Places to Sit Back and Have A Coffee

The Daily News looked at some neighborhood cafes off the Starbucks-beaten-path in the city. They mention places in Queens (Avenue Cafe at 35-27 30th Ave. - Nutella crepes! - in Astoria and Oasis Cafe) Staten Island (Muddy Cup with books to borrow. ), Brooklyn (Greenpoint Coffe House, 195 Franklin at Green; Williamsburg's Japanese cafe Supercore, Bedford, between South 1st and 2nd; and Pask Slope's Tea Lounge, 837 Union) and Manhattan (East Village favorite, Cafe Pick Me Up on Avenue A; Ziggie's Cafe, 1817 Second Avenue at 94th, with fresh wraps and free WiFi. Sunburst Espresso Bar at 206 Third Avenue; Sweetheart Coffee Bakery 69 Eighth Avenue; and Zanny's Cafe near Columbia), all of which sound nice. Which got Gothamist thinking that finding a new place for coffee and a snack, one that is conducive to reading a book or writing that screenplay we keep takling about (think Speed meets Kindergarten Cop meets Ishtar), is a difficult but ultimately rewarding journey. Currently, Gothamist is fond of that import, Le Pain Quotidien (nice atmosphere, with a nice menu of savories to accompany the sweets and various coffees), Patisserie Margot, The Hungarian Cafe, and Cafe Reggio.

What are your favorite cafes? And LS.com is at the ready to let his LES brethren know about an impending an Starbucks as well as what New York City's Starbucks look like.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Food on April 29, 2004 12:31 PM

Comments [rss]

in

One more discovery - a perfect neighborhood spot & amazingly delicious scones: "Ciao for Now" on e. 12th between ave A and B. Homey friendly vibe, great magazines lying around, young family running the place.

in

One more discovery - a perfect neighborhood spot & amazingly delicious scones: "Ciao for Now" on e. 12th between ave A and B. Homey friendly vibe, great magazines lying around, young family running the place.

in

Lucky Cat in Williamsburg is also great - very nice vibe, interior, wi-fi + outdoor garden. and it's open until wee-hours in the morning.

missm

GimmeCoffee on Lorimer Street in W'burg. Truly awesome coffee, super-mellow vibe, wifi, and great booths to spread out your stuff in.

cherie

DT/UT on B between 3rd and fourth is my favorite. Free wireless, a backyard, good things to eat and drink, comfy couches and chairs. Just avoid Cookies and Story time on Thursday mornings.

zaelic

Wow. The Hungarian Cafe used to be one of my hangouts. I used to go there to gossip in Hungarian with the owners and staff and eat dobos torta. Now I do that by walking out my door in Budapest. Is it still a Magyar hangout?

Robert Sayre

Another vote for St. Helen

Jonathan Greene

71 Irving is excellent with great coffee and treats. Sometimes it can be tough to get a seat, but if the weather is nice you can sit outside or take a stroll around Gramercy Park.

keka

Brasil Coffee House in Long Island City (more specifically at 48-19 Vernon Blvd) is unique, inspiring and relaxing! The decor goes back to imperialist Brasil, giant farm mural, antique figures and coffee beans everywhere, even on table tops. Their website http://brasilcoffeehouse.com/ doesn't do them justice. But you can tell by the types of coffee recipes on the site that they know what they are talking about (imagine caipirinha with coffee or salmon with coffee sauce). Definitely worth the visit!

Nic

They're opening a new Pain Quotidien right downstairs from me at 8th Street and Fifth Avenue - diagonally across from Otto. Could be the anchor of a much classier 8th Street...

Guy Brighton

What about Cafe Doma in West Village. People are writing complete trilogies in there in an afternoon!

ziegfeld

Well, now that Ari's revealed that the UES does have its merits...

DT/UT is a not half-bad place to lounge...but my vote for best coffee in that 'hood is Oren's Daily Roast. The beans and brew are fresh, and the staff generally knows the difference between a French press and a percolator. Their outlets tend to be small and have limited seating, but they're a great place to catch a flavorful cup.

Ari

Oh my sad little coffee parlor, it never gets its proper due. I strongly recommend you try M. Rohr's on 2nd ave and 85th street, with its stellar reading material and way cool fishtank. {although who would ever confess to there being anything good on the UES, right? *lol*}

ocdetox

I have to give props to my two neighborhood cafes that I love (in williamsburg) Atlas Cafe on the corner of Grand & Havemeyer has WiFi and two gloved butlers deliver their soup daily. (OK, that's a joke) Plus Oslo on Roebling was named "the best espresso in all the five boroughs" by Gourmet and they have knitting nights Thursdays from 6-8pm.

Mark

St. Helen Cafe is far superior to any coffee I've had in the city and has an incredibly kind staff, great music and an all-around excellent atmosphere. Greenpoint Coffee House is very charming, but the coffee is not so great--though it has improved since they first opened.

joe s

Saurin Parke at 110th and CPW is nice and has free WiFi. I can be found most Sunday mornings at Settepani, 120th and Lenox. It is more bakery than coffee house, but you can hang out there for hours and they'll soon have outdoor seating.

Linus

I passed a pleasant couple of hours Tuesday listening to a round-robin of singer/songwriters at the monthly Catharsis showcase at Cafe Sha Sha the other night - another link, 510 Hudson Street. They had some nice-looking cheesecake, too, though I did not indulge, the last blogger cheesecake roundup-a-thon was enough for me for a while. Next Catharsis outing looks to be May 25th. There's a back deck as well, though I didn't try it out.

yojimbot

Zanny's Cafe rulez! Hungarian Pastry Shoppe is kinda wack...too many sophists and they got rid of the cute wait staff.

katiek

Drink Me on 6th street between avenues B and C is great; good music, nice atmosphere, friendly staff.

corie

The Hungarian Pastry shop was my favortie place to have coffee and sit undesturbed when I lived uptown.

Sadly, the Tea Lounge on Union Street is rarely quiet, as it has turned into a baby playground. The one on 7th Ave isn't that bad, though...