Coffee in New York
Light roasts, Colombian beans and Yemeni coffee houses, in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Hoboken.
Third-wave coffee bars and Yemeni coffee houses. The notes say what each one is good at and what to order: a filter of the day, a cortado, a qahwa with cardamom.
I have been to 14 of these places myself, and they come first. The other 17 are next on my list: I move a place up only after I have eaten there. Opening days change, so check the map link before you go.
Tried
Devoción (Flatiron)
Colombian beans that reach the roaster within days of harvest, so they taste unusually fresh and sweet. Skylit room with a living plant wall. Get a single-origin pour-over or a cortado. The Williamsburg flagship (69 Grand St) has the roaster in the room.
Felix Roasting Co.
Maybe the most theatrical coffee room in NYC: green velvet, brass, a jewel-box bar. The coffee holds up: its own light-to-medium roasts, very good espresso and signature drinks. Go on a weekday morning, when it's calm.
Haraz Coffee House (Hoboken)
A Yemeni coffee house two blocks from Hoboken Terminal. Order the qahwa, Yemeni coffee brewed with cardamom, or a sweet Adeni chai.
Haraz Coffee House (SoHo)
The Manhattan branch of the Yemeni coffee house, on Spring Street. Order the qahwa, Yemeni coffee brewed with cardamom, or a sweet Adeni chai.
Kaffe Landskap
Scandinavian-leaning café in Tribeca: pale wood, big windows, a tight pastry case. Clean light-roast espresso and filter, and cardamom buns. Tribeca residents and dog walkers keep it busy. Note: the second shop at 275 Greenwich now appears as 'Kaffe Are' on Yelp.
Monoblend
A small roaster-café built around the idea its name says: single origins, no house blend. A good stop on 23rd for a clean, bright filter or a sharp espresso. Neighborhood-scale and quiet.
Simpl Coffee (Midtown)
Run by two Ukrainian coffee-chain veterans: a calm white-grey room with Ukrainian folk patterns on the walls. Get the Colombian filter or the chocolate latte, with Balthazar pastries. Quietly excellent. Original shop at 59 Nassau St, FiDi.
BUDDIES Coffee Roasters
It moved from Williamsburg to Alphabet City: tiny speakeasy-feel room with Greek diner cups, and it roasts its own beans. Get the coquito latte or a straight espresso. The owner went viral when the Brooklyn landlord pushed her out, and the neighborhood followed her.
Butler (SoHo)
A bakery-café from the Brooklyn Butler team: good espresso, excellent laminated pastries and a brown-butter cookie. Order a cortado and a croissant. A reliable SoHo stop.
Conwell Coffee Hall
Coffee in a restored Art Deco banking hall with soaring ceilings and marble. Espresso and pastries by day; it turns into a cocktail hall at night, so come in daylight. The most striking room downtown to drink a cortado in.
Remi Flower & Coffee
Florist and café in one: you drink among buckets of cut flowers and plants, 10 minutes' walk from Grand Central. Solid espresso and lattes plus good pastries. The best-looking quiet coffee stop in Midtown East. The FiDi branch is bigger.
La Colombe (Lafayette)
A Philadelphia roaster and a chain now, but the draft latte (nitro-textured milk on tap) is still a great quick fix. Reliable, fast, everywhere downtown. A dependable fallback more than a destination.
The Clock
A lobby coffee bar a minute from Grand Central, with lots of seats and a calm room. Commuters and office regulars use it; tourists don't find it. Good for a pre-train espresso or an hour on the laptop. Weekdays only.
Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery
Parisian grand café where the coffee is decent, not the point. Come for true French viennoiserie (croissant, kouign-amann) and a café crème at the marble counter. French pastry, not American sugar bombs.
