Pull-Tab Coffee — Restaurant in New York

Pull-Tab Coffee just opened near Bryant Park, replacing my favorite Yomi Yogurt and Jianbing. It’s only been a few weeks. But this is New York, after all—a city with a short memory. Old places vanish. New ones arrive, almost without pause. I walked in with cautious hope, half-expecting another Asian drink shop chasing the crowd’s endless appetite for something new.

I tried the Iced Orange Americano. Probably not the wisest decision for a late afternoon—sugar and caffeine, enemies of sleep—but I’m still glad I did. It was vibrant, refreshing. Heavy on citrus, light on bitterness. Once stirred, the coffee slipped into the background, but the drink stayed smooth and easy.

They use custom-built equipment instead of the usual La Marzocco or Synesso machines I tend to look for to gauge coffee quality—a quiet arm wrestle between the industrial standardization of Asian coffee-chain and the mechanical soul of old-school Italian craftsmanship. After all, the coffee doesn’t disappoint.

I also tried a few baked goods. The Original Butter Toast was crisp and sweet, like a grown-up version of milk toast. I love that it’s small snack size that doesn’t make you feel guilty finish it at once. The Salted Butter Bread was cute, but just way too plain, you feel that you are chewing paper, no butter or salt taste. The Uni Croissant is the best among them, instantly bringing you to a buzzing Hongkong cafe, with its rich, flavorful and slightly oily taste. However, to be honest, they are boring despite the gesture of giving you something new.

The shop itself is lively—playful murals, a surfboard on the wall, a kind of curated looseness meant for the young or the young-at-heart. The staff, busy but kind, handed out a free necklace with each order. A small plastic-y token, again, low quality offering for the sake of providing something new.

In an age obsessed with chasing the next Instagrammable moment, hope this one lingers a little longer in New York’s...

RUN BEFORE THIS COFFEE SHOP BLOWS UP!! I was totally blown away by their Osmanthus Oolong Aerofoam.

I just knew Pull-Tab Coffee was founded in Hangzhou, China. This Asian coffee chain is known for their aerofoam coffee, and now boasts over 400 locations and is expanding to South Korea and Singapore.

Their first NYC location is right next to Bryant Park, and I've been eagerly awaiting their opening since it’s so close to my office. I can definitely see myself becoming a regular, eager to try every single Aerofoam coffee on their menu.

＊Osmanthus Oolong Aerofoam $7.50 A MUST TRY for any floral tea lovers. It is topped with a creamy, airy layer of freeze-dried espresso foam. The bitterness of the aerofoam complements incredibly well with the subtle sweetness from the osmanthus oolong.

＊Matcha and Guava $7.50 I was recommended to try their Matcha and Guava – it was very guava-forward, served with real guava slices! The matcha flavor was rich, evident in its vibrant green color.

＊Kaya Butter Toast $6.50 Don’t miss out on their signature kaya butter toast – available in original, peanut butter, and chocolate flavors. I went with the original, and it was perfectly toasted, with a slab of butter and kaya jam. You can get the butter toast + aerofoam coffee set for just $12.50.

＊Salted Butter Bun with Mocha Cream $6.25 They offer a small selection of Asian-style pastries. I tried the Salted Bun with Mocha Cream, and I was pleasantly surprised by the generous mocha cream filling oozing out! The bun itself was also...

Went with coworkers to check out this cafe since one of them saw it on TikTok. There’s a couple of small tables inside that fits two people per table. I got the iced banana aerofoam which came with 3 banana chips on top. It was pretty good (the foam was strong and a bit bitter but definitely tasted the banana in the coffee). The cup that they use is a bit different and had great cold retention and kept the ice from melting quickly. If you’re on a time crunch, probably not the best to grab a drink since the drinks do take a while to make (but to be fair, we did order 7 drinks and only 2 staffs were preparing the drinks). There were a couple of more staffs there who really should’ve also made the drinks with the amount of people waiting for their order. Didn’t get a chance to try any of their pastries but would like to try their kaya butter toast. Others ordered different flavored aerofoams along with pull-tab matcha latte which...