The Downtown Cafe

Love love the downtown… Go with friends, family and kids. Always great service and food. Even had a private party and it was amazing!

Pizza! Pizza! (and lots of other stuff)
The Downtown Café has one of the best menus in the area, and the food behind the menu is reliably good. The atmosphere is a blend of bar and family-​friendly, and you can take the kids here any hour they are serving food.
The pizza is great, and you can customize your pie. I really recommend pizza here. Or pasta… because the servings are generous and very good. Or salads — yes, salads as a dinner food. I like the Warm Salad (not the best name, I admit), which has a nice blend of roasted peppers, olives, cheese, and other savory tastes. The Taco Salad (sans meat, of course) is great, too, although I swap out the iceberg lettuce for Romaine.
There are wraps, burgers (a good veggie burger, too), and calzones. They have all they typical bar appetizers, too, although I think full meals are really their strong point.
They have a full bar, and they rotate their selection of draft beers very frequently, highlighting local breweries, but reaching further out as well. Additionally, Peroni is among their staple draft beers, and that’s a rarity.
The staff is excellent — friendly and efficient, whether you’re at a table or the bar. It’s also nice to sit outside during the summer.
The only criticism I have is that they keep it pretty bright inside. Maybe it’s me, but I like things a shade or two darker to warm up the atmosphere. Well, they could have a late night menu, too, because the kitchen closes a bit early — typical for the area. But hey, that should be the worst of it, and at the Downtown, it is.

5 Stars because it’s my young son’s favorite place. Our weekly destination after his swim class at the local YMCA. He always asks to go and the guys are always friendly to him. Best Buffalo Chicken in the area — with celery, shredded carrots and ranch.
Also, as other commenters have mentioned, best specialty slices in the area — like potato skin, eggplant, and the buffalo chicken. Chances are if you have a hankering for a certain type of pizza from a different part of the country, the guys will be willing to give it a go.

Chicken wings are not their expertise. Dry n bland. Service is decent though. Still will go occasionally at least is the best in Glen Cove
Wings are too dry! Tasteless. Oh will return for pizza.

5 stars for two reasons: 1) How good the specialty slices are. 2) (and believe it or not the one that strikes me as the strongest reason) Respect for the effort it must take to produce these specialty slices.
I have always been a traditionalist when it comes to pizza. Seeing slices with tones of toppings on them and weird condiments that just don’t belong on pizza has always made me shake my head and smirk at the fact that people eat this stuff. I figured a place that makes a big mac slice of pizza must not have very good standard traditional pizza… cause if they did they wouldn’t have to rob an idea from McDonalds to sell pizza… right?
So i was craving chinese food… but i NEVER eat chinese food on my lunch break… ever. I went into downtown and the first slice of pizza i looked at happened to be a sesame chicken slice. Never in a million years would i order this. But the planets were all aligned just perfectly. I was hung over and craving chinese food… so against my ignorance i said to myself… fuck it. I was blown away. Amazingly thin crispy charred crust with big chunks of good chicken and just enough sauce with just the right consistency and sweetness to create something that is pizza but is almost like something else. Its like any other hybrid thing. You don’t consider it one thing or the other cause its so good and has equal elements of each thing its created from…2 parts pizza (dough and mozz. cheese) and 2 parts chinese (chicken and sauce). Pizza dough with saucy sesame chicken and mozzarella cheese on top… IT STILL SOUNDS GROSS TO ME… am I alone here?
I go here on almost a weekly basis and look forward to trying a new specialty slice (they are always making different ones) or sticking with an old one that i know i’ll love.
Downtown café has changed my point of view about pizza. I am still skeptical when i go to other places with fancy specialty slices and I don’t think i’ll ever try a big mac slice any time soon (which they make here and there by the way)…but i am longer ignorant to specialty pizza. SALUD!!!

Tonight my husband and I got to go out to eat, which is a rare occasion because of our 11 year old son who likes no restaurants. He is at a sleepover tonight. I am only telling you this because my standards are really not high for a decent review. Yet here we are with one star, mainly for the service which stunk (only one of three less than 20% tip in my life and I am 30+++) and on top of that the food was meh??? WTH? Brass Rail or Basil Leaf Café from now on in this area.
The bill was 80 plus tip, so not the cheapest tab in the world, but everything stunk. Complain to management, we have no time, husband has to wake up early to work to pay this bill. I could go on and on but done with this place, do not bother, not worth it in any way

The Downtown Café is my go-​to place when I’m in Glen Cove. They’re food is top notch and fresh. The foods are so full of flavor. The food takes bar food to a whole new level because no bar would have buffalo calamari, or frankly and fish at all. The portions are huge, so come here hungry. Price wise, not the best. But because of the portions I think it’s pretty worth it.

I love ordering pizza from Downtown Café for the staff in my office. The pizza is crispy, cheesy, and always delivered hot. Whether its a cheese or specialty pizza, Downtown Café always delivers the quality that one can expect from an authentic New York pizza restaurant.

