Simon Sips

One of the Best hot chocolate with soy milk in midtown Manhattan. They are only open during normal office hours and it is not close by my office but it was so worth the the lunch break stroll. The hot chocolate was not too sweet, not too thick to feel overwhelmed by it and not thin that it taste like powder package or water down. It was nicely sweeten and silky. I purchased a large cup and a croissant :) for lunch and boy was I happy I did. No seating as it is a very Italy looking coffee station concept. Also the staff members seemed so kinder, and actually wants to be there.

Great little take out coffee place — best coffee had in U.S. Barista extremely friendly

Amazing espresso, talented artists, and service is top notch. We were sitting around playing on our phones and the barista came over to bring us water with lemon wedges in it.

I found this awesome little spot while on the hunt for a decent place to get my Friday bagel since we moved office buildings. As a bagel enthusiast, the bagel is indeed awesome (apparently from Russ & Daughters!), but I also discovered that their coffee is amazing as well.
I actually am not a coffee drinker but decided to try their almond latte due to all the glowing reviews on Unilocal,and what do you know I get it a few times a week now! I’ve incorporated it into my Friday bagel tradition and also get it whenever I am feeling particularly tired. The caffeine does make me a little jittery as my system isn’t used to it but the latte is too good to resist… smooth and creamy and not bitter at all, perfect for me :)
I usually head there around 1pm and it is usually empty, right in between the morning and 3pm crowds! Everyone there is also super nice and friendly, and the latte art is really cute! I also got a punch card with 5 stamps on my first visit! Highly, highly recommended :)

Drinking coffee has been the first thing I do every day for the past 20 years. Before you take out the calculator, I’ve been drinking coffee since I was 6 years old. Which explains a lot about me. I can honestly say that before I tried Simon Sips my coffee vocabulary consisted of weak, bitter and strong. Simon Sips has changed my appreciation for coffee, helping me to realize that coffee can be so much more. When you have your first cup, you will realize what proper coffee really is. Although there service can be brash at times, Starbucks can’t even get your name right. Simon Sips is always a treat when I’m in the area, and should be for you too.

YUM! I’m a self-​proclaimed coffee snob, so when I find a good cup of joe, I’m always really really excited.
An unassuming location — I almost turned away at first when I saw the place based on appearances alone. I thought it was just going to be another one of those «bleh» coffee spots trying too hard, but lacking quality. I was pinched on time to get to a work meeting, so I ended up deciding to try a cup.
Well I was so pleasantly surprised! I tried what I think they called a «Red Alarm» or something like that. It was basically a shot of espresso in one of their coffee drinks. It was so tasty — my first cup of coffee while travelling where I actually felt like saying «mmmmm.»
If I was in the area — I’d most likely stop back in for a cup of coffee. Job well done.

Honestly the best coffee you can get within a 4 block radius of my office (I work at 48^th and 6^th avenue).
Other options around my office include Blue Bottle, Bouchon Bakery, Starbucks, Gregory’s and Pret. Given all the options, you’d be right to think the midtown area is an extremely competitive market for coffee. Despite that, I always find myself going to Simon Sips.
The drip coffee is amazing and I love their espresso and steamed milk options. My go to is the 8 ounce with almond milk. Can’t go wrong with this place.

I’ve come to Simon Sips a few times because I work in the area. It is sometimes difficult to find a independent coffee place around midtown (blue bottle is the only other I can think of), so it’s a pleasant find. I always see the owner Simon around the shop which is pretty cool. Simon is really nice and on my first visit he asked me how I came to the store and he punched my coffee card 5 times as a welcoming.
The coffee is yummy as well. I ordered a latte both times and I was very satisfied with the taste. The other staff are also very nice. Would come back again and again. This place gets really packed during peak coffee times, so you know it’s good!

Had the almond latte as recommended by Unilocal goers. It was rich and creamy with no bitterness. A little pricey at $ 7 but it was filling.

This place is pretty hard to find you have to enter from the back of the building and turn to the left.
Overall coffee here is pretty good — good size cold brew for the price compare to bluestone lane ($ 5 for small) and blue bottle. The iced latte is also pretty good. Their cookies are pretty amazing too especially the espresso and white chocolate cranberry cookies.
I met simon today at the coffee shop and he was very friendly, although the usual cashier can have an attitude sometimes… Avoid him.

Tricky to find, but this is an adorable café with reasonable prices — amazing! — and pastries from Ceci Cela (if you don’t know how I feel about their food, go see my Unilocal list of almond croissants in NYC). The iced coffee is also excellent. Also, the service is super friendly.

Coffee is good, but not great.
Think the hype is because of the lack of good coffee spots in the Midtown Center area (around 5^th & 6^th Ave).
I know that they serve Stumptown coffee and I had their Russ & Daughters Bagel & Smoked Salmon, but both tasted inferior to their respective original locations on 8^th Street (Stumptown) and Houston Street (Russ & Daughters). They just don’t seem to travel well.
Location is hard to find as people have mentioned, but the service is good and pretty quick, so, not a bad place if you want something better than your run-​of-​the-​mill coffee, but for great coffee, I prefer going to Kaffe 1668 two blocks away on 5^th Avenue & 45^th Street and getting their pour-​over coffee, which is excellent, albeit a little pricier.

Bad coffee and fake positive customer service. I was looking for this place through the cups app and it was so difficult, being that it’s hidden within the back lobby of an office building. Not convenient at all.
I have been ordering coffee from them for a short while just because they have the cups app, but if I were to get my coffee, I would definitely rather go somewhere else. However, after today I will not step in here again.
Personally I had a rough night before this morning and I was not only without caffeine, but also without a peaceful heart. I’m sorry if I did not SMILE at you Mr. Barista, but you do NOT have the right to give me YOUR own attitude when I was already having a rough start to the week.
He was ready to ring me up and asked me what my order was, and I answered him «small cold brew» and handed him my phone to punch in the code. I guess he didn’t hear me, but I was also nodding and my eyes were glazed over (it was a rough night) — It even took me a while to realize wow this guy is pissed at ME. He turned to his co-​worker and was like «is she serious?!» I was so so so confused. Was I wearing the resting btch face all this time?
REGARDLESS, MR CASHIER/​BARISTA — I did NOT need your attitude. I was already giving you a confused look and all you said was «BYE». NOPE, you cannot treat people like that, what if I had like a mental disability that did not allow me to be aware at the time, huh? You’re not even forgiving to a sleepy customer… ridiculous.
Thanks so much for already ruining my already ruined week. I’ll be keeping my money away from y’all now.

MMMM got a mouthful of delicious coffee grinds toward the bottom ¼ of my medium hot coffee. Delicious. Yes, one could say «oh, it happens» and «oh, it’s normal» or «you probably got the bottom batch of the coffee» etc, but I dont even get coffee grinds in my coffee at Starbucks. There are many ways to avoid serving a customer coffee grinds. Also, nobody offered me a punch card, but maybe I should have gotten one myself.
Simon Sips is hard to find, yes, but not if you know exactly where you’re going. Go west on 47^th st until you see Utsav/​a underpass under the 1185 Ave of the Americas Building and go in the rotating doors across from Utsav. Then take a left and you’ll see Simon Sips with its glass façade.
They serve a variety of coffee drinks from regular hot coffee, iced coffee, and espresso drinks (hot or cold). Their bakery case includes baked goods from Ceci-​Cela.
I ordered a medium drip coffee and immediately knew I was in a predicament when I saw a couple coffee grinds floating on top of my drink. Oh well, maybe it’s not so bad. Then I get back to my desk, proceed to drink my coffee, and towards the bottom ¼ of the cup, all I got were coffee grinds in my mouth and had to spit the coffee out. Yes, the coffee served here is of very decent quality, but what’s the point when you can’t even finish it? Even the last drip of coffee is vital to my productivity in the mornings.
I want to like Simon Sips, but unfortunately cannot because I personally don’t drink coffee grinds — no excuses.

It’s on ⁴⁶⁄₄₇ and ⁶⁄₅! Does that even make sense? I guess coffee is only good if it takes Google maps, Unilocal,and human instruction to find it! Lol go onto either street between the avenues and look for a square of outdoor space, find the revolving door, and turn left! Wish I still worked in this area so I could come here when looking to avoid the usual crowded places.
I love Culture coffee beans the most and the decaf almond was super good. You can’t order a «latte» here but instead ask for espresso with however many oz of milk you want. Super polite staff and stocked with tons of healthy snacks (think kind bars, etc), as well as GF or Vegan cookies in worthwhile flavors.

Best almond milk latte to date in NYC!
My aim in every city I visit is to find the best food and coffee that it has to offer.
I’m excited to say that Simon Sips definitely didn’t disappoint and even surpassed my expectations.
What I loved the most about my experience the barista actually made the suggestion to either have a smaller size or add another shot to ensure the correct ratio of milk to coffee.
And my latte was amazing. Bonus points for the staff being delightful and super friendly

This spot closes early and is one of those with a location so unintuitive given the address (1185 Ave. of the Americas, Plaza Entrance, NYC 10 036) that they have a site that’s mostly dedicated to finding it: «Directions: Walk to the pedestrian area behind the building, and enter through the revolving door across the walkway from Ustav. Immediately turn left (which is the only direction you can go if you don’t have building access).»
Even when you’re in the correct hallway, there’s no sign, so I understand that, but they’d do so much better with an easier to find spot. The friendly guy behind the counter was joking that their cookies weren’t made there but were procured from the street, then after the laughter I re-​asked and he was very cryptic about actual source, so alrighty then. Mocha cookie was pretty tasty, albeit a few hours too old.
Transaction Amount $ 2.50
Credit Applied — $ 2.50
Total Spent $ 0.00
Some of the pastries/​baked goods are Half-​off before closing, so 2 cookies (oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip) for $ 2.25 ain’t bad, though the cookies were barely enjoyable and pretty old/​dry
Transaction Amount $ 2.25
Credit Applied — $ 2.00
Total Spent $ 0.25
Transaction Amount $ 2.25
Total Rewards — $ 2.00
$ 2 Birthday Gift — $ 2.00
Total Balance $ 0.25

I love coffee. I love coffee with lots of milk. I don’t like wasting things. Every time I order coffee, I get a small coffee, in a large cup, in order to put lots of milk in. Simple right? Not according to Simon. The owner of this little coffee shop is a stickler for details and will not grant the wish that 99.99% of other coffee shops do easily.
Verdict: Don’t bother with this place, the coffee isn’t that great for the hassle or cost. Go to Greg’s or Joe’s instead if you’re in midtown. You’ll get better coffee with better service.

Simon is a perfect barista. Capuchino is outstanding! don’t miss the lovely Cookies! Difficult to find!

Simon Sips
NY Manhattan Midtown Times Square
3pm Wednesday 5^th November 2014
Four stars
Located inside an office building, Simon Sips is an energetic coffee shop servicing business types and the like. There is two counters for sitting with about 10 seats. I bet most take it to go. I ordered a cappuccino with half and half ($ 3.75) to stay. The coffee is robust, nutty, with nice lingering bitterness. The cup felt more like a latte because there was a lot of milk and virtually no foam. I got a punch card that I will never use but they give you 5 punches to start and your 11^th drink of any size is free.

Simon is a phenomenon. He claims that coffee doesn’t affect him, but he’s definitely got something going on– he is up early daily and overseeing one of the best hidden gem coffee shops in NYC.
It’s totally worth the treasure hunt to find them tucked inside a corner of the office building 1185 Avenue of Americas.
Attention to detail and quality are stellar– from bagels/​lox from Russ & Daughters, to delicious steel cut oatmeal made fresh and slow-​cooked overnight, cold overnight oats that are sweet and perfect with cinnamon, daily hot soups, handsomely-​dressed baristas who remember your favorite drink, talented latte artists, and I could go on and on. Oh, and, the coffee is delicious.
Simon greets 90% of his customers by name, and remembers what they wore last week.