Best Study Spots for Local Students

With exam season looming, students are gradually morphing into one collective heap of stress. Students during exam season are a breed of their own. You can spot them in the streets looking generally worried, fidgety, irritable and over-caffeinated.

The exam season student’s natural habitat is usually home, the school library and local coffee shops. The latter is where we come in.

Here are four local study spots that will offer comfort, provide you with caffeine &/or alcohol, and that false sense of accomplishment that you’ve been searching for. Yes, you left the house today. Yes, that makes you productive.

Happy Goat Coffee Co. (317 Wilbrod St.)

This one is for those University of Ottawa students looking for only a short crawl out of their exam szn hibernation. The Wilbrod location is found in the heart of Sandy Hill, right off of Laurier Ave. It’s a short walk from uOttawa campus buildings and easily accessible if you reside in the Sandy Hill area. Happy Goat Coffee Co. has taken over Ottawa and for good reason. You can rely on their delicious beverages and bites when you’re feeling like nothing else in your life is stable. Happy Goat won’t let you down with its great taste in music, cozy setting and great staff.

(If you’re feeling extra overwhelmed, grab a craft beer.)

Black Squirrel Books & Espresso (1073 Bank St.)

Black Squirrel Books & Espresso is a safe haven for students in need. Black Squirrel is not only a café but a second-hand book store. If you’re feeling those exam season sadssss, you can easily get lost in the endless rows of used books. Their menu is filled with lots of yummy locally sourced goods. (Little Victories, Cloud Forest, Blue Barn, Nickel Brook, Dominion City, Revel Cider, and more).

Red Door Provisions (117 Beechwood Ave.)

Red Door Provisions prides itself on its seasonally driven, small batch menu. Their food is absolutely insane. We cannot stress this enough. If you’re in that classic stress eating mode, why not do it in high-quality, home-made, style.

(If you’re not absolutely broke like the majority of students, treat yourself to one of their BOMB house-made preserves. You’ll feel like you have your life together. $12 preserves are technically adulting, right?)

The Art House Café (555 Somerset St. W)

The Art House Café will make you feel cultured and cool exactly when you need it. Exam season beat down your sense of self? Come stare at some local art. If you’re feeling extra overwhelmed (this is a common theme) Art House Café all day everyday offers $5 pints. Their “Starving Artist Lager” will warm your broken heart during these hard times.

(They also have spiked Chai, Amaretto Latte, and Bourbon Hot Chocolate on their menu. So…)