Elevenses — Restaurant in New York

I had positive expectations based on the previous reviews but unfortunately my experience was overall negative.

The bright point was the pastry selection - the options were inventive, well-executed, and a nice break from the standard selection you find at most places. I think they make everything there.

The drawbacks included: Service: the barista seemed to lack energy and a customer-service orientation. I received the impression that I was burdening him by coming in to buy stuff, which created a less-than-hospitable atmosphere. When not serving customers, he sat in the customer seating area making it unavailable for customers who might want to sit there. Awkward furniture: The one area with counters (e.g., for using the computer or reading) had counters that were too high / chairs that were too low. If you sit on a chair there, the counter is at chin/neck level - making it useless for any serious purpose. Vibe: The atmosphere was not warm. There was a man having a loud, prolonged phone call on speakerphone the entire time I was there (1 hour). The barista did not intervene at all, even during lulls when no other customers were there. Pricing: Quite high especially considering the other factors noted above. A hibiscus raspberry croissant and decaf Americano was $11 and change.

All of the above are fixable in the short term, and at its core this is a cool place that has good potential to offer good value in this area. I encourage management to address these points to help bring out the best from Elevenses...

I’m changing my review to be one star. The owner’s response back tracks from “we’ve never advertised that we have in house syrups only” to “the menu photo you attached is outdated and doesn’t reflect that”. The owner seems to think I visited recently but there’s no restriction on posting reviews a few months after ¯(ツ)/¯ . And wanted to clarify this was the exact menu I saw when I visited but saw the store bought syrup bottles.

food is great don’t get me wrong. I had a negative experience as I had bought a latte and added lavender syrup to it. When I sipped on it, I noticed there was no coffee taste and asked about it. The barista dismissed me and said I had bought a seasonal latte and those don’t come with espresso although I never specified wanting a seasonal latte, which was an upcharge in it of itself with no other explanation. Another thing was that they mention they make all of their syrups in house, but I saw a wall of pre made Torani ones, which I’m not sure if they’re reusing their syrup containers or falsely advertising. Other then that the croissants are really good, and vegan pastries are great. But this interaction did leave a sour taste in my mouth.

For clarity this clearly advertised all syrups are house made from a menu on yelp i found as I hadn’t taken a picture when I went. This was the same menu i recall from awhile back...

I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately received a very rude interaction. I’m an artist and often go to cafes to do work on my iPad. This place looked really cute and had beautiful art from artists I recognized on the walls and seemed cozy. I came in today (Sunday the 22nd) around noon and it was busy so my drink took longer than normal to make which was totally fine, I’ve been a barista for many years and I understand. That wasn’t the issue, but after I had ordered my cappuccino (which was a bit bitter, I think the espresso just needed to be dialed in again) and croissant and I sat down at the bar style seating and worked on my iPad for a while. Nothing out of the ordinary. As I was gearing up to leave an old woman came up behind me and said “can I grab your plates, it’s very busy here and you’ve been here for two hours” this caught me by surprise because I’ve done the exact same thing at other cafes and there’s never been an issue. I said “oh I was going to return them” and then she just walked away. People go to cafes on their laptops and work for way longer than two hours so I don’t think I was causing any major problems. I left pretty upset and near tears when I left and will not be returning. I don’t know who this woman is, but it soured my...