Volume 264
Issue 20
05/15/2017
Sure, there’s plenty of coffee to be had on the Jacob Javits convention floor, but why not take a break from the aisles, get some fresh air, and find New York’s finest purveyors of caffeine. Better yet, energize on your way to the Javits with a stop at any one of the following places deemed good enough by Liz Clayton and Avidan Ross to make it into their forthcoming book Where to Drink Coffee, coming from Phaidon in July. In this chock-full-of-caffeine tome, 150 baristas and coffee experts offer 600 spots in 50 countries. We’ve narrowed the vast selections from all five boroughs to the top 10 Manhattan locales.
180 10th Ave.
212-933-9736
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Opens: Daily from 8 a.m., weather permitting
Style: Coffee truck
“Coffee outside is always really fun.”
—Aaron Ultimo
Blue Bottle (on the High Line)
10th Ave. and W. 16th St.
510-653-3394
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Opens: Daily from 9 a.m.
Style: Coffee bar
“Innovative food pairings.” —Cora Lambert
224 W. 20th St.
212-255-5511
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Opens: Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.; Saturday–Sunday, 7:30 a.m.
Style: Coffee bar
“I think of Café Grumpy when I’m in New York City. I still remember being blown away by an espresso they served a few years back. I remember raspberry being one of the tasting notes, and they nailed it. So sweet and complex and tasty.”
—Andy Sprenger
131 W. 21st St.
212-924-7400
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Opens: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.;
Saturday–Sunday, 9 a.m.
Style: Coffee bar
“One of my favorite filter coffees ever was served to me at Joe Pro, which serves a great selection of coffees that are difficult to find in the States.” —Camila Ramos
667 Lexington Ave.
212-308-1969
Neighborhood: Midtown East
Opens: Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.;
Saturday–Sunday, 8 a.m.
Style: Coffee and food
“The best filter coffee I’ve been served in a cafe in recent memory was a Kalita Wave of Finca Kilimanjaro, brewed using the Modbar machine at Little Collins in New York. It was... everything you could ever want in a cup of filter coffee.” —Samuel Lewontin
240 Sullivan St.
646-580-1240
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
Opens: Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.; Saturday–Sunday, 8 a.m.
Style: Coffee bar
“Best charmer.” —Alice Quillet
301 W. Broadway
212-226-2362
Neighborhood: Soho
Opens: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.;
Saturday–Sunday, 9 a.m.
Style: Coffee and waffles
“The ambience is clean, hip, and intimate, and the service is on point. The (often) tiki-themed signature beverages are innovative and delicious, and the coffee never disappoints.” —Jeff Steffy
86 E. 7th St.
No phone
Neighborhood: East Village
Opens: Tuesday–Saturday, 8 a.m.;
Sunday, 9 a.m.
Style: Coffee and baked goods
“Pretty essentially New York City for me... tiny, bustling, and great pastries.”
—Ryan Fisher
443 E. 6th St.
212-614-6818
Neighborhood: East Village
Opens: Monday–Friday, 5 p.m.;
Saturday–Sunday, 3 p.m.
Style: Coffee and cocktails
“Top marks for drinks and coffee would have to go to the folks at Amor y Amargo and their Double Buzz Sundays. I’ve never had coffee/drink pairings like this before, and I love the way their bottled iced coffee is nestled among bottles of spirits, and used as an ingredient like any other component in a cocktail. It’s like coffee is hanging out with the cool kids rather than being pushed in a fridge with the sticky bottles of pre-squeezed grapefruit juice.”
—Zachary Carlsen
110 William St.
646-885-6792
Neighborhood: East Village
Opens: Monday–Friday, 7:30 a.m.
Style: Coffee bar
“For a coffee shop to do something truly different in design or conception is unusual nowadays, but there’s nothing usual about Voyager Espresso. It is stowed away in a downstairs subway-access corridor (near the 2/3 trains) in the Financial District. There is a vague Carl Sagan theme and a quarterly rotation of elite roasters; it’s one of the best coffee spots going—in one of the city’s most unlikely places.”
—Liz Clayton and Avidan Ross
