NYC Coffee Guide: Cafe Grumpy

One of my favorite escapes and indulgences in life is savoring a really good cup of coffee. I created the  NYC Coffee Guide as a jump off point to share my passion for good coffee with you. I’ll expand the coffee guide into other cities as well but let’s start with my home base in New York City.

First up, the cafe with the name that after a cup will have you feeling anything but, Cafe Grumpy.

Cafe Grumpy serves house roasted coffee and has a handful of locations on Manhattan and Brooklyn.  My preferred locations are their Chelsea location because it's near a theater that my wife and I enjoy. It's the perfect spot for a pre-show caffeine jolt.  Always packed with a line out the door, Cafe Grumpy at Grand Central Station is decidedly an awesome location.  There's nothing better than to get amped up with a great espresso drink or drip coffee to-go for the train ride into a weekend getaway (New Yorkers, you understand the thrill of that weekend getaway via Grand Central Station. Visitors, if you have the time it's something you should definitely do).        

Café Grumpy's coffee is awesome.  Like Birch Coffee, Cafe Grumpy is not a cafe to go to if you want a little lunch or a good breakfast menu with your coffee.  Unlike Birch, (apologies to Birch, no hard feelings), the pastries that Grumpy serves are really delicious. Personally, I enjoy their matcha loaf and olive oil mandarin bundt cake.  They have a lot of good vegan and gluten free options.  They've mastered the process for making espresso drinks with non-dairy milk (oat, almond, etc) options.  I am not vegan but I do limit my intake of dairy and animal products.  It's nice to grab an espresso drink with oat milk that maintains balance and great taste that some other cafes miss. Their Chelsea location is a great spot to sit and read the paper.  I've met business acquaintances and friends there. It's a good meet up spot.  Just keep in mind that the space is intimate and seating limited so if you're arranging a meet up be cognizant of what traffic might be like for the day and time.

My favorite cup. I'm pretty committed to the oat milk cappuccino. My bag of beans. A very cool bonus point for Grumpy Coffee is that you can buy it at Whole Foods (at least in NYC, not sure about other markets.  Check it out and let me know!) Truthfully, I don't have one type that I am committed to. When I buy a bag (usually at Whole Foods) I try something that I haven't tried before and I've been satisfied every time. 

There are 7 locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn.  In Manhattan they're concentrated on the lower half so you can't always get a Grumpy cup when you need one.

Well caffeinated and ready to bring you more for your NYC Coffee Guide!