The Civil Service Cafe

Coffee ⁵⁄₅
Service: Speedy
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Cashier: ²⁄₅ Pretty rude not a smile in sight & very short with her replies
Server: ⁵⁄₅ I got a smile from the dude! Whoa a smile with my meal but not my coffee. Very kind, great presentation of food.
Overall the sign outside reads coffee with a smile but homegirl at the register maybe forgot to clock in with her smile today. Yanno I’m all for girls smiling whenever they want & not being told to do so — but when you work in food retail the rules change & a smile is a definite must. Other than that I enjoyed everything down to the coffee & food to the look and feel of the café. Just would of appreciated some better customer service. Will return in hopes of getting a smile from the pretty curly haired barista.

I always look forward to eating their Chicken Roma Sandwich and Kale salad from this spot.
But then I’m always greeted by a girl with a scowl on her face. I half want to hug her and half want to hire her to represent me in a fight since she looks ready to jump down your throat for breathing incorrectly.

Friendly staff, great coffee, good work environment. Not only are all the baristas and staff people incredibly friendly and good at what they do, there’s a general good cheer in this café. Every interaction I’ve had with another customer has also been friendly – way above average for NY. This great vibe makes the communal table and close quarters work well!

Really cute place and the food was good, but I wish I had listened to the reviews about the poor service. I stopped in here today because I need some food in my stomach before I took pain medication. I ordered an egg sandwich around 1:15 and I was still waiting and unmedicated at almost 2 pm. :/​That’s a really long time to fry an egg!
As a former barista, I really hate complaining about service, and honestly it wouldn’t have bothered me if I didn’t need my meds. It doesn’t seem to be a systemic problem, as plenty of people were served before me, but I see some others waiting for what I would consider to be too long if I were the barista here. I figured people should be aware that they might get forgot! The barista didn’t seem very gracious or apologetic when I pointed out their mistake, either, which is not the way I would have handled the situation. Note to staff: and smile and a «sorry, I’ll get that right out for you» would’ve done wonders with this customer at least!
Also I ordered sparkling water and I thought it was a little too pricy for what it was. They advertise Found sparkling bottles in front but I got some pretty flat stuff from a big jug in the fridge in a plastic cup. I paid $ 9 and change before tip for the egg sandwich ($ 6) and the water. I don’t think I’ll be back here, as there’s lots of similar places in the neighborhood.

They bring together subtle and chic beautifully. I thought that my drink reflected the neighborhood (coffee with soy milk) simple and seemingly nothing special and yet when you indulge there’s more there than you thought.

Unwelcoming atmosphere and overpriced food ranging from gross to unremarkable. I miss Tiny Cup

Great atmosphere, food was very good and served quickly, strong coffee, fresh OJ! Best part was the smoked salmon

This is a great place not too far away from where I live now. The coffee is very good. Last time the service lagged, waited over 30 minutes for my sandwich and a couple before me got theirs first and they noticeably ordered after me. Not a big deal, but worth it to mention anyway. But there’s always a crowd, because the coffee and food is definitely good. Keep up the good work!

I have a deep appreciation for cafés and coffee shops. Not exactly sure why but somehow they’ve always resonated with me.
Enter the Civil Service Café. Had a meeting in Bed Stuy and was about an hour early so figured I’d grab a ginger beer and get some reading in.
The atmosphere is typical café but had a unique feel. Music was nicely balanced and not to loud which has been the case in past visits to other establishments.
Service was great so my overall experience was a good one. Glad to see the expanding quality choices of cafés in the Stuy.

I went in here and happened to misread a chalk written sign outside that basically snubbed their noses at people who order pumpkin spiced lattes. Well, I happen to like pumpkin spiced lattes, and so after misreading the sign, I ordered one. Very AWKWARD. They don’t serve them, and their little sign was a douchey way to say they don’t serve them, and it implied that whomever orders them is uncool. After the awkwardness subsided, I ordered a regular latte and the latte was good.
HOWEVER, don’t make me feel like I think I’m buying coffee at Starbucks… If you don’t serve something, you don’t have to advertise it outside your store and put people down who do like those products. Very Hipster, and very rude. You’re in Bed-​Stuy, get over yourselves. Not cool at all. Too hipster for me.

The civil service café is a great place. First time in NYC we were staying at a place around the corner. The first morning with quite a jet lag all we wanted was a good coffee and some breakfast… and found this café. The drinks and the food was delicious. From cappuccino and hot chocolate over iced latte to breakfast sandwich and almond chocolate croissant. Everything delicious and served very quick.
We came back three times and every time we enjoyed it. And the service was great. Even though the place was packed the barista/​waitress was relaxed, polite and very nice!
A great place and we will definitely come back.

