Atlas Café

This was the rudest customer service experience I have had by far in New York. NEVER go here. I certainly will NEVER come back.
After stumbling into what seemed like a cute coffee shop on a rainy day in BK, I was greeted not with a «hello» but with a glare from the barista, who didn’t offer a single smile. I came in huffing and puffing, clearly upset and carrying a large bag with me. I just wanted to sit down and have a cup of tea while the rain subsided before going back to the city.
After sitting down for a minute, I go to the register to see what teas they have. I asked if they take cards and he rudely responded «No». Didn’t offer an ATM around the corner, just stood there and continued to glare at me.
I go to sit down and look for cash in my purse. I start charging my phone and pull out my laptop, trying to unwind and just take a breath after carrying a huge bag with me 5 blocks in the rain. Two minutes later he comes over and asks if I’m buying anything.
I respond that I’m not sure if I have cash and I wasn’t going to stay more than 10 minutes anyway. He cut me off and told me I had to «get out» and «everyone else here is paying.» I tried telling him again I’m leaving soon and he just said, «no, you need to leave.»
I was embarrassed, mortified, and stunned.
I could not believe what I was hearing and how I was being approached. Just when I started thinking ‘wow, what a nice place. Such good vibes. I want to come back here” he had to come and be a total asshole. The place wasn’t even full. I will never come back to this coffee shop again. I don’t care how good the coffee/​tea/​cakes are or anything. RUDE CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE IS THE BIGGEST TURN OFF.
On a side note — if you’re a cash only place and you give people an attitude for not having cash on them, you’re an *sshole. You should seriously start accepting cards and stop turning away people and KICKING THEM OUT IN THE RAIN.
Goodbye, and thanks for making my already shit day even shittier.

Finding the correct fit for a coffee shop in Brooklyn can be daunting. Knowing I wanted a place to whittle away at work while inhaling the daily grind to give me battery life, I hit the interwebs to meet my match. Since there is no tinder for coffee shops, I couldn’t swipe right at the first glimpse of an appealing couch and cold brew, so I was left to top coffee shop lists.
Being a card-​carrying (I guess technically passport-​sitting-​in-​a-​cabinet) member of the international love club, this shop drew me in. What more could I want than a giant map wall? Nothing! Except a warm place to work.
I got here, got settled and then froze. You could’ve added me to the ice cubes in my cold brew (which, by the way, was good, not great. I expect better Brooklyn). I also was not very comfortable in the pew-​like seating. When I come to a coffee shop, I want to sit on a couch, the real pew of the coffee world that allows me to work comfortably, but also worship at the feet of the glorious cold brew. All hail, toddy!
There was no hail-​toddy-​full-​of-​grace at the atlas café. There was just ice cube me, frozen in complacency over the disappointing atmosphere and coffee. Call me the temporary back row baptist of this coffee shop. It’s just nothing to raise my hands about.

Rude staff. One afternoon I watched the owner approach tables with products not purchased at the café (water bottles!) to snap at each customer for not ordering from Atlas– though they clearly had.

PLEASE don’t come here for coffee. You will be extremely disappointed. Go to gimme! coffee for that. But if you are a tea drinker like me this place is literally heaven on earth. I ordered a chai latte and it was quite honestly the best chai I’ve ever had in my life. For the first time I had a chai latte with no powder mix! Very excited.
There are a couple of things that I would change about this place:
— cash only is such a doozy. Their sandwiches looked really good and I wanted to buy one but alas didn’t bring enough cash with me!
— the service sucks. The barista gave me such a dirty look/​hipster holier than thou attitude. Like c’mon dude life isn’t so bad

This is a cool spot to study, but am I the only one who noticed that the coffee is really bad? It is worse than diner coffee. Will not be returning.

This place was good but nothing to go out of your way for. One of the patrons was a real dick, I was traveling with my partner and we sat in a booth. He obnoxiously asked if we were using the table. I said yes. He then huffed because he had to eat on the counter… May I add the man was alone… weirdo

Good Brooklyn coffee spot, but nothing too special. Worth trying if you haven’t been there yet.

Pros:
— A big airy space with lots of windows.
— Great place to work. Everyone is on their laptop so there is less noise by people just coming here to hangout.
Cons:
— The baristas always seem exceptionally bored here which even by Williamsburg barista standards, is annoying.
— It’s cash only.
— The music sucks. I know a lot of people like it, but I prefer my old-​timey jazz at a fancy restaurant or a swing dance party not a coffee shop. Anything else would be preferable. Classic rock. 80s new wave. 90s grunge. 70s punk. Indie. ANYTHING. Honestly, the jazz actually ruins my vibe.

