maman — Restaurant in New York

My friend and I went here July 23, 2022 around 10am. We walked in and were waiting to give our name when the woman working the front counter asked, “you want to get food to go, right?” She was giving off a weird vibe like she wanted us to get in and get out. We said we’d like to sit so she took our name, told us 10-15 minutes and asked us to wait outside. Great! Shortly after a solo girl joined us outside, followed by a couple who were also waiting for a table. After 10 minutes, the solo girl gets called for her table which we thought was weird but figured maybe there was a bar seat or something small that opened up for her. 20 minutes go by and my friend wanted to double check on how long since we had a tight schedule that morning. He popped in and before he could say anything, the woman at the counter who took our name said, “we haven’t called you yet!” He said okay and came back out. A couple minutes after that, the couple who arrived after us were seated so at this point we were annoyed and both went to see what was up. We walked in and the woman at the counter looked at us with the most annoyed expression. We asked why two other small parties who arrived after us had already been seated and her response? She yelled, “Well, I’m not in charge of the waitlist!” Okay… then why did she take down our name and tell us a wait time??? I am not one to point fingers but from our first interaction with this woman, I felt something was off… I am a Latina and my friend is middle eastern and gay. A huge part of me has felt there was something about us this woman disliked and made a point to: Push us to get food to go and when we didn’t, she reclutantly “took our name down” Ask us wait outside because she didn’t want us in the establishment And 3. Take our name and never give it to who it needed to get to or just skipped over it entirely because she didn’t want us in the establishment. I have never in my life witnessed anything this and was so appalled we just left and went around the corner to a place called “hole in the wall”. I will be writing them an amazing review bc food and drinks were impeccable, the waitstaff was so friendly, we were seated quickly and served in less time than we had waited...

We were looking for a brunch spot, and I knew they had awesome baked goods... And with enticing brunch menu, we decided to dine here.

The inside was a bit larger than it looked from outside. I really loved the bright blue and crisp white, with lots if vibrant greens inside. They have the baked goods and baristas at front by the door. The ones who just want to order things to go can come in, order, pick up, and go.

The best way to try some of their best baked goods is to order the Pastry Assortment. You get three or even four (if you are lucky) baked goods in a basket. You can only order this if you are dining in. Our basket contained a huge cookie to die for, flakey chocolate croissant, and super plump croissant.

To go with the pastries, we ordered special coffee of the day, which was Pistachio White Chocolate Cappuccino. They must have a sorcerer of some kind to offer a cappuccino that has all of my favorite! The server did not bring any sugar, but since we like our coffee without sugar, it was ok... The coffee was very creamy! It had a nice amount of small pistachio chunks!

For "real" food, we ordered Maman’s Breakfast Sandwich and Eggs Ratatouille. I have a not-so-secret love affair with breakfast sandwiches so, I was excited to try it. The egg was cooked just right, with creamy avocado, crunchy buns, and bacon jam packed with bacon! So good!!

My hubby who is more of a Shakshuka kind of guy, went with something similar to that. Eggs Ratatouille was packed with veggies and had a little kick to it, which was nice. Packed with so much flavor! This dish was so satisfying!

We had a really nice brunch here. The service was a bit slow (and we had to ask for stuff more than once), but since we were not in a hurry, it was quite relaxing. We really enjoyed the food, pastries, and coffee. Everything was really tasty! I would love to go back and try more of their...

Traveling alone is difficult enough, and Maman doesn't make it any easier. I simply wanted a quiet, lovely coffee spot to enjoy some tea and pastries and catch up on some email and do a bit of organizing. However, I was told I was not allowed in the dining room unless I ordered a full breakfast from the menu. Unfortunate, but I really wanted the service so I made the concession. Upon being seated, the first thing I see is a sign on the wall saying table service is limited to 30 minutes. Not necessarily a deal breaker when alone, but if I were there with friends 30 minutes doesn't seem like a long time to enjoy a Saturday breakfast with a group. I get the menu, sounds delicious, and place my order. I pull out my laptop to finalize a few documents and get off a few emails to catch up from a crazy week and pull up the "Maman Guest" wifi- I ask the waitress for the password. Then I am told "there is no wifi" and that "this is a restaurant and laptops are not allowed on the weekends". No one of these things was a deal breaker alone, but together they ultimately added up to me feeling unwelcome and stressed (before breakfast!) on a Saturday morning. The EXACT OPPOSITE of what I hoped and what this charming French coffee stop seemed to offer. I know it is difficult times for restaurants, and concessions must be made, but I did find this a bit unreasonable and ultimately left. the place was cute, the menu sounded good, the pastries looked divine, but I'll never know because I paid my bill in full and left before I could even sample the tea or taste the...