I was excited to come back here, after having their blueberry iced tea (not sure what the name was, but it was purplish), and see how they have renovated. After checking out the reviews, and seeing how delicious the french toast looked I was sold on going back here. After all, I haven't had a bad experience coming here. Boy was I wrong.
When I entered the cafe, I was happy to see how wide it became and more spacious, compared to the cramped space they had before they renovated. They even sold merchandise advertising their company and location. I should have realized then and there with the merchandise that the place had became sort of a chain/ franchise (they have another location in Brooklyn). I also saw how much they changed their menu, with not many of the unique drinks found on the menu anymore, like their berry iced tea (which I loved).
I was excited about getting their french toast, and since they had a matcha latte (being a matcha addict that I am), I decided to try it. When I came up to the counter, the cashier was very friendly and she had an accent: sort of like Australian maybe? I proudly ordered a french toast and the minute the cashier was about to put it my order, the owner whispers into her ear "tell her we ran out of french toast," like seriously he could have just told me that straight up because he was standing right there, and I did hear what he whispered. Because there was $10 card minimum, I told the cashier, that I would come back because I had not think of a back up order. In the end, I told my brother to order me the matcha latte with ice (because it was terribly humid outside). He also ordered a bagel with lox and cream cheese toasted, and an iced coffee with soy milk.
When I received my matcha latte with ice and I took a sip, it was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted. It made me second guess my love for matcha lattes. It basically just tasted like whole milk with a hint of earthy, dirt taste. It was obvious that they simply put cold milk with matcha powder and mixed it. No matter how much raw sugar and honey I put into my latte, the taste of the whole milk overpowered the sweetness. Normally, in a matcha latte I put in 1 packet (2 packets max) of raw sugar, but I had to put at least 4 packets and a lot of honey to eventually mask the taste of the horror.
I took a bite of my brother's lox and cream cheese bagel toasted, and it was pretty good. Toasting the lox and cream cheese after it was put in the bagel, blended in the flavors. However, there a little bit of too much cream cheese in the bagel that overpowered the taste of the lox.
Food: lox and cream cheese on bagel was okay
Drink: matcha latte with ice was horrible (you only taste whole milk and the earthy aftertaste of the matcha); it was obvious they didn't bother to heat up the milk because I had asked for the drink with ice
Appearance: spacious, very yellow and commercialized with their merchandise advertising. There was like a lady sitting on the corner of the cafe asking people if they are interested in buying their merchandise
Service: friendly customer service (the cashier I had), the owner seem to only care about the business (not even acknowledging/interacting with people unless they work for him)
Price: a bit pricey for the beverage (especially the matcha latte, was not worth it), I would guess the lox bagel was worth it since they put an excess of cream cheese. The price of the french toast looked a little bit too pricey (but then again I couldn't experience the taste since they ran out)
Being that I live near Jackson Heights, I thought I would be proud to have a nearby cafe that is not a big chain like Starbucks, but this place honestly disappointed me. There was no homey feeling that I had experienced in other cafes I been to, nor was there any uniqueness to the place. As for the near future, I doubt I would come back here anytime soon. read more