Comments on: Quiet places to work and drink in New York

Question: Quiet places to work and drink in New York

godawful — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:44:08 -0800

New Yorkers: where are the best coffee shops, cafes, bars for a spot of work or a quiet read?

Help me get the most out of my me-time, or at least minimize the pain of having to work out of office hours.

Desirables:

Friendly staff
Decent regulars
Not too cramped
Laptop friendly
A quiet atmosphere conducive to concentration

I quite like the sorts of places that have esoteric books on the wall and a bit of history in the decor. My own recommendations would be Vbar on Sullivan Street, and 71 Irving. Both of them are excellent establishments, but I'd love to hear about other great places for quiet Saturday afternoons and weekday evenings.

Many thanks in advance.

By: hermitosis

hermitosis — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:04:00 -0800

"Fix" on the corner of North 11th and Bedford Ave. Right off the Bedford stop on the L. Weekday evenings are very quiet, because all the ladies with babies go away (It's always been hard for me to relax in coffee shops that become surrogate romper rooms by day).

By: krautland

krautland — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:06:25 -0800

I hate to say this but the quiet part is tough in manhattan.

most places are small and -natch- crowded, that's just a noo yawk problem. unfortunately they also play a lot of loud music (which automatically means I cannot work at starbucks).

you might want to try the ny library. I know they allow you to bring your own coffee to the reading rooms and they are most definitely quieter than most other places you'd find.

I'd love a place like that place for writers (the office? the space? I forgot the name) in santa monica in manhattan.

By: onalark

onalark — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:08:46 -0800

(rider question) any ideas for areas around or in Columbia University?

By: DenOfSizer

DenOfSizer — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:21:39 -0800

White Cafe, a modern furniture store downtown on White Street (duh) between Center and B'way, that has a little cafe within it, and I think it might have a wireless point. (There's also a White on Bway, but it's not as chilled out.)

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:26:14 -0800

You might try The Coffee Pot on West 49th Street.

I always liked Grey Dog on Carmine Street, but it is a little cramped and can get noisy. YMMV.

Joe - The Art of Coffee on 13th (or Waverly or Greene) is somewhat spacious and meets your criteria. Another real find on that block: Thé Adore (a teahouse).

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:32:59 -0800

If you find yourself in Brooklyn (Park Slope), check out The Tea Lounge.

By: neoistimpulse

neoistimpulse — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:35:31 -0800

yaffa cafe on eighth street is fantastic.

By: samsarah

samsarah — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:40:14 -0800

Check out Housing Works on Crosby between Houston and Prince. It's a used book store and coffee shop. The staff is all volunteer so they can occasionally be a little moody, but other than that it's a wonderful place to spend your weekends doing work.

By: pinksoftsoap

pinksoftsoap — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:50:26 -0800

2nd the Housing Works suggestion - i love that place

By: escabeche

escabeche — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:14:30 -0800

onalark: I'm not sure of your requirements, but the Hungarian Pastry Shop on Amsterdam at 111th is a standard place to do coffee and work surrounded by disheveled Columbia grad students. It's a bit cramped, though, so I can't recommend it to the original asker.

By: kenzi23

kenzi23 — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:36:42 -0800

I 2nd the suggestions for the Coffee Pot, Housing Works and the Hungarian Pastry Shop. I think that the place to go for the cafes you seek is Brooklyn. Check out this thread in Chowhounds about Brooklyn coffee shops. I vote for the Pillow Cafe near Pratt; very relaxed, GREAT food, excellent coffee, nice atmosphere, very hang-out friendly (plus I know the owners).

By: Rash

Rash — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:39:02 -0800

3rd the Housing Works cafe (with its excellent restrooms! An important resource, to this tourist).

By: piratebowling

piratebowling — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 15:54:55 -0800

Seconding Tea Lounge. They even have two locations.

I'd recommend Alt.Coffee in the east village, but it does not have a friendly staff (grouchy, but in a good way) and they don't allow plug-ins. Further, their wifi is no longer totally free. Also, my emotional tie to that place was cut recently, so it's tinged a little poorly in my mind right now.

By: kickingtheground

kickingtheground — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 16:06:44 -0800

onalark: Have you tried Saurin Park (110^th @ Central Park West)?

By: godawful

godawful — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:35:43 -0800

Many thanks for all of these. I'll try as many as I can.

In fact, I'm typing from the Housing Works place - a magnificant suggestion.

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 18:41:47 -0800

Suprisingly if you think of it only as a nightspot, Schiller's Liquor Bar (on Rivington and Norfolk on the LES) is empty and quiet all afternoon, has good espresso (but bad coffee), open Wi-Fi, and - most important and rare - outlets all over the place! And, at about five PM, they give away donuts!

The Blind Tiger, formerly a great beer bar on Hudson, has re-opened on Bleeker St. and been denied the moment a liquor license, so they're serving excellent coffee, chili, and panini. They have open Wi-Fi and outlets at the bar and the tables.

Right near Housing Works, on Prince St near Mulberry, is McNally Robinson Books, which has inside a branch of Teany with open Wi-Fi but no outlets. It's quiet but sometimes crowded; it gets good regulars because it's a bookstore, although the Nolita people-watching can be distracting...

