Cafe Noi Espresso Bar

I never write reviews but I feel extremely passionate about giving this place 5 stars. It is the perfect place to do work (not only is the wifi free, it is fast!) and the staff is just lovely. The selection of food is wonderful and the drinks are well made. I highly suggest this little café to anyone looking for a new place to grab a quick bite, sit down and do some work, or catch up with a friend for lunch.

FREE WIFI! (I was so surprised that free wifi was not a ‘thing’ at many NY cafes)
Cozy little café with great service and good coffee. They also offer all-​day breakfast, lunch, and baked goods. I kept it simple with oatmeal and coffee. Oatmeal was nothing special, but the coffee was good! Extremely friendly service.
They do have quite a few 2-​person tables, but they’re tightly packed together. They also have outlets along the wall!

My absolute favorite morning hangout on the upper west side. In a neighborhood that’s becoming increasingly gentrified, this is a genuine Mom and Pop. Besides the best coffee in the hood (believe me, I’ve tried them all), the food is creative, healthy, and delicious, and the staff couldn’t be nicer and more accommodating. The vibe, an eclectic combination of locals, tourists, millennials on their laptops, my only complaint is that it’s become so popular I have a hard time finding a table at peak hours. But I find if I have my coffee at their bar/​counter and wait awhile, a table always opens up. (Kinda the breakfast version of having cocktails before sitting down to dinner: so civilized!)

Best cappuccino in upper west side no doubt !!!
good atmosphere, blazing speed WiFi and amazing Bureka
I got the buraka Deluxe which is the best I had .
the place is nice and clean and the staff are very friendly
great spot

The coffee was yummy but the real reason I am reviewing is because when I came in I was greeted by the most hilarious welcoming and kind woman. She made me laugh the whole time and asked me what my preferences were regarding coffee and lead me to the right drink. I know people probably want a review for the actual food/​drinks, but she was so awesome and I think that makes the experience worth it. Go in and ask for Rosa, she will give you the true NYC café dining experience (i think that was her name)

Came in at 6.20p.m. because their site says they close at 9p.m. The angry, surly lady at the counter yells out she’s closing in 20 minutes??? Then I order a tea and ask her if the milk is on a counter somewhere. Very rudely tells me «you should tell me when you order so I can give you milk.» Okay I get it. I should have asked for milk but most coffeeshops have milk on a counter by the sugar and stirrers etc. Then she pours so much milk that my $ 3 tea is now basically white. I politely ask her if I can pour some of it out somewhere or if she can do it for me and i get another annoyed angry stare. Honestly, why be in the hospitality/​coffeeshop business if you can only be surly, angry and irritated with paying customers. The place was practically empty with only 2 other people in there so it’s not like she was busy or hassled. Just a really bad attitude. Never coming back here again. Plenty of friendlier coffee shops in the area including a Starbucks, Fika, Mille Feuille, Irving Farm and Coffee bean No wonder this place is so empty. Could use some training in customer service.

I NEVER write reviews, but I felt compelled to after reading the two recent one-​star reviews. I am a new-​ish mom with a full-​time job and my company allows me to work from home a couple days a week so I can be close to my daughter. Working from home can feel pretty isolating, so I was thrilled when I randomly walked into Café Noi one day because I saw a sign outside that said ‘Free Wi-​Fi’. Surprisingly, that is pretty rare in this neighborhood.
I have been going there twice a week (sometimes more) for several months now and am so happy I found this place. The breakfast/​lunch is great (seriously, all the food is so fresh — even the side salad that you get with eggs/​sandwiches), They always have great music playing (a great mix of indie, 80s and classic rock — think Bön Iver, The Cure and Tom Petty), wi-​fi is super strong and I can pretty much sit there all day working. The best part though, is that everyone in there is always SO friendly. The owners are lovely as well and there seem to be a ton of regulars that come in daily.
This is not a Starbucks — it is a small family-​run café. It does get very busy and I’ve seen the owners ask tables of two to consolidate to one table so that they could accommodate more customers. In fact, they’ve done this for me so that I could have space to work and eat. This has absolutely nothing to do with race/​gender/​ethnicity etc. — this is common courtesy. It is so rare to find a place like this that I actually appreciate the fact that they try to maximize space as much as possible.
Again, I never write reviews like this, but I was just so shocked to read these accusations and felt compelled to share my opinion/​experience.

