If you want a coffee shop in Mesa you can actually work from, five things decide it: the WiFi, the outlets, the seating, the noise, and whether there is food. Plenty of places make good coffee. Fewer are comfortable to sit in with a laptop for four hours, and fewer still are happy for you to.
One thing before the list. We run Beanchain, it is on the list, and it comes first. Read our entry knowing that. We have tried to be fair to the others, partly because they are our neighbours and partly because a guide that only praised us would be no use to you.
What a work-friendly coffee shop needs
These are the things worth checking before you commit a day to somewhere:
- WiFi that holds up on a video call, and not only for email.
- Outlets near the seats people actually sit in.
- A table with room for a laptop, a notebook and a drink.
- Enough background noise to feel normal without drowning your own thoughts.
- Food on site, so lunch does not mean packing up.
- Opening hours that fit the way you work.
Which of those matters most depends on the day. A long writing block wants a quiet desk with a charger in reach. A client meeting is easier somewhere warmer, where talking is normal. A student-worker usually needs cheap food, steady WiFi and a place where staying for hours feels welcome.
The best coffee shops to work remotely in Mesa
The four shops after ours are rated from publicly available information and workspace listings rather than a timed visit, so treat the ratings as a starting point. Hours and seating change. Check a shop’s own page before you set off.
Beanchain Coffee
- WiFi: Excellent
- Outlets: Excellent
- Seating: Excellent
- Noise: Low to moderate
- Food: Strong
Best for long sessions, studying and small teams. We are a shared workspace as much as a coffee shop, and the room is set up for it. It is also free. There is no day rate, no membership and nothing to book: buy a coffee and the desk is yours for the day.
The workspace has real desks and proper chairs in its own room. The WiFi is fast and free and handles video calls, there is power at nearly every seat, and there is a printer if you ask at the counter. The whole menu is served all day, so lunch can happen at your desk. When the work is done there is a library of donated books and a shelf of board games.
For a meeting that needs a door, the conference room seats ten around a table with power built into it, a screen and a mobile whiteboard, and it is booked by the hour. Here is how to find us.
Jarrod’s Coffee, Tea and Gallery
Address: 109 W University Dr
- WiFi: Good
- Outlets: Moderate
- Seating: Good
- Noise: Moderate, event-dependent
- Food: Moderate
Best for people who like a creative downtown room. Jarrod’s is a coffee shop and art gallery with free WiFi and a strong community feel. It suits lighter work, creative planning and a relaxed hour on the laptop. Live events and the gallery’s energy can make some times harder for deep focus.
Pair Cupworks
Address: 31 S Robson St #103
- WiFi: Strong
- Outlets: Some
- Seating: Good
- Noise: Moderate
- Food: Light
Best for specialty coffee lovers who want a focused stop downtown. Pair Cupworks is a specialty coffee bar and roastery, and workspace listings describe it as having strong WiFi, plenty of seating and some outlets. It may suit a shorter work block better than a full day.
Lost Dutchman Coffee House
Address: 12 N Center St
- WiFi: Moderate
- Outlets: Moderate
- Seating: Moderate
- Noise: Moderate
- Food: Good
Best for downtown coffee, baked goods and a classic coffee-house feel. Lost Dutchman is a local coffee house connected to a micro-roastery, with broad daily hours and a menu of coffee, tea, smoothies, baked goods and breakfast. It works well for writing, reading or a shorter stretch of work.
Buddha’s Brew Coffee Cafe
Address: 710 E Main St
- WiFi: Good
- Outlets: Poor
- Seating: Moderate
- Noise: Moderate to lively
- Food: Strong
Best for creative work with breakfast and lunch close at hand. Buddha’s Brew describes itself as a coffee, music, food and art space, which makes it a good fit for creative sessions and casual meetings. It is also connected to events and a creative venue, so how quiet it is will depend on when you go.
Why we built ours around the desk
Most coffee shops put up with laptops. We planned for them. You notice it in small ways. You are not rationing your battery, and nobody is waiting for your table.
That is also why the desk is free. Charging for a chair is a strange way to run a coffee shop, and the people who work here decided the room should stay open to whoever needs it: students, freelancers, remote employees and people between jobs alike.
There are two things we are not. We do not have private offices to rent, because the ones we have are taken on longer arrangements. And we keep coffee-shop hours, which end earlier than most coworking spaces do, so check our hours before you plan an evening around us.
How to pick for the day you have
Start with the work in front of you. An hour of email is a different job from a four-hour writing block, and a day of solo focus is a different job from meeting a client.
For deep work, choose the calmest room with the best chairs and an outlet you do not have to hunt for. A meeting needs food, reliable WiFi and enough space to talk without leaning over somebody else’s laptop, and a room with a door if the conversation is private. We wrote more on where to meet a client in Mesa and on taking a video call from a coffee shop.
Creative work often goes better somewhere with a little life in it. For a long session, the things that matter are food, bathrooms and a place where laptops are plainly welcome, and a full workday at Beanchain shows what one looks like here. Students have their own version of the question, which we answered in a place to study near Mesa Community College.
It pays to have a second choice, too. A shop that turns out to be full, loud or short on outlets can end a good day early. Once you have found your seat, we wrote separately about staying productive in a coffee shop.
The short version
Jarrod’s, Pair Cupworks, Lost Dutchman and Buddha’s Brew each do something well, whether that is downtown atmosphere, specialty coffee or a room full of art. If the job is a full day of reliable work, we think Beanchain makes the clearest case, and it costs you a coffee. See what the workspace has.