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 19:20:36 -0800

The Blind Tiger, formerly a great beer bar on Hudson, has re-opened on Bleeker St. and been denied the moment a liquor license, so they're serving excellent coffee, chili, and panini. They have open Wi-Fi and outlets at the bar and the tables.

DENIED A LIQUOR LICENSE?????!!!!!!

The Blind Tiger can't get a license while all these fratboy-fuckwit drinking establishments are springing up like mushrooms in wet dookie?

Dude. This means war.

By: shothotbot

shothotbot — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:01:48 -0800

On the upper west side check out the beloved Cafe La Fortuna

By: onalark

onalark — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:11:59 -0800

I walk by (and have eaten at) the Hungarian Pastry shop. I've never been to this Saurin Park place, but it's devastatingly close. I'll check it out!

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:40:45 -0800

I fucking love La Fortuna.

By: weaponsgradecarp

weaponsgradecarp — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:24:43 -0800

THINKcoffee around 3rd and mercer...adjacent to the gristedes on the corner

very good, very hip, quiet, has scrabble games for you to use (Always a good sign)

By: sonofslim

sonofslim — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:09:05 -0800

Nth tea lounge, if it's convenient for you. just enough background noise to occupy the distractable part of my brain, but never so loud that i lose focus. plus they're open late and if you feel like taking a break, it's usually full of attractive, young members of all genders.

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:28:30 -0800

I'll go ahead and second Alt.Coffee. It's everything a coffee shop should be - moody staff, gross bathroom, and old furniture that's completely falling apart. It's pretty unique to find a place like that in Manhattan - most of the places here are either generic Starbucksy-type places, or cyber RV parks for the laptop set.

Tea Lounge is great, too. It's one of the few things I miss about Park Slope. Unfortunately, the crowd there tends to be a bit on the young side, and it makes me feel old. Other then that, it's a perfectly credible place.

(and piratebowling - sorry to hear about your severed tie to Alt.Coffee! That would explain why I haven't seen you there recently.)

By: JPD

JPD — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 01:14:46 -0800

RE: Blind Tiger

They aren't giving out any new Liquor licenses in that nabe, its not just Blind Tiger. Some stupid community board people trying to enforce an insane law that limits the number of bars and restaurants in an area.

The best part is that on the Community Board website there is this big discussion of local, non-chain establishments as vital to a community. Then they ding a place that embodies this ethos. Enjoy the chains that can afford to buy out old licenses kids - cause that's all this does.

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:27:25 -0800

Another excellent place is The Fix, in Williamsburg. It's massive, filled with plush furniture, and has that all-important "someone's basement I got stoned in back in my teens" vibe. I feel perfectly comfortable just camping out there and reading for an hour or two.

They're also attached to a record store, so you'll usually hear good music there.

By: DenOfSizer

DenOfSizer — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:43:51 -0800

Oh! Also! I almost forgot. There's a coffee shop at the way way bottom of Mott St. called something like "Cafe Mocha Road" which also has bubble tea. It is a sanctuary of bliss amongst the frenzy that is Chinatown, and of course with awesome treats. Look for the former shack of the Egg Cake Lady. There are computers outside and a photograph of Hillary Clinton.

By: nasreddin

nasreddin — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 08:18:08 -0800

I would not recommend the Coffee Pot. They redid the decor last year, now it's just Starbucks lite with worse coffee and Mexican labor, plus their internet access is expensive. Still, it's about the only non-Starbucks coffee shop Midtown West has to offer.

By: crookedneighbor

crookedneighbor — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 09:53:06 -0800

If you like Hungarian, try Zanny's Cafe on Columbus. Similar idea but with more light and eggs. And skip Saurin Parke unlesse ye wante pretensione and expensive paninise.

By: allterrainbrain

allterrainbrain — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:59:24 -0800

It's not a cafe/social vibe, but I really like doing laptop work in the dining room at Bonobo's (veggie cafe, 23rd & Madison). They have free wifi and a beautiful wood-floored space w/ a big skylight. It's never crowded & they're totally open to you staying a long time. (And they make great smoothies.) Bring a soft thing to sit on since they have hard wood chairs.

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 15:03:09 -0800

RE: Blind Tiger

What's also stupid about that is that the previous tenant in the space the Tiger moved into had a liquor license, and the space the Tiger left on Hudson is now (of course) a Starbucks, so the neighborhood is one bar less already! There's a petition here to get the board to stop blocking their license.

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 17:55:21 -0800

There's a petition here to get the board to stop blocking their license.

Thank you, nicwolff! Signed, sealed and delivered!

(I got my $5 worth.)

By: lorimer

lorimer — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 20:44:33 -0800

As krautland said, the library can be a great solution and it's really worth your time to try out all the branches that are remotely convenient to you, because they're very different in terms of ambience, resources (electrical outlets, good chairs, etc.) and hours of operation. One of the obscure branches I've found has a practically solitary spot with outlets, beautiful plants and insane down speeds. (No, sadly, I can't name it on mefi... but it's there for the finding!) As you probably know, the NYPL serves the bronx, manhattan & staten island, but if you live in Queens you can get a NYPL card with all the privileges (possibly also if you live in Brooklyn).