PJ’s Coffee & Tea

As of 1 February, this place is no longer open. Their sign out front is gone as well.

How’s their coffee?
I’d like to know but they did not bother to open this store anywhere near on time.
The store hours said they open at 6:30 am but when I showed up at 7:45 am the doors were locked and nobody was inside,
.
I know it’s The Big Easy but c’mon! Over an hour late? While I stood on the sidewalk trying to find another pace to get some Java, at least 3 other potential customers walked up and tried the door, only to be left wondering why the place wasn’t open.
The mix of potential customers was great, a banker, a punk rock kid, and a soccer dad, racially mixed and diverse in age and gender.
PJ’s is an equal opportunity disappointer.

Staff was really prompt and courteous! I ordered the Red Velvet Mocha blended, and let me tell you! It was phenomenal!

So I go in and ask for a French vanilla iced coffee, croissant and bottle of water. As I’m paying the girl says would you like French vanilla syrup it’s just a little bit extra so I say yeah but when I see that it is 60 cents I ask her to take it back off bc really? It’s French vanilla coffee so I’m thinking it should actually come with it like starbucks, you dont get the pumpkin spice latte then have to pay extra on top of it but that’s not the problem she actually gives me this agitated glare like I’m just the biggest pain in the ass ever. Oh I’m sorry I didn’t realize, I’d never been here before. I get everything to go so on my way out I go to the cooler and get my water which is actually toasty warm so I ask for a bottle that’s cold. They don’t have one. Who the hell drinks a hot water bottle, let alone on an August day in New Orleans? No one ever.
And my croissant was the most dry one I’ve ever had in my life. I gave them two stars instead of one bc my coffee was really good.

«How bad can coffee get?» Humanity has pondered this question for ages. Yet this unassuming café in the big easy may be closest to an answer. Here you will find coffees of truly cataclysmic awfulness, cinnamon rolls of epically craptastic proportions and bagels that are… bad. And the décor gave me seizures.

PJs has closed but Satsuma looks like it will be opening soon… can’t wait!

Good coffee, quiet place. What more could you ask for?!

Starbucks is surprisingly absent from downtown New Orleans, and PJ’s seems to be the local substitute. It isn’t really trying to be anything. I wouldn’t say it has an aesthetic. For business people it has a decent selection of breakfast items (e.g., muffins, bagels, etc.) and coffee. For out-​of-​towners it has a full case of desserts (e.g., King’s Cakes, pastries, etc.). Ultimately, though, it seems more about getting the job done than being a third place.

Man.
A 2.5 star average makes sense — in the 10 minutes I’ve been in here, the barista made a guy make a minimum purchase of $ 2 before he could get a glass of water, she made me a 2% latte (my standard… I know what they generally taste like), and she pretended to go wipe a table so she could tell a woman sitting at a nearby table — waiting for someone who popped in moments later — that she couldn’t sit there unless she made a minimum $ 2 purchase.
Then, when I tasted my latte and it tasted *sour*, I quietly went up and told her this, that perhaps the milk wasn’t good anymore? She told me no one else has complained about the milk, «so I don’t know what it could be». The end.
Soooooo…I won’t be coming back here, convenient or not.
If I barf later, I’m definitely taking off a star, but I don’t think I was able to drink enough of it to get sick.

I ordered the frozen coffee drink and it was not as expected. It was bland and tasted like mostly slush. The small was 3.25. I’ll save my money and go to Starbucks.

