Steadfast Coffee

The coffee soda is the tell at Steadfast Coffee: fizzy, citrus-cut coffee poured from a tap, created by co-founder Nathanael Mehrens at Crema and carried over when the Germantown cafe opened in May 2015. It is specialty technique in a format nobody needs explained, which is close to the whole idea here.

A horseshoe bar built for conversation

The bar is horseshoe-shaped and built for speed, with a Modbar setup that drops the machine below the counter so the barista taking your order is the one making the drink. Service tools sit where the hands are, and no equipment wall stands between guest and cup. The layout exists for direct conversation: questions get answered, orders move, nobody has to decode a menu.

That approach is deliberate rather than a lowering of standards. The founders came out of Nashville's earlier specialty scene, including Crema and coffee consulting work, and set out to be personable to every kind of coffee drinker rather than only the ones who already know the vocabulary. The result reads as a neighborhood hang that happens to run a serious coffee bar.

White tile, light wood and a patio

The room is Copenhagen-influenced: white tiles, soft wood grains, warm light, staff in chambray and cream aprons. Seating runs from picnic-style group tables to smaller two-tops near the entrance, with a spacious patio for the months that allow it. Sleek but homey is the balance it holds.

Behind the bar the setup is specific. Two Fetco XTS brewers handle batch coffee; pour-over is reserved for special or limited lots; a Mahlkonig EK 43 grinds decaf espresso and the smallest coffees; Mythos ClimaPro grinders cover everyday espresso; and a built-in ice well finishes cold drinks without a trip down the line. Cold brew and tea from Spirit Teas round out the list.

Order the coffee soda, then the butterscotch latte

Start with the coffee soda. Fizzy, citrus-edged and served from a tap through a collaboration with Fat Bottom Brewery, it is the clearest signature and the drink that shows how willing this cafe is to make specialty coffee playful.

The second order is the iced butterscotch latte, and the interesting part is that it is rested rather than built to order: batched, jarred and refrigerated so it is ready the moment it is called. That is the balance the whole cafe runs on, a specific method inside fast, unfussy service.

Food is not an afterthought. Pastries come out of the oven through the morning, breakfast and lunch both have a menu, and vegetarian and vegan options sit on it. Between batch brew, espresso, cold brew and tea, it works as easily for a quick cup at the bar as for a long table with friends.