East Rock Coffee — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

I arrived around 2pm after running an errand very nearby. It was a spontaneous stop although I had recently read about this cafe a week ago. It was empty except for one customer on her laptop. The cashier, a pleasant blonde woman greeted me and I looked at menu on wall and took a quick look at glass enclosed pastries and decided to play it safe for my initial visit. I gave her my order of a scone (raspberry) and a small hot chai latte. The owner, Shirley(?) prepared my latte and warmed up scone. I dined in and sat in one of their cozy velvet seats while enjoying a truly perfect scone and delicious latte. Price was similar to Starbucks but with considerably better warm atmosphere and ambience. It's pretty without being pretentious. For the hour I was there, one other customer dined in while about six or seven others had takeout orders. Timing worked out perfectly because I had to leave by 3pm and to my surprise they were closing. Their hours were 7am-4pm but have now changed to 6am to 3pm; probably to better accommodate the commuters who take the Island Park station LIRR which is about 75 feet away. I will definitely be returning with my hubby and/or my daughters who I am sure will find this cafe a regular go to. In addition, I'll also be able to give a better assessment of various food offerings and drink menu from others. BTW, they also have an outdoor eating area which folks might try to take advantage of while weather...

I went to this place twice and I was disappointed both times I went. The first time I went, the cashier was not knowledgeable about the drinks that were sold in this COFFEE HOUSE, and I was unaware that they sold food. I didn't know there was a food menu until I sat down. The next time I went, the service was better, the cashier knew more about the drinks. The food menu was still on the tables- which in my opinion doesn't make any sense because you don't sit down and a waitress comes to your table to order, you go to the cashier to order. The food menu should be upfront and posted somewhere you will see by the cashier. At 6:40 pm the cashier girl came to my table and rudely grabbed the menu off the table without saying excuse me or anything. I was aware the restaurant was closing at 7, but I still had 20 minutes to enjoy my coffee. My friend also tried asking a question but the cashier lady was in such a hurry to clean off all the tables, she barely answered the questions while her back was turned to us. I ended up leaving before 7 because I felt rushed and I was over the terrible service. Overall, both of my experiences, the service was terrible. I tried to give this place a second chance and they did not...

We traveled about 35 to 40 minutes to experience East Rock Coffee I was quite excited after seeing a post on Instagram.It was quite underwhelming . Upon entering the cafe there was a foul smell which more than likely came from the homeless man sleeping on the couch and his bags. When we went to order we were told there were no eggs so most sandwiches were unavailable. Upon my son picking the sandwich with the prosciutto we were told there was none he then asked for bacon and also settled for no eggs . I myself settled for a croissant filled with raspberry but that was not crispy or flaky at all. I asked why no one had gone to purchase eggs if they had none so early in the day the employee said since they opened the cafe in the other location they were slacking at this one . . She smiled and apologized . As far as the look of the cafe it was very cute and pretty but that’s where it ended. Before leaving the employee bought over a couple of Croissants she said they were on the house. The girls were sweet not their fault the owner is not keeping up with the needs...