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Category: Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhood: Greenwich VillageW 4th St (A, C, E, B, D, F, V)
Christopher St (1)
9th Street (PATH)
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I came up to New York City for Couch Crash (a big couchsurfing event for those in the know). After spending what was a long night for a non-New Yorker at a bar listening to bands, my boyfriend and I started wandering around the streets to find a spot to eat close to a subway line. We stumbled upon Caffe Reggio by accident and meandered inside with the lure of food at 2am. I'm glad we found this spot!
I wound up having the avocado and swiss panini and it was very close to what I picked up while studying in Italy. The bread was toasted but not burnt, the cheese melted but not too gooey, and the avocado was fresh. All the ingredients were fresh, actually! We split a hot chocolate that was also very good, though I imagine it's difficult to really mess up hot chocolate unless you're intending to do so.
It was definitely a great find. I'll be heading back to New York City this fall and have every intention on finding this place again. Cash only doesn't bother me - what's a little visit to the ATM if it's for some awesome paninis?
Get the profitterol. A great, not-too-sweet chocolate mousse around a pastry with whipped cream!
Hot chocolate this time... not so good. Too watery, no taste. =(
Decent tea & coffee place. Claims to have been open since 1927, and has a very old large cappuchino… Read more »
They've raised their prices. The food and service has also gone downhill. Extremely long wait to receive a tiny piece of toast with packaged deli ham and poached egg that should never cost $8. And a $4 coffee...? Then when you try to get your bill it's like everyone has gone on break.
One of the charms of this place was that it was ancient old New York with prices that matched. Now I'd rather grab a real cup at Third Rail or a bagel at Bagels on the Square than get frustrated so early in the morning with Reggio.
I am one lucky gal. The wonderfully old school Caffe Reggio is just steps from my door which means I… Read more »
The ambiance really sells this place. There are too many generic coffee places in the area and most of them are insanely crowded with people planted for hours with their laptops and NYU homework. Cafe Reggio is NOT the place for you if you want to spend an hour or more on your computer (do they even have outlets in the cafe?). If you want to hang out with a friend over coffee or pastries, this is a great spot. The cafe has a full menu but I can only recommend the breads and pastries with coffee. The salads are wilted, the soup is tasteless, and the salads salty. I'm still a fan of the place and I like that I can always get a table even at peak hours, its just that I know to stick with a croissant and coffee and go to one of the 50 other nearby restaurants if I want "real" food.
I was here yesterday for lunch with a minister. He suggested the place as I had never been. Usually not one for EATING a sit down meal in the Greenwich Village area. IO ordered the Capri salad (mozzarella, basil, & tomato). Everything tasted fresh but the tomatoes were not that ripe. The service was good which surprised me a little given the intimacy and fullness of the place at lunchtime. I think the prices were reasonable given the menu items. The coffee was good too. I would come here again.
First of all, Caffe Reggio's space is the main experience. You will pay Village prices for your coffees, pastries and sandwiches, but it will be worth it all if you are sensitive to atmosphere, and enjoy soaking it up. This place hasn't changed in over 35 years, thank you very much. In 1970, I was taken there by someone with whom I was madly in love. He was unforgettable, so is Caffe Reggio, and I am eternally grateful to him for having led me there. Very romantic spot; thanks for the memories....
I loved this place. It's cramped and crowded, a little loud and filled with pretentious NYU philosophy majors, but it's worth going to for a sandwich, a dessert, or even a cup of coffee or tea. The prices are moderate and it's got a very European feel to it. I love the teeny tiny little bathroom.
The thing you need to realise about Caffe Reggio is that, actually, this is the greatest place in the world. Literally.
It's small, there's no space, you knock over the waitress every time you open the toilet door, there's pretentious writers sitting in the corner, sometimes the staff ignore you for a bit too long-- but somehow, for some reason, it is always completely forgiven. Why? I told you, because Caffe Reggio is the greatest place in the world.
Some places just have an atmosphere. They just have that thing. That thing that makes you go there. That thing that you are drawn to that reminds you of who you are. That place that makes you feel right. Hmm, maybe I should be talking about a Church, but I'm talking about this Caffe.
If you are in NY, go there now. If you are not in NY, go there now. Seriously, it's the place to be. Not in any cool, hip way. Just because - truthfully, heartily, honestly, it's just a small piece of wonderment in a world that is often curiously lacking.
