Cafe Gitane — Restaurant in New York

Let me start by saying this: if I could give zero stars, I would. But I won’t — not because they don’t deserve it, but because I know how damaging that can be to a business. That said, I still believe it’s important to share this experience — because it was one of the worst I’ve had in years.

I’ve lived in this neighborhood for five years and have seen many local spots come and go — this place used to be one of the good ones. Unfortunately, today’s lunch experience was such a disaster that I understand exactly why it’s been going downhill.

We arrived and sat down for lunch. I ordered a coffee, and my wife asked for a cocktail. After 10 minutes, the waitress finally came — with the wrong drinks. No apology, no acknowledgment. Fine, mistakes happen. But then she casually said, “While you’re waiting for your drinks, I’ll take your food order.” We’d already been sitting there for 20 minutes with nothing on the table. Still, we went ahead: my wife asked for a baguette with butter, and I ordered a glass of rosé.

Five minutes later, the rosé showed up — before the coffee we ordered 25 minutes earlier. Again, no explanation or apology. We felt invisible, like we were a nuisance rather than customers.

Another ten minutes passed before the coffee and cocktail arrived — poorly served, dripping all over the place. At that point, I asked for the check so we could leave as soon as we were done. But guess what? We were still waiting for the food. Meanwhile, someone who had just sat down five minutes after us was already fully served.

We decided not to touch a thing and just walked out after paying. To be honest, the place was so dead and lifeless, I wasn’t even sure they could afford to lose customers — but now I see why they are.

At the end, we did speak to one waitress who was professional and kind, and I appreciate that. But the others? Completely disengaged and careless. I don’t expect five-star service — I don’t need a smile or special treatment. I just expect my order to arrive within a reasonable time, or at least a simple “sorry for the delay.” Instead, we were treated like we...

Despite all of the excellent reviews for Cafe Gitane, I, unfortunately, did not have a great experience.

As a new local Dumbo resident, I went here with a companion on a Saturday night around 8pm. We sat outside to enjoy the last bit of summer.

Service was a little slow at first, but was not a big deal. We got our wine relatively quickly and patiently waited for our food.

Two of our food items came together (both appetizer-esque) and were mediocre at best. The meatballs lacked flavor as did the sauce they came in (the red sauce was thin textured and was also low in flavor). The bruschetta was all capers with a few slices of tomato mixed in. Not nearly as good as we had expected after reading all of the glowing reviews.

Our main dish, the lasagna, never came. We waited until nearly an hour after being seated until we finally asked (as there was only one other table dining at that time - it should not have taken that long).

A gentleman who wasn’t our server came out and said the food didn’t get entered before the kitchen closed. When I noted we had ordered about 45 minutes prior, he then noted that the server never put this in the order. Not particularly bothered, we said it was fine and would get our bill.

The staff was kind enough to take one of our appetizers off of the bill without us asking. That was greatly appreciated.

It should also be noted that a table behind us was setting a server error/dispute as we were sitting down. It seems this same server was making multiple errors throughout the evening.

Overall, this was not an experience that will bring me back. As a new Dumbo resident, I have been looking for a reliable, high-quality, regular place. Based on this service and the mediocre food we had that particular evening, this...

Went there on 12 March, 2023 at 7:15pm ish. The cafe is pretty close to the Dumbo -Manhattan bridge view.

We laughed pretty hard at the mix of french and english on the menu, specifically “Le pain” (we know its bread but still). I ordered the chia pudding and it lived up to expectations. Fruit was fresh and pudding was solid.

The coffee comes with a piece of Belgium chocolate and came really quick and if you order the hot chocolate it comes with a cute paw print on top

I have to point out that our server, Frida , was excellent and definitely deserved a big tip (though to be fair we didn’t buy much so 30% probably wasn’t too much). She was very snarky and livened up our night but to a controlled amount so we can still enjoy our conversations amongst ourselves. For example, when we asked for a napkin, she joked and said “no” when heading to grab it and she also helpfully informed us that the only difference between a flat white and a latte is the rate that milk was added (and that it sounds more french and posh so that fit the theme).

The restaurant is also welcome to birthday celebrations, being willing to help out with the box and light the candles (I think? The table having a birthday celebration was a little far from us) so that was cool. If you ask them you get the wifi as well.

p.s. The bathroom cuts the clearance (between the door and the sink) REALLY close so it scared me a little but that was pretty interesting and quirky so do check that out.

The only thing bad I guess would be that the food wasn’t extraordinary. It will definitely meet your standards but it isn’t on the level of “cafes you must try in NY”. But if you want to stop by somewhere when nearby, do check out this cafe

TL;DR Decent food, cool waitress, cool...