19 Cafe

A hidden gem in a less than fashionable area of East Williamsburg. Behind the rather anonymous name and exterior is some of the best food and coffee in the area.
The sandwiches are unusual and awesome (and unusually, pleasantly small and delicate for an American café) — my favourites are the refried beans, fried egg and cilantro sandwich. The egg, kale and cheddar is also superb. Lots of flavour packed into a small meal.
It’s worth keeping in mind that there’s a single chef who makes everything and also does coffee, and so the wait time can be fairly long. It is, however, worth the wait.
I have not tried the Asian dishes yet (of which there are plenty: kimchi rice, udon, ramen, noodle salads, jiaozi), but I’m looking forward to doing it.

Found this place close to where I was staying but the chicken fried rice was good, people who worked there were so nice and welcoming. Interesting combination of food, you don’t think you will find fried rice or noodle at a coffee place.

The owner is so lovely! He gave me a free cookie. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The people eating there said the food was delicious. I can’t wait to go back, have some ramen, and study — they have wifi. They are also friendly to dogs :)

Had the Spicy Pork Belly Ramen which was vert satisfying. The broth was balanced well with salt and a light tasting broth. The Veggies taste so fresh And organic. I will be back for a bowl of ramen soon !

What a good place to relax on a rainy day, the workers are super nice, they offer many variety of Asian food mixed with some American style. They have many variety of drinks and pastries ! Such as espressos or fresh croissants and cinnamon buns. There is complimentary free wifi and overall it’s right across where I live so coming here is very convenient. Customer satisfaction is number 1 and I think the workers succeeded that.

Cute place, great coffee (Kobrick) and tasty food. Service is really weird; there’s a chick who’s usually at the front and is a very awkward, off-​putting human. Also smells like large amounts of burnt oil which is impossible to get off clothing/​skins. ⁴⁄₅

I really like this place. It’s comfortable and in a secluded place but close to the J train. I’ve only have the cold brew which is a solid cold brew (as in it is tasty and packs some caffeine). It has free wifi and quiet enough to get some work done. The guy at the counter is nice and friendly. It’s reasonably priced. The temperature is set at a comfortable level for summer.

Overall a really satisfying lunch. For 2, we ordered the avocado edamame toast (2 pieces), pork dumplings, and veggie cold noodles. I was surprised that my least favorite was the toast, tasted fine but nothing special. The dumplings were amazing (boiled variety, lightly pan fried) and the cold noodles were really good. They had a nice spice to them.

PROS:
This café serves the BEST coffee around! Food is affordable & taste terrific! Has Free Wifi & sells baked goods as wells as Asian food with a side of fries!
CONS:
Closes too early. (Sometimes earlier then promised (the are suppose to close at 8 pm but sometimes closes at 7 pm or earlier)

So, I don’t really get how this place received such hight review and positive feedback. As a Raman lover, it’s a shame they called their product «Raman». To me it’s just hot soup within noodles. They didn’t come together and the noodle they use is not even Raman doodle.

I just moved around the corner from this café and was happy to find this secluded coffee shop. It very chill and removed from the chaos closer to the Morgan or Montrose stops. The menu includes some of the asian comfort food I grew up with so I am very excited to come here more often.
The man working behind the counter is very helpful and friendly. I immediately felt at home. I am happy to call this café my neighborhood coffee stop.

Good Coffee, Good Food, Good Vibes. Seems to be family run.
What else do you after waking up.

I highly recommend coming to this place if your nearby! I had the Paris sandwich with pork belly for $ 5.45! (Good deal) The sandwich was carefully prepared and tastes somewhat like a Bahn mi.
I’ll deff be coming back to try those kimchi fries! !!

What a wonderful discovery in the neighborhood! I’ve only been a couple times this week, but plan to return many more. Beautiful interior space with a few choices for sit-down…tables in the front and a long counter towards the back. I enjoyed the couple drinks I’ve purchased & really enjoyed the vegetarian kimchi sandwich I got for lunch. Sizable portion with tasty sauces.
Free wifi /​superb service. Definitely worth checking out!

The coffee is mediocre. Don’t expect the brew to be of the same caliber as the other cafes in Williamsburg. Even a newcomer, Mountain Province, only a few blocks away, serves a better cup. There are too many good to great cups in Williamsburg and too many almost famous roasters sold for this one to exist on a heritage name (?). The drip was average and the cappuccino was way too mild/​milky.
In addition to the coffee, the menu lists food items from at least 3 different Asian countries (Viet sandwiches, kimchi fried rice, gyoza, Udon). It is apparently going with «Japanese» as a genre on Unilocal.Are you confused or does it all taste the same? I’m fighting my «sensitivities» here and not commenting on this tone deaf approach because maybe he just came back from spending 6 years in Asia without Internet and doesn’t realize that this has been done and never been done well. But I will say given the display of sad looking pastries and mediocre coffee, I doubt any of it will exceed the very low expectations that the menu deserves.
The place needs some major branding help, which obviously is not a factor in my rating but a gratuitous tip for survival in poser Williamsburg.
Reminds me of Astor Row Café, which also has a 4 star rating but 2 stars from me. I wanted to give 3 here, because the guy running it, presumably the owner, seems very nice, but the Asian in me can’t praise effort alone.

This tiny café is awesome! My girlfriend found it on here and we were def not disappointed! She had the shrimp ramen and I had the calamari ramen. I asked for it very spicy, and was not disappointed with some pseudo spicy wannabe ramen! We also managed to somehow eat the cream cheese cinnamon bites for dessert. They were the perfect tiny size for a full belly of someone who just wants a sweet and rich treat for dessert.
Friendly reminder: Ca$h only

Super warm and humble service from the owner himself.
Like other Unilocalers have mentioned, the décor of this little spot just makes you want to love it, support it and hope it survives for future visits. From the stylishly curated magazines on the tables to the interesting trinkets and vintage objects on the walls, it’s a great place to have a quiet cup of coffee and/​or lunch if you are in the area.
I came here on a weekday and had the beef ramen. Loved the broth and the fiery hot peppers. However, I wished the egg was soft boiled instead of hard.

19 Café is one of those places that I really want to love. Like really, really.
The Café itself is located in a neighborhood thats adding some new shops and restaurants but isnt quite there yet. One of the reasons I wish to love it.
I strolled in on a Sunday afternoon and got myself an espresso. The guy that works there pulled the grinder, stuck the portafilter into his rancilio and pulled quite a good shot — right temperature, good crema, thick, nice.
Two other patrons were there and they seemed to be enjoying some pan fried noodles. Color on the noodles looked good and it got me thinking. I need to come back and eat some of their food.
We came back the next day and sat to have some food. It was rainy, we were the only ones there. Looking at the menu, we decided to pig out. I ordered the pork belly paris sandwich, corn chowder, the SO ordered the udon with chicken; we wanted calamari to start.
Guy calls, same guy that pulled the amazing shot, think he must be the owner… anyways he asks whether or not we want gyoza instead of calamari. He recommends the gyoza saying they are very good. No problem gyoza it up.
He brings out the soup. But wasnt corn chowder, was clam chowder… must have been some miscommunication there. Fine. Whatever, excusable, i am easy. Wait though… the chowder is not home made. Its from a can and the microwaved. I’m pretty sure campbells chunky. I know my canned chowders… disappointing definitely. I mean, order it and check out the potatoes. They’re mushy and perfectly squared.
Fine…I mean who expects gourmet chowder at a café two blocks away from the PJs in BK. So the gyoza… I have a strong feeling that they are also bagged. Ajinimoto brand maybe? Quite good but… I’ve had that flavor before and it came from a bag.
Okay so paris sandwich pork belly. The bread itself was a wheat baguette-​ish deal and the pork belly was pretty okay. The bread was toasted and crunchy so made it alright. It came with pickled daikons and carrots. It tasted almost like a banh mi and made me want to actually have a banh mi…
now the SOs udon. the chicken was heavily peppered and i am guessing the same chicken used for their chicken paris sandwich. the noodles itself were overcooked and fat from soaking up too much broth.
Look. the space of 19 café, the way its decorated. the attention to each detail. is a work of love. i appreciate that. the shot of espresso pulled was a good shot. the food however was not what i wanted.
why 4-​stars? because the place is the closest ‘good’ coffee spot we have and needs to stay open. you can tell the owner really tries very hard and that deserves some support. however, please tighten up those dishes as im sure you can provide a better meal.

The broth of ramen is a fine art, and this place has nailed it! Recently opened, the personal touch is there, as is the quality. I had beef ramen which was made a bit spicy and laden with veggies at my request. It was the perfect afternoon meal on a cold day, and the owner was excellent company. The coffee is really good as well. All around delicious.
Cash only!

You can tell that 19 Café is a personal project. From the design magazines that have been carefully placed at the communal tables to the electric mix of Japanese, Chinese and Korean art on the walls, everything was clearly done with care. I imagine the owner obsessing about the light fixtures for days, picking out the perfect filament to match the overall aesthetic.
The location is ambitious, on a block of Manhattan that faces a public housing project. Don Pedro has been a successful club here, but otherwise it’s still mostly storefront churches and residential buildings. There’s much less foot traffic than on Graham Avenue, and this is still three blocks from the J at Lorimer.
Even tougher is that one of the few businesses in the immediate area is ANOTHER Japanese coffee shop, the Brooklyn Ball Factory. While they may seem superficially similar, while the Ball Factory seems designed to be featured in a design catalog or perhaps a Madlibs for creating a certain kind of cosmopolitan blog post (enjoy meatball sandwich bento boxes on brushed metal stools), 19 Café seems more earnest and less outwardly self-​conscious.
I’m no coffee drinker, but the tea — from Germany and a series of custom blends — was clearly chosen for taste rather than popularity. The food has the same vibe and a focus what can be executed well in the space. Things are nominally Japanese and unafraid of including some classics in with the experiments.
The gyoza was lightly fried and then exquisitely plated with a splatter painting of sriacha and a crown of vinegar. A Peking duck bun came with expertly fine slices of scallion and a generous portion of crispy meat inside. These were in total $ 9, a very fair price considering the quality and that cafés generally traffic in stale, tasteless hunks of starch.
I’m now looking to the future. First there are the stranger parts of the menu to try — kimchi fries, something called a ‘pairs sandwich,’ a series of all-​day toasts that appear to be a Japanese take on smørrebrød — and the owner’s promise of a more ambitious menu to come. This place unfortunately closes at 7 pm on weeknights, which means that I’m going to be forced to keep these explorations to the weekends. Expand hours if possible!