They don't have regular brewed coffee, only Americano, which kind of reminds me of Australia. Also, this place reeks of Jack Kerouac. Actually, I don't know. In this city, if it looks the part, I'll believe you if you told me that Gandhi had eaten here.
Great little coffee shop with good pastries and food. Very interesting interior. Fun to hit when I'm in th area.
Life's been a bit of an adventure for me, bopping around subletting and freelancing and catching up on fun that I missed out on in college and beyond.
Sometimes the whole journey gets really overwhelming and I just wish there was a constant. People often speak of "their place" in New York, like their favorite part of the park or their favorite bar...
Cafe Reggio is my constant.
Not just because they have the most amazing hazlenut cappucinos, but because it feels like home away from home, and you need that in this city.
From my reviews, you may be able to notice that whenever I go someplace with Nic B I ALWAYS wait for her to review...and then I review it even better. OR not. You guys can be the judge.
Caffe Reg will always hold a special place in my heart (much like the Guggenheim), simply because it was my first brunch date with Nic B. More like "early-morning coffee and omelet with severe hang-over date."
We must've spent like 2 hours in this joint (no snoody questions asked by the servers)- eating, laughing, sipping, EATING, LAUGHING and sipping. We tend to do this a lot. God bless yelp for introducing us to each other and this lifestyle. If only we had rich boyfriends to finance our consistently extravagant friend-dates? Se la Vie.
I am particularly fond of the kitchy feel. LOVE the Renaissance artwork that adorns the walls and the ceilings. It's almost like eating/drinking in the Uffizi in Florence. Oh Italy...
I wish our friend didn't have to end, but of course I was beckoned to my group project meeting at Kimmel, right down the street. And just like that, our fairy-tale brunch date had to end and I ran my depressed ass to NYU.
Until we meet again, Cafe Reg, until we meet again...
Yes yes, to be a bit run down and have European paintings on the walls and little nooks in the walls is charming. And maybe, to some people a compulsory one-order-per-person and cash-only-please is also charming (Not me).
:)
To be fair, the cappucino is pretty good - and I'm not even a coffee fan. The hot chocolate with whipped cream is great if you like a little bit of chocolate and a lot of cream (I do).
The food is awful, the coffee good, the ambiance, run down & comfortable. Toilet is a tucked in water closet in the coffee drinking hall. Service is rude (except the Mexican staff who slave away).
But I love the place, in this day of CrapBucks coffee, finding a gem like this is rare.
Like I always say, I basically review places based on their aesthetic unless the food really, really stands out or sucks. Reggio is a coffee spot. I can sit in here and talk about Trotsky for hours, and have. Really nice interior, mostly NYU graduate students (such as myself) hanging out.
I got really sick last time I went there. The reason, which is good for you, is that high quality coffee really messes me up. The espresso was super fine and I paid the price. I highly recommend this place. Mostly as a spot to hang out but if you like coffee and coffee derivatives this is your place.
Well, this place isn't Starbucks, and for that alone, it deserves some credit. And yes, it does have that old-world, Euro-style charm. Unfortunately, that also means old-world, Euro-style service: slow and alternating between borderline rude and no service at all.
Came here on a cold afternoon, and the only tables available were the four closest to the drafty door, which people kept on propping open while sticking their heads in to see if they could get a seat. No one offered to seat us or even said hello, even though the wait staff clearly saw us there (they kept on making a big show of maneuvering around us, even though we made sure to stand to the side).
Finally, we sat ourselves as a table further in cleared out. There's a huge menu, but prices are kind of spastic and seemed high to me at least ($4 coffee? Yup). They make quite a few savory dishes (omelets, pastas), but no one in sight was ordering them.
Two of us split a whole milk cappuccino with cinnamon on top which was fair, but definitely nothing special. Same with the tiramisu. Total bill was about $12, including tips. Even though it's in the neighborhood, I probably won't come back--it's a bit too crowded and hostile for my tastes.
Tip: Try V-Bar on Sullivan Street for a slightly more modern but equally charming cafe experience (and they also serve alcohol there, if that's your cup of tea).
