maman — Restaurant in Jersey City

The store is laptop/device-free except for one of the long communal tables. They designated one of tables in the middle of the shop where there are no outlets as laptop-friendly. There is another long communal table against a wall with outlets, but for some reason, they chose the table in the center of the shop. I find that strange not only because there is no access to outlets, but also because this table is the focal point of the shop and therefore highlights laptop usage. This confuses other customers about their rules on devices and gives mixed signals. A suggestion if the manager/owner reads this: the long, communal table by the wall would make more sense as the laptop friendly table.

The interior design is nice though and it’s one of the bigger cafes in this area so it’s got a nice ambience. I like going there to focus and do work during the week, but the laptop policy makes it unfriendly to those who are going there to work. I guess they don’t actually want people working there. They want customers to use the space to read, chat, and “dream.”

As for the food, nothing stellar about the baked goods or items from the kitchen. Bigger menu than most cafes though so that’s nice. I’ve gotten three bakery items and they were pretty forgettable. Small portions and/or overpriced for the kitchen items. I’ve had the salmon tartine, which costs $16 and is served on a single slice of toast that’s cut in half. I’ve also tried the croque maman, which was a very heavy cheese and ham sandwich for $16. At one point, they had a tomato basil soup that I thought was decent, but even that was $9 with an option to add a grilled cheese for $6. Soup for $9 is kind of nuts. The latte is pretty bland so it’s definitely not my favorite place to have coffee. I normally end up paying $25+ for a latte and food from the kitchen, which I...

First time here and we wanted to have coffee with pastries. The coffee was decent, I had their seasonal drink and it was delicious! Only complaint was there was too much milk or the coffee was too weak. The pastries were flaky and buttery, basically top notch.

If it was just food I would give 5 stars.

Removing 3 stars because of poor customer service and awful music. We were greeted courteously by the staff as we entered but we were rushed near the end of our stay after we had paid the bill.

There was a line in the restroom - they only had one, which ended up prolonging our stay.

Anyway, I was sitting and finishing my coffee and the wait staff took our plates from the table WITHOUT asking. This is very rude and not good customer service. I worked in the service industry and what you’re supposed to do is ask if you can take the plate away.

You don’t just grab it with the customer sitting at the table without saying a word!

That means you want them to leave. Before this, the same wait staff looked at us and asked us if we’re okay, as if she thinks we were loitering.

Another comment is to train your staff to know how to upsell and offer recommendations. This is something simple like, asking the customer if it’s their first time at your place and making recommendations. We ordered two pastries and I later realized they have a pastry assortment (see menu) to share option which is chef’s choice. I mentioned it to the girl taking our order but she didn’t bother trying to upsell or let us know about it when it’s obvious we were only there to eat the pastries.

Music wasn’t that good either. May come back for the pastries but won’t be dining in with...

We’ve been frequenting the JC location for the past few months on a weekly basis. Recently, there was a change in management of this location. I am sad to note that it has been a bad change. Before, we enjoyed the service, the atmosphere, and food. However, in the pass few weeks it’s been a far less joyful experience. The background music is unbearable and the staff seems stressed. Last Saturday (7/2/22) we ordered a slice of cake which was completely dry, falling apart like sand as soon as you tried to cut it. When bringing it to the concern of a staff member, it was immediately brushed off in a demeaning way. On our second attempt to return it at the cash register, other staff immediately apologized and started a return. However the same young man from before, whom we later realized was the manager began to argue with the other staff members and insisted that just because we were unsatisfied with the quality, the quality was as it was meant to be…even going to the length of saying something along the lines of “this is how the recipe is and that’s how I like it”. The whole exchange at the cash register took several minutes, while other customers watched. Keep in mind, this was our first time ever making a complaint at Maman. It’s extremely disappointing to receive such treatment…especially after spending thousands at this location and being loyal customers. We hope that Maman is planning on opening another location in JC, as we will not return unless the cafe...