Not As Bitter — Restaurant in New York

Wonderful little cafe serving unique, fruit-flavored coffees! If you don't love the bitter taste of coffee but also don't want a super sugar-packed latte, Not As Bitter has found the perfect solution. This shop is a bit hidden, as their black door almost completely blends in with their black storefront, and the sign is just barely visible if you're not looking for it. However, once you manage to find the door, you'll be transported into a cozy, but bustling little shop.

Their innovative drinks combine fruit puree with coffee to cut the bitterness of the beloved caffeinated bean while injecting a tad of natural sweetness. The menu is largely Asian-inspired, featuring flavors like coconut, pandan, strawberry, grape, and hawthorn. I love that each cup comes with a sticker listing the drink's name, how it was created, and what all the ingredients are. For example, my drink of choice, the Hawthorn Tree, was inspired by the owner's 2023 trip to a farm in Hubei and includes espresso, hawthorn, jasmine, and lemon. The combination gives the drink a delightfully refreshing and tart flavor, with a subtle floral note from the jasmine. Or, to quote the cup directly, the drink is "crisp and refreshingly sweet with a tart fragrance."

I adored the Hawthorn Tree -- it was a great recommendation from the super friendly barista, who helped me choose the drink since it wasn't super sweet and didn't include any milk. It was, as the sticker stated, super refreshing, tart, and only slightly sweet.

My friends' drinks were also phenomenal; they got the Four Grapes Here and Strawberry Fields. The grape drink was similar to the Hawthorn Tree and centered around just the coffee and fruit. My friend loved her's, as it was also subtly sweet and had a slightly more toned down fruit flavor, with less of the tartness that the hawthorn brought to my drink. The strawberry fields also received rave reviews, although I will note that if your tastebuds are in the wrong mood, the combination of milk and sour fruit puree can be a bit offputting. I personally find it a bit safer to opt for one of the milk-less options, but the lattes are a great...

My wife and I stopped here, trying to find a new cafe to stop by every morning that we were visiting Manhattan.

I thought this one looked cool because it’s darker, almost literally feels like a “hole in the wall”. The outside is dark weathered wood, very unassuming and easy to miss if you don’t see the small “Not as Bitter” logo under the lamp next to the front door.

There is only one window and lighting inside is minimal so it has a club-like vibe. However, there was a really weird musty smell. We had been hoping to sit down and enjoy our coffee for a bit in the warmth of a cafe, but after 1 minute of sitting down with our coffee we both couldn’t stand it and had to leave. Almost a mix of bathroom, body odor, and damp mustiness. I’m not sure what the smell was because it seemed clean.

As for the coffee, we tried the Strawberry fields. The milk+coffee+strawberry jam sounded like an interesting mix. I’ll admit it was not what I was expecting, the coffee and strawberries didn’t go together as well as I was hoping. Not a coffee I would have again. My wife said it grew on her though, so she enjoyed it more than me but we regretted spending our money on a coffee here - we should have gone somewhere else.

The staff was friendly enough - not super enthused when we asked for an explanation of the fruit drinks but did explain them.

Honestly, this is my first coffee that was an entire disappointment...

Not as interesting as it appears. Not as cool as it seems. Not as tasty as it looks.

I got the iced double pistachio latte, which came out to be $9.25 with tax. Apparently, if you want no ice, they will charge you extra & this latte doesn't come in a hot version. Taste was okay, which is super underwhelming considering the hefty price tag for an iced coffee that is half filled with ice (I did ask for light ice). Barely tasted like pistachio & barely taste the coffee, more like a hint of something in milk. The person that took my order seemed too cool to work there that they weren't that friendly.

I've passed by this place a few times & when it first opened there was so much hype around it that there would be a line outside but since I went when the hype died down, there was no line. It's a cool, hip, dark space that has a moody cafe vibe, but what's the point if the most popular drink is just mediocre. Maybe I'll come back to give it a 2nd chance & try something else on the menu, but maybe not.

Also random note, but the tables are very awkwardly low compared to...