Some of my finest memories have taken place here, at dear Caffe Reggio. I've been here alone and in the company of great friends, in high and low spirits, and on beautiful and stormy days. And every single time, Caffe Reggio has served up what I didn't know I needed. It has given me the quiet and comfort that I needed on mornings spent alone, mulling over whatever is burdening my mind and gazing at the Caravaggio and other Renaissance paintings that adorn their walls. It has provided the entertainment that my friends and I needed while sitting outside at one of their small, rickety tables on a warm summer night, watching couples, friends, and in-betweens pass by in a flurry of anticipation and excitement at what that Saturday night might bring. It has momentarily satisfied my insatiable desire for a good cup of tea and a sweet while watching the goings-on of MacDougal Street. My point is that you can't go wrong with Caffe Reggio.
I have tried an array of dishes from Caffe Reggio's menu, and I can't complain about any of them. Their chai latte is always served piping hot in one of those fancy European glass mugs, and is constantly creamy and delicious. Their croissant, served with a side of preserves, is served warm, and the consistency isn't too doughy or flaky -- they have achieved a perfect balance between the two. Their paninis are filling, tasty, and fresh. While all of the items on their menu may not pass the high standards of some New Yorkers, they have made me one happy girl, time after time.
This is a great place to go to grab a cappuccino and just unwind for a bit on a weekday or late at night (too crowded on weekends). I've never had anything here except for the cappuccino, so I honestly have no idea what the food's like, but the cappuccino is fantastic. I LOVE the fact that I really do feel like I've escaped the intensity of the city when I walk through the doors. It's like a whole 'nother world here.
This place really does have a European feel to it, complete with slow service (additionally, this place is seat-yourself). Frankly, this doesn't bother me one bit, as I generally don't like to be "pestered" while I'm enjoying my drink and/or conversation. The servers will generally find their way to you if you make eye contact with them, which is just fine by me.
This is a great place to come after you've had a nice dinner in the village and a great place to bring friends who are visiting.
spent many high school nights here. another place where the food tastes like a photocopy of the original, but with either too much sugar or too little. still cute and necessary, though.
So the place I'm actually staying/sleeping at while I'm here in New York is across the street. I was told to give Caffe Reggio a try and I'm so thankful I did...
This place is pretty much amazing. Pretty in an old ugly historic way, if you look up, (because not enough people do) the ceiling is actually caving in, so awesome, you know this place has been here for awhile. If I remember correctly, since 1927. You have no reason to be grossed out by the dusty appearance... it's old!
I have had two things from here, the Hazelnut Cappuccino and the French Toast. The Hazelnut Cappuccino was perfectly prepared and not too sweet. I didn't have the jitters after drinking it and I thought it was a great way to start the day. The French Toast was pretty good too, it wasn't huge or mindblowing, but dude, 5 bucks. It gave me the nourishment I needed to get out of the neighborhood and do some exploring. I walked out of there spending about 11 bucks including tip.
Since I got here I have been a couple more times, and every time they have been really nice, so their service has been pretty consistent. I dig it, and I think you might dig it too.
I absolutely love this spot. It's a sweet little European-style cafe with delicious coffee and a large menu as well. It is rare to find a quality restaurant in this city with cheap prices, but Caffe Reggio manages to pull it off. I love the interior design at this place with dark paintings, the tiled ceiling, and chrome espresso maker. You feel like you are in another era or country. It's a little cramped, but I don't mind that. The place has been around since 1927. My father has told me he used to frequent the cafe years ago.
There are a lot of people who come here alone and quietly reading a book while sipping a cappuccino. I have yet to do that, but it seems nice. In a pulsating city like NY, it's nice to have a place to escape, and Caffe Reggio is definitely one of those places.
Many people have already talked about this place's beautiful space, great people watching, AMAZING coffee and tasty desserts. But did you know it was also featured in Shaft (the original, duh)? It's true!
So if you want to sip espresso in the very seat once occupied by that black private dick who's a sex machine to all the chicks...swing by Macdougal. I think it's safe to say that if it was good enough for Shaft, it's good enough for the rest of us.
I made the mistake of having a double macchiato here. I usually drink a fair amount of espresso every day, so I thought a double at my low afternoon point would be about right.
Whoa. That sucka was STRONG. My friend had an espresso. We both agreed after a short time that we were having out of body experiences. Fortunately we both had ordered food as well. Our pasta dishes and dessert were yummy.
We floated out of the cafe and away into the city happy.
Good location, cool atmosphere, HORRIBLE coffee, incompetent service.
I live 3blocks away from the cafe. When it comes to deco,this cafe is the best!!!
Very! V.E.R.Y~ VINTAGE which I love the most!
I saw Mary kate at this cafe one time. She looks better on the magazines,though.
this place has my heart.
i love the ambiance, the paintings on the wall, the small tables and iron chairs, the dark walls- i absolutely adore it. i think someone could serve me dirt here and i would still love it just because of the setting. they don't serve dirt though, they serve some delicious food at dirt cheap prices. mmm, the eggs benedict here are my fave!
i want to move up to new york just to frequent this place every day.
i heart you caffe reggio. i always will.
I have been on a mission to find a local coffee shop in Manhattan and to my surprise, it has been a tough journey! Why is there a starbucks on every corner?!?!
Caffe Reggio has saved me from my misery. It's on the other side of town from me, but it doesn't stop me from coming by almost every day and ordering myself an ICED HAZELNUT CAPPUCCINO and enjoying their outside patio while reading a good book.
Although my search for the perfect coffee shop is not over, this place is definitely on the top of my list at the moment. Their food is simple and good. I prefer their salads, their bruschetta, and breakfast items (corn flakes w/ fruits and an english muffin is my usual) over their sandwiches (paninis).
The employees on certain days are douches in my opinion. I've noticed that the staff during the weekdays, morning-afternoon are wonderful. I'm not fond of the weekend crew.
Prices are moderate. My hazelnut cappucinno is $4.75 as compared to the $3.90 caramel machiatto I order from starbucks, but well worth the extra change in my opinion.
4 stars only because the coffee was good. Hard to find a good espresso or cappucino anywhere but they did it right. Croissant w/nutella was total crap though and the place is kinda rundown looking but there is a few outdoors seats, which is a plus if you can get them. It was HOT inside, so much so that we ended up moving to this little table that's basically in the doorway, which made it kind of annoying as people were coming in and out constantly.
I'm from Seattle, so it's hard for me to enjoy coffee from other places. I had a caffe mocha and while it wasn't disgusting, I had to add plenty of sugar to make it taste remotely consumable. I enjoyed the ambiance of this hole in the wall cafe, however the opera music can get really irritating after too long.
I ducked into this cafe, hoping to find a reprieve with Internets and good coffee. I found the latter, but the former proved elusive. The service is nice, but the ambiance is a bit of a mess. There are too many tables crammed into a reasonably sized spot, but the arrangement of the tables and use of space makes everything uncomfortable and jumbled.
There is no WiFi and only 1 or 2 outlets in the entire place, making it less than ideal if you have work to be done on a computer. The crowd is a mix of neighbourhoodies, NYU students, and tourists.
All in all, it's not really the ideal place for anything, but good enough. Open till 2:00am for ...?
Dim, cozy, Old World style cafe serving all sorts of hot, foamy drinks and a pretty staggeringly wide array of pastas, sandwiches, soups, salads, etc.
I can't speak to the food, as I only had a piece of carrot cake (frankly, just okay) and a hot chocolate (wonderful - European style, not at all sweet, lovely foamy goodness).
The place not only has been around forever, it looks like its been around forever; everything is crooked and weathered (but in a charming way, not a gross way) and the walls are covered with old paintings and hangings. I was meeting a colleague for a quick coffee and it was a good setting for that. I'm not sure how it would be as a place to do work since its a bit dark....
Nice spot, though.
Since moving to NYC from Seattle, I've been on a quest to find a decent cappuccino. So far this is the only place in NYC I have tried yet that could be called good. For some reason the quality of a cappuccino is inversely proportional to how much it costs, and this place is no exception, a very reasonable $2.50.
The atmosphere is fantastic too, unfortunately everybody else seems to think so too and it was packed in there.
Caffe Reggio is a must visit. My friend Paula brought me here in 1992 and it changed my life. I would go there when I still lived in NJ, when I was in college and dream of the day I could just hop on the subway and go there.
I felt so betrayed when reggio made an appearance in 1996's The Pallbearer (remember THAT movie?!) Like Gwenyth Paltrow can invade me turf? No way!!
Fuck Starbucks. Fuck to go cups. This is how coffee is really supposed to be.
The food here is pretty tasty nothing special.
The service has kind of gone downhill. This was my first visit since 2004 and there were some young gals working-they did an okay job but I miss the old staff.
Macdougal street is still people watching at its best.
The toilet-smaller than that on an airplane is kind of scary.
