Crave Espresso Bar

First time in NY got a great healthy meal! Staff is wonderful and the atmosphere very relaxing and friendly.

Great muffins and hot paninis! Definitely coming back again. The baristas are also top notch.

Great space, nice people. 3.40 for a small Americano is expensive though… its one espresso shot and water guys. And i get it myself from the counter…

This review is for the following: 1) Excellent customer service — Angel ROCKS 2) The Coffee Lattes — OMG they are great 3) Bagels and the sandwiches they will make for you with the bagels 4) Other hot drinks. They USED to have great avocado sandwiches and other fresh sandwiches, but a new manager is there and changed the whole menu regarding lunch and sandwiches in general. It is NOT GOOD! New manager — please go back to the model that brought me and others there from the beginning. This new business model is a bad idea. Now, I do not even want to go there as part of ordering the sandwich, you would get a side of fresh mixed greens and the new manager cut that off as well. I do not know what the thinking is on that, but the manager is making it hard for me to justify going there for just a latte. I always liked the latte plus a sandwich or bagel with something else, but no more.
I should give it less stars just for this, but I cannot. I am hoping that others will join me with this issue as it is quite upsetting that such a gem could change for not the good, but for the bad.

The quick take: If it were possible, I would give this place negative stars. Food is ok, but customer service is horrendous. Do not go here; there are a dozen other spots within walking distance that offer very similar products.
The long story: on ³⁄₂₆ at ~10:45AM, I ordered a breakfast sandwich with 3 eggs, ham, and pepper jack on an everything bagel. My wife ordered a simple two egg and cheese sandwich. After waiting 10 mins, her sandwich came. After another 10 mins, mine still had not arrived. Meanwhile, other customers who had stood in line behind us, received their egg sandwich orders. Frustrating, yes, but I’m a patient man and can see how a simple goof-​up of the order flow could lead to this outcome. Ordinarily, no big deal for me – I’ll get my breakfast sandwich eventually.
And eventually, the sandwich arrived. Problem was, it was incorrectly made: there was no ham or pepper jack on it.
I had one main issue that really bothered me, here: there was no apology from the server when I pointed out the error. No hint of remorse or anything. Look, I get it. It’s NYC. Friendly, jovial servers are not exactly growing abundantly like cherry blossoms at this time of year. I also recognize that we’re on Canal St, a highly touristic center where businesses may interact with many customers from out of town, that they may never see again. Arguably, a server might rationalize that it’s ok to be indifferent about providing good customer service.
But I’m not ok with this attitude. Crave operates a highly commoditized business. The features that differentiate Crave from the numerous other mom and pop delis within a one block radius are… not very differentiated features. Customer service could have been a positive differentiator in my experience at Crave, but it wasn’t. It was a big NEGATIVE differentiator.
I returned the $ 8-​plus sandwich and asked for a refund. The employee argued that my sandwich only cost $ 4. He vociferously, and quite astonishingly, made his point despite the fact that my itemized receipt actually stated the sandwich cost $ 8 plus tax. Eventually, he threw $ 9 at me and turned away. Again, no apology.
I walked out and went straight to the mom and pop deli 1 block east. There, for $ 8 plus tax, I got the exact same sandwich AND a bunch of fresh blueberries and strawberries.
I will never crave Crave again, and implore anyone reading this review to crave other options.
Yours Truly,
Pizza Monster

I love to go here to get some work done on my mac. Nutella double chocolate croissants are amazing!!! I love this place!

Fast, quick, economically priced, friendly staff. Good smoothies and great location. Place is clean and has room to meet a friend for coffee. There wasn’t anything overly special about this place, but it’s a great lil café.

Cute place right off the ACE blue line, this café at the start of China town is pretty convenient located and has a great space for grabbing a cup of joe and catching up with friends.
My friend and I both had the smoothie here, which while it wasn’t amazing, we both appreciated the option to select the base to be almond/​soy milk instead of more sugary fruit juices.
Service is great, and their food menu serves up bagels and lox for only $ 5. Will visit again when I’m the area!
Hungry Kat, approved.

Great coffee and funny posters on the wall! Friendly staff, lots of room to sit. Would definitely recommend.

This place is awesome. Fresh squeezed orange juice and great muffins! The owners try and meet your requests and accommodate your needs.

I’m a big fan of Crave. They make great coffee and super yummy breakfast sandwiches. I recommend the blue berry pancakes
The prices are fair and the service is fast. Hey that’s what we all need right? Good breakfast served up fast!

Craving a spot to get out of the rain I have come to Crave for a smoothie again.
The juice is sweet. The beats are fresh. Ample seating to complete a chill out sesh.
Escape the hustle of Canal at Crave, anything but banal.

Had to use the bathroom. Asked if I could use it before ordering, the servers were perfectly accommodating. Ordered a cappuccino. Found it weak. I visited on a Friday afternoon and it was pretty empty. There’s lots of seating here: downstairs and up. If I worked or lived by here I would visit this place to journal.

Check in on Unilocal to get 10% off your first visit!
The bagels were fine with plenty of cream cheese, just the way I like it. The panini was pretty mediocre verging on bad though. We got the Chicken Pesto with Avocado. The chicken was super dry, so dry that I ended up taking pieces out to just eat the bread and avocado. There was tomato in it as well, but definitely didn’t add enough moisture to make this a good sandwich. With so many options in NYC, go elsewhere!

Love this place! Great smoothies, fast and polite service, and I like their variety of choices. Highly recommend for lunch, to find a pick me up, or just to hang out. Very comfortable ambience. Also has a loft.
Update: the number 3 smoothie with apple juice is yuuummmmy! Also, my boyfriend likes the Chicken Schnitzel sandwich.

El mejor iced mocha que eh probado! Todo es muy delicioso y muy limpio además de la muy buena atención que tienen con sus clientes. Muy bueno!

The best coffee in Soho area! Cozy place and nice people.
Many options for who prefers gluten free dishes

Hi Angel!
Come here for a relaxed environment and to people watch on canal st.
Make sure to say hi to Angel, best Batista!

A quaint espresso bar located on the outskirts of Chinatown Manhattan. It has plenty of seats available including an upper level. On a warm summer’s afternoon I was in dire need to rest in stillness in the comfort of air conditioning. Crave gave me tranquility without ushering me out the door as I slowly sipped my hot Green Tea in solitude. Teas are by Tazo. Staff are efficient and courteous who can hone communicative skills. It does not appear any electric outlets are available for the iPhones, tablets, mobile phone tech gadgets. I ordered:
1 small hot tea
1 big chocolate chip cookie
Note: Unilocal mobile check-​in offer of 10% is available. The owner (s) or whoever manages their retail point of sale system (cash registers) there is one big gross spelling error in their business name as «Crave Expresso» vs. the correct spelling is Espresso! This is noted on all sales receipts.

Stumbled upon this place before work one day and so glad I did! A true local coffee shop vibe. I got there around 9am right before a rush of people but got my food pretty quickly! Good service. The egg and cheese on an everything bagel was AMAZING. Not greasy and made to order. I also loved my black iced tea which they added fresh mint and lemon slices too, such a nice touch. I will be back!

I found out about this place through my CUPS app. Since it was relatively near my workplace, I decided to give it a try one day. Located on the outskirts of Chinatown, this place wasn’t too crowded when I went on a Saturday afternoon.
The staff were friendly and welcoming… And patient when my CUPS app took a while to load. I can’t say the coffee was revolutionary. I had the iced mocha, and I don’t think it was that great. I also got the apple crumb muffin, which was pretty tasty. It was cute that they gave me a chocolate covered espresso bean on my coffee cup.
The ambience was nice and comfortable, so I took to studying. It’s a good place to do so with free wifi! I’d recommend it, mostly for its atmosphere

Süße Atmosphäre mit leckerem Oreo Keks #foodporn-​star