I was very sad when Tiny Cup closed but I love this place. The breakfast is very tasty and the space is very charming. The lox bagel with capers is delicious and the iced coffee is great too.

After ordering my cold brew, sweetened and with soy milk & receiving just black cold brew, I let it go thinking maybe the guy didn’t hear me… I then headed to the second counter to order my lunch: a kale salad with chicken. Never anywhere does it state that it is breaded. Maybe I should’ve specified that I am gluten free, but seeing that it’s being offered over a kale salad, I didn’t think I would have an issue.
The server brings over the salad, to which I apologize and tell her I should’ve mentioned that I am gluten free and I would need a new salad. She acted as if I was speaking a foreign language, never once apologized, scowled at me and quickly walked away with my salad.
Thirty seconds later, she brings me the salad bowl with bread crumbs, plain as day, still all over the salad. I immediately walked up to the counter and asked her if she just picked the chicken off and was serious in giving me back the salad as is. I reiterated that I have a severe gluten allergy to which the server again did not apologize and just asked the kitchen to make a new one-​like she should’ve in the first place. Not to mention, the server was standing right in front of a huge sign with a list of allergens printed on it.
All in all, the problem was resolved and the salad tasted pretty good. However, the way the server reacted and handled the situation would make me never return again.

This place is great! I have only been once, but I will be going back… its just not the closest to my place, so I definitely have to go out of my way to come here. But its worth it on occasion :)
I went here randomly. I was cold. Needed a good chai. In the neighborhood. In the mood for walking and wanted to grab a bite to take home before I ran the streets again. I’m glad I took time to stop by. Very much worth the money… and the people who frequent /​run the spot were great. Super friendly. And well one of the dudes wasn’t hard to look at if you know what I mean :)

This is one of the first cafes we tried out at Brooklyn. It is a very hip place to station yourself for coffee, breakfast, brunch, lunch, etc. It comes with Wi-​Fi (password needed but you can ask waitress for it) so feel free to bring your laptop to study, etc. the crowd here is always chill and laid-​back.
The service is very good; we ordered at the cashier, selected our seats/​table and then the food came out within 15 minutes or less. The food was good, but did not «wow» me or impress me, but perhaps we need to try more things from the menu. The presentation of the food was a plus though, it looks like «Tumblr-​material.» Overall good clean environment, excellent presentation and okay/​good in terms of food’s taste. We may come back again to try other things from the menu.

Good times and royal treatment. Solid breakfast and coffee. I really like eating at places where the food looks like I made it for myself. I’m a private chef, I make thoughtful simple healthy food. The 2 egg platter was just that! Will definitely be back.
The coffee was good too. No complaints.

What a cute little place! My friend and I booked an Airbnb in the Bed-​Stuy neighborhood in Brooklyn for a vacay and, low and behold, this little coffee shop was just around the corner. In need of some coffee and breakfast, I ventured out a few mornings to the Civil Service Café.
Atmosphere wise, it reminded me a lot of a coffee shop I would find in Seattle. Clean and simple with some «hipster» elements. In a way it was nice to find something that felt like home though!
I consistently ordered iced Americanos here and they were quite tasty — strong, cold and refreshing. They also offered a nice selection of teas which my friend appreciated.
I ordered a few of the few items which I found to be rather tasty — the egg breakfast sandwich with roasted red pepper pesto, cheddar, tomato, lettuce and the addition of avocado. Also the Nova sandwich on pumpernickel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, tomato, red onion, capers — easily my new favorite sandwich combination for sure.
I’d say the service was always a bit underwhelming, which is the only reason I would ding a few stars.

I’ve been going to Civil Service since they opened a year or two ago. I’m so happy to have a café like this nearby, where the wifi flows freely, the tables are big and small and inbetween (for those of us who are eating, chatting, or wanting to share a workspace with others!).
The food situation has truly only gotten better over the past year. Their $ 10 breakfast platter has an amazing kale salad, 2 eggs cooked any style, potatoes, toast and COFFEE. Diner style meals in a cute, clean & cool café.
They also brought in some new benches and small tables for those who want to relax outside with their dogs, a very nice touch because now I get to see more dogs than I usually would on a normal day.

I love love love this place. Its one of my favorite places to grab coffee. And it has the best price. $ 2.50 for a large #winning. Their coffee — Fishtown– is smooth but strong. Also there is a good amount of seating. Some smaller tables and one communal table in the middle. They serve breakfast — eggs, kales, scones, etc and have free wifi.
This is a perfect spot to read, write or catch up with a friend.

Great to see the hood is changing and we don’t have to resort to Starbucks coffee (is it me or has their coffee been changing?).
I’ve been here a couple of times before going to work and after dropping my lil’ man off to daycare. I usually get a large coffee and almond croissant. Always delicious and hits the spot whenever I am in a hurry.