The day will come when some asshole landlord raises the rent and reggio goes bye-bye so visit here now!!
If you think the coffeehouse was invented in seattle, and is slick and corporate and part of a chain get your ass into reggio's and experience the real deal.
You will never go back to that other place.
reggio's is 80 years old, i've been going there since the mid-70's and in that time they haven't really changed a thing excepted expanded the menu. but not at teh expense of the feeling of the place
this is the place that taught me what a coffee house was supposed to be.
great espressos and all the related coffees, italian soft drinks pignoli cookies and italian desserts.
damn now i ned a fix,
Breakdown of my 4 stars:
+1 star for that charm all cramped & dimly lit European cafes tend to ooze out, despite the freaky Nefertiti bust on the wall.
+1 star for the pretty good coffee.
-1 star for the small portions :(
+1 star for the coat hooks!!
+ 2 stars for the AMAZING dessert.
If only I didn't live so far away. I might drift into Reggio everyday for apple crumble otherwise. *sighhhhhh*
i liked the whole renaissance vibe. having just gotten back from a week in italy, i was hoping to find a place that actually had real italian croissants (brioches), but the one i tried was kinda stale and not sweet.
i also tried the prosciutto/mozz panini as well as the eggplant panini. both were decent. if i drank coffee i would have tried it, but was told it's pretty good here.
but they really need to update the menu on their website as it's missing some sandwich items from the menu i saw and the actual menu is at least a dollar more per item than the one online (must be the good old economy...)
The atmosphere is great, just like in films. The cheap pastas are surprisingly good as well. Not a big fan of their coffee, though.
The light is dark so its good if that is the mood. I went there twice but I found many tourists acutally come here. That maybe fun, but made a little uncomfortable to just sit around and read.
I simply love coffee. I can't go one day without it. Coffee is for sure my addiction.
I already had the pleasure to taste lots of kinds of coffee.
I already had the good, the bad and the ugly.
All can I say is: this place was way to under my expectations.
Coffee was just okay. Nothing WOW! to rave about.
I've had better.
I am not saying this because I am a Starbucks lover (in fact I am not).
I think I enjoyed the decor and the antique coffee machines better.Period.
This place is extremely cute and has the teensiest bathroom I've ever seen; murder on my hips, I tell you.
The first time I came in here it was to bring my brother and sister for a light Italian dessert, as I had heard a great deal about how affordable this place is and besides, we're half italiano.
My sister had a fizzy milkshake with Italian coffee soda thrown in the mix, which she loved. My brother went with his mainstay, the tartufo, which he dug his spoon into with great excitement.
I on the other hand, wasn't entirely sure what I wanted as I sat on my sparse chair at the green table; very European, of course. I finally settled on an almond pignoli tart the size of my palf. It was round and as cute as a button with a warm and soft filling reminiscent of marzipan; the pine nuts, which I for some reason associate with savory foods, added a nice touch.
On a second occasion I came here for a sandwich with a friend, and though I can't remember what he ordered, I really liked my mozarella, tomato, and pesto sandwich; the pesto reminded me exactly of my father's, bringing in a flood of memories considering it's my favorite sauce.
One thing I would warn against is the service, which tends to remind me of a bunch of women knowing they're to die tomorrow, and are grumpy and lazy about it. If you can withstand this, the experience will turn out well in the end.
Yes this cafe was in that Scarlett Johansson movie, and yes this spot is a tourist favorite, but do not be alarmed! This is a very cute cafe on MacDougal. Been going here since the old college days, and despite its ever-growing popularity among the Village tourists, the cafe still retains its basic allure-- a charming, old world-style Italian cafe & bistro.
On a nice sunny day, try to grab a much-coveted spot on the sidewalk (one of the few actual, if not the only side-walk cafe on this block). Warning: The tables are tiny and can get pretty cramped, so I don't recommend for large groups, but great if you're solo or with a companion :)
I love lunching it here while engrossed in a good book. I recommend any of the panini, as well as, their selection of tea (I like the Lapsang Suchong or "smoky tea") and of course, the coffee (I usually get my favorite, the Viennese coffee, which is good here altho for really amazing Viennese go next door to La Lanterna ;)).
Also good for people watching (if you find NYU students/faculty, tourists, and yea, the occasional locals fascinating ;P). Good day-time date spot or for after-dinner coffee & desserts.
WiFi and 10% Student Discount!
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