This place is very cozy, you can order full pots of tea for like $ 5 and just sit and write, read or work on whatever at their nice wooden tables. I’ll be returning for sure.
Watch out for those MacBooks though, they’re everywhere!

Another cash only establishment in New York City. It seems like the staff were extremely confused when I made it pretty common coffee order-​ice coffee. The coffee was decent, but not great. However, the other patrons were really nice. And we even had a great conversation about the map on the wall –What year was then that produced?

Stopped here for a few minutes today before going to a ‘bake the book’ lesson at Momofuku Milk Bar. The place has a really nice feel and the staff are nice. Great croissants and coffee. Wish I’d tried one of the bagel sandwiches, because they looked great! Only complaint is that the bathroom was out of order!

A little closer to the Bedford L, and Atlas Café would be the hipster caffeine center of the universe. Regardless of its location, this corner shop provides the perfect respite from hipstering at the intersection of Grand and Havemeyer.
The plywood floor, the pew bench seating and the large wall atlas gives this place a rustic, homey feel that complements their quality coffee just right. Add a toasted bagel with hummus or a roasted veggie panini, and you’ll be a fan!
Sometimes the cash-​only locale can get crowded by MacBook-​toting locals — are you even allowed here without the requisite Apple gear? — who use the bright, airy space as their office. But it’s the best caffeine-​and-​lunch spot for several blocks!

Your local grown-​up college town coffee café — the kind of place where you can imagine a wan acoustic open-​mic night (they don’t actually do that here) — but you get the picture.
Cash only, free wi-​fi (and the accompanying of throng of Macbook campers), solid sandwich menu, diminutive pastry selection (sadly); not particularly cozy, but spacious indoors and out.

For reasons unknown, Atlas REFUSES to heat this place. If you are looking for a cozy spot to read or work, keep walking. You are better off standing outside. Absolutely miserable.

Cozy, good but not great. Cash only! The atmosphere is nice, the tea selection is plentiful, and the service was pleasant. I recommend it highly if your in the area, it’s cute and makes vegan and other yummy salads and sandwiches.

They have genmaicha, my absolutely favorite green tea.
Nice old-​school place although it can be tough to get a table and sit down and work on your laptop. A bunch of people in front of their Macs helps you to not feel miserable for not having an office…
Fair prices and wonderful music.

Hard to believe a Williamsburg coffee joint can stay open when they make such a crappy soy cappuccino. I asked the barista to remake it and he did– and it was just as awful as the first time. Big huge bubbles, not foam at all. His explanation was that «it’s hard to make foam.»
…
…
…what?

If I lived in NY, I think I would come here every day. Atlas Café was home to probably one of the best breakfasts I’ve had — simple but perfect, and a very reasonable price compared to most coffee shops I’ve been to. Especially in NYC!
I ordered a medium cold press, a Greek yogurt parfait, and a cheese danish pastry. My total came to just over $ 10, which I feel like is quite the deal compared to comparable meals at similar establishments. And wit was worth every penny. I am obsessed with cold press coffee in the summer, and theirs did not disappoint. My friend went so far as to claim it was some of the best coffee she’s ever had. The cheese danish, which I ordered at the recommendation of the cashier since they had quite the selection of delectable looking danishes and croissants, was flaky and sweet without being too rich. What really blew me away though was the Greek yogurt parfait. Hands down the best Greek yogurt I’ve had. It was so smooth and creamy it tasted more like eating dense whipped cream than yogurt. The berries were fresh and not the usual thawed syrupy mess present in a lot of prepackaged parfaits. Add a little honey and there is nothing better.
The place is also just cute as can be. There is a giant world map that takes up an entire back wall (hence the name). The wooden tables have old trunks as benches in addition to regular chairs. They also have free wi-​fi so the shop is full of people working on their laptops. It seems to be a better place to go alone and read/​/​work since that is what most people are doing, but they also have a few slightly larger tables to accommodate people coming in small groups.

–Coffee is alright, make sure you ask them to go easy on the ice or else you’ll be drinking water.
–Pretty much every table is wobbly
–Lox sandwich is great, only reason I would go there again (make sure they don’t overcharge you as this happens pretty frequently).
–Staff can be alright, some of the girls there are pretty impatient but most of them are fine.
–Wifi is VERY SPOTTY, so if you’re going there just to use wifi, find somewhere else.
–Bathroom is out of order 50% of the time. Often doesn’t have TP is isn’t clean.

Atlas has potential to be a charming, whimsical café, but for now it’s in desperate need of renovation.
The bathroom could use a deep clean, the tables a scrub, the floors a thorough sweep.
Strange vibe, too. Everyone there was so serious about their laptop usage, some people were even video chatting (?) and children were screaming. The menu is limited, my green tea supbar, and this guy was grumbling to himself the whole time. Not the most pleasant place to be.