Sprudge’s 2025 information to nice cafes throughout New York Metropolis continues! Our first function within the sequence featured cafe favorites throughout Decrease Manhattan, and at present highlighting bustling North Brooklyn—a veritable hotbed of scorching cafes! For the needs of this information, we’re defining “North Brooklyn” as north of Atlantic Avenue, with extra Brooklyn exploration to return in future guides.
Cafe Grumpy
Greenpoint
In life, you need some issues to alter, and also you need others to remain the identical. Greenpoint’s Cafe Grumpy, the store the place this as-seen-on-TV NYC roaster began out, seems a lot the identical because it has for the final decade-and-change: festively orange, ethereal, informal, someplace you’d completely carry a primary date or loll a Sunday afternoon away. Although the corporate as soon as roasted proper there among the many laptop crowd within the again, these operations moved just a few doorways down as the corporate grew, once more releasing up the cafe’s second room for quiet laptopping and skimming the large shelf of free books. A small number of pastries is obtainable together with gluten-free choices, in addition to grab-and-go chilly brew drinks. The cafe has a restroom, and there are a few benches outdoors as effectively.
Dayglow
Bushwick
Dayglow, an ultramodern espresso boutique model working in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, introduced its Kubrickian appeal to this odd a part of East Williamsburg in 2023 in a spot beforehand occupied by an automotive welding firm, then by Supercrown Roasters, after which Companions Espresso earlier than Dayglow. Leaning into the corporate’s promise of “distinctive experiences”, the multi-roaster cafe options scads of high-priced imports (The Barn, Fritz Espresso, Kawa, Espresso Collective, and many others.) on the cabinets, hip brewing toys (ModBar setup, Tone brewers) and a really lengthy menu of signature espresso drinks with outré elements resembling distilled espresso, blue algae, and clarified matcha. Simply need a espresso? There’s a hand-brew menu of round ten completely different choices from roasters all over the world (and a few Dayglow’s personal) in addition to a few espresso instructions to go in and a pastry case by the understandably standard Native Bread.
In what was once “simply” a espresso roasting area within the again, Dayglow has gone one step additional by including a distillery. Enter Niteglow, the alter-ego alcohol operation of this joint, crafting craft beers you’re capable of order draft-poured in quite a lot of strategies. There are tables right here and certainly just a few folks look like mashing keyboards, however this experiential journey isn’t any typical “coffice”, neither is it prone to be one you’ll have wherever else! Has out of doors seating, and a rest room.
La Cabra Roastery
Bushwick
This deluxe iteration of the Danish model that now boasts three retailers in NYC is extra excessive design than hygge. A multi-storefront span on an upcycled industrial Bushwick block, the house of La Cabra‘s North American roasting is ostensibly a restaurant, however feels extra like a really fancy, very critical place to get espresso. The area is uniquely divided into sections, that are damaged up by what the La Cabra web site describes as its “strong oak retail construction”—a factor that creates a corridor-like setup together with, not even kidding right here, particular person library-style seating carrels. Roasting operations are on view in again, and there’s a type of regular-cafe area close to the espresso bar and pastry counter, the place the nice and cozy service (regardless of labcoat-esque employees uniforms) thaws out the unusually austere decor. The coffees are prime shelf, however the pastries much more so—I had a gooey, simply wild “seasonal” cashew cookie that tasted like they’d invented a sweet bar. There’s some extra informal seating out entrance, and don’t miss the stainless and totally ADA-compliant bathrooms.
Larry’s Cà Phê
East Williamsburg
Neighbors to Larry’s Ca Phe are fortunate ones. This New-York-small, tiny-wedge-of-cheese-shaped spot on Woodpoint Avenue (as soon as generally known as Tar Pit cafe) is a homey, just-right native that stands out with a menu of Asian-influenced drinks and treats.
With a spine of espresso from home co-brand Bolting Cheetah espresso provided in conventional espresso/milk configurations, you’ll additionally need to take a look at the Vietnamese Cà Phê menu, starring housemade Vietnamese chilly brew with egg custards or salted foam, or the pandan scorching chocolate with torched marshmallow. Whereas staple pastry choices are ubiquitous fare from Colson, a few housemade treats, like a honeycomb pandan cake and darkish chocolate/matcha hapa cookies, are tempting and scrumptious. There are actually, possibly, 10 seats in right here, however they nonetheless handle to have a rest room, a progressive-lit-focused group bookshelf, and a incredible vibe…and so they make their espresso grounds into cleaning soap you should buy.
Loveless
Bushwick
You’ll see Loveless on most espresso sophisticates’ lists for native Brooklyn roasters to take a look at, and that is the place their “New York Nordic” roast magic occurs. It’s actually Bushwick’s pinkest espresso store, with a neo-retro model evinced by the classic pink tiled bar/arched mirrors and tender ’80s power. The baristas give a particular “we’re critical” vibe, and can expertly make you a pour-over of one in all their high quality roasts, in addition to pleasant espresso-based drinks… however you can even relax and get a bowl of oatmeal, too. Loveless is a sustainability-minded espresso operation, and focuses on environment friendly useful resource utilization, compostable supplies, and roasts its espresso on a Loring to cut back the corporate’s gasoline footprint. There’s some nominal sidewalk seating right here, and a rest room.
Passionfruit
Bedford-Stuyvesant
In what at first appears like a not possible flip of occasions, Spokane husband and spouse couple Taylor and Chloe Siok moved from the Pacific Northwest to open Passionfruit in Mattress-Stuy, serving Superlative Espresso from Idaho. However hear me out: he’s an acclaimed pastry chef, she’s head bartender at PDT, and so they’re nice at espresso. This fantastically appointed cafe boasts plenty of white, plenty of herons on the partitions, and a communal desk sized good for assembly somebody new. Espresso introduced in from DOMA is expertly ready, and is paired with a small and critical number of distinctive housemade pastries, emphasizing candy and sticky poundcakes and fresh-warmed madeleines. It’s a gratuity-included cafe, a enterprise mannequin that’s evidenced in cup at any hour and time you go to. Restroom obtainable and there are just a few relaxed seats out entrance together with issues on which to connect your canine when you go order.
Sey Espresso
Bushwick
Lengthy the darlings of NYC’s roasting scene, Sey Espresso is holding sturdy at this Grattan Ave industrial-chic area, serving on-premise Scandinavian-style-light-roasted coffees to the gorgeous folks of the realm. It’s every thing you may think out of a film—distressed concrete flooring, uncovered pipes, and a skylit ceiling simply dripping with crops. Seating and tables are a mixture of angular wooden and extra concrete, with a pleasant little outdoors bench perch to get pleasure from—all feeling someway much less brutal owing to the pleasant employees and beneficiant pure gentle. Filter brew is the way in which to go right here, the place you’ll be able to pattern one of many esteemed roaster’s many origins. You’ll need to have interaction the barista, although, as costs of issues and names of pastries could also be a bit arduous to find.
Three-Legged Cat
East Williamsburg
Ever simply get a terrific feeling instantly from a espresso bar? You’ll at Three-Legged Cat, a 2024 newcomer within the moderately saturated East Williamsburg espresso, the place, apparently, there was room for yet one more top-tier espresso bar. The welcoming power right here beams down from house owners Leeor Waisbrod and Adelaide Cope, who’ve created a coffee-passionate area with none of that intentional alienation we’re all desperately uninterested in. The store has rapidly turn out to be a scene-supporting hub, with bar takeovers and barista occasions peppering the daily. A multi-roaster joint, you’ll see names from close to and much like Dak, Obscure Espresso, and Onyx Espresso Lab. Wonderful pastries from Native Bread. And don’t look forward to that iPad to flip round—Three-Legged Cat is a gratuity-free cafe.
Selection Espresso
Williamsburg
It appears unlikely anybody who’s been to Williamsburg has neglected Selection Espresso, particularly now that the model has posh cafes in all places. This, the O.G. location of a now multiborough chain and roaster, continues to be stuffed with appeal (and folks!) Pleasingly, Selection’s aesthetic is extra classical and clear, profiting from curves and features at any time when doable and avoiding the cliches of the too-oft seen sterile white containers of Third Wave cafes. They’ve performed to the strengths of this slim store by providing curved ceilings and wealthy wood furniture, making it look a bit like a classic railway automobile. Take pleasure in espresso or espresso drinks from their own-roasted, seasonally altering single origins and blends, together with tempting conventional pastries from Colson. There’s some seating out entrance to see and be seen at, and a restroom for purchasers inside.
Liz Clayton is the affiliate editor at Sprudge Media Community. Learn extra Liz Clayton on Sprudge.
Photographs by Liz Clayton.
