The Adore

The Adore is lovely and have authentic French pastries, café drinks, etc with a minor twist of Japanese style of lightness. This is my secret café to go. (now it’s no secret). They make the best iced cap. Not many places make it right. I love everything in this café. Their baguettes!!! You need to try them yourself.

CLOSED :(
I invited a friend for tea and the handwritten sign said «goodbye to our fans.» There’s a liquor permit plastered to gate.
This cozy place was my ace to escape the chaos of Union Square. Sad how something so adorable will be replaced with something expensive and lame.

[um, my sister apparently hacked my account and wrote this…]
I think that this little neighborhood gem is closed for good. There’s a little paper sign on the wall next to the gate. We were just there last weekend for brunch (we’ve been going every single weekend for many years) and it was open for business as usual but no one said anything. My kids had their last bowl of tasty cream of corn soup and the fabulous croque madames. I had my last made-​from-​scratch waffle, and my husband his last anchovy sandwich. We were happy for all the haters to stay away since we didn’t want those who didn’t really appreciate The Adore to come around and bring down the really special vibe this place had. It’s really too sad as this neighborhood has been steadily losing all the small stores that make it really special. Our family is very sad.
As for the city’s health ratings, I’d rather eat here, where the food is homemade and delicious, than any Starbucks with its A rating. If we had known it was closing, we’d have eaten there every day until the end. Goodbye, Dear Friend!

Fresh squeezed oj very good.
Almond crescent tasted burnt and shrunken — should be called a crescent shaped cookie it’s so hard. Maybe dats the French way. I felt bad, but we sent it back. It looked like we got the leftover crescent that had fallen behind the oven somewhere and got overcooked to the point of being dry and hard. But I think that’s how it’s supposed to be.
Very cute place with dining upstairs. French Provençal is the word I’m looking for I think. I don’t know what that means really, I just wanted to use that word.
Service pretty slow.

Was looking for a lunch place near Union Square on a Saturday afternoon and found this little gem courtesy of Unilocal.It’s an unassuming hole in the wall type place removed from the hubbub of Union Square. The storefront is a little bakery with the kitchen in back, no chairs, and we weren’t even sure there was seating inside until a lady sitting on the bench outside told us to go upstairs. So up the steep flight of stairs we went and sure enough, there are several wooden tables and chairs. Quaint, quiet and rustic.
This is a French bakery/​restaurant owned by Japanese and many of the workers are Japanese. The French and Japanese share a passion for style, fashion and presentation and when applied to cuisine it results in delicious, fresh and attractive dishes in moderate portions. The menu is basically soups, salads and sandwiches, all prepared with fresh ingredients. Their baguettes are delivered daily from a well-​known bakery and their deserts are baked on the premises every morning. If you are looking for big sandwiches emphasizing quantity you will not find them here.

I had no problems at Adore. My lunch companion and I came just after 1:30pm where there was no line and plenty of bread and pastries left. Their menu offered a great selection so I actually had a hard time picking, but in the end, I opted for the sandwich/​soup lunch combo: white fish smoked baguette with cucumbers and horseradish with a side of creamed corn soup. For $ 10 in New York, I think that’s a pretty good deal! He got one of the special sandwiches: sopressata with mozzarella.
We opted to take out because we both had a 2pm meeting. We sat outside on the provided chairs in about 5 minutes, our sandwiches were ready which they brought out to us.
As the other Unilocalers raved, the baguette was great. My sandwich had plenty of filling with just the right amount of heat from the horseradish and crunch from the cucumber. The soup was so-​so: a bit on the watery side and not very well seasoned. I didn’t finish it but was more than stuffed from my sandwich!
Definitely looking forward to going back and trying the other sandwich combos and picking up one of the delectable looking pastries!

