Love Cafe

Stopped in at this gem after a recruitment fair at the nearby school. Such a nice place with a lot of heart, staff is super friendly and warm.

Service was great! Food was excellently priced for the size! Asked us if we needed wifi, took our order and food came out quickly. Everything was delicious, and our server (might’ve been the owner?) gave us tons of good advice on things to see around NY. Wish we could’ve gone back!

Dayum! Here we go again. 1rst day back and this spot once again managed to mess up. I was the only one in the place yet The barista had to take my order w she walked in from outside. Waited and waited for my simple order — then HS students flooded the place to have their orders served prior to mine. Thank you barista! Trying to practice patience this year But this is the last time I give this spot business.

If you want an excellent cup of morning Joe & some delicious morning eats
with some fine tunes emitting from the radio… this place has it all!
Great friendly staff and super cheap prices by NYC standards, make the Love Café
a routine stop for me every morning.

Excellent food, very good service, the owners were so nice and hilarious to boot. I cannot imagine getting as good a breakfast anywhere in NY for the very decent price we paid.

Quite simply the best Iced Coffee in East Harlem and for that fact, my go-​to Saturday morning spot. The service is consistently excellent, the owner is always ready with a joke or entertaining anecdote makes you want to share something too makes for a great experience, neighborhood diner feel which I’ve seen written here before.

«You want to go where everyone knows your name» it was such a delight to dine in this local café and see customers of all ages flood the counter to place their orders. FYI it’s very small and quaint with a boast of personality.
I had the Belgian waffle bacon egg and cheese sandwich. What a savory salty but sweet treat. The mocha coffee was delicious… and I don’t drink coffee! I will definitely be back to try their other selections including the deserts! I want them to know my name

Woohoo! As good as it gets is right. My daughter & I were just in NY for our 1^st time. We stopped by the café for lunch. She had the burger & fries & I had the chicken quesadilla. Fries were perfectly crispy & the quesadilla was awesome w/​their signature chipotle sauce. We were full but not too full to skip dessert. We ordered the waffles w/​the works — heaven on a plate. It was all so delicious. Still, the service & hospitality the owner embodies is the main reason I’m writing this review. I wish I could have put him in my pocket & brought him back to LA w/​us.
Stop by, you won’t be disappointed.

A true neighborhood spot — very reasonable prices, super friendly owner and staff, delicious menu (especially the chicken salad sandwiches), and very caring toward the kids from high school across the street.

During our weekly Saturday in the city, hubbs and I relied on Unilocal for a place with good eats and came across this great hole in the wall, greasy spoon spot. When we arrived, it looked way too small and we thought we would have to order and eat our food in the car but since there were a few officers placing orders, we decided it was worth a try because NYC cops always know where the eating is good. After a few minutes, we were told that there were a few tables in the rear and on our way back there, we noticed that the dining bar in front is actually pretty long so, if there weren’t any tables in back, we would have been able to comfortably dine up front. The staff is super friendly. Give them time, they’re attentive to everyone. The place can house a lot of folks but there’s only two people taking orders and serving tables. The guy serving us saw our preoccupation with our phones and offered up the WiFi password. Very cool.
I always enjoy perusing the food pics to help me choose my order. I came across Jay C’s waffle sandwich pic and immediately knew that was what I wanted, especially seeing that they have non-​pork meats like turkey bacon and beef sausage. I ordered a Turkey Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a Belgian Waffle and it was everything! I asked for some maple syrup to complete the dish. It was amazing. Hubby had a Philly Cheesesteak on a Roll that he liked and I tasted it, of course, to keep my reviews authentic and all; it was good. I wish there was a bit more cheese and the meat, cut a little bigger, but it was real steak and not that steakums crap, which was a pleasant surprise, so they get a check mark for that.
Hubby had an Iced tea and I had skinny Chai Latte; I must say that their beverages were on point. The iced tea tasted homemade and the chai was fragrant and tasted great.
For as long as my boy will be going to CU every weekend, we will be trying out many places in the area, from the humble luncheonette to the pretentious bistro and everything in between and I’m happy to say that I’m a little bit in love with the Love Café.

