Bluestone Lane Upper East Side Café — Restaurant in New York

AS GOOD AS IT GETS ! When my wife and I were on vacation in New York, NY 3 years ago we discovered Bluestone Lane while staying at the Hotel Beacon in Manhattan. In fact we had a delicious lunch at this cafe straight after touring the Guggenheim Museum next door...David the manager was very kind to us. Since then we have been to a number of Bluestone Lane Cafes and Coffee Shops on the East Coast and the West Coast. FAST FORWARD ! We were back in New York, NY for 2 weeks in early Sept, 2024 to take in the US Tennis Open. This trip we were staying in a brownstone apartment in Upper Manhattan near Harlem..not a Bluestone Lane anywhere near us. SUBWAY ! We were able to fit in 4 train visits to the Upper West Side Cafe and the Upper East Side Cafe during our 2 week stay. On Tuesday, Sept 17th we had an early tour of the Guggenheim Museum pencilled in and of course lunch next door at this cafe. The tour went smoothly and then we walked over here around 12.45pm. Angelo the server on our previous visit a few days before greeted us warmly and said he would find us a table asap. We were seated at the bar height community table inside...what fun ! Angelo took our order for 1 x Cappuccino, 1 x Cortado with 2% milk and a Prosciutto & Burrata Sandwich ( burrata, prosciutto, spicy jam, arugula greens with a lemon zesty vinaigrette on sourdough ) served with Crisps...to share on 2 plates. Within a few short minutes our fabulous looking coffees arrived courtesy of server Kahlil. PERFECTLY DELICIOUS ! My rich & creamy Cappuccino tasted as good it gets.....thank you barista Jay. My wife loved her well made Cortado. FAST SERVICE ! Our huge Prosciutto & Burrata with side of crisps and a 2nd plate hit the table fast. WHATTA WINNER ! We actually ordered this same sandwich on our previous visit..a brand new item recommended by our server Angelo. Definitely one of the most enjoyable sandwiches we've ever had. Around this time a new couple sat beside us...Roozbeh & Shabnam. We had a lovely chat with them. AND THEN ! Just as we were heading out the door our good mate David the district manager of 10 Bluestone Lane locations turned up. Busy as always David still had time for a quick chat and a pic with my wife. We loved our lunch experience here. The next day we flew home to California....

Came here last Thursday with a friend. We sat in the lovely inside, the service and food were good. The coffee: great! So this morning after dropping my twins off at camp (9am) I wanted two iced coffee's to go. I asked the host/waitress if I could put them in a closed bag instead of a tray bc I was traveling on two buses to 80th and 1st. She said sure no problem, and took my name "Molly"...

... 30 minutes later I finally got them. While waiting I saw her run back and forth bringing out random coffee's/orders in who knows what kind of order. A couple who was there before me were waiting for 2 coffees and two plain croissants. Everytime she came out it was like she had amnesia, sounding off the name, not discerning if it was a mobile order or a guest's she actually spoke to's order. About 10min later she auctioned "Molly", but she put it in front of another guest standing. After a minutes the woman just took it, I assumed she was maybe "marly" and misheard. She comes out 10min later and auctions "Molly" again and just puts it on the shelf behind her this time. I asked her where my other one was, and she said it's coming. I wait another 5+ min and asked again. She checks and said it came out already and someone took it (righto). Anyway, she finally brought it out. There was no to go bag in sight and I dared not ask for it bc I didnt have another 15min+ to waste. And the couple who came after me finally got their items. Yes, it did get somewhat busy for to go orders, but she would've helped herself if she just tried be more efficient and remembered easy things.

I must add, it felt like a "hey could you give my child/friend's college kid/nepo" a job for summer so they could pad their resume with "working experience" situation, with little regard to learning real service to customers. Who knows. But glad I didn't tip when I prepaid.

Never going here again. (Pics of last week...

FABULOUS WELCOME ! My wife and I had a tour ( 2pm slot ) to do at the Guggenheim Museum next door but first we wanted to make sure we could get a table here for lunch after our tour. It sure looked packed inside and out when we rolled up to the host desk and spoke with the friendliest guy in the world...Jhonatan the host. No problem our new friend said....I will reserve you a table for a bit later on. In fact we finished our tour ( partial due to exhibit change outs ) much earlier than expected and when we returned for lunch our good mate Jhonatan had the perfect spot for us inside. TOP NOTCH SERVICE ! Shortly after we made ourselves comfortable at our booth table inside the church David the manager introduced himself and proceeded to look after us like AUSTRALIAN ROYALTY ! Best Cappuccinos in New York, sensational Spiced Chicken Wrap ( we shared ), delicious Cold Pressed Orange Juice ( for later on ) and WHOO WHOO.. a genuine AUSSIE LAMINGTON ( fluffy Yellow Cake drenched in Chocolate Sauce and smothered in Coconut ) specially for me. FAIR DINKUM ( Aussie for the honest truth ) it was bloody delicious ! We had a terrific CHIN WAG ( Aussie for chat ) with David and let him know we thought Bluestone Lane was BONZA (...