Jembetat African Art Gallery

I like the concept of this «no-​tech» café, which I believe is supposed to be a sanctuary from smartphones with enough tasty food and interesting art/​jewelry to independently stimulate conversation. I have to commend the owner for his daring business model founded on the faith that modern humans might be willing to step away from their devices long enough to enjoy Reality™ with their snacks.
That’s why I was really disappointed when the owner, who seemed genuine and nice, did not himself communicate to me that he didn’t actually have coffee despite it being listed on the menu. Coffee was listed as $ 2.50, and he confirmed what I wanted, but *after* making the drink he told me that he didn’t have coffee so this was an Americano ($ 3.00) (?). Not the end of the world, but it felt misleading, and it left a bad taste in my mouth – as did the Americano, which was unfortunately sludgy and unpalatable.
This is the sort of business I’d love to support, so I’ll probably try it once more. Maybe the gelato will be good.

Went there for gelato after dinner. The art gallery was cool — very interesting art pieces. There’s a sign allowing only 2 gelato tastings which was a problem because this was my first time and I was not familiar with any of the offerings. I did not particularly care for the 2 sampled flavors and opted for tiramisu cake instead. The cake was stale and i could not eat more than a bite. I would recommend you go just for the art and find another place for dessert down the street because what I had was unpleasant. Will probably not return here again if I can help it.

The gelato and variety of desserts here are delicious. I’d recommend it if you want something different.
The chai isn’t too bad.
I’ve never explored the art gallery though to be honest.

The art gallery is a very cool place to check out the jewelry and things they have in there, very unique stuff that you are not going to see very many places. They are a bit crazy about you having your cell phones out (they don’t want pictures taken which I understand) but I thought they were a little over the top with that. The café is alright — I have never had anything exceptional there. And it is definitely over priced based on other options that are very near by.

Jembetat has some cool African art and a friendly barista. I ordered a coffee that was good (but nothing spectacular) and probably a wee bit overpriced at $ 2.70. I finished my cup and asked for a refill only to find out that they don’t do refills. I often drink a lot of coffee when I read or do work, and not offering refills (especially when your coffee is nothing special) is a no-​no in my book. It was neat checking out the artwork, but I’m probably not going to make Jembatat a café where I go to read or do some work.

Don’t worry Jembetat, I didn’t write this review on my phone or laptop while visiting your location.
Jembetat is a coffee shop, gelaterie, African art gallery, and jewelry store all in two inter-​connected storefronts. It’s really a great place to come together to visit art with friends, but, as my opening disclaimer alludes, it’s probably not the best place to relax solo unless you’ve brought a book or newspaper with you. You see, there are a variety of signs and even a Democrat and Chronicle news story about the gallery posted on the wall that note that they discourage cell phone and laptop usage. I totally get it. How many times are you together with your friends as you each bow your heads and solemnly recite the iPhone prayer? The proprietors of the location want to encourage you to actually talk to your friends and that’s really cool, unless, of course, you’re by yourself and only have your Newton, Kindle, or iPad with you.
I haven’t tried their gelato, though it looks good, but I have sampled their hot beverage offerings and haven’t been unsatisified. So, if you’re looking for a quiet place to catch up with a friend or read something printed or you’d like to check out some really beautiful fertility idols and other works of African art, definitely stop by; this is a really unique hidden gem of the Flower City.

I know that they’re gelato may not be authentic but I always loved to take all of my friends to the park ave location after school events or just on a hot day. Until one day when I decided to go into yolishous (right next door) with my friend Rachel instead. The seating was CRAZY and all the seats inside and outside were taken but jembetat was completely vacant. We sat on their side as close to the yolishous side as we could get and not even two minutes later the owner came out and in a really rude tone said «You guys need to leave now». Now I understand we were sitting on the wrong side but I wish people could be more understanding and use their people skills. You have no customers dude. Maybe you should realize why. After being such a loyal patron to them and getting treated like that, i Definitely won’t go back there.

