Madame Bonté Café — Restaurant in New York

Was soooo sad when café Jax closed and was really excited to see a new cafe take it’s place. I come to stay with my parents on the UES now and then and working from their apartment has been nearly impossible because of incessant construction on the building (drilling in your brain starting at 8am). This neighborhood has so few options for places to work and losing Cafe Jax was a huge loss for the laptop bound in this neighborhood. They did a lovely remodel on the space and my latte was expensive but worth the price of a quiet place to get my emails done. Was a bit confused about the 15 people crammed into the tiny upstairs space all on their laptops, so made my way downstairs to what used to be a productivity labyrinthe. It was basically empty and I was soon told that no laptops were allowed, they said I could work in the tiny upstairs but all of the 5 tables were of course taken.

I love what they’re going for with this cafe. I’ve lived in France and they’re trying to recreate that ambiance, c’est mignon. At the same time, there are so many places in this neighborhood that fill the pain point of providing a refuge to chat with your friends in the afternoon, and SO few where you can actually get any work done peacefully while supporting an independent business. That’s what was so great and SPECIAL about Jax, not the ambiance. It was an island in a sea of Joe and the Juices without wifi. It’s completely tone deaf and frankly inconsiderate to discount the needs of this neighborhood. I know there were lots of other people like me excited to have this cafe back for the main purpose of hiding in a quiet basement, away from NY noise pollution and getting their work done…without paying an arm and a leg for a coworking space. Why not ban computers after 5 versus smushing a bunch of desperate students and remote workers together in the tiny front corner which is sure to be a covid super spreader come winter. I would be DELIGHTED to spend my afternoon working and then phase into a happy hour drink with a friend when laptop time is cut off. I will buy lots of drinks and snacks well earned earned after a —caffeine fueled — hard days work. Really hope you are listening to all of the feedback you are getting here. Nous demandons votre intervention pour que justice soit rendue, c’est le bon choix pour le coin, je...

Was looking for a nice place to sit today and get some work done. Decided to give this place a try because of how good it looked in the photos. I went by after I got some lunch and sat down. After using the bathroom and seeing the beautiful downstairs, I came up and asked the barista for the wifi password. He gave it to me and I was about to get some work done. I still had my drink with me from lunch in a paper cup. As I was about to sip from it he very unkindly starts telling me that there's no outside food or drink allowed. I asked if he wanted me to throw it out and he didn't really have a response besides "idk, you can hide it" which felt rather silly. He then rather quickly asked if I was waiting for someone which was very odd considering he was strictly behind the counter and wasn't providing table service. It became clear to me that he was assuming that I was just there to use the wifi and wasn't going to spend money. He also did not greet me when I walked in but greeted everyone that arrived after me which is a big red flag for me as a Black customer, but I can't say I'm surprised to be treated that way in a French establishment. A friend was coming by to meet me so I was waiting for them to arrive before I ordered something. Some time passes and the hostess arrives. I wasn't aware that the cafe section closes at a certain time and becomes a full restaurant, so she then comes to me and says if I don't order something I can't stay at the table. I also told her I was waiting for someone. She gives a few minutes and comes back with her notepad. She had better manners and service, but I ordered a drink just to get them to leave me alone. My friend ended up being late, but I decided not even to stay because I did not feel comfortable in the space. It's a beautiful restaurant, but the experience was not welcoming and for that I won't be recommending...

This review is about the loose tea only. I have been to Madame Bonté countless times before and never had a complaint. I also never tried their loose leaf tea before.

My friend and I came here last Friday night after dinner in a nearby restaurant. We wanted a quieter place to chat and this seemed like the right spot. I ordered a cup of loose tea (forgot flavor) while my friend ordered a beer. When the tea came, it had tiny little seeds all around the cup. That’s not the issue but these seeds were all over the tea.

I took a sip and it was no longer drinking tea but more like eating hard tea seeds.

I called the waiter and told him that the tea was loose and it’s not supposed to be. His dry response: “yes, it’s because it’s loose tea”. Me: “I understand but you need to strain the loose tea so I don’t eat the tea” Him: “ok, let me go check”. He took the tea back and a minute later came back with “that’s because the holes on the strainer are too big for this tea. The pot has a better strainer. Do you want to switch it to another cup or switch it to the pot?” Me: “I just want a cup of tea not the pot. If I switch it to another cup, will you be able to strain it better?” Him: “It will be the same type of strainer so do you want another cup or do you want the pot?” Me: “I don’t need a pot of tea, can you switch it to a different tea that will not come out of the strainer then?” “Ok” He went back to the bar then I saw someone else walking upstairs with the cup of tea. This person took the tea upstairs —I’m assuming—to use a coffee filter to strain it. When he brought it back, it was clear as it should be have been from the beginning.

It was disappointing that I had to explain back and forth that any tea (particularly with a $7.50 price tag) shouldn’t be served like and for them to not even have the proper tea strainer was...