Good For Grabbing A Quick Cup O’ Jo
SITREP
On my power walk from The Hotel Modern to the Steamboat Natchez (a bit under mile), I stopped by PJ’s Coffee & Tea on the way. [What’s interesting to note in New Orleans is the low number of Starbucks in this busy Downtown area, so I am forced to get out of my usual routine and try independents for a change, and that’s a good thing.]
THE SETUP
It’s a cute store set-​up on Camp Street and the décor is very inviting. I just ordered a basic mocha and it was good. The service was relatively quick and the staff person at the register and the barista were quite pleasant.
MY COFFEE PARTICULARS
I actually prefer to go as much sugar free as possible, even with the chocolate powder, but to be fair I think that Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the only chain that carries «No sugar /​No Fat» chocolate powder options. So I had to bite the bullet on this one.
Of the coffees I’ve had in New Orleans, PJs was neither the best (which I had at The Ruby Slipper) nor the worst (which I actually had inside Harrah’s), but a good middle of the road.
THE LOWDOWN
I think PJ’s has a good morning coffee option to get me that burst of caffiene I want.

Stale pastries & rude service!
Just walk a few blocks up to get better coffee from CCs. I would stay away from the pastries though, especially the cheesecake. Stick to bagels, except blueberry.

Sour taste in my mouth. This location has been called «the good PJ’s» among locals. Despite the seeming cleanliness of the pastry case, they will hold on to stale pastries for as long as possible in order to hold up their bottom line.
Coffee shops are beacons of the community. Unfortunately, the owners of this location refuse to assist with the horrible homelessness problem in this busy CBD area on the «homeless highway» of Camp St. They might call the cops on you if you try to use the restroom without making a purchase or sit outside and are not a patron.
I recommend you visit a place that actually cares about not only their customers but their overworked employees.
What ever happened to human decency? Business ethics are in question.
Also if you want your barista to be nice to you, tip them with a bill not pocket change.

They should really consider calling PJ’s «Home of the Rock Hard Bagel.»
Cause that’s all I can really think about.
I also don’t like that I have to toast my own bagel. What’s up with that noise?

Really liked this place. It was close to the hotel (and a much needed break from Starbucks… ahem. I mean 4 bucks…)
The cappuccino was nice and hot, good amount of froth and they even have the option of using whole milk… yummmmm.
We also ordered an almond croissant which was delicious. They have a lot of options for baked goods and all looked really yummy.
There’s a good amount of seating too. Service was fast and polite.

went here for much-​needed caffeine fix post Isaac.
the service was great, and i even ordered a ham/​swiss croissant (or turkey/​swiss, idk). the toaster made it perfect on the outside, but the inside was COLD. Cold as in, NOT coOKEd enough; not temperature-​wise.
i should have brought it back, but by the time i got to the middle, i was nearly home. ah well, my coffee was delicious, and really that’s all i went for.
i am a bona fide starbucks junkie. but i am slowly finding myself going to PJs more and more…
thank you!

Great place to stop by on your way to work for a quick pick-​me-​up, or even better, a place to sit and read the paper on a lazy weekend day.
The baristas are very friendly and the atmosphere is really nice. I like that they have 4WWL on the TV in the morning so while you are in line (if there is one), you can see Sally Ann and Eric.
Great place!

Visited NOLA for a few days. I saw PJ’s coffee everywhere, and decided to grab a cup myself! The coffee was nonsense. I couldn’t even finish it.
Employees were actually pretty friendly though. Maybe because I went when there were not so many people.

2 years later and… baristas still seem unhappy and rushed in the middle of the afternoon when there’s no line.
I still love the Granitas, and the maple pecan pastry, and the sausage biscuit (ok, in general the fact that there’s basically a small pasty shop up in there)… just not what you need to go through to order and pay for a coffee.

This is the best PJ’s there is, period. I have to drive past 2 other PJs on my days off to get one. It’s located in the CBD, on Camp and Girod.
Two other PJ’s I’ve tried are very variable in their quality and service.
The drinks here are consistently good. They have a really nice little chocolate section that is better than the other PJs around town.
The staff is very friendly and they move quickly (but they tend to get fairly crowded for the morning rush). I think this is a family-​owned operation, as their turnover is low (same smiling faces for the last 4 years).
The place is well lit, very clean, and has classic New Orleans CBD architecture. It also has abundant outdoor seating which is a real pleasure on nice days.