I went to this café to have a productive study day with a friend. The moment I walked in with a friend to sit at a four person table, I was asked from behind the counter how many people I was with. I informed the guy that we had a friend meeting us, making it a total of three people. We ordered our drinks and for some reason kept getting hovered over or watched by the barista, who continued to just be watching our table. It wasn’t even busy, around 11 am, and with plenty of empty tables, he came up to us and said we had been there for an hour and to condense into one table. First of all, if I had not been with a friend I would have taken up a small table to myself, so I didn’t understand why two small tables together, which essentially is the same concept, was such an issue. He said we needed to sit at one table together because we were ruining his business of people wanting a larger table. And actually quantified how long we had been there. My friend said, «well can we move when it gets busier?» And he’s like «look around this is busy.» There were 4 people in the shop. I hate to say this was an issue of racism, but my friend are both Muslims in an Israeli café and I don’t think it was just a coincidence that he picked on us. I will not be back, and have warned friends of the type of environment this was.

So I’m a frequent coffee-​shop study-​er & I’ve never felt so disrespected at a coffee shop as I felt at Noi. From the moment my friend and I walked in, the man working behind the counter gave us odd vibes. For the record, my friend wears a hijab and I am also middle eastern. We knew this place was Israeli, but naively assumed that the coffeeshop was free of politics and prejudices. I like to think the best of people and I know my friend does too so we didn’t think our presence here would be an issue.
Anyway, we sat at their small individual tables and pushed our tables together (so we could be close while studying) and the employee kept moving chairs around and eyeing us the whole time we were there.
It made us a little uncomfortable, but we continued to study since we were waiting for a friend to come join us and study too. Eventually he approaches our table ONLY (there are other people in this café, also using individual tables for themselves) and asks if we could share one of the small individual tables «in case other customers come in… because if they do and they see that our café is full they will just walk out… you’ve already been here for an hour». Also keep in mind this guy is not speaking or acknowledging me at all, he is only speaking to my friend who wears a hijab. Additionally, we had been there for about an hour, was it weird that this guy was keeping track of how long we were there??? Yes. Moving on. She kindly reminded him that we are waiting for a friend to join us, but he continued to stand over us sternly. We were dumfounded. The tables were so small there was no way we both could have even shared a table with two laptops on it. It was unusual because we are grad students and frequently will spend hours at a coffee shop. Normally we will order a few times and the baristas are always very kind to us. I’ve NEVER been asked to move seats or anything of that sort before in a coffeeshop. It is especially weird considering that the employee directed all of his comments at my friend and ONLY approached us and no one else on the shop with this request.
I’m a firm supporter of mom-​and-​pop cafes and coffee shops, but this was just ridiculous. We left because we felt so disrespected to be singled out like that in the entire café. I won’t be back, and have already told others to avoid this place. It’s sad to think that we could have been discriminated against because we are Muslim. I have a some Israeli friends and they were very sad to hear about my experience today. NYC has hundreds of coffee shops with better coffee and friendly people, you’re better off going somewhere else for your espresso needs.

Nice neighborhood ambience and it gets crowded in the morning. For people who want to do a little work while sipping some coffee, Café Noi in the afternoon seems a much better idea.
The food is slightly overrated. The waffle I got was overly sweetened, and the other omelette I tried was greasy. The service was good though. The bathroom is also fine.

Came here after running away from Irving Farm’s prices. Unfortunate for us, this was not much cheaper and fairly poor quality. Espresso tasted burnt and croissant was probably sitting out all day. Cashier was grouchy. Heat was on high despite sunny warm day outside.

I was looking at to have a cup of coffee with one of my favourite friends and wanted to mix it up. Starbucks coffee is a commodity flavor– sort of Donna Ross and I wanted Florence Ballard. I like Joe but I was looking for something different from their deep caramel roast. I Unilocaled and came across Café Noi. Excellent choice. Deep deep coffee flavor in their roast with no hint of being burnt. They make a very mean cappuccino. My friend had a chai tea which was also excellent. You HAVE to try the chocolate chip cookies –amazing and I don’t even like chocolate chip cookies! I took a blondie home for dessert and it beat the pants off Dean and Deluca’s. This is a great local place. RON the barista is charming and goes beyond to help you out. Can’t wait to try the sandwiches which have an Israeli bent…

To be honest, I’m not sure I want to give this place five stars or four stars. I feel that Café Noi is on the better end among all other coffee shops I visited in NYC. Inside was spacious and had many individual seats, which makes me think it must be nice to study, read a book, or spend some alone time here. I was here around 11 am on a Monday and there were only a couple of customers around, so I wonder how crowded it would get in other hours. The coffee is decent, and the barista was very friendly.

I love this café because its a true israeli breakfast. Lots of carb free options. They have a breakfast plate with eggs, avocado, and salad. Ask for the pesto dressing its great. They make bourekas daily: cheese, potato, cheese and olive, mushroom all great. Coffee is good and the staff is always friendly.

