Cafe Grumpy - Grand Central — Restaurant in New York

2024 October 23 at 10:55am I stopped by after seeing this location on an NYT Cooking video, but I wish I had gone out of my way to Devocion instead. The baristas at this place fit the description of “grumpy” and are quite impatient and, dare I say, unkind. I should've read the reviews beforehand.

When you place an order, they will give you a number receipt. Don’t bother listening for the number, though. Right after I moved away from the register, my cold brew came out, and they just repeatedly said “cold brew” instead of the number. I was confused because I had at least eight numbers ahead of me, and my second drink wasn’t ready yet. I only realized it was mine because no one was claiming it. That caused the first unnecessary reaction from the baristas. I waited until they did it again with my second drink, an iced honey latte. Except they kept calling out “iced latte,” and when it wasn’t getting claimed yet again, did I realize it was mine? This time, the barista calling out the drinks raised his voice at me because he could see me looking at him confused once again. When I asked if honey was in it, the other barista yelled "YES" at me. This time, the reaction was bigger and louder, which was pretty nasty behavior from two grown men. This situation could've been avoided if 1. they used the number system that they have and 2. they brought out the drinks at the same time instead of leaving me with a watered-down cold brew while waiting to receive my latte. Oh, and they didn't even remember to add the honey. The latte also tasted very watered-down, and I would've thrown it out if it wasn't for the ridiculous price of subpar coffee....

I know a lot of folks have their go-to's from major brands (S-bucks, ahem, ahem), but this is just down the Lexington Passageway in Grand Central and I say... Come here!

This is what good, real coffee is supposed to taste like! I'm talking if you think you don't like unsweetened coffee, try again and get the flat white. I have to agree with the reviews (which prompted my visit today) - they know how to make it exactly right! The velvety texture, the balanced taste. The coffee itself: notes of dark chocolate, nutty, smooth goodness. Perfection.

It's a small shop but there are some seats available inside. Despite its size, they move quickly and effectively which I appreciate given the challenges of being in a busy area with limited space (and at the time of my visiting, only 3 staff members!)

Thanks for the treat and the care. It's important to patronize locations where staff takes pride in their skills and hospitality. People get burned out and busy, so I recognize and appreciate the friendliness from the staff (and customers seemed to be nice, too! I just wish more people considered these things when going to service locations - let's all try to be better humans,...

This is a relatively small location inside Grand Central. The coffee quality here is excellent. I recently went a couple of times and got cold brew and there were some minor issues, hence the four stars instead of five. First off, they only sell medium size. I want a large coffee in the morning to start my day. It is a big downside that I can only get a medium iced coffee if I come here, and prevents me from coming more often. Second, they do not put the proper amount of ice in the cup. The ice melted and the coffee warmed before I finished it, and I drank it pretty quickly. They need to put slightly more ice in the cups. Lastly, they did not fill the cup to the brim. Considering I am paying $4+ for less than 12 ounces of coffee, the cup should be filled to the top. Especially for cold brew, which is very often not combined with milk. Another minor issue- the cashier stamped my punch card for one coffee even though I bought two. When I asked for the other punch he had a bit of an attitude. However, he did punch the other hole. This is really minor, but does affect the experience. This only happened...