Walking around Brooklyn on a Thursday morning, I was passing by on my way to the Brooklyn Bridge when I came across Arabica Coffee with a group of friends. Opting to order a few coffees, I decided to join in and check out what Arabica had to offer. Looking at the menu, most of the items were coffees except for a few items shown on the side. With little options for other items, I decided to order a Still 12oz Lemonade ($5.25) and a Blueberry Cheese Danish ($5) to go with it.
The coffee shop was the size of your typical place. But what really made this place standout were the large crescent windows facing the Brooklyn Bridge. Not only this, but the majority of the seats in the coffee shop were on the perimeter of the place which really encouraged those enjoying their drinks to look outside.
After about 5 minutes of waiting, my food and drink were ready and the barista instructed me to give the lemonade a stir. Sitting down inside, I noticed that the cup of lemonade was noticeably small. Perhaps this was just the typical size of a 12 ounce cup. But looking inside, the amount of ice inside did detract a tad from the amount of lemonade inside. Based on the merit of size alone, I would probably order another drink the next time I come by. As for the Danish, the pastry was on the smaller side too. But fortunately, there were a few blueberries on top and a decent surface area of cheese which was appreciated. At five dollars for the Danish, the size was a little small. And from my eyes, the price to portion ratio just wasn't there.
From a flavor perspective, the items I had were all pretty standard. Upon tasting the lemonade at first, the mixture tasted like water with a hint of lemon in it. And after mixing in the drink, the lemonade tasted similar to that of a Simply Lemonade with a tad less sugar. It was definitely refreshing for a early morning, but it isn't something that I would rush to a coffee shop for. As for the Danish, I liked how the edges of the pastry were crisp, how the cheese in the middle had a subtle sweetness to it, and how the blueberries seemed fresh. But from this, it wasn't anything particularly above average.
Arabica definitely has the ambiance for a hip coffee shop, taking on what seemed to be an industrial setting in the Brooklyn area. But from the lemonade and Danish I was able to try, I'd suggest sticking with their coffee. Especially since the menu is mostly made up of coffee and other caffeinated drinks, I would imagine this is their specialty. For what it's worth, the items I had weren't bad by any means. Rather, there are other places where there is more bang for the buck! Perhaps this could have been an off-day, which is why you should come out and give Arabica a try! read more