Novel York in 2025 is a panorama of coffee abundance. Good coffee, carefully sourced and prepared, is expected here, and residents of an increasing number of neighborhoods have a wide range of choices. Multi-roaster cafes are back in fashion – which means coffee lovers can enjoy unique dishes roasted both in boroughs and around the world.
Sprudge has taken on the vital task of creating fresh and entertaining guides to the city’s lively coffee scene. This event will span multiple boroughs and will run throughout the first half of 2025. Our first guide in this series is dedicated to some of the most celebrated coffee shops in bustling Lower Manhattan (in this case, south of 14th Street). Read on!
Embrace
There seem to be few East Village success stories like this one Hugs. From what was once a five-person café phone booth in the 2000s to the present day, owners Jamie McCormick and Elizabeth Quijada (and now their café star son Mateo Instagram) held powerful during the turbulent times in the coffee shops. Although they are still located on East 7th Street, Abraço currently sits across the street, having gone from a tiny sidewalk to a expansive establishment that still gets crowded on weekends and of course, OK…custom branded tracksuits. The coffee is still delicious (they roast themselves), and the cured olive cake, which is memorable to everyone who tries it, lives on almost two decades later. Stop by for a coffee, some artistic bites or, hey! cocktails at one of the many evening art/music events. No laptops, minimal outdoor seating and a toilet complete the ‘café as public institution’ vibe, and the shop is now – incredibly – open on Mondays.
All the coffee
A brand that pops up someday All the coffee has been anchored in this cozy spot in Nolita since 2016, serving only coffees from co-owner Cesar Vega’s native Nicaragua. The stylish space is based on a plush corner bench and several tables where you can talk and enjoy professionally prepared coffee, for example in the form of a home-made drink such as horchata latte. Dairy-free eaters will love the homemade nut and rice milk menu (take some home), and the cake box has a wide selection from seasonal muffins to delicious Brazilian ones. Home-made carbonated water is Catalan Vichy – showing that people here are satisfied with only the best. There is no toilet, but you can utilize the one at the address Egg shop Near. No outdoor seating.
Project Coffee NY
What is now a mini-empire of ultra-modern feeling Project Coffee NY coffee shops in the three boroughs began with a cozy candy store in the East Village. With a dozen or so seats (and one outdoor table), this neighborhood favorite is a great hideout whether you’re looking for an $18 place to stay origami– a brewer pouring Gesha or you fancy some “awesome London fog”. AAPI and LGBTQIA+ women-owned venue. The atmosphere here is inclusive and sociable, celebrating coffee in all its forms, including seasonal Asian-inspired drinks with pandan and ube. Baked goods appear Colson, WithoutAND Little Cabbage and there is also somehow a full kitchen menu. These days, it’s more likely that owners Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh host SCA educational courses at their coffee roastery/headquarters/academy in Long Island City, but you’ll always find coffee and community right here on East 5th Street.
Filter coffee machines
Step into the expansive, multi-story lobby from the Holland Tunnel and you’ll see Drip coffee switched from the solar-powered pouring cart that Nigel Price started with. This multi-roaster spot offers a wide selection of specialty coffees to choose from (on our last visit we saw Information sheet, Drifting, Black and white, Without loveAND ONYX Coffee Laboratory on full shelves). There is a tiny and productive coffee menu and a tiny selection of cakes; in the lobby itself there is plenty of space to relax, have a business meeting or just have a quick espresso before heading to the next place you are going there. This Black-owned coffee shop is a great option in this part of town and a occasional place in Novel York where you won’t feel guilty hunkering down and plugging in your devices for a while.
Joe’s Coffee Company
We’re biased, but there are few cafes as iconic as the original Joe’s Coffee Company location on the corner of Waverly & Gay in the village. First opened in 2003 and now covering the entire city, this local chain still somehow retains the friendliness and atmosphere of a tiny coffee business that it has always had. (On my last visit, I found the founder’s parents having their usual morning lattes and drip coffees – the place is basically the Cheers of Novel York coffee scene). In addition to a portfolio of carefully sourced coffees, Joe’s team roasts at their Long Cafe in Island City, which is home to a patisserie that’s simply stocked with muffins, quick pastries and other treats, and also offers a cooler with a few extra protein items to go. Of course, there is no shortage of outdoor seating in the form of two iconic benches placed in front of the store, which are paid tribute to in the company logo.
Goat
When the Danish coffee and baking experts Goat landed in Novel York, they arrived with a good reputation to uphold, and if anything, they exceeded expectations. First opening in a rundown space on 2nd Ave and now spanning three locations across the city, the Soho outlet is a boon to this busy, pandemonium-ridden section of Lafayette Street. Opening in 2023, the café has an elegant U-shaped center bar with an organic coziness and the latest in cautious coffee technology. Streamlined taps for icy drinks, tea preparation and two under-counter taps I have Espresso groups line up at the south bar, while the north bar leaves plenty of room to admire pastries and more experiential coffee services like the V60 brewers. The store also has bona fide seating – tables where you can share bread and coffee with friends, as well as some lovely individual perches by the window. No outdoor seating.
Ninth Street Espresso
People have been meeting at this no-nonsense spot on 9th St & Avenue C since the early days of the specialty coffee era. The atmosphere inside Ninth Street Espresso remains pure: a stern espresso café, but with service whose friendliness warms the austere aesthetic. Ninth Street currently roasts (and has been doing for some time) its own coffee at its Long Island City location and operates several other neighborhood coffee shops. But it’s here – in this wide storefront with a panoramic view of the public garden across the street (in recent years, unfortunately, under several weeping willows) – that you really get the feeling that the Novel York coffee scene is still its own animal. The cakes are (like everything here) minimal: local cookies C&B breads and vegan mini-loaves from Wet. Enjoy the fresh air with a coffee on the benches outside and be glad there is a toilet inside.
Suitable
If, like many, you thought “if only there was a men’s cafe in the financial district” – you’re in luck! Suitablea name partly inspired by one of the founders’ father’s tailor, it brings a distinctly masculine aesthetic (mirrors, black accents on the walls, poured concrete, etc.) to this stern café in the deep chrome canyons of Manhattan. Expert-level preparation and top-of-the-line equipment abound here, as well as a wide selection of multiple baking equipment both on the menu and on the shelves (Preface, Prodigal, Subtext, Hearte.t.c.). Service takes place in two arch-shaped bars, with the possibility of preparing coffee, including a Decent coffee machine equipped with a drip brewing function “from the cup”. There’s a tiny, tasty menu (brekkies, burritos, bowls, soups) and a whole range of home baked goods, and of course it wouldn’t be a men’s café without wine.
While there’s no doubt you’re at the end of Lower Manhattan when you look up at the 1766 John Methodist Church, there’s a decidedly Brooklyn atmosphere as you munch on a fried chicken sandwich to the melodic sounds of the Shins and Yo La Tengo. Thank heavens there are confined seats for laptops and there are a few real tables set up outside, a bit like being stuck in a traffic jam. Easily the best and most adventurous coffees you’ll get in this part of town, if not most of the city… and they have a bathroom, too.
Everyman’s Espresso
Everyman Espresso 13th Street has become a true anchor not only for us here at Sprudge, but also for coffee seekers near Union-Square and theater people (it’s located in the spartan lobby of the beloved off-Broadway Classic Stage Company). . The store’s extensive windows are perfect for people watching from the many basic seats throughout the store and the comfort of the toasty hospitality of the staff. The top-notch coffee is roasted by North Carolina’s famed Black and White, and the treats are prepared by closer-to-home Brooklyn baker Colson. And although that’s not what draws us here… can we recommend neat and comfortable bathrooms?
