((3.25 stars))
the coffee is just fine. yes, they are a specialty multi-roaster coffee shop, so prices, here, are higher in general than your typical coffee shop. but for all the hype and acclaim for Bazu by Superwow as being a premium Japanese coffee experience--it's just a place for solid coffee options. it's located in the lobby of the NYC HypeBeast office. the interior is limited in size because it is basically a minimalist styled lobby with a coffee bar and some seating--no bathroom. everything is neat, clean, and organized but feels a bit cold / no personality. there's a nice display of the coffee beans and info about each roast on the bar counter, beyond that SuperWow is kinda ho-hum. stopped for coffee here, twice. the first time, the barista had two friends at the bar and were chatting with them. no problem, there, but i had some q's about the coffee etc. since it's a specialty shop. but the replies seemed polite but minimal and kinda impersonal in tone because the barista had friends there. ordered a Americano and it was fine, but would have left with a better impression if the staff here were a little bit more genuine than seemingly being politely bothered bc i ordered a coffee and had some q's which was interrupting their convo with friends. wanted to give this place a second shot, so i so stopped here for a cold brew...figuiring it would be a quick visit on a summer day. ordered. a different barista than my first visit started by cold brew by pouring ice in a cup then stopped making it to engage with another customer with questions who wasn't even ordering yet. 5ish minutes later my cup of ice sat empty and then the barista came back to it to just pour some cold brew from the fridge into the cup of ice. why didn't the barista finish making my drink before taking a bunch of questions from another customer and actually came around the bar to answer them? i don't fucking know. strange and dumb behavior as i already paid and tipped. but some unironically doofus in a Hawaiian shirt had q's and to whom i actually said: "go ahead and order" before i ordered bc i was still deciding and then said doofus replied that he was still deciding, too, but then decided to try an engage in a conversation with the barista after i ordered. self-awareness is really sorta dead lol. anyway long story short--the barista decided to spend time answering the doofus's q's instead of taking ten seconds to complete pouring the cold brew into a cup of ice. 5ish minutes later or so, my cold brew was finally filled to the top and lidded. while i appreciate that they don't skimp on the cold brew. it was filled to the point where it spilled over the coffee bar as soon as opened the cold brew to stir in some sugar. i mopped some of the spill up and then let the barista clean up the rest bc at this point I was annoyed. the cold brew? just fine, nothing special. it ended up being a $7 or $8 (with tip) cold brew to be somewhat annoyed and i left with a better-than-mid drink. also it would have been nice if the barista had topped off the cold brew since some of spilled out bc of my trying to add sugar and it being filled to the tippy-top. *sight* nope that didn't happen. this place relies on a reputation of its other locations which are probably stellar and live up to the "hype." but this place is just up-priced coffee that really isn't premium service. if you read this entire review and still end up here for a coffee, you are likely a fool and a hype-chasing simpleton. lol. anyway this Bazu location is more style over substance--not a surplice since it is ironically in the HypeBeast headquarters. beyond that, the service isn't really genuine or very sensible. welcome to what is plaguing 2026 NYC: the barely-above-averageness takeover. oh well. read more