Have gotten a couple of desserts, the apple tart and cheesecake, and both were delightful.
Yesterday, I went to get an iced tea and tried the «brown rice» flavored (not positive what the name was). Of course, I wanted a little honey with it, but to my surprise got yelled at and refused by the Japanese old man not to add any sugar to the tea. The young man explained that it will ruin the flavor. I left confused and tasted the tea. I think it should let the person decide if they wanted to add a sweetener to a drink. I agree the flavor is strong enough and could hold on its own, but when I added the honey (I snuck some from next door) it definitely enhanced it.

I’m a big francophile, so when I found this adorable (and well hidden) French restaurant, I absolutely had to go. I ordered the turkey sandwich, but unfortunately they were out, so I went with the always safe tomato & basil sandwich on a baguette. It came with a salad and I could not decide which dressing to get with it and the waiter fantastically suggested the dijon mustard which went perfectly with the already wonderful salad. The baguette had the fantastic crunch that every sandwich should have and I spent the time eating it looking outside the window — a charming view, hard to find in NYC (maybe not too hard in Greenwhich Village though). Once I was finished, I bothered the waiter once more to suggest a desert (since I had heard the pastries are to die for) and ended up with the most orgasmic apple tart I have ever had the delight to eat on my table within a few minutes.
I honestly cannot express my love for The Adore enough. The service was fantastic, although I will admit it would be nice if the delay between me finishing and getting my check was a bit shorter. The design of everything is so well thought out though, that I throughly enjoyed the extra time to take it all in.

** 2.5 stars **
I came here with a friend for lunch. We really liked the ambiance right away: very simple and rustic. The menu had a lot of sandwich options, but they were all pretty related to each other. My friend got the tuna with avocado, and I got the Hangarian salami with cheese and peppers. We also got the potato leek soup.
The soup was pretty light, but the potatoes tasted a little too hard, and it was pretty unexciting. My sandwich was fine but, in the end, seemed pretty steep for $ 8. Lastly, my friend’s sandwich didn’t have any semblance of avocado, so when she inquired, she was told the tuna and avocado were blended together. «But I don’t taste any avocado. [That is the point.]» So, she got some extra slices (for 50 cents extra, which actually isn’t a lot but symbolically was very strange).
So, in the end, not sure I’ll come back. Maybe I’d check out one of their lovely-​looking pastries but skip lunch.

Great pastries, tea, location, and the upstairs (perch) is great for people watching. Reminds me alot of the casual cafes in D.C. like Teaism in Dupont.

What a pleasant surprise! The Adore is definitely one of those places you stumble during a stroll on a nice day in NYC.
The Adore offers a range of tea (Yuzu-​cha is my favorite) sandwiches from scratch and delicious desserts! I had the smoked duck sandwich on 7 grain and it was delicious. The sandwich was a perfect size and the yuzu-​cha complimented it perfectly.
For dessert I had their seasonal «chocolate apricot» pastry. Fresh and extremely tasty.
The Adore is a perfect lunch spot and a place where you just want to kill some time while enjoying some tea and/​or dessert. The décor is a la small French cabin feel. Very cozy.
The staff are extremely friendly and it appeared to be Japanese owned so you’ll be guaranteed great service :)
This is my new favorite spot especially on those spring days!

This place was merely OKAY. If it wasn’t for the lovely décor, this place would have been a 2 star for me. I had brunch here with a friend and the food was OKAY and kindly pricey. Service was OKAY.
Cash only.

