{shortcode-828cfea9096cdc575bb18aeec91b4920b2d44d95}Disclaimer: We love Tatte. But hey, the clickbait worked — you clicked.

As much as we were tempted to gatekeep this treasured find, it didn’t work Faro Café’s bustling wood-white interior was just too cozy and welcoming to keep it a secret. Tucked behind Zinneken’s on Arrow Street, Faro Café is our new obsession — with warm lighting, a record player (???), and so. many. plants, it’s the perfect place for when you want to pretend that you have your life together and you did NOT spend 58 minutes in the CS office hours queue.

If you’re trying to hold down the fort for a study session at Faro, we recommend arriving early, not long after they open at 8 a.m. True, you won’t get the pleasure of duking it out with a semi-retired couple over a one-foot-diameter glorified stool like at Tatte, but the small space does fill up quickly. True to character, Faro was packed with solo studiers at 9:30 a.m. as we wandered in, but we managed to snag a table by the window for maximum people-watching as we sipped on our coffee. Investigative journalism!

EKR: I ordered a flat white, and to be honest, it’s the only thing I’ve ordered upon my many returns (yes, it was that good). Complete with a carefully curated latte design on top and handed to me in a warm mug, it was the perfect start to the day. I stole a sip of a friend’s iced vanilla latte, and it was evident that the vanilla syrup was house made - the sign of a high-quality cafe.

ESD: Deep in my corporate girl phase, I ordered an Americano — with a splash of macadamia milk because don’t worry, I still have a personality. As a self-proclaimed coffee non-expert, I thought the espresso was perfectly balanced, rich and smooth and the right amount of bitterness for that morning pick-me-up.

We only were able to try a couple drinks, but their House Latte, Maple Latte, Dirty Chai, and Gruyere Scones are at the top of our list for our next visit. And yes, we will be coming back.

Faro is what Cambridge needed. It’s far enough from the yard that the tourists won’t find it (sorry, Tatte and Peet’s) and it is practically a warm hug in cafe form. When you want to romanticize your life, sip on a fabulous latte and forget that you’re drowning in assignments and applications — Faro is the go-to.