Espresso 77 — Restaurant in New York

We stopped by Espresso 77 while waiting for our car to be serviced at Koeppel. The walk from the shop was a bit long, but honestly, quite pleasant.

This café has great reviews for its coffee, though the food tends to get more mixed feedback—and I’d say that checks out. My husband and I both ordered the Honeybee, an iced latte with vanilla and honey, and it was excellent. The espresso was smooth, and the vanilla and honey added just the right amount of sweetness. No need to adjust anything—it was perfect as is.

Food-wise, I had a ham and cheese croissant that just didn’t deliver. It was bland, oddly flavorless, and lacking the savory punch you'd expect. My husband ordered a raisin bagel and wasn’t impressed either—he said it just wasn’t good.

The café itself is spacious with a good amount of seating, including a large communal table in the center that’s clearly designated for laptop use. I noticed quite a few reviews complaining about their laptop policy—but honestly, I think the rule makes sense.

Laptops are allowed on weekdays at the center table only, and not at all on weekends. And after this visit, I totally get why. There’s a tendency for people to treat coffee shops like co-working spaces—camping out for hours, taking Zoom interviews, pacing while on business calls, and just dominating the space with little regard for those who might be stopping in for a quiet break or to catch up with a friend.

During our visit, someone next to me was literally on a business call, walking around the café and in and out of the shop, like it was their personal office. Another person was mid-video interview. The entitlement is kind of wild. Some folks think ordering two items earns them the right to set up shop for eight hours. It’s disruptive, and it crowds out patrons who simply want to enjoy a drink without feeling like they’ve stepped into someone else’s workday.

Biggest thanks to the owner for putting a stop to the laptop free-for-all—because I came for caffeine, not to be trapped in a co-working circus with Zoom interviews, business calls, and dudes pacing like it’s their startup headquarters. Sit down.

That said, I’d absolutely recommend this place for its coffee—it really was great. The food could use some improvement, but the staff was nice, and the overall vibe is solid if you can find a seat not taken over by someone’s entire...

This place has been a welcome escape for me during the pandemic. A quiet spot off of the main, loud, crowded avenues to sit comfortably outside and sip an espresso or beer, and read.

Now, I understand and mostly agree with the laptop policy. Cafes full of screens are a bad vibe and I respect it if you don't want to create that atmosphere. I even understand and respect the general seating time limit of 45 min. To a point. I know you want others to be able to come and get food at your business and not be turned away constantly because of campers. But cafes are also a place to relax and the way the seating limit is so aggressively, intensely policed by management is absurd, and quite frankly, puzzling.

I was there on a Sunday afternoon sitting at a two seat table by myself. There were no other places to sit at the time so this is where I sat down. I had an espresso and a San Pellegrino. I was there for about 25 min, sipping and reading when a man whom I assume is the owner came up to me and asked me to leave. There were large groups milling about that he wanted to seat at my space. Again, I get it. You want more people to buy things. But I also have a right to sit here. And I purchased multiple items, and regularly visit this establishment and give them my money. But kicking me out after 25 min? Really?

This man said "we have a 40 minute policy." Again, I had been sitting there for 25 min. I didn't want to argue. Even though it was off putting, I just collected my things to leave. As I was leaving however, I heard him talking trash about me to the customers he just seated. "These people (customers) come and just sit here and never buy anything." I went back to him and said "Excuse me I regularly purchase multiple items from here and I come here often."

I may have been willing to let the whole thing slide and be more understanding, but hearing this man trash me to other customers was a dealbreaker. That was an extremely unpleasant experience and left a terrible taste in my mouth. I will never be visiting this spot again and will let others know how I feel about it should they ask. That was horribly unprofessional. And the arrogant, unabashed rudeness from this man was suffocating. The subpar espresso and mediocre food that was worth it before just to get out of my apartment is certainly not worth going back...

I am so relieved to see that I am not the only one who thinks the baristas/cashiers have attitude/customer service issues. I thought I was being sensitive! I only write reviews when necessary. After my last experience at this place, I felt I needed to let the business owners know about their employees. Perhaps customer service retraining is needed! This is what happened, I was so livid after the experience I remembered the exact conversation. Picture this scenario: 2 young children, perhaps around 5 or 6 running around the establishment before 8 am in the morning. Going behind the counter and playing around. Me: Hi good morning! Barista/Cashier: low tone, not even turning to look at me since shes making a drink, not even coming up to the POS machine, "what can I get you?" Me: I'd like a matcha latte please, and do you have bagels ? Barista: yeah, what size latte? (attitude) Me: small please, what kind of bagels do you have? Barista: (annoyed tone) all of them

I won't continue to bore you all, but what is all of them? how do you know if I frequent here? which I dont, this was my first time in 2 years. So how would I know what bagels you have? The flavors aren't listed, and what if I wanted say..pumperknickle? or whole wheat everything? I doubt you'd have that. I just felt like she could have at least listed a few and showed some customer service or showed some kind of help. Either way, didn't say thank you or anything. I was so unimpressed by the service here. The matcha latte with oat milk was pretty standard nothing to write home about, the bagel with cream cheese was actually pretty good! So sad to say the customer service here is lacking. Especially after such a hard year in the service industry, the owners need to retrain ASAP! And having kids running around the store is not safe... Having said all that, I would return for the food and maybe just tell her she could be nicer to...