I never left a review on Unilocal.Our server Rob was conscious of our 7 year old boy. he was served his dinner as we were served with appetizers. He took our order in steps as we came up with it all with a smile in stride. The garlic Parmesan wings are insanely delicious. A simple bacon burger was simply perfect and the chicken Parmesan is pounded thin a fantastic sauce and excellent mozzarella. Fantastic highly recommend.

Best pizza of all the Glen Cove restauranteurs… Perhaps a bit pricier but well worth it, delivery a bit on the slow side so order before you’re famished…

Awesome restaurant relaxed and fun atmosphere. The food here is beyond good. Super fresh and delish! Definitely coming back… And they have a huge Jack Daniels barrel on the bar. Good times!

The francesce (did I spell it right?) slice is to DIE for. The big mac slice tastes EXACTLY LIKE A BIG MAC BUT BETTER! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
I have gained weight thanks to this place.
I guaran-​damn-​tee you that you WILL NOT find better gourmet slices anywhere.
Honestly, all the slices are amazing. Just eat them all. Every single one.
GO!
NOW!

EVERYTHING is delicious. I’ve been 4 times now, each time trying something new. I have never been disappointed.
The only reason I give 4 instead of 5 stars is because the service is pretty crappy. Everyone’s nice, but none of the staff knows who the waiters are, and you’re left waiting a lot of the time.
In any case, I’m a fan and I’ll definitely be a regular.

As good as it gets. Such a great friendly neighborhood spot! The owners and the staff are so sweet, attentive, and genuine. It’s a great spot just to run in for a slice of pizza, where specialty slices are always great and consistent. A great bar to come watch a big game, or even a casual dinner with the family.
The items on the menu that I definitely always come back for include:
Their gourmet wraps, with their amazing curly fries of course!
Any salad on the menu with blackened chicken on it– to die for.
Their wings which are my favorite in the neighborhood especially with their spicy thai sauce.
The Downtown is always reliably delicious and they always have amazing customer service, which is quick, friendly and efficient.

I don’t know why I haven’t reviewed this place yet! It is my go to place for everything! Whether I am exhausted after work and just want something good delivered, or if I have relatives visiting and want to take them out, this is my go to place.
I love a good Manhattan and when I saw it on their drink menu, I gotta admit, I was a little hesitant. Even though it is just a couple ingredients, you have to make it correctly… Well, Kevin, my friend, you know how to make a Manhattan! If you’re feeling fun, have the Loopy Martini… YUMMO
The bread… oh that delightfully warm piece of bread and real butter they bring out… Don’t skip it… eat it and savor every bite…
Soup: The only one I have ever had is their corn chowder and that is because once I tried it, there was no way I could go in there and order any other soup. It’s just that good.
Pizza: No matter if you are in the mood for a non traditional pizza (mashed potato pizza) or something more «normal», their pizza cannot be beat. It’s always full of the right amount of crust/​sauce/​cheese/​topping ratio… I have had the Downtown Special, the Arrabiata, St Rocco’s, the Mashed Potato, the Philly Cheesesteak, and the Sesame Chicken pizza. Every one of them delight in their own way, but my favorite is the St. Rocco’s.
Pasta: Usually have pizza, but I was there on a Monday and it was «Pasta Night», so I went with the penne with vodka sauce… Once I tried the first bite, my hand covered my plate quickly to let the hubby know there will be no sampling my dinner… it’s mine and I was going to savor every single bite. Since that was so good, the next time I ordered delivery, I went with the ravioli. Just as good.
All in all, this is my favorite place to go because I know I am going to get excellent service, a kick ass drink and food that makes my tummy happy. Give it a try, it won’t disappoint!

Downtown Café is my absolute favorite casual neighborhood spot. There are so many options on the menu ranging from healthy to comfort food, and there is definitely «something for everyone» here. The staff is always really great. They also have a pizza place next door with a really great variety of slices that are all HUGE. We also get a ton of takeout here which is always delicious also. I love Downtown!

Tip top service. I ordered the Uptown Salad — it was absolutely delicious. The servers are very attentive and friendly. I will definitely be returning.

Really cute place, on one side it’s a pizzeria and on the other side a pub/​café with outdoor seating .
We ordered a plain slice, a grandma slice and a chicken sesame slice, the plain slice was good but I wasn’t impressed, the grandma slice was pretty good but the chicken sesame slice was amazing ! It’s like a huge meal, the plate was so heavy I couldn’t believe it was just a pizza, tons of chicken, so tender, juicy and delicious and the sweet sesame sauce went so well with the saltiness of the cheese, def a must try !
Very friendly service, we were given garlic knots on the house since it was our first time there which I thought was very welcoming and sweet, we will def be back to try some more specialty slices !
Thank you

This place is OK for chillin’ at night. It can get pretty packed as its the bar to go to in the square. As far as the food, though… not a huge fan. I was there for the car show and stopped in for a break with my BF and cousin. We had the coconut shrimp — which was over fried and the shrimp was chewy, the BBQ wings — which was undercooked…, the penne a la vodka which was watered down and had tons of onions in it, like why??? The only thing that was OK was the dessert… a peanut butter cheesecake? Overall, i would NOT go there for the food. I would just go there to drink.

Mon tues nite specials are a good deal