Study spots
5-03-22
Cafes for study | Redfern edition
Redfern to Camperdown
If you are like me, a university student bored of libraries and home and who is in need of a fresh new study space, then you are in luck! This list will take you through my personal favourite cafes for study.
In 2021, despite covid, I was lucky enough to get at least one semester of in-person classes before the lockdown in Sydney. During this time I decided I wanted to begin something revolutionary.
This happened to be a cafe exploration club. Combining both my love for exploring new areas AND my need for cafes for study, I thought that this would be the best thing ever. Spoiler- figuring a time to meet with friends consistently is hard when you are both doing shift work and different degrees.
Now this came off the back of a walk from Central station to Sydney University. I decided to take the back route and found so. many. cafes. Despite the great promise of this ‘club’ I only really ended up having one member who was my friend Erin who happened to be there at the moment I had this epiphany.
You may be thinking -’but Miranda, none of these cafes you have suggested are in Central’ – and you would be correct!
I really hope to do some more exploration of those central cafes (so get ready for a future post!) but due to my last minute nature and the shorter walk from Redfern to campus, these cafes are the most convenient spots particularly for sydney uni students, tafe students, or just Redfern commuters as a whole.
Now there is somewhat a criteria to these cafes for study.
1. Does it have wifi
2. How far is it from the station
3. Is it comfy + is there a lot of light + noise level
4. Is the food or drink yum
None of these are ranked exactly but instead I’ve dot pointed whether the cafe meets these criteria so that you can choose the cafe that is going to best fit your needs!
[Photo of 101 Kissa]
Terra Cotta Roasters
This is my number one go-to for sure. It is a small cafe on the corner of boundary street and Ivy lane and honestly it’s hard to find in person as well as on google maps (I chucked a map down below for you just in case). One could even argue this is the best cafe to study, particularly if you live in the redfern area.
The Terra Cotta Roasters have a small amount of seating areas and a regular crowd that come each morning, mainly to just pick up coffee. This means that it is a bit crowded around 9am but I found there were still spots to sit.
The biggest plus of this place of course was the provision of wifi. Both Erin and I frothed this and is why I definitely recommend this place as a great study spot. Additionally the food items look amazing (Erin had the food but I just had coffee) and the staff were quite friendly.
A bonus feature is that they also have powerpoints available for you to charge your devices and nearly all of the area is undercover, which is helpful during this crazy rainfall.
In regards to proximity to from campus and station -it is literally right in between, assuming you shortcut through Seymour. It is about 5 minutes from Redfern station, making it the perfect cafe for study if you need to rush off to class soon after.
Finally in regards to ambience – it is pretty nice. The outdoor area is comfy but not as aesthetic and the light interior. The benefit of the outdoor area though is that there is a little less noise, so depending on whether you choose to wear headphones or not may determine where you sit.
Summary
– Wifi: Yes
– Proximity: Close
– Ambience: Good
– Food/drink: Good
– Selling point: best for study
Wild Flour
Wild flour had to make it on here because it was once again another random find from exploring the area around Redfern station. Similar to Terra Cotta, this is a local favourite and I found a lot of young mums came to visit this spot.
The cafe is unbelievably gorgeous. From the bright exterior to the trendy interior it was definitely a feast for the eyes. The only downside is that there wasn’t a huge amount of seating and lighting can get a little dim depending on where you are sitting inside (outside looks super pretty).
For studying, there were a few students there also working, indicating that there could potentially be wifi but on that day my work was offline so I have yet to confirm if wifi is provided. However it looked like there were power cords and the staff seemed quite nice.
My memory is a bit foggy when it comes to the food but I believe I got the avocado halloumi sandwich with a regular flat white. If I was to return I would most definitely take advantage of the shakshuka and variety of drinks. Unfortunately there is not heaps of variety in food offerings BUT there is a multitude of drinks. Like so many.
The proximity to the station is probably 5-10 minutes and you will need to take into account that it is in the opposite direction to campus (for sydney uni students BUT it’s on the way to Notre Dame and UTS if you decided you wanted to stop by on the way from Redfern).
Summary
– Wifi: Maybe
– Proximity: Semi-close
– Ambience: Good
– Food/drink: Good
– Selling point: the most amazing variety of drinks
Cafe Ella
Cafe Ella is a popular name among my friends at university as it has a really big upstairs room where larger groups of people can meet. Whilst I have not had the chance to head up there yet, I have visited this cafe with my friend Anna to have a meeting.
To this day, I have not seen a cooler chai latte than the one provided at this cafe. Whilst I am no longer able to drink chai lattes (which devastates me every day), the distinct taste and experience of receiving this latte was so memorable. They give you the tea to pour along with the milk so that you literally get a massive chai latte which you can drink over a longer period of time without fearing that it would go cold and the chai taste was so strong.
Now for the non chai latte people, I’ll spare you the rest of the rant about this chai latte as i could probably go on for a little too long.
I wasn’t able to get wifi but seeing that there were so many meeting held here I wouldn’t be surprised if they provided it. As I said earlier, there is more space upstairs for larger groups so this spot is perfect if your study group is like triple the size of mine (6+). This is most likely the primary reason why alot of my peers believe this to be the best cafe to study at.
It is on the way to the university campus and is a brief 4 minute walk from the station so even if you aren’t planning of staying for a long study session I definitely recommend you stop by!
Summary
– Wifi: Maybe
– Proximity: Close
– Ambience: Good
– Food/drink: Great
– Selling point: good for bigger groups + chai lattea
101 Kissa
This place refreshed me so much and it was so needed. In terms of light and being comfortable I would rate this one the highest. I really loved the atmosphere of this place and it is super pleasant to work in when it’s sunny. They have really big windows all along the outside of the cafe, providing heaps of natural light.
The drink I got was one of their juices and it was delicious. Their menu is a mix of Asian fusion so I’m keen to come back and try the other food options!
Wifi and powerpoint wise, I came to the cafe again with offline options so I am not completely sure if there is wifi available and additionally there didn’t appear to be any powerpoints. However the place did have a lot of available spaces to sit at which made it easier to spread out my stuff for study.
Despite how much I loved this place, it is a bit more of a trek, arguably more than Wild Flour, and so once again it wouldn’t be the best spot if you needed to rush to class but it is a super nice spot for if you just want to try studying in a new space. It’s also closer to UTS and Notre Dame.
Summary
– Wifi: No
– Proximity: Not close
– Ambience: Amazing
– Food/drink: Great
– Selling point: great natural lighting + seating
These were my top four cafes for study near Redfern! If you have some local cafes to study at or if you want to visit some of these places but are not sure if they have wifi, you can check out my other blogpost about how to study offline.
As mentioned earlier, I also hope to make a blog post about the cafes closer to central for those either commuting from central station. If you already have suggestions you can let me know using the contact form, otherwise you can keep an eye out for when that article gets posted.
Finally, let me know if you are a little more successful in creating that study/work club!
Until next time!
Miranda