Came here because a friend and I needed a place to kill a few hours and do some work. WiFi is strong, owners/​baristas are great and friendly (they gave my friend a free refill on her coffee because it looked like she was having a rough day) and the baked goods are outstanding. Service was fast, entire restaurant was clean, and the music/​overall vibe the place gives off is excellent. When I’m back in the area, I’ll definitely be stopping by again!
(Also, the best dirty chai I’ve had in a while.)

A decent experience along my Java Journey 2015. The space is very small and was super packed on a Sunday morning. Luckily, I grabbed a table for my Macbook, my chai, & my breakfast splurge of choice. And so it was written: the sweet potato waffle jumped off of the menu & grabbed onto my heart.
The baristas were friendly gentlemen, but I will say it took about half an eon for my order to arrive. An entire family received their meal before I got my waffle. Then again, the family was a table full of jerks, so I could sympathize.
When my breakfast finally arrived, I’m pretty sure the «Unchained Melody» played from the kitchen.
The sweet potato waffle alone deserves about 13 stars.
The 4 star rating is the average of my experience.

Super like this sweet friendly spot in the UWS. My eyes popped out of my head when I saw Shakshuka on the menu — highly recommend! Strong wifi, tasty food, and a friendly gal running the place… definitely a winning combo in an area that can risk being pretentious.

Came for a bagel next door and needed coffee. From a coffee focused place. And boy did noi deliver! My cap in a ceramic mug was divine. So rich and creamy. I think I need to carry a mug with me just to have a good cup everywhere I go.
Had my first NY black and white cookie. Not my thing but pretty good. A less grainy snicker doodle covered in a frosting. The chocolate side reminded me of a hostess cupcake frosting.
The women behind the counter were taking care of business but were still friendly and helpful.
The inside has a feel of a chain. Sleek and a bit more colorful than I would expect from a coffee place. But still «hang out» comfortable.

Small hole in the wall kind of coffee place. I haven’t tried the savory food but the snacks are just fine for someone who wants to sit with a friend for a little bit.
Nice and clean and free wifi (which apparently is hard to get in NYC?). If you live on the UWS you should stop by otherwise it’s not really worth the trek if you live elsewhere.

Clean, quiet, plenty of seats, free wifi and a ton of outlets (though you’ll need a longer cord to get to them from lots of seats). It’s not a cozy or plush café, but it is bright and airy. Background music ranges from jazz of the discursive, saxophone variety, to easy listening of the generic variety, to easy listening of the Paul Simon Boy in the Bubble variety.
They have a medium-​sized menu of salads, sandwiches, a soup or two, breakfast foods, smoothies, coffee and tea and a small case of pastries. The pastries are mostly standards – muffin, croissant, rugelach, etc – but they’re all baked here daily and there is one key non-​standard item to be discussed later. As I sat down, a small group were finishing up, a family, and the kid exuberantly said, «that was GREAT!» I looked over. She’d had a salad. Good parenting, or good salad? I’m feeling optimistic: let’s say both. The other lunch food I saw in passing looked fresh and appealingly healthy.
Service is warm and friendly.
I got a plain coffee – I have no vocabulary with which to describe coffee with any meaningful specificity, but, I liked it, it wasn’t too bitter or acidic. I’ve had «better» coffee but only in the sorts of coffee places where the baristas are really really serious and seem capable of both taking apart and rebuilding their coffee machines while also drafting up the machines’ designs in a sketchbook, but… I lost my point. Oh, yeah: the coffee is good.
I also had the Mediterranean salad, a fresh mix of lettuce, onion, cucumber, and mint; a fresh squeezed red grapefruit juice; and a «frozen» mint lemonade, so minty it was green. Thumbs way up to all of it.
But none of this matters, fellow Unilocalers! Here is what matters:
Bourekas.
Specifically, Israeli-​style bourekas. Bourekas are flaky, savory, not-​remotely-​healthy filo pastries with various fillings, the best being cheese (usually a mix of some kind of feta and farmer’s cheese) but also potato, spinach, mushrooms, etc. Bourekas come in lots of shapes and sizes and you’ll find them all over the Levant, and they’re lovely everywhere, but in Israel they’re a street-​food staple and they’re a little different than what you’d get, to my knowledge, in neighboring countries. Not better, not worse, just different. Once upon a time, you couldn’t find Israeli-​style bourekas in NYC. Now they pop up everywhere. Café Noi has a bunch, freshly baked in-​house:
— Cheese and potato come in big sizes
— Cheese, potato, spinach-​mushroom come in mini-​sizes
If you eat them in the café, they’ll be heated for you and come out warm and still nicely dry and flaky (so, they don’t just get thrown in a microwave, which would denature them: microwaves make filo soggy and mushy and altogether flaccid).
I tried the big cheese bourekas and every kind of mini, and they were all lovely. Fair warning: I’d be happy with a really crappy bourek, such is my love of these pastries, but if I correct for this bias I think they’re still good.