Bluestone Lane Times Square Coffee Shop — Restaurant in New York

I ducked into Bluestone Lane’s Times Square outpost on a rainy morning, en route to the Marketing Brew Summit across the street at The Times Center, and was reminded why this Australian import keeps winning converts in a city that doesn’t exactly lack for espresso bars. The shop sits in the Eleven Times Square building at 8th Ave & 41st—immediately north of the New York Times Building and a quick walk to The Times Center’s Stage. Translation: ideal conference pit stop, zero detour.

Inside, the vibe is Bluestone Lane textbook—in the best way. Think bright, contemporary café minimalism with coastal cues: crisp lines, pale woods, clean tile, brand-signature blues, and the kind of “sunlit even when it rains” palette that makes a gray Midtown morning feel less…Midtown. It’s part of the chain’s house language—Australian café culture filtered through New York polish—and it reads as intentional rather than themed. (If you know their design pedigree, this tracks: the brand emphasizes light, approachable materials and that unmistakable blue as a unifier across locations.)

Staff were on-brand, full stop: coordinated aprons and pieces that match the room’s palette and the packaging—no random tees or mystery merch—so the whole operation looks composed without feeling corporate. It’s small, but these details matter; hospitality is a design system, not just a smile. (Bluestone Lane leans into a lifestyle brand approach, where the apparel and café identity are meant to harmonize, and it shows.)

The drink: a large Americano, properly extracted and—crucially—actually hot. On a wet morning, that temperature discipline is the difference between “meh, fuel” and “ahh, I have circulation again.” Bluestone’s espresso program is consistently dialed, and here it landed squarely in the chocolate-leaning, gently bitter pocket that plays well with hot water. No scorched, hollow roast; no sour underpull. Just clean, sturdy crema and steam that fogs your glasses for a second—my preferred barometer. Menu-wise, this location runs the brand’s familiar spread (wellness lattes, Avo Smash, grab-and-go), so if you want to pair your Americano with something civilized before a day of panels, you’re covered.

Service moved briskly without lapsing into Times Square chaos. Line management was sane, orders landed in the right hands, and the room gave me just enough perch space to stage a notebook, badge, and umbrella without impaling a neighbor. If you’re heading to The Times Center afterward, this is as seamless as Midtown gets: caffeine, bite, two crosswalks, in your seat with time to spare.

Bottom line (from one snob to another): For a chain, Bluestone Lane’s Times Square shop shows uncommon brand discipline. The ambiance is calm, the design is coherent, the uniforms don’t fight the room, and the Americano arrives hot enough to matter. When you need a pre-conference reset that doesn’t taste like compromise, this...

[Review from 12/27/18 visit]

Very pleased to have found this cafe! It's a great place to sit and take in the city around as you sip and munch away...

The crew behind the counter were jovial and helpful in giving their input. We ordered the golden matcha latte (a lot of spices in there) along with an order of a regular latte, both with almond milk. The golden matcha was not too sweet. And the almond milk latte was perhaps the best I've ever had... this of course will probably be determined by the type of almond milk used and your preference. If you like the version Peet's Coffee offers, you'll probably like this one too. The avocado toasts were fresh and tasty. Despite the generous portion of avocado used, it wasn't too heavy.

If you can grab seating, you will be one of the lucky few. We got here about 11am so although it was busy, traffic earlier is supposed to be heavier. People tend to move fast here so you shouldn't have to wait too long. New York is awesome. Come to this spot, wait for a seat, enjoy your order and reflect for a bit as you gaze out the enormous windows.

UPDATE [Review from 12/31/18 visit]

We've been back every morning. It is on the pricey end. But for us we're not interested in changing this good thing we found right next to our hotel.

The avocado was a bit less on today's visit (as pictured) but delicious nonetheless. The almond croissant was fresh and just sweet enough. The bircher cup and and granola cup are small, nutty, tart, and great healthy options for breakfast.

Also, I found out they use Milo and vegemite for some of the items they offer... if this is your sort of thing (definitely mine) 🇫🇯🇫🇯🇫🇯

We...

I typically love Bluestone and I do like their coffee but this location needs some work. They don't offer their full food menu, I'm guessing due to no kitchen space, which is fine. The smoothies they offer are super boring and don't offer any special ingredients that I wouldn't typically put in my home made smoothie. I'd skip those.

I work across the street, so this is convenient to me and I come often. My flat white is ALWAYS cold. They need to be trained on how to ensure proper temp of beverages.

I spent $150 on InKind to use at Bluestone for my daily coffee run and I'm unable to use it here. InKind blames it on Bluestone and Bluestone blames it on InKind. I believe it's a Bluestone issue as it works fine everywhere else. Plus, the Bluestone app never works.

I was emailed a coupon for $5 to use yesterday. I went down to get a coffee and the employee gave me a look and said he was so annoyed with customers over this. Ok? Nice to see you too. He said he didn't know how to use it and would call someone. He came back 5 minutes later and said I couldn't use it, even though it was just emailed to me and said I could only use it that day. That's false advertising. He was super rude about it and the company seems very disorganized.

I will probably find another local shop. I want my coffee run to be a nice little break from the day and I always leave there annoyed that I have to put my coffee in the microwave. Lots of other cafes that offer loyalty rewards that...