Ele

Visited this place yesterday and it was boarded up! Not sure if they closed for good or just temporarily.

We came to this place as a party of 5. The place was already filled, so getting a table for us 5 took a while. We weren’t in a rush since we just had a big dinner. We finally got a table 30 minutes into waiting.
We all ordered a drink. I picked the green tea milk shake. We also ordered two pastries to share. I liked my drink although it was a little sweet. What I liked about this place was that they didn’t force us to leave after simply finishing our drink/​dessert. We stayed there for 2 hours simply chatting and laughing away. I think it’s important for a bakery to give off the feeling that people can enter and relax. This place did its job of providing such place to customers. The only downfall is that the wait can be long for a bigger party.

I usually go later in the evening hoping for a less crowded time. I find myself going a lot during the winter months because I enjoy their hot chocolate. It’s rich and they are generous with the serving. If you want to have something sweet and just hang for a while in a café talking to a friend, come here.

My friend and I brought our kids here who were craving ice cream. Luckily they offered some. We wanted hot chocolate and I was like, LOOK how cute they decorate them! With little bear faces! But then we got them… no little bear faces. That is the most ridiculous thing when my heart was broken over not being able to drink a fluffy adorable animal face, but it was… Anyway, the guys working seemed a little annoyed with us because they were closing in an hour and we came to just have dessert and drinks. The hot chocolate was okay. The girls loved their ice creams. Probably won’t go back, but it was a nice stop for a break from walking.

I wudve given this place 3 stars based on drinks alone, but i didn’t like their customer service.
Customer service: blahh. I asked for the girls opinion about the advertised Nutella latte. She looked at me as if I were stupid. I didn’t think it was a very difficult question… attitude much.
whatever, I was cold, I ordered it anyways. Despite the poor service, I enjoyed my drink. It was pretty good.
Price: standard prices. However she kept asking me if I wanted to stay or go. I think she wanted to charge me extra if I were to stay. Afterwards my bf asked about the wifi. He simply wanted to know if they had any. She immediately responded with a «we have a policy, you can only have the wifi password if you get your drink to stay» No durrr, why wud we want your wifi password if we’re leaving. She wanted to charge us extra if we wanted to sit and use their wifi… haha yeah right missy… buhh bye, see you never!
I’ll just take my business elsewhere from now on.

Expensive place to check out. Awkward service. Coffee was $ 3.99 or $ 4.99 – something ridiculous like that. It wasn’t specified that we were not going to get the happy hour rate. Danish was okay, I got a cheese danish. Not super memorable. I’m sure there are other better coffee shops in the area. They weren’t super helpful and didn’t refill water, coffee, etc.

stopped by here one night with my boyfriend because i wanted a late night latte. ele is easy to miss because it’s kindof elevated and the store sign isn’t easy to find. but, it seemed like a cute place when we walked in so we decided to give it a try.
the small bakery display is cute. they also had blue velvet cupcakes, which i’ve never seen before so naturally i stared at them for a while, but then i reminded myself it’s just food coloring so really nothing special. while we were trying to decide what to order, the two guys at the register kept wanting to seat us even though we repeatedly declined. my boyfriend said they looked shady, and their service didn’t measure up. nevertheless, i ordered an iced vanilla latte with no ice, to which the guy told me bluntly that «it cannot be done.» i was super confused because i always ask for no ice with my iced drinks, and never have i ever been refused. after some back and forth bickering, i said it was okay for him to add a few ice cubes and left it at that.
overall, not a very pleasant experience at this café, which was disappointing because i’ve seen a ton of their matcha latte art and would like to try, but after this experience i’m not sure if i’ll be back.

Just popped in to warm my hands and maybe grab some coffee. We weren’t greeted by anyone until going to the counter where three employees stood and starting at them awkwardly. We were seated, served coffee during «happy hour», and just slightly cold croissants. When the check came, we saw our coffees did not have the happy hour rate because we sat down to drink it. No one told us this and when asked, they gave us looks of complete astonishment and disbelief at our stupidity. Needless to say, I won’t be returning.

Mein Lieblingsbäcker in NewYork. Midtown perfekt am Broadway und near Macy’s Der beste NewYork Cheesecake und Black Forrest ever.

I was at ktown with my friend and I did not didn’t want to go to Grace street because I went there couple of times and I wanted to try something different, so we walked into Café Ele.
i saw many cute matcha latte art pictures so I ordered a matcha latte. What I got was just plain with no art. The matcha powder also had a very strong taste. I was so shocked at the fact that I paid $ 6.75 for this.
It took forever for the worker to come again because the worker was with her friends.
When I complained, all they did was put whipped cream on top.
Not really worth my money. Maybe next time I will get my art?