I went here for brunch with some friends, I didn’t get anything to eat but my coffee was really good. My friends all thought that their food was fine. If you’re nearby it’s definitely worth stopping by for coffee to go;the place is a little bit disorganized and not so pleasant on the inside.

Delicious… extremely friendly staff. Made my day!
Loved the chocolate cake.
Will definitely be back!

First time at this café today. Worked on wifi, chatted with the owner, had a typical breakfast. All three were great experiences. Love Café is a classic neighborhood coffee shop where everyone is known by name.
Quaint scene: boys’ card game in a tiny corner… high school kids? Maybe… Scene outta Good Fellas.
If you’re looking for a warm slice of Harlem to go with that Latte, look no further.

Love Café has the best coffee I have ever had in my 23 years on this Earth! No joke. I walk over from 3^rd avenue (sometimes multiple times a day) to grab a small coffee for –get this– $ 1. Also, the service here is welcoming and personable.
There are a few vegetarian options including most of the spot’s all-​day breakfast items. Gotta admit I have been a little underwhelmed by the two meals I bought here. Egg and cheese was decent, but seemed carelessly thrown together. And the small salad was fresh, but overpriced. I have heard wonderful things from a friend who ordered french toast. And I still have evil anti-​veg fantasies about the chopped cheese fries offered here.
Heads up, Love Café is right across the street from a Middle/​Highschool so lunch hours are usually very crowded.

This place is around the corner from me and I try to go probably once a week on average, sometimes less, sometimes more. The crew is super friendly and quick and the food and coffee are good. Pat talks to me like I’m an actual regular even though I don’t go anywhere near daily.
My go-to’s are the chicken quesadilla and the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant (to which I occasionally add syrup for a little sweetness).
Sometimes the place is full of teens from the school across the street, but lately I tend to go on Saturdays or around 4PM on weekdays and it’s fine. I’m sure it’s not too packed at various other times during the day as well.
The vibe is generally chill and good though. There’s a nook in the back with 4 or 5 small tables if you want to be relatively alone, and then there’s a decent amount of bar space in the front. It’s one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood.
Whereas Brother’s Bakery a few blocks away is pricey and feels homogenized and synthetic, Love is affordable, tastier, and feels real and personal.

This morning the boyfriend and I woke in LA where we now live and got some iced lattes. It got us reminiscing on how no one ever can beat the wonderful deliciousness of a love café chai zing, our I’m Saturday morning ritual we miss so much.
The love café is hands down our favorite neighborhood breakfast spot and we have eaten just about the entire menu!
Some highlights:
–waffle with the works
–chop cheese fries (an East Harlem classic (we always share a plate to start))
— quesadillas with pork and avocado
— chicken salad sandwich with pesto
— pastelitos with their housemade chipotle cheese dipping sauce
— the breakfast platter (so good with the tostones)
–I could go on and on
Pat and Jay are a dynamic duo with so many interesting stories. It’s obvious the level of commitment they have for the community, keeping the prices fair so the kids at the school across the street can keep coming in.
Rick and Amanda love the love café!

So happy that I discovered this café! Strong coffee that tastes good for $ 2! Restaurant quality French toast and pancakes for $ 5 each! Friendly service. This place is a serious gem in East Harlem! It is my new takeout brunch spot. Highly recommend.

This place is awesome…
I ordered a sandwich that involved avocado and when jay (the guy behind the counter) realized they were out he literally ran to the store.

We are Australians and we’re looking for a good coffee and a local feel… This place is amazing, Pat & Jay we wish we found your café sooner. Your food and coffee were great and you two really made us feel good about being there.
If you haven’t been here you should!!! They will make you feel like a local in no time!
Thanks again.

You always feel like it’s cheers in this place especially when you walk in and Pat says «hey you want your usual». Everything there is made with love and I know because it tastes like it.