Next on my list
- La Cabra (Lafayette & East Village)
The great Nordic light roaster from Aarhus, Denmark. Coffee tastes like fruit and tea. Order the filter of the day, or an espresso and the cardamom bun, the best in NYC. The 152 2nd Ave shop is the bakery. Top pick for the Scandinavian style. - SEY Coffee
NYC's most respected light roaster: a skylit, plant-filled warehouse bar and Food & Wine's 2019 Best Coffee Shop in America. Order whatever washed Ethiopian or Kenyan is on filter; it's like drinking juice. The coffee pilgrimage in the city. - Dayglow
Multi-roaster bar that rotates top roasters from around the world (Scandinavian and Asian ones included), dialed in by serious baristas. Ask what just came in. Bright, mid-century room, laid-back Bushwick locals. - PARK at KIMS
Korean slow bar: V60 hand brews from Seoul micro-roasters (Clarimento, Pastel, Travertine, and its own roast), plus Loquat espresso. Grab one of the few bar seats and watch the pour. Blond wood and a record player. Try the doenjang jambon-beurre. - Cafe Integral
A small bar serving only Nicaraguan coffee, sourced directly from farms by a Nicaraguan-American founder. Bright, clean espresso and very good cold brew. A neighborhood counter that coffee people quietly rate over the famous names. - Manjul Coffee & Clothing
Ukrainian couple Ihor and Anastasiia Manzhul pour Berlin micro-roaster Kolo, the only place in NYC that does, as careful V60 pour-overs, in a hushed room built around a big tree. A Ukrainian clothing line hangs alongside. Monastic calm off Canal St. - Black Fox Coffee (45th St)
A serious multi-roaster bar right behind Grand Central. The house roast sits next to guest roasters from around the world, so ask for today's guest on filter. Sleek room, good breakfast. The Pine St branch in FiDi is the flagship. - Haraz Coffee House (Paterson)
In the heart of South Paterson, New Jersey's Arab and Yemeni community. Late-night qahwa and Adeni chai among locals; combine it with dinner at Al Basha or Al Kumah and a stop at Mokafe. - Hi-Collar
Japanese kissaten: a narrow wooden bar, coffee by siphon, pour-over or AeroPress, and hayashi omurice or fluffy pancakes. It turns into a whisky/sake bar at night, so come by day. The closest thing in NYC to a Tokyo coffee counter. - Kinship Coffee (Steinway)
Astoria's own mom-and-pop roaster since 2014, run by a local couple and roasting in-house since 2020. Seasonal drinks and very good espresso. Astoria's go-to; pair it with Astoria Seafood or Kabab Cafe. - Little Collins
Melbourne-style café three blocks from Grand Central, and still the best-run espresso counter in Midtown East. Flat white and a proper Aussie brunch plate (smashed avo, 'Pickle Me Elmo' sandwich). Office regulars line up at 8am. Go before 8:30 or after 1. - Modcup Coffee (Senate Place roastery)
Jersey City's own specialty roaster: light, fruit-forward roasts and a Kyoto slow-drip cold brew with tea-like clarity. The Senate Pl roastery is the most serious coffee near Journal Square. - Bwè Kafe
Haitian-owned roaster and café with community-hub energy. Excellent cold brew, seasonal lattes, chive-cheese scone. Big and easy to sit and work in. - M by MOKAFÉ (Downtown Jersey City)
Yemeni-style coffee house in Downtown Jersey City: cardamom qishr, Adeni chai, Yemeni pastries and late hours. - Mokafe
A Palestinian-run coffee house serving Yemeni coffee: cardamom qishr and adeni chai. Olive-velvet booths, open late, full of young Paterson locals at night. Pair it with gullac or baklava from Baklava Home next door. Good end point after dinner at Al Basha. - Qahwah House (Williamsburg)
Brooklyn outpost of the Yemeni coffee house run by a family of Yemeni coffee farmers: qahwa brewed with cardamom, and qishr. Also in the West Village (13 Carmine St) and Astoria (22-37 31st St). - Sweetleaf (Jackson Ave)
Queens' first pour-over bar, over 15 years old. House roasting and baking, a vinyl record room, and 'Rocket Fuel' chicory cold brew. LIC regulars' living room, one stop from Grand Central on the 7.