I needed a breather from the office and wanted to get some last minute work done on a Friday afternoon. I walked into the first café I saw. Ele has a small storefront, located next to the Stanford Hotel (they actually share a bathroom with them), but lots of seating.
I wanted something simple, just a milk tea with tapioca which came out to $ 4. I pulled out my credit card to pay and the cashier informed me that there was a $ 10 minimum and gave me the «buy some more stuff look.» Funny — there were no signs or anything but whatever I told her I would be right back and went to Chase around the corner. I came back and placed my order, they made it relatively quick which was expected since it was pretty empty.
A note about their bubble tea, it was meh. I ordered the plain milk tea bubble tea. It has a very distinct spicy almost gingery tone to it. Not what I ordered. Anyway, I grabbed my drink and proceed to take a seat. There were exactly two other groups of people sitting and chatting. As soon as I pulled out my laptop the cashier came over to inform me that they had a «table fee» and that if I wanted to sit in their café the cost of my bubble tea would be $ 5.99 PLUS tax and tip. WHAT THE F?!? You’ve got to be absolutely kidding me, I proceeded to pack my things and leave.
This is just plain robbery. I can go sit in Starbucks for free. Unless you want to be nickel and dimed STAY AWAY!!!

Green tea latte was good. Not overly sweet, med-​strength matcha flavor. The was nothing exceptional about it but my friend and i ordered a drink reach and sat there for about two hours. They didn’t harass is and were nice. Also, the bathroom is attached to the hotel stanford’s lobby.
I’ve purchased some baked goods from here and thought they weren’t great; especially with the selection in the block. What merits this place a 3 star is the latte and the fact that they leave you alone.

Came here with my friend. We shared the green tea pattbingsoo and it was pretty good. Wasn’t pricey at all and it was pretty big for the price.
This place has wifi and the workers were really nice.

came here a couple of times and I wouldn’t recommend this place. I had their shaved ice ($ 15 including tip) first time I was there. It came in a huge cup, they stuffed it well but it wan’t great. I came back another time for their green tea latte and my friends got coffee and we were all pretty disappointed with our drinks. We also got a cheesecake and it was one of the worse cheesecakes I’ve ever had. Everything is a bit over priced and selection was somewhat limited because they were out on some supplies. They don’t actually have everything on the menu.

The first time I visited Café Ele was in the summer of 2012, and the bingsoo was so on point that I made it my frequent dessert stop in KTown. Over the last two years, however, many other places have opened up on Korea Way that offer delicious bingsoo and a comfortable café experience at a much more reasonable price point (e.g. Tous Les Jours and Grace Street). Unfortunately, I feel like Ele has not upped its game to stay competitive. The drinks here are overpriced and the bingsoo, while still decent, simply does not stand in comparison to the competition.
The space is small and quiet so it’s fine for groups of two or three, but larger groups are a little more difficult to accommodate.
No major complaints on the service. One time we found a hair in our bingsoo and when we sent it back, the waitress was duly apologetic and super professional about it! Definitely appreciated her courteous attitude, as sometimes wait staff can be really rude about food getting sent back.

Overpriced, hard to find place. They share the same address as a restaurant next to them. Wth?
I forgot what I ordered as a drink, came here 3 months ago. It was a latte perhaps but really average. Greentea bing soo was also a little pricey, but I did enjoy it because they gave variety of toppings.

Too expensive. Their cups and designs are cute and all but it’s too expensive. Even herbal infusions are $ 4 or more. The most basic coffee is like $ 5. Then there’s table service so I guess you’re supposed to tip. I don’t get it.
$ 10 card minimum.
They do have a few cool traditional Asian and specifically Korean hot drinks. Free wifi is a plus.

I have tried their dessert menu or drinks several times often because the competing coffee shops were packed and also when I hung out with friends who don’t want to be in a crowded place. Still this place has been there forever so I will give credit to them.
I think the servers are mostly nice. As for the quality of food I don’t think it is really different from other places on 32^nd st. Still it is less crowded so you will have less pressure to have to stand up and leave.

After a disappointing dinner, me and my friend were craving for desserts so we ended up at Ele. Our server seated us at a table that were divided from the glass wall from the security guard desk at the hotel. It was a weird setup and who likes being watched while enjoying one’s dessert or drink. They should put up a curtain or something.
We wanted to try some bing soo (shaved ice) and the server replied that they don’t have it during the winter… bummer! Okay moving on, I asked the server what type of oil are the pastries made from… of course she couldn’t answered it and had another person stepped in. The guy didn’t know as well… apparently Ele doesn’t make the pastries because they get them from another company.
Food allergies are so common now and days so I decided to get something safe that won’t sent me to the hospital! I got the Strawberry icecream and my friend got the Green Tea icecream. Its was good that’s about it.
The tall skinny dude server was very rude to me asking where the bathroom is and getting our check. Slow down… what are you in the hurry for!
Not the best spot to get some desserts so make sure you go elsewhere =)

Only come here for the boba which was amazing, the flavors and the boba itself. I do agree that it is on the pricey side, and they do put a lot of ice, so be forewarned.
The place is clean and is very well kept. I’ve never stayed more than 5mins, since I’ve always taken my drink to-​go and they’re so quick about it.
3 stars and mostly for their great boba. I would give it more if they either lowered the price or put in less ice. Eh, we’ll see if that ever happens though.
FYI: $ 5 credit card minimum — boba is $ 4

I came here for some late night dessert drinks. I had their moccahino and it was actually pretty good! The chocolate drizzle was a nice touch on top of the cappucino foam. The underlying espresso wasn’t bad either. I usually have a lot of problems sleeping after drinking espresso but this drink didn’t wreak too much havoc on my sleep schedule.
They have gigantic Korean shaved ice desserts here. Bring a friend or two and try them because they look really good.