Petite Shell

I did love! Then I liked! Then I just got nauseated. I loved that they were one of the first cafes to serve Nutella Coffees! Yum. But then I found a place in BK so I wouldn’t have to go all the way up town.
At first I loved the innovative and amazing rugellech and croissants they sell and I bought a ton of them weekly. But aside for getting fat, I got sick of the tastes as well.
This is the perfect café for those living in the neighborhood and don’t want the usual starbucks. But for others, I’d say it’s a delicacy that you’d pick up once in a very while.

If you are standing in the middle 85^th street and need a coffee and a sweet treat you could go to either the Starbucks on the south corner or this busy little place on the north. If you go north you get a nice cup of coffee and a tasty little rugelach. If you go south well… you will be in a Starbucks in NYC. It’s your choice.

Solid selection of tea and delicious nutella croissants, albeit a bit pricey.

Cute café with a good deal (7.50 sandwich and coffee 7−10am), spent a morning here and ordered the brie apple sandwich on a multigrain croissant. Sandwich was a little cold, but the coffee and tea (ginger green) were great. Also had to keep my coat on since the temperature was pretty low inside. Friendly staff and great outlet placement, was easy to get a few hours of work done. A+ music choices.

My friends and I came here before we made our way to Central Park, and we were pretty excited for the croissants. At least, I was! It’s a pretty spacious shop, however there aren’t a toooon of seats. I think this is a place in which people are more likely to grab and go.
The options for croissants are endless! I only got two: Dulce de Leche and Tomato Pecorino. They’re small and handheld, much the size of finger sandwiches, so you can have a few without feeling guilty! The Tomato Pecorino was sooo yummy! I’m the type of person who has to balance sweet and salty, and the Tomato Pecorino was a great balance to the Dulce de Leche. It wasn’t an overpowering tomato taste, but had a lot of herb-​y flavor. I honestly wish I had gotten two more of it. The Dulce de Leche croissant was pretty great. It was mostly just a glaze, or so I thought. It was pretty tasty, especially if you enjoy sweets in the morning. The only thing I’ll complain about is that it’s pretty sticky, so it’s not easy to eat on the go because your fingers get sticky. I would get it again, and I would really like to go back and try more flavors!
My friend had the tea, and she said it was too strong and floral for her. However, their coffee looks like it’s of quality and I would love to go back and have a coffee with a croissant. I hope to go back sometime, as it was a nice, different take on a morning coffee shop (fun alternative to just having Starbucks). I would recommend you stop by and grab a bagful of various croissants, and while you’re at it, try the coffee for me!

Nice place, solid light jazz ambience, lots of natural light, clean, classy — my kinda place. Nutella latte tastes as good as you’d think, brilliant! Small café but pleasant experience overall!
I’ll definitely be back to try their cold slow drip tower and other nerdy coffee things on their bar. They care and it shows…

This place looks so nice but, unfortunately, it didn’t impress me much inside. The pastry selection is smell, just an array of different flavor croissants. They didn’t really appeal to me.
I ordered a macchiato, thinking it would be a latte macchiato like other places in the city. But it turned out to be a caffe macchiato, which is more like an espresso with a little milk.

Great friendly staff! We got a perfect cortado, and the Nutella latte. Dangerously delicious.

3.5−4 stars. Love that this place is right next to the 86^th St. exit off of the Lex line and really appreciate the openness of the space: the windows are clear glass, which lets in light and makes the place very inviting. I tried the Nutella latte, which wasn’t as sweet as I expected (in a good way) and came iced. There’s a decent amount of seating and the staff is friendly. They seem to mostly have coffee/​pastries. Not a lot of options for tea. A good option to stop by if you’re in the neighborhood!

Petite Shell
NY Manhattan UES
1:30pm Saturday 26^th December 2015
Three Stars
Right off the 86^th Street and Lexington stop, Petite Shell looks like a great coffee with its glass exterior, white wall, and wooden tables. The coffee definitely plays second fiddle to the delicious mini croissants/​shells. I got a large cup of drip coffee using my cups app because I saw a lackluster espresso drink from the customer in front of me.
I had a dulce de leche Rugelach which is similar in shape to a croissant but this had a more dense cookie-​like taste. The outer crust has a shinier and more appealing color. The dough inside was heavier and less flaky. It still had a nice buttery taste that combined well with the slightly sweet caramel.
Skip the coffee and get a pastry.

This place is so fresh. Bakery goods are always warm. Love to sit here with a coffee and indulge. There sandwiches are also very good. I really wish they made some (pareve) non dairy desserts…

Okay. Today I had something so tasty that it took me a few minutes to fully comprehend the level of deliciousness. The Nutella Latte was UNREAL. If you’re a fan of the creamy substance than this drink is for you, and even if you don’t care for Nutella, this drink is still for you because it’s really that good.
Secondly, their croissant. Flakiness, flavor and crispy factor we’re all on point. Everyone can appreciate a good croissant, add a little sweet or savory filling like they do here and you’ve got yourself a little piece of heaven.
Also, the music at this spot was perfect. Slow jams and feel good music, perfect background noise to help keep you relaxed and working efficiently as you plow through your inbox and overdue tasks. The communal feel made it a lot more comfortable to be here for an extended amount of time as opposed to Starbucks across the street that can be a bit more high stress. All in all, I found my new favorite coffee shop in the UES.
Only minor downside, the not so happy barista. His unfriendly demeanor certainly didn’t match the warm environment this place has. But hey I won’t hold this place accountable, would definitely still come back regardless.

I want to love Petite Shell, but the service is always a hit or miss. One of the baristas seemed really annoyed when I was just ordering a drink to go. Not sure if he was annoyed at me or he had issues himself, but it definitely bothered him and showed. Tried some of their drinks which are better than average. The nutella latte here is my favorite. The croissants, though amazing, are pretty expensive. The minis are a good $ 2 – 3, which you might as well get the larger croissants.
Other than the occasional bad service, this place smells delicious and perfect for those who have a sweet tooth.

HORRIBLE SERVICE
HORRIBLE FOOD
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
I order their sandwich with avocado but it wasn’t fresh. It was brown, you’re not suppose to serve avocado brown? What the heck. Rude staff wouldn’t change something else for me. It’s disgusting to eat and waste of money for what I paid for. I am a returning customer ever since they open but I will never come back again.

This morning, I got a nutella latte, pretzel croissant, and a dozen rugelach to-​go.
The latte was AMAZING. Liquid gold.
The pretzel croissant was just okay, I prefer the one at city bakery.
The rugelach flavors are great (I got dark chocolate nutella, white chocolate apple, and dulce de leche). I will report back later about the taste!

It’s been 5 months and I’m still thinking about how delicious the raspberry and Nutella rugelach were!
While I live in a tourist town (Vegas, also lived near SF) and I am used to prices being steep, I found these a little on the pricy side for the size. The ambiance was good and the service was prompt. I don’t know how Starbucks nearby even stays in business.
In general, I’d say that this was the highlight food wise in NYC for me. Definitely would go back.

Cool little coffee shop with tons of light and a little steampunk vibe. The service was super slow, but the drinks good. The Japanese cold brew was delicious and not at all bitter. An excellent stop for a fuel up on the UES.

This light and airy coffee shop on Lexington Avenue feels so polished it at first doesn’t seem local.
The angel in the details — a lovely dark buttery Americano, and a sensibly sized blue cheese and pear croissant was delightfully piquant in its ratio of tart cream to sweet fruit.
Service was human — warm, bright, if a bit busy with the forgivable error for a steady stream of customers, which made the empty starbucks across the street, look regrettably sad.
Even the upper east side moms were chill sporting yellow neon camo slip-​ons while discussing a new good place for a children’s tea party while clutching bergdorf shopping bags.
The kind Indy staff practiced a clean working Jew pragmatism, so if you need a coffee near the museums and want somethjng. basic, try and find a seat.
Plenty of plug ins

It’s hard finding a good independent coffee shop on the UES.
It’s funny because it’s right across the street from a Starbucks. haha so close that you can even use their wifi!
Been here a few times now.
I loved the coffee. They serve Forty Weight beans. I usually get a cortado but their pour overs are on point. Tried the Mexico one and it’s chocolatey & buttery. So good. I was impressed.
The little blue expresso cups are adorable, but so are the to-​go ones.
Petite Shell has a minimalistic and clean décor. Good lighting if you are into taking coffee pics.
The baristas are friendly.
The menu includes a lot of rugelach flavors, and they also sell babka. Loved the Nutella rugelach and definitely recommend it.

Wow I can’t even express to you how long this area has needed a halfway decent coffee shop.
I live a few blocks away and literally for as long as I can remember there has been nowhere to get a good cup of coffee and pastry in the area beyond walking a solid 15 minutes south to Joe, Oslo, or MK.
And now here is Petite Shell, doling out solid and exceptionally strong espresso, a range of insanely good rugelach, and this out of nowhere awesome babka. I honestly was a little taken aback entering here recently, because I have been burned so many times by the awful shops that have opened in this commercial hunk of the Lucida building.
But man, the space is really bright and warm, the coffee is great, and the desserts are so amazing. I personally feel the Chocolate Nutella Rugelach and the Farmer’s Cheese with Raspberry Rugelach are the two best. The farmer’s cheese one even has little slivers of almond sprinkled on top. The chocolate one is just really well balanced and actually not too sweet.
I am giving 5 stars because I am just so psyched that this area finally has a good coffee shop and I am looking forward to stopping by a lot more in the future.