ve had in Hawaii.
The owner is awesome, though he can be «rude» to customers. Reminds me of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. Just show up and be chill and you’ll love it.

This is a totally hole in the wall kinda place… You seriously need to be looking for this place to go. You’ll never just happen to walk by and enter.
Anyways, it’s a really cool place with all these cool nifty gadgets and random stuff all over. Seriously all over.
The… I’m assuming owner? … can be very hot, cold. When I first talked to him I was just complimenting on how cool the place… so he seemed cool. But when he started to get swamped with orders and people who couldn’t throw their trash away properly, he got all pissy. So my suggestion… just coat him with compliments to stay on his good list. LoL.
I wanted a watercress omelet, but he was like… no more watercress… I’ll make arugula. I’m like… um… ok. The omelet was ok. But they do have vegetarian chill so I’ll have to go back.

This is the perfect coffee hang-​out: a rich environment, with flavorful coffee and a knowledgeable proprietor.
There are several ways in, but I recommend you walk up from Yogurtland and come in the side door: there is a delightful little patio with overhanging trees. You’ll enter a room filled with intriguing oddities, solid magazines you wish you had the cash to subscribe to, and table space perfect for a small class.
Next you’ll walk into a room with funky couches and a two-​person coffee bar (which doubles as the ordering counter). All told, this is a large space – maybe 1000 sq ft, which is cavernous for a coffee shop in Hawai‘i.
You’ll find a varying menu, and good, solid coffee. I didn’t watch Dennis make his coffee, but as a former coffee-​jockey I was impressed – I’d say his coffee was some of the best I’ve had in my 18 years on the island (up there with Agnes’ special brew and edging out the chains).
Dennis, the proprietor, was a font of knowledge, recommending some excellent upcoming shows and giving some good advice about places (and people) to go to (or watch out for).
I look forward to trying out the food. Hope to see you there.

This place has soooooo much character and surprisingly, a great ambiance. Recycled and mismatched furniture, books, and magazines, I love it. The 4 stars are really for that, more than the food or coffee.
I’ve been here a few times… nothing is really memorable, except for the service! Once, my friend asked for a water, and Dennis gave her a cup and had her get her own ice out of the freezer!!! We were shocked and got a great laugh out of it.
Another time, I was in line in back of a Japanese girl who could hardly speak english. Dennis asked her «did you have garlic last night» and she was like, eh? eh??? Instead of just dropping it, he ended up repeating the question and pretty screaming at her and asking whether she had garlic? And she finally understood and said yes. Then Dennis said, «Yeah, I could smell it» and said it was really strong. They both shared a laugh — the woman did not seem offended, and I thought it the whole event was hilarious! I seriously could not believe that he was yelling at this woman only to insult her!
I’ve ordered meals here, it was much more expensive than it was worth, came out cold, and Dennis doesn’t always open on time, but I love the idea of supporting small businesses with personal touches and so much character. Just come here to enjoy a little oasis in the middle of a busy area. This place is so unique. I just love it.

While sipping some coffee at this fine establishment earlier today, a falling mango almost ended my life and I thought not about living my life to the fullest, but rather «if I died right here, no one would ever know of my love for this place.» So now I will end this potential tragedy by saying «I love Coffeeline.»
Do not go here if you are in a hurry (it’s a one man operation), do not go here if you aren’t up for a little character in your food preparation (this one man operation has some rules! do not! use paper napkins to clean up spills, there are rags for that), and do not go here if you are Dead Set on eating something specific. If he’s got sea salt bagels, he’s got’em.
However, if you want Big Hippie Sandwiches, Homemade lasagna, Black Bean Chili Burritos with Two Eggs (one of my favorites!), Good Coffee (I like it!) and other healthy, flavorful homey foods, this is the place! This is not gourmet or fancy or even perfectly consistent, but it is always satisfying and yummy. Dennis is an extremely interesting man, and I’m proud to be at the point in our relationship where he knows what I want to order (and doesn’t glare at me as much).
My limited lunch money is spent here every week, and I can’t imagine I’d rather spend it any other way.

We all have our secret spots… I might not have finished college were it not for this one.
It’s amazing how many people graduate from U H without ever eating here. Located right across from the Architect Residence Hall (trust me it really is, I married a former resident) this is the closest off campus place to find food. Of course Coffeline isn’t for everyone, though everyone’s more than welcome.
This place, like Dennis the owner/​chef/​waitstaff/​etc (and myself) is ECLECTIC. For those in search of posh, fast, chic, trendy, or corporate you’ll be happier sipping an Ever Expanding Evil Empire Frappucino or browsing for $ 200 socks at Needless Markup. This place is more hippie than hip and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
To eat at Coffeeline, is to dwell briefly in a naturalistic garage-​sale bohemian oasis brimming with artsyness, peace, and personality. It’s where the faculty escape to and where I’d spend my pre-​test hours catching up on weeks of missed material.
For those who have difficulty imagining what that might look like click here:
Coffeline is open 7a-​3p Mon.-Fri., 9a-​noon Sat. Sun. & Holidays, and now 5p-​7p Mon.-Thurs. for dinner. Visiting at an off-​peak time is recommend as lunch traffic has picked up since Volcano Joe’s closed. Dinner as you can see in the pictures is relatively quiet.
Dining here is like eating at home, good but not fancy. Selections range from breakfast, to sandwiches, to homemade lasagna. I’d spend hours here slowly grazing on various food items or sipping coffee (note that this is in no way gourmet coffee or even good coffee for that matter).
Dennis would have been a perfect character for the Matrix trilogy, he’s an easily underestimated self proclaimed jack-​of-​all-​trades with a passion for information. Like a modern day oracle he has a wealth of knowledge and can discuss just about anything. Where professors might be over specialized, you can tell that Dennis pulls from the entire market place of ideas. Don’t be put off if he seems a bit surly, the dude’s cooler than Otter Pops and besides it can get a little nuts being the entire staff.
Btw parking daytime around UH sucks (just a disclaimer for people who don’t already know things like coffee is hot or that not wearing a seatbelt can be dangerous).
So there, I’ve shared my secret (well one of them). For some of you this might be a new favorite, for others a place that you’ll dis. For me, it’s the sort of unique place that has become far to rare. And for more information click here