Mavi's Pizza and Pasta — Restaurant in Fort Lee

The all-day cafe, depending on where you are in the world, the concept is pretty familiar: offer a familiar environment to serve classic offerings & maybe some new items not available anywhere else. If that's music to your ears, then Mavi's is the place for you. Mavi's Coffee & Patisserie is located in the middle of Main Street, right smack dab in the middle of the town & easily accessible by walking or driving (they have a parking lot in the back + street parking close by), so you won't have to stray off too far from the action if you've wanted to do something in town. The cafe has an outdoor patio outside/in the front, with 10 tables arranged in 2 or 4 chairs, and a few umbrellas, and in the case of weather permitting (as of this review, it's summer), it's a welcoming place to have a quick spot of ice cream or a meal. Inside, you'll spot chairs & tables at the back/right side, vintage lighting fixtures hanging above, and an inviting environment if you were to come with family/friends/others. A few LCD monitors flash the menu every few minutes to remind you of what's available here, and a video about some of their items, such as how the ice cream are made. During weekdays (Monday-Friday), there's public WiFi available if you've wanted to browse & use the internet or do your workflow here.

Being an all day cafe, Mavi's has plenty of the basics down if you'd want a meal anytime of day, whether it's sweet, or savory, hot or cold. Most of their items are American/Western based, but given how the restaurant & neighborhood leans towards the greater Korean-American community here, there's several options here you'd be familiar with in other Korean/East Asian eateries. Coffees (from "simple" espressos & americanos to complex ones such as lattes & mochas), tea, flavored lattes (chai/matcha/earl grey) are there, as well as affogatos (you'll probably have to ask, or DIY by ordering ice cream & a latte). You can also add non-dairy milks such as oat or almond milk, as well as "flavor" to your coffee/drinks such as vanilla/honey/salted caramel/etc. There's also hibiscus & galaxy lemonade (made w/ blueberry flavored tea), which is a good relief for warmer weather. As for food, the rest is pretty much similar to what you'll see in other all-day cafes: a list of cakes such as muffins/scones/cheesecake (?), avocado toast, sandwiches, avocado or salmon salad, pasta, their signature donkatsu, omelette, French toast, waffle (bubble waffle that's common in Chinese eateries, has a more egg flavor, you can also add ice cream or Nutella), meaty & egg filled hot dishes, and six different blends of ice cream (which can also be made into milkshakes or smoothies).

Personally, I've taken some time away from Mavi's, but after doing a few visits over the days to indulge in new & old favorites, I think I'm mostly pleased with my time here over the timeframe of several weeks. My first ever thing I've ate + chronicled on the Internet was an avocado salad, and I've did this "blind" (w/o research or snooping on Mavi's Instagram) but I wasn't expecting a gorgeous arrangement of food! The avocado & salad were nourishing, and the galaxy lemonade was fizzy + a mix of sweet & tart. The second thing I've had was an order of Earl Grey French Toast, and although I was expecting the toast slices to be "slightly" bigger (I've seen better elsewhere), the presentation was a bit above average &a the earl grey taste was there, a good matchup for my chai latte. The third thing I've had was avocado toast: creamy, nourishing, and the side arugula salad was a good bonus. The hibiscus lemonade was pretty grand for a hot summer's afternoon.

In conclusion, Mavi's is a good fixture when it comes to an independent coffee shop & an all day cafe in Fort Lee. A high certainty you'd might leave here content with what you've ate, and had good company to mingle with, and perhaps one or two notable things are flaws, but it doesn't totally detail this...

Unfortunately, the only good thing I could say about this place is that the food was good. The atmosphere and service provided by the tall, male, Korean manager was anything but that. My party consisted of me and my friend, we ordered a cheese pizza and a rose chicken pasta with some drinks. As we were enjoying our food and immersing ourselves in conversation, one thing became apparently clear to us: we were being stared at, hard. It had to have been like a solid 30 minutes that he had been staring at us (the restaurant was sparsely seated; there was only one other table seated beside us & two others at the little corner (we were against the back wall)). I made a few glances towards him, to which he either stared back or glanced somewhere else at having been noticed. I asked my friend if she noticed and she did, we both wish we had confronted him because there was nothing that we were doing that would've warranted a staredown to that extreme. I'm incredibly disappointed at the manner at which we had been treated. I'm giving this place two stars in total: one for the food and one for the decency the other wait staff provided us with; otherwise, be warned by this review and others like it that this may be an experience you may have if you enter this...

I arrived at Mavi’s cafe today accompanied by my service dog. Upon entering, I was told by a staff member that I was not allowed to remain inside with my dog. I informed her that my dog is a trained service animal and offered to show ID. She refused to acknowledge the ID, stating, “That doesn’t prove it’s a real service dog.” I then asked what proof she needed, and she refused to answer, instead insisting that I eat outside.

When I asked if I could record her statement that service dogs are not allowed, she denied making such a claim, but reiterated, “I can refuse service to any customer for any reason, alright?” I recorded part of this interaction for documentation purposes.

As you are aware, under the ADA: • Businesses open to the public are required to allow service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities. • Staff may only ask two questions: whether the animal is a service animal required because of a disability, and what task it is trained to perform. • They may not demand documentation or proof of certification, nor deny access based on the presence of a service animal.

This experience was humiliating and discriminatory. I was denied equal access and treated as if my disability and rights under federal law...