The quest for New York City’s best coffee

Posted on 27 March 2013

As I come to terms with my growing caffeine addiction, I’ve learned to incorporate coffee consumption into my travel plans. This also means careful research before I set off: nothing beats the disappointment of learning about a legendary espresso bar after you’ve moved on to the next town. On a recent trip to New York City, I hunted down a few of the best coffee spots for a good cuppa joe.

True, there’s a Starbucks on every corner and enough coffee carts to make the sidewalk disappear, but I’ve always believed that Starbucks only excels at offering free wifi and coffee carts exist mainly to clog pedestrian traffic. I’ll admit to being a bit of a coffee snob, but luckily New York City has enough well-brewed beans to keep me caffeinated.

Ninth Street Espresso

The original Ninth Street Espresso is – you guessed it – at Ninth Street and Avenue C, right in the heart of Alphabet City. In addition to excellent coffee, the cosy café sits on a picturesque street corner. If this location is a little far off the route of your travel plans, their location in Chelsea Market is a great excuse to head over to 9th Avenue and 15th Street. Grab a coffee to enjoy while watching shoppers stroll through the indoor market, or ask for takeaway and wander along the gorgeous High Line Park. This converted railway track is now home to an above-the-city park and sidewalk. Views don’t get much better!

Ninth Street Espresso at Chelsea Market

Grab a coffee from Ninth Street Espresso to enjoy while watching busy shoppers pour through Chelsea Market.

Café Grumpy

While you’re on  Chelsea, wander over to 20th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. Don’t be alarmed by the long line of parked police cars; you’re beside the local precinct. Don’t let the sign scare you away, either. Café Grumpy might put a mean face above its door, but it’s all warmth inside. I’m a straight-up espresso drinker and I always find their roast a little sweeter than what I’d usually drink, but it still hits the spot. Café Grumpy is also the most chilled out café I’ve found in New York. Their hand printed “no laptops please” sign in the window makes for a great excuse to power down and properly enjoy my coffee with a good book or a favourite magazine.

Café Grumpy

Don't be put off by the grumpy face - the espresso at Café Grumpy will put a smile on your heart.

Stumptown Coffee

Stumptown is the stuff of legends. When a chic Manhattan hotel begged this Portland-based roastery to set up a café in their midtown location, Stumptown laid out one condition: in the interest of using only the freshest beans, the hotel would have to build a coffee roastery onsite.

They did.

Manhattanites can now enjoy fresh and delicious Stumptown coffee in a standing-room-only coffee bar at the Ace Hotel on 29th Street, between 5th Avenue and Broadway. If you’re gearing up for a long trek down the famous shopping route of New York City’s Fifth Avenue, start your day properly at Stumptown. They also serve a delicious selection of pastries, and café patrons can usually find a place to set down their mug and relax on the shiny leather couches of the hotel’s lobby.

Stumptown Coffee Manhattan

Stumptown Coffee at Manhattan's Ace Hotel provides a luxurious way to start your day.

Olympic Diner

Despite my firm resolve to only abuse my body with the finest caffeine available, I’ve had to resort to a few dodgy coffee spots when desperate for something to warm me up. I was pleasantly delighted by the Olympic Diner (8th Avenue at 49th Street), where I received a cup of coffee that actually tasted like … wait for it … coffee. For a deli that doesn’t make coffee its specialty (their sausages and scrambled eggs were perfect), I couldn’t help asking for a second cup.

 






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