If there’s only one coffee shop you could visit in New York City, Abraço espresso is definitely on the top of the list.

Abraço located in the heart of East Village, and the size of the store is no larger than most people’s walk-in closet in Manhattan (I mean, literally, not even kidding). However, the limited space of Abraço has never been an issue to me (or to many frequent visitors). The coffee shop just seems so right to me. First of all, you feel like they brew their coffee with respect. For example, the filter coffee here is made to order. It might require 5-min waiting, but it’s so worth it. (Cafe Grumpy is the other coffee shop that also has drip coffee made-to-order)

Coffee-wise, Abraço also serves snacks and pastry and their menu varies from season to season. They have regular bakery items like oatmeal cookie, yet also have something like pain perdu which happens to be my favorite. Abraço also has 3-course lunch menu ($16)

If you happened to be in East Village, Abraço is definitely the coffee shop you don’t want to miss.

[More about Abraço]

View Larger Map

Abraço Espresso
house made semi-sweets and savories
telephone: 212.388.9731
86 East 7th Street (at 1st Ave)
Tuesday thru Saturday: 8am-6pm
Sunday: 9am-6pm
closed Monday

Abraço Espresso
NYmag

On a Friday afternoon, my friends and I went visit Mojo coffee in West Village. Mojo is a coffee place that you would wish you had one in your neighborhood. It’s basically the first floor of a walk-up building; yet compared to other coffee shops in the Village, it’s big enough to accommodate maybe 6 or 7 tables.

Mojo has wooden interior (wooden chair/table/wall) which makes it cozier than ever. I ordered an iced-coffee which is a bit pricey than I had expected but the coffee tasted strong enough so I wouldn’t complain about it (still far from amazing though). The coffee sleeve is made of some sort of “cork” material which is quite rare and interesting. Mojo’s coffee tastes somewhat like Joe’s (which happened to be one of my favorite in the city). Besides coffee, they have pastries, soup and sandwich as well.

What makes me walk all the way to the west of West Village is that they do offer free wifi, and this makes it a perfect study spot or a place for meeting (just be sure you don’t go there during peak time). Noted that on weekends, no laptop before 4PM. However, they do enforce a 2-hour seating policy (unless you keep ordering something).

All in all, Mojo is a nice coffee place. The interior decor makes you want to stay as long as you can. Free wifi is a plus and their bathroom is clean enough. I am not sure if I will make another trip just to visit Mojo coffee again next time (perhaps only if I am in the neighborhood). Nevertheless, if you happen to be in this neighborhood and wonder where to get coffee, definitely go check out Mojo, maybe it’s your type of coffee place!

[Read more about Mojo coffee]
Review on Yelp!
NYmag

Mojo coffee
128 Charles St.
New York, NY 10014
212-691-6656
Mon-Fri 6:30am-8pm
Sat-Sun 7:30am-8pm
Free wifi: Yes
Bathroom: Yes
Punch Card: No
Seating Policy: 2-hour limit
*No laptops before 4PM on weekends.

View Larger Map

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Vegan/vegetarian friendly: check.
Healthy snack: check.
Fair-traded coffee beans: check.

If you happen to be an eco-conscious person and love soybean product, Soy Luck Club is the coffee shop that you would fall in love with at the first sight.

Located in the chic West Village at the corner of Greenwich Ave. and Jane St. The orange color-based interior design and the natural sunlight make Soy Luck Club irresistible.

I visited Soy Luck Club in a cozy Monday morning around 10. The place was not crowded with about 4 or 5 customers in the store reading books or chatting. Compared to those walk-in closet size coffee shops in East Village, Soy Luck Club has plenty of tables. However, it is usually packed with people on weekends.

After quickly browsing the menu, I got a regular drip coffee and a johnny boy bagel (they substitute peanut butter with “soynut butter” to make it a healthier choice). Although Soy Luck Club is famous for its soy milk related drink, I am not a fan of soy milk so I ordered a black coffee. Also, I brought along my laptop with me as I knew that Soy Luck Club provided free wireless internet (you will need to ask the staff for password). The total bill comes to around $8.50 which is a bit pricey I think.

They even have the artificial grass planted by the window seats (neat!).

Soy Luck Club

View Larger Map

Hours:
Mon-Thu, 7am-11pm;
Fri, 7am-10pm;
Sat-Sun, 9am-10pm

Free wireless:Yes
Punch card:No
Discounted gift certificate available.

[Read more about Soy Luck Club]
Healthy Living NYC
see reviews of Soy Luck Club on Yelp!

:: :: :: :: ::

After a little research online, I picked Grounded Coffee as the first experiment of my indie coffee shop project.

Grounded located in the West Village neighborhood. At the first glance, this place reminds me of my college days immediately. I went to college in a rather liberal college town out in midwest, and Grounded offers almost the exact atmosphere you would expect in some college towns such as Madison, Austin or even Berkeley (in other words, not a very typical New York coffee place).

The front entrance of Grounded is rather low-key. You might not even notice it’s a coffee shop when you walk by (except the big sign might very likely block the sidewalk). The place itself decorated in a warehouse/garage-type of setting.

Besides the regular espresso coffee drinks you would expect, Grounded also offers Bakery pastries, hot sandwich/soup, Gelato (during summer time) as well as Murray’s Bagel (one of my favorites in the city!!).

I ordered wheat bagel w/ strawberry and a iced coffee. The total comes to $3.95, which is a fair price.

Staffs are pretty friendly and most of the customers are probably students (you would see most of people are writing papers or reading some sort of academic book).

I went to Grounded in a Saturday afternoon around 1, and the place was packed. I was lucky enough that one person just about to leave so I could have a seat. The place is cozy and not too loud. Also, one thing I like about this place is that they offer free wireless internet, which I think is a huge plus(or an essential) for a indie coffee shop. However, noticed that they do have a 90-minute seating policy. Although they don’t literally ask you to leave, they do announce that at times to remind customers. *they do this in a way that won’t make you feel bad or anything

All in all, Grounded is a coffee place that worth checking out. Not only for college nostalgic moments but also for a nice afternoon coffee time!

Grounded Coffee
28 Jane Street (W. 4th & Jane St.)
New York, NY
closest subway stop: Red line 1,2,3 at 14 St.
Free wireless: Yes
Coffee pouch card (the 11th drink free): Yes
Bathroom: Yes
*90-minute seating policy

Google Map

View Larger Map

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::