Mason and Miranda Galle started Paréa Coffee in 2018 with a coffee truck and a simple idea: build a gathering place around great coffee. The name comes from the Greek word “paréa,” meaning “a gathering of friends”, and that spirit carried them through years of weddings, markets, and church events before they opened their first brick-and-mortar location in 2024.
The shop sits at 10111 E. 81st Street in South Tulsa and sources its beans from Topeca Coffee Roasters, with baked goods from local partners Ava June’s and Antoinette Baking Company.
I recently stopped by on a Friday morning with my fellow traveler Dave and our friend Dusty to check it out. The three of us all work remote jobs so we like to get together from time to time and work over coffee.
Getting There
Fair warning: the coffee shop itself wasn’t too busy when we arrived at 10:00 a.m., but the shopping center it’s located in was overflowing and it was very difficult to find a parking spot nearby. Budget a few extra minutes if you’re visiting on a weekend or during peak shopping hours. Once you’re inside, though, you’ll forget the parking lot entirely.
The Space
Paréa is beautifully decorated and maintains an atmosphere that’s upscale cozy but never crosses over into pretentious. It’s one of those rooms that manages to feel designed without feeling staged.
The seating options cover a lot of ground. There’s a large conference table with built-in power outlets — we initially thought ours weren’t working, but it turned out they just hadn’t switched on the power supply beneath the table, which was a quick fix.
Beyond the work table, there are smaller tables for non-working parties, bar-style seating, cozy chairs and couches, and even highchairs. In the corner of the shop there’s a small stage where they host live music a few times a month; when there’s no performance scheduled it holds a piano, seating, stocked bookshelves, and board games.
The atmosphere hit an unusually good balance. Even with a fairly full house it was still quiet enough to study, read, work, or enjoy a romantic coffee date — yet loud enough that you didn’t feel out of line for holding a conversation or taking a phone call. That’s a harder balance to strike than it sounds, and Paréa pulls it off.
What We Ordered
Dusty had the Cinnamon Dolce Latte and called it very good. He also praised the shop’s good vibes and found it easy to work in.
Dave went with the Iced Americano with raspberry and described it as a “great serving size and flavor.” He also mentioned that on a previous visit he’d tried their gluten free coffee cake and that it was “dynamite.”
I ordered the Blueberry Muffin Latte (20 oz, $7.85) and it was perfect. It often feels like the coffee world is a 50/50 split between coffee snobs who drink motor oil and insist it has subtle hints and aromas of pure nonsense, and people who say they love coffee but actually drink 2,000 calorie milkshakes that have subtle hints of actual coffee. Between the snob shops and the Dutch Bros of the world, it’s hard to find shops that balance the two and give you sweet flavors without a stomach ache. The Blueberry Muffin Latte actually tasted like both blueberries and coffee — the perfect mixture of sweet and sturdy.
I also doubled down with a $5 blueberry loaf, one of the few remaining pastries that wasn’t gluten free, and was a little disappointed. It certainly wasn’t bad — it just didn’t particularly feel worth the calories. The coffee more than made up for it.
The Verdict
Paréa is a genuinely good coffee shop doing something right on the atmosphere front. The drinks are creative and well-executed, the space is welcoming, and the built-in work setup makes it a practical stop whether you’re settling in for a few hours or just need a great latte. If I’m ever in the area again and in need of coffee, I would definitely choose it over all of the big chain shops nearby.
Just plan ahead for parking or hit the convenient drive-through if you’re in a hurry!
Paréa Coffee Company
10111 E 81st St, Suite A, Tulsa, OK 74133
Monday–Thursday: 8am–6pm | Friday–Saturday: 8am–8pm | Sunday: 8am–6pm
