Cafe Gitane — Restaurant in New York

Edgar Allen Poe once said "In the realm of universal adoration, naught but a striped awning prevails. It beholds the extraordinary and the mundane with equanimity, extending its embrace to all, as if cognizant of our common origin" ...Okay he didn't say that, but perhaps he should have. Few things get me going like a striped awning.

We sat under the blue and white striped awning that Cafe Gitane provides. Great people watching spot with a lot of foot traffic. The human experience truly fascinates me, and the outdoor seating is a front row seat to it. All sorts of characters walking by giving you everything from a live performance to style inspiration to the cutest dog you've ever seen.

I got the baked eggs with tomato, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I made over the weekend, although that's not saying much ahahahaha.

I added the Merguez sausages, and I will stick my neck out on the line here and say those are what made the meal. They took it from good to great. One of the better and more unique dishes I have had in a minute, as the sausages were cooked to perfection, teaming up well with the eggs, tomato sauce, and potatoes that are lurking at the bottom of the dish. A better Shakshuka.

Thank you for the inspiration Cafe Gitane, but more importantly, thank you for the...

Once upon a time, Café Gitane epitomized a certain Parisian-inflected downtown charm—half-earnest, half-ironic—a kind of insouciant chic that made it feel like more than just a spot for avocado toast (before that became a punchline). But time is cruel to institutions that mistake their own mythology for immunity.

The NoHo outpost, in particular, seems to have become a caricature of itself. What was once casual has curdled into careless. The waitstaff, perhaps lulled by the café’s reputation or simply disillusioned by its stagnation, now appear more interested in maintaining their own social ecosystem than in extending hospitality. Orders feel like interruptions. Requests are met with a sort of theatrical impatience. You almost want to apologize for your presence.

And yet, hope flickers. The relocation of the original Jane Hotel location to Vinegar Hill suggests that somewhere, someone still cares. The vibe there recalls what Café Gitane used to be—sunlit, slightly scruffy, a touch of irreverence without indifference. It’s a reminder that atmosphere, when curated with intention rather than assumption, can still matter.

But until that ethos is rekindled across the board, Café Gitane risks becoming a cautionary tale of New York dining: a place trading not on quality, but on a faded...

Every aspect of our meal at Cafe Gitane was awful. The food was over priced, unseasoned, and the bread that was served was stale and dry. Furthermore, the three slices of bread were barely slices and for more it cost 75 cents. The server took more than 25 minutes to even ask if we wanted drinks (my friend ordered a regular coffee and was brought an americano), and then only took our orders after I got up to ask to order. The food was unimpressive. I ordered the baked aggs with basil, tomatoes and added lam sausage. The eggs were tough, the tomatoes were straight from a can. The sausages were lovely. The hostess was standing next to us throughout the meal texting. The server had to be flagged again to get our bill and she scowled at our request. It is cash only (which we were rudely informed of by the hostess who took a break from texting) and we left virtually no tip as the whole experience was terrible. On our exit the hostess accosted us and barred the exit to the restaurant demanding to know why we thought the service was insufficient. She was not satisfied by all of these reasons and we stepped around her to leave. I will never go to this...