What a neat place this is! Beer, wine, gelato, art, jewelry, coffee/​tea all in one place! We came here right before close on a Friday night and got a little cup of gelato.
One thing I didn’t care for was that I felt out of place stepping in. We saw the gelato part of the café from on the sidewalk and decided to venture in. Upon entering the store, we were greeted by a woman behind the jewelry counter. So we needed to wade through the jewelry section before coming upon our purpose (aka gelato). Of course the jewelry was spectacular and beautiful but we were not interested in that. The saleswoman took a few pieces out for us to look at closer. Truly beautiful! And I plan on sending someone here that I know to look for a gift. But on to the gelato! Mmm. Delicious! The flavor and texture were great.
This seems like a fun place to come for a beer. No one was here when we stopped in, though. Hopefully it gets busier! It would be fun if there were groups of people socializing together. Otherwise it just seems out of place. Definitely worth stopping in and checking out the wide array of goods being sold here.

The gelato lately has failed to impress me much. Mostly because it’s a hit or miss. I had a mix of their mango and banana last night. The mango was delicious and smooth as always. The banana however tasted like it had been in the freezer for eons and was all hard and flaky (no they were not banana flakes). On top of that I found a hair in my gelato. It didn’t seem like one that dropped in the gelato while serving, it was deep set! Something that fell in there while preparing. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t part of the recipe.
I tried the turtle cake out of the bakery items as recommended by the girl at the counter who was kinda cute. The cake however, was not. It was way too sweet and felt like eating a spoonful of sugar with some chocolate essence thrown in.
The store owner was walking around keeping a check on things. I didn’t have any problems with her as encountered by some other reviewers but she didn’t give a warm fuzzy feeling for sure. A little smile sometimes goes a long way.
Taking off one star.

Love. Love. Love. Jembetat. As a native Rochester-ian…every time I come back into town to visit family, I stop by to check out the Jewelry selection. As an AMBER freak, (a slight obsession of mine) I look forward to any new select pieces in hopes to add to my collection.
Definitely a staple within the community and worth a go-​see!

After kickball, my teammates and I would always gather at Jembetat on park for Gelato and maybe a beer. The women who work the counter are fantastic, always polite and helpful.
Skip to my wife and I walking the canal at Shoen Place this summer, and we see that there is a second Jembetat open. Awesome! We go in and my wife orders first. She orders chocolate and espresso flavors in the cone, when the Barista was preparing the gelato, we both noticed how tiny the serving was. I mean, noticeably half the size that you get for the same price at the location on Park ave.
My wife is very polite (by anyone’s standards) and says «wow, that is quite a difference from the amount at the Park ave location», and the barista gets very… Pittsford-​y, and says in a tone «eh well, this is a generous serving and people usually say that it’s too much.» then she goes in a different direction and says «the owner is very strict on the sizes, I wish I could help you. I wish I could help you.»
I wish I could help you… like we were stranded with a flat tire and she didn’t have a jack. You have the scoop lady, and your holding the cone. you can help me. give me $ 4.25 worth of Gelato and drop the Stepford impression.
It was a weird, awkward experience. We definitely will not be going back to the location at shoen place. Sorry, I appreciate that gelato is not cheap (4.25 a cone), and I have never had an issue until that particular time. But once is enough for me to hear someone to talk to my wife the way she did.
Not impressed. I will stick to the Park Ave location.

In the market for some hand-​carved amber? Maybe an authentic tribal mask? This place is one-​third museum, one-​third jewelry store, and one-​third café. Bring your Amex… or settle for some delicious gelato.

Love it here! it is a different place which is what I love the most about it here. They have many different drinks and desserts to choose from. It is also a nice place to go and hang out with a couple of friends and just relax. It is a nice quiet place and I enjoy that there are no people on their phones and computers doing work. I will definitely be going back there.

This is not gelato, not even close. They should not be allowed to advertise as having it. Please do not waste your money — you’re paying triple the price for mediocre ice cream.

I LOVE this place. The gelato is delicious and is perfectly portioned, and they make a mean café au lait. I love the no cell phone rule! As much as I love technology, I also love the initiative Jembetat has taken to get customers to disconnect for a little while. The service here is excellent and always super friendly.
The art is awesome, especially the beaded zebu (?) heads adorning the walls. The jewelry is so gorgeous. One of my favorite places.

This is a European Café. I approached Jembetat excited to have food I can’t get in Buffalo. The name, signs, tribal masks, etc. all advertise some kind of African cuisine. I was initially disappointed to see they serve panini, but quickly was charmed.
They serve 3 different brands of tea, and I had a really flavorful loose leaf green tea. I also had a packed turkey panini with roasted red pepper and pesto. They also have fairly extensive beer, wine, and gelato selections, although I didn’t try any of these.
There is a no cell phone, