Irving Farm Coffee Roasters

This specialist coffee roasting café has a relaxed stylish feel and won’t disappoint with the very fine coffee they serve. Sweet and full and deep with not a hint of bite. Perfect temperature. Just right.
There is a selection of pastries, a menu of bagels and Mexican inspired breakfast and lunch options. Staff are nice. Great addition to this emerging little hamlet of cool in the lower east side.

So liking this place is just a matter of ordering the right thing.
As I wrote in my last review the coffee can be inconsistent but the tea is always good (Harney and Sons is always a safe bet).
However, I’m updating because I had to include that even though my breakfast sandwich here wasn’t great, the bagels are NYC style (which anyone who has tried to order a bagel outside of the tri-​state area can understand) and really delicious… aka it really gives you something to bite into :)

I’ve been here a few times because it’s convenient and that’s it. The tea is overpriced and pretty weak. The food there is always a surprise… I guess they have different chefs working on different days because the quality is not really consistent at all. One time I ordered the peanut butter and honey toast and it was brought to me in a sandwich form with untoasted bread, large chunks of banana, and honey oozing out. Another time I ordered the goat cheese & pepita toast and it didn’t come out for half an hour. When I asked about it, they brought the plate out 5 minutes later, and I was so hungry that I took a bite… only to realize that they’d made me a peanut butter and honey toast again. Correcting the order took another 5 minutes. Stinks because that time, the food was actually pretty good — it’s just too variable for me.

Irving Farm has housemade chai. It is easiest the best tasting chai latte I’ve ever had. The balance of spice and creaminess is unparalleled. It’s so good – Irving Farm has redefined my perfect Sunday afternoon. It is now a book, a chai latte, and a window seat at Irving Farm.
I can’t speak much for the food – the bagel with cream cheese was meh. But ill definitely be back for that jasmine green tea donut, if not for more of that delicious chai latte.

I do rather love their coffee w/​pumpkin seed milk. But one gentleman, who I can only assume is the main manager/​owner because he’s there every time I’ve been there recently, seems to have contempt for the clientele. If you’re there toward the end of the day, chances are you will hear extremely loud Billy Joel or other adult contemporary (Celine Dion, the same Willie Nelson song three times in a row) and the music will get worse the closer to closing they get. On that note, once they decide to close, they will passive aggressively put the chairs on top of empty tables rather than say, «Hey, we’re closing!»
Pros: food, not faulting the regular employees (who also seems to grimace at the music choice), downstairs is often empty and great for working/​writing/​meeting, bathroom is great
Cons: no internet (NBD as I tether), whoever the manager guy is that makes the place weird at the end of the day, no refills even if you drink the coffee there and the serving portions for eat-​in are really small

It’s a really nice looking space, but unfortunately, the coffee is just really bad. Not a lot else to say about it.

Weak pastries, seemingly worse than the Irving Place original.

I come here about 3 times a week to get some work done. Amazing drip and pour over coffee. Cool space with lots of light. Food is also very good for lunch or breakfast.

I like the wood benches outside for people watching and the feeling of the shop in general. The coffee was ok. My latte seemed to have no caffeine in it. This place gets 3 stars, but 5 stars for being human. When they close they give the baked goods to homeless/​in need individuals which i thought was awesome. Also a good coffee shop to lounge and chat with a friend.

Tomato soup! Café latte! The most delicious stuff I’ve tasted in a while. Or I’m very hungry. Seriously. Some good food here. Excellent for a quick bite in the cold.

Lame third wave coffee place. Spent too much money on the advertising and packaging instead of coffee itself and barista training and attitude. Just a okay for people who live in the neighborhood to dip the hipster style of life

As much as I find Irving Farm’s coffee to be a bit on the weak side, this location sells some slamming pastries. We’re talking some ‘best ever’ material… croissants here are unreal as well as scones (sugarless tri-​berry, rhubarb). The sandwiches, while slightly inflated in price based on size, are solid too. I appreciate their effort to fill the void of easy take-​out locations on Orchard. The staff here is super eclectic and friendly, the seating is ample (more downstairs), and it’s always cozy. If they pump up their mud I’ll be a regular!

I love stopping by the Irving Farm in Grand Central, so was happy to run into their location at Broome and Orchard. The café is located on a great street corner, and if you’re lucky enough to get a stool in the window, it’s a front-​row seat for LES people watching.
The coffee here can be great, but unfortunately lacks consistency. My first espresso of the day was great, but then a macchiato later in the day was pulled too hot, and bitter. Probably this is just what happens when a place franchises out to five locations: you can’t keep up the quality, because the boss is no longer around. And I’m guessing new york has a shortage of good baristas.
On the other hand, Irving Farm is probably the best espresso bar in the neighbourhood. I’d certainly go back.

Great coffee! Service and ambiance could use work. Music is a little too loud for you to do work. If you find a free outlet consider yourself lucky.
Although they do offer food, beyond a bagel or muffin, finding a place to sit can be a challenge. Make sure to scope out swatting before you order.
Service could use work, in a neighborhood with very strong competition, they could be friendlier.

Great coffee and an AMAZING chai. A seriously delicious and spicy, uniquely flavored chai. Avoid this place on the weekends because it is super crowded and the food takes forever to make. The bagels are good.
One time I went in here and they were filming a creamer commercial and everyone inside was naked with body paint. I got a free scone and coffee and didn’t sign the waiver. Oops.

Ah, the delicate line between a clean neighborhood coffee shop and the ongoing annihilation of LES culture. Irving Farm gives a few polite nods to its LES location, but it’s clearly not from here. But, neither am I — so I’ll focus on the coffee & food.
I appreciate a café that offers more than expected — little things like cortados on the menu, a solid bagel supply to complement the usual café scones and croissants — and those breakfast options!
Here’s where I dock a star, because the staff are friendly enough, but don’t expect favors. This is definitely not a community-​centered establishment like, say, Atlas Café up the street. I visit early enough to get seating, but I’ve never sat at a wiped-​down table — so if cleaning up after the person who sat before you is a problem, prepare for disappointment.
All that said, I’m glad for a place to nab a solid coffee, and solid food when I want it, and chill for a minute. Ask for more and you’re asking too much.

I was coming here every morning for breakfast until I had to stop because the service was so rude. I was treated horribly because I asked them to remake a burrito missing ingredients I paid extra for. A barista came with my sandwich and the ingredient (avocado) on the side in a plate. The whole point of a burrito is that everything is inside the wrap? I kindly asked her to remake it and she got pissed off. She came back with a cold burrito– unmelted cheese and refrigerator cold wrap and bacon. At that point my friend asked them to heat up the burrito and she was giving attitude yet again. I asked for a refund and I’m not returning (which she was rude about too, interjecting herself even though I asked another barista to take care of it.)
Come here if you want to be treated with no respect for asking for your food/​drinks to be made correctly.

This is a solid coffee shop option for this portion of the Lower East Side, which is more known for dive bars, sushi joints, delis, and Chinese restaurants. It has many things going for it, such as an enjoyable brew and some tasty lunch options.
PROS:
+ Soy milk
+ Bagels, and they’re pretty good for being a coffee shop bagel and not a bagel shop bagel (best to get them toasted, in other words)
+ Great sandwiches (more for omnivores, but such is life)
+ Some pastries and muffins
+ Decaf is good, if you’re into that kind of thing
+ Chill environment
+ Couches downstairs
+ Wifi
+ Counter seating in front of a big window, which allows you to admire the unique character of Orchard and Broome while you enjoy your toasted bagel and soy latte. Lower East Side at its finest.
That being said, 88 Orchard doesn’t seem to have its shit together as well as the UWS location (GO ASAP. IT’S AMAZING!)
CONS:
— Staff gives off an apathetic feel – doesn’t seem as passionate and friendly as the UWS crew
— Music is loud – too loud pour moi
— Espresso is not served with sparkling water (yet it is uptown)
— Limited seating (like most coffee shops) and it seems like they are perpetually full (like most coffee shops)
**TL;DR — The food and coffee are good, but it’s hard to get a seat and the music is too loud. :) **

Service not impressive. Cozy interior. Decent LES café. Haven’t tried the food but there are salads, sandwiches, pastries and breakfast options. There’s basement level too with more seating.

88 Orchard is one of my go-​to spots for my drug of choice.
You know, coffee. That drug.
Anyway, this Irving Farm is open late, takes plastic, and is suitable for a romantic rendezvous — assuming it’s not mobbed full of people waiting for a seat at a nearby restaurant.

Strong espresso brewed from Blackstrap espresso in a modern take on the coffee shop that is popping up all over these days. What do I mean? The earthiness and old world feel of a classic Manhattan space with tin roofing combined with metal elements such as caged lights and wooden/​metal chairs.
Definitely keeps the grunge of an older Manhattan establishment. I mean it’s a little unkempt but I think they’re going for that look. At the least the counter is clean. There is also a restroom randomly downstairs past the counter in a place that seems awkward to intrude. The space is too small for the current hipster population.
They also offer a bunch of pastries, a full on breakfast including huevos rancheros even and my favorite pastry from Colson Bakery in Brooklyn… the sweet crunchy waffle…