I adore The Adore… ok, that was way to easy, and I’m sure someone already said that before.
Went there for a late lunch today. Only scanned the reviews via Unilocal and upon seeing the words quaint, cute, French-​Japanese and coffee… I was sold.
I, however, didn’t realize that if you wanted to eat-​in that I should’ve gone straight upstairs and not order via the counter on the lower-​street level. Oops. The cashier, however, was very nice and simply sent me upstairs after informing the waitress above. Embarrassed.
Yes, so if you want to eat-​in it’s sit-​down table service; for take-​out, then order at the street level and you’ll be on your way. Since I was a table for one, I had the sole table for one (i.e. an old-​school classroom table n chair); kinda felt a little odd… like I was the student with the dunks cap… sitting in the (near) corner all by my wee self. Boo.
I got over it quite fast because space it tight upstairs (i.e. think narrow two level colonel home with 7 tables each sitting 1 – 3 max… it’s tiny) and I was already in love with the place when I first walked in. I wasn’t going anywhere.
I ended up ordering the soup/​sandwich combo and a pot of tea:
Spicy Chicken w/​Caramelized Onions and Baguette — loved it; great spice, Italian sausage like taste;
Potato & Leek Soup — portion was a tad small but tasty (not cooked w/​cream as I expected… and it could’ve been lighter on the salt);
Soba-​Cha — decaf Japanese buckwheat tea — yummy roasted flavor.
Thought the tea at $ 5.00 was a tad pricey but their drinks kinda are priced between $ 3 – 6. I didn’t ask for the pot to be refilled but I’m sure they would’ve if you asked for more hot water.
Waitstaff was nice, friendly and attentive. Definitely will not be the last time I visit The Adore… next time I’ll bring a buddy and sit for a while longer… that’s what all the other parties did.

Eff all the haters. I’m giving this place a solid 5 stars. I go here about once a week for coffee or lunch. The coffee here is among the best I’ve ever had — and I’ve had a LOT of coffee in my day.
The pastries here are so nommy, with some really unusual variants. Prune scones? Delicious. Sounds weird, but so does a Japanese French place. And the madeilenes (sp?) have an almost cake consistency.
The leek soup — amazing. The bread they use on all the sandwiches — house baked and — yes, amazing. The coffee, again — amazing.
I’ve been coming here for nearly half a decade, and the staff has remained largely the same. They remember me, and are always very sweet and attentive.
Now, if you don’t «get» the vibe here, you’re not going to like it. They are very particular about how their food is served. The sandwiches are feng shui-​ed to be visually as well as actually tasty. There are no substitutions. You can’t order off the menu. They close whenever they want, and they only take cash. And they’re closed on Sundays — business suicide in Manhattan. Whatever. I recommend popping in a quiet weekday mid-​morning after all the yuppies have gone to work. Enjoy the rich woodwork, treehouse view, and warm service. And get the coffee for the love of god! (With sugarcubes!)

I really love The Adore. The year I moved to New York a friend recommended I visit the place. I brought another friend and fell in love instantly. I ordered the leek soup and we split a few tarts/​pastries and a cappuccino which had near perfect foam.
It was so perfect and reminded me of those little cafes in the french countryside, and the mini-​feast looked like something out of a fairytale (i posted photos).
Service was a bit slow but I didn’t mind sitting there enjoying the view for hours.

I stopped by The Adore yesterday to catch a glimpse of the place before they closed for the day. Their kitchen closes at 4pm, and the baked goods stopped being served when they run out or when they close up shop at 7pm, whichever happens first.
It was a nice little café. I knew that it was Japanese run, but had no clue that it was a Japanese-​French place (was expecting a washoku type place). When I had arrived at 6pm, there wasn’t much to choose from, so I chose their Ham Quiche ($ 4.25). Though the upstairs seating area was already closed, I was able to «dine in» on the seats in front.
The quiche was delicate (I posted a picture of it) and very tasty. The crust was very good. My only complaint would be that they initially used a microwave (not a fan) then an oven toaster (which is fine to me) to heat up the quiche. The Adore also had a tomato quiche, which I might try next time.
I took a look at the kitchen menu, and saw many items that I would like to try. It listed an assortment of French sandwiches and soups.

Love the concept. Love the quirky space. But, um, Adore, why is your menu so confusing? There’s the blackboard with the specials, the blackboard with the drinks, the printed menu, and then the changing of the blackboards at around 11:45 (when we were there) when, apparently, it’s no longer possible to get a scone or croissant — though there are scones and croissants downstairs — because it’s lunch time. (As an aside, this really confused me. I mean, if there are scones downstairs, can we please get them upstairs?!)
We ended up getting soups (I had the potato leek, my friend had the asparagus purée) with bread because we couldn’t get scones. The potato leek was nice because it wasn’t creamy, but the lack of cream also meant that it ended up tasting like leeks floating in chicken broth. There was also a surprising lack of potato — which was weird since potato should be, well, half of a potato leek soup. My friend liked her purée though. And the bread– actually small baguettes– was fresh and wonderful. Moreover, their tea was delicious, though expensive ($ 4.50 for a pot is steep).
Overall, there are other spots in the Union Sq area that are far more exciting (like Paradis to Go) and far more reasonably priced, though this place certainly gets points for being cute and cozy.

I finally got to return to my former favorite café after not coming here for nearly 10 years. My Swiss co-​worker I met at my first job in NY introduced me to this cute Japanese-​owned bakery café when we used to work near Union Square. I remember the exact sensation of surprise and joy when I stepped into this charming European style café’s second floor dining room for the first time. I was like, «Wow, so adorable!» and thanked my friend for taking me here. Definitely I wouldn’t have discovered this place on my own not only because I was new to the City, but also because it’s tucked away in an inconspicuous space between the two tall buildings on the 13^th St. I remember the good times I had with her at Thé Adoré having an open conversation about our design aspirations over delicious croque monsieur and a nice cup of coffee overlooking the 13^th St. from the big picture window. She was not just a good friend but also was such an amazing talented graphic designer who inspired me to pursue my own style. She was passionate about design and always brought a brilliant fresh design solution to the boring corporate design world like a fresh air from the Alps. Thanks to her I got to meet the French legendary graphic designer Philippe Apeloig in person 4 times (3 times in NY and once in Paris)!!
10 years later, I am sitting alone in the same place we sat together on the 2^nd floor of Thé Adoré. Everything still looked the same, but I’ve changed so much since then. This place makes me so sentimental and nostalgic. Sorry for being so sappy today, LOL. So much has changed in 10 years. My Swiss friend stuck with her passion for graphic design while I ditched graphic design and shifted my career path to fashion. And something else changed too. The bread of Thé Adoré didn’t taste as good as it used to. It’s been 10 years so I don’t remember the exact taste, but for some reason it tasted better before.
As for my Swiss friend, we grew apart because of the busy schedule. I haven’t seen her for few years now. I heard she’s in California now. Thé Adoré will continue to be inseparably tied to the memories of my Swiss friend and my youth. I still think it’s a nice place… J’adore encore Thé Adoré.

I am a sucker for cute cafes. The small dining area, the petite and simple products, wooden tables and flowers in front of the giant window warm my heart. Not to mention the food is satisfying and the random shouts of Japanese remind me that I have not been transported to a side street in Europe.
There is a bit of a wait in the cramped downstairs area since the upstairs has limited seating. But the staff keep busy and the turnover is relatively quick without being too rushed. The only thing that keeps The Adore from being a 5-​star place might be the service, but it really didn’t bother me that much. They’re a busy establishment, and our orders came out at a timely fashion.
My friend had the turkey sausage with onions on a baguette and a side of potato and leek soup, and I had the turkey breast with alfalfa, lettuce, and tomatoes on white and the asparagus purée soup. I didn’t get a strong asparagus taste in the soup (if asparagus even has a strong flavor), but it was creamy and delicious. We both enjoyed our sandwiches. I normally don’t give much attention to the bread on my sandwiches, but their white bread was so fluffy and had a nice crisp but not too hard crust that I happily devoured. I can’t wait to come back here again and maybe have a cup of tea at the window table.

3 stars for cute/​quaint ambience despite location (cute Parisian café in the middle of Union Square…), excellent soups, and mildly impressive selection of French sandwiches with Japanese teas.
Minus 2 stars for cramped seating, mediocre-​quality-​and-​quantity sandwiches, hard baguettes, and the oddly-​tough texture of the pear tart I shared with my boyfriend. I had the vegetarian sandwich on sourdough– not recommended– and my boyfriend had one of the croque sandwiches that was certainly not impressive.