Greene Grape Annex

Found this place the other night while looking for a place to hang with friends. Very warm and inviting atmosphere, I loved all the plants and their style of decorating! They carry a good brand of tea and I like that people can also get alcoholic drinks. Friendly staff. Would definitely come back here.

Get a table outside, post up and people watch. Very knowledgeable and engaging bartender was there on sunday. It was a blonde woman. I like it there.

You’ll be surprised how many people are working with laptop. It’s a good place to do your work.
Music is pretty loud, so if you don’t like that, bring your headphone.

Disclaimer: I’m pretty picky when it comes to coffee and tea-I’ve been drinking and making both for years and really get into it.
The interior of this place is pretty cool. It’s pretty big with lots of communal tables and lots of room (for a local coffee spot in Brooklyn) in the front area. Whoever decorates here is lots of fun: colorful flowers and mirrors everywhere-​yet doesn’t distract from the relaxed vibe. Seems like a good place to get work done or have an intimate conversation.
I know, sounds like a 4 star rating except every time I go I try something different and it’s always meh. This is just for coffee, I haven’t tried the pastries (which look really good) or sandwiches or anything.
I got a latte once and it was just that, a latte. Nothing really more to recommend it except I drank the whole thing and didn’t totally regret it at the end, but I didn’t exactly enjoy it either. (I know, sounds so picky and if you are cool with whatever coffee then you’ll probably be fine!)
Last time I was there I got a green iced tea and it was ok. A little watered down tasting, not a very clear favor to it.
So that’s the story. It’s fine. Not amazing but not bad either.

Great place, but word to the wise – DO NOT use the ATM in the back, it’s a scam. I tried to withdraw $ 20 (plus a $ 1 charge) and the transaction failed, the usual message. So I went out and found another ATM, no big deal. But the $ 21 was posted (taken from) to my bank account anyways. I’ll contest it, of course, but that’ll be weeks of paperwork. I highly doubt I’m the first – surely the owners have heard complaints about this already. They owners should remove this ATM or end their relationship with whatever vendor placed it there.

The grilled cheese is really good! It has a spice to the sauce. My tea was more than Starbucks, but nothing detrimental.
There’s a lot of natural light and the layout is an open space concept which I love.
Be sure not to stop at the first counter by the menu to order. The register is near the bar chairs. I learned this the hard way, and I saw quite a few others commit the same crime.

Great coffee. Great ambiance. Great music. But come on, 90 min of internets per transaction?!? If you want to chill for a few hours and get some work done — go to Starbucks. That sucks.

— Dope music (Wu-​Tang, Dr. Dre, and the likes)
— Yummy food (Had the farro salad and it was so good!)
— Tasty teas (Try the green and licorice one)
— Wine and beer available
— Comfortable seating areas
— Laptop free zones
Dope little spot and I’ll be back.

This place does the Brokelyn wine deals and has a FANTASTIC rosé: not at all bubbly and yet still refreshing. The ambiance is weird: sort of a place to study but like if you want to concentrate you probably need noise canceling headphones. The music is sort of loud, sometimes white moms bring their babies with them (?), and the actual «comfy» seating is so sparse you’re honestly just going to end up on a tall bar stool staring out the window. Décor is minimal but agreeable. Come for the drinks.

Get the toad in a hole. A delightfully fresh brioche bun with an egg cooked sunny side into the center. Sweet and filling!

I like this place, I really do, but it’s so impossible to find a place to sit that I don’t even bother walking by here anymore.

I like the Annex a lot and I never want it to go away. I use this space often for work and meetings, and have always been satisfied with the amount of seating, the availability of outlets, and the quality of seating. Food is really good for a coffee shop and coffee is, well, really strong.

Stopped in for a quick cup of tea and treat. The tea selection is ok– about 5 greens, blacks, and herbals (nothing too fancy or inspiring). The desserts range in price from $ 1.50 for a cookie (the chocolate chip oatmeal was perfectly oaty and not too sweet) to $ 6 for small artistic tarts. I had a coconut macaroon that was good, not too sweet or sticky.
The space is huge and there are picnic tables out front. The staff were friendly enough.

Please read my review on the Original Annex.
I asked about those amazing blueberry scones and kale baskets today and the barista frowned and said «ahhh you remember? Those were heavenly. Unfortunately that baker is no longer here. So our scones are different now… Those were a different level».
I concur.
I ordered an egg muffin (asparagus, 1 mushroom, almond meal, feta). It was horrific. Wayyyy too salty. It was the only flavor that I could taste.
The only good thing about the new spot is that it provides people with laptops a place to squat for hours.
Their food has nosedived into mediocrity. Also, they are playing the Britney Spears soundtrack on a Saturday morning… This is Fort Greene not Williamsburg, damn it.

The Annex is a neighborhood coffee shop slash bar. It’s set up nicely inside with various options for seating (many of the seats are no laptops allowed to keep the turnover high), including a bar, low stools along a big communal table, booths, and couches. There are a few plugs in the laptop friendly seating areas but it’s best to come fully charged. It’s a popular place for people to go to do work (free wifi, ask for the password), to meet for a chat with a friend, or to grab a coffee and breakfast before heading to work. It also picks up again around happy hour with some drink specials. Prices are on the more expensive end (no surprise there). They’ve got a variety of muffins, scones, and quiche (I loved my bacon cheddar corn quiche – so delicious), as well as coffees and teas. The bar selection looks pretty diverse as well. The staff was super friendly and helpful while we were there too. Hope to come by for lunch or in the evening sometime soon!

Greene Grape Annex can make all their coffee drinks with soy! Yay! I love the really yummy soy latte, much better than Starbucks. The environment is well-​lit, relaxed and comfy, with a cozy seating area by the window. Most of the clientele is laptop users. The only rule is no laptops at the counter. I concur with other Unilocalers that the music is loud. It was hard to hear my own group’s conversation. The restrooms are unisex, clean and well-​stocked. Wifi is free, ask for the password.

I don’t know how their coffee is and the pastry I had was pretty good (pea & Parmesan scone) but I have concerns about the cleanliness of this place. The person at the front counter had really filthy fingernails. Looked like she’d been doing some serious gardening/​digging in the dirt before her shift. While I was sitting down eating my food, she came by and wiped off the table in front of me with a very dirty rag.
This place has a nice atmosphere otherwise, but I don’t think I’ll be back.

As someone who makes coffee for a living, this has got to be the worst coffee I’ve ever had. I ordered an espresso which was served to me in a cappuccino cup, the cup was so unbelievably filthy (see photo) it was shocking. Couldn’t believe someone would actually serve a customer in a visibly VERY dirty cup.
I also ordered a cortado, which was barely warm, I would go as far as saying cold and tasted bitter. Lastly my flat white was un-​drinkable, cold and so much foam on top I thought I was back in 1995 for a minute.
Such a shame as the atmosphere is lovely.
One guy who appeared to be the chef (?) was pretty nice about it, but the other guys didn’t give a flying f*ck.
I know sometimes cafes have bad days, but. just wow.
The granola was good.

Annex has a really cool café vibe to it. Looks like a great place to plug in headphones and get work done. There’s shared tables and more cozy couches and stuff in the corner. They also have a limited food menu as well.
I stopped in for their full strength cold brew (tip: tell them what strength and what size you want and they’ll be appreciative). It was definitely strong. Pretty good.
Will definitely stop by next time I’m in the hood.

At first glance, the Green Grape Annex is like any other annex: «a subsidiary building or an addition to a building.» But man, is that second glance a doozy!
The staff is fantastic. And the food – the food is franktastic! Let me explain.
They have a little known specialty, endemic to the couture culture of the Brooklyn foodie. Ask for the «hot dog soup,» a vegetarian stew with a uniquely piggy flavor. Oink! Wow, do we «pig out» when we go to the Green Grape Annex! My girlfriends love it.
Make sure to ask for Austin; he makes the best «hot dog soup,» or «frankfurter stew» as the villagers colloquially and affectionally call it.
Let me know if you tried it, and keep your eyes peeled for my forthcoming blog, «Chorizo Chowders and Hot Diggity-​Dog Deals»!

Coffee here is well priced (I think it was $ 1.80 for a small) and the baked goods are tasty ($ 3 for a croissant). The space is spacious, décor is nice and bright, lots of windows & plants. Workers are friendly.
But, a note on the seating: It is plentiful and I don’t even mind that they ask for people to leave some seats to those not working on laptops. However, I think I would have been upset if it was more crowded when I was looking for a seat and couldn’t find an open laptop seat, since I came with my laptop in tow. Not to mention that people in the non-​laptop seats were talking on phones, typing away on tablets, etc. I mean, c’mon.
Seems to me it’d be better to ask people to *limit* their laptop use in certain spots. That way, they’d know they should jump for a laptop seat when it becomes available and wouldn’t hog up those seats all day (which is essentially what the policy is intended to do) rather than kicking laptop users out altogether.
Change that and I’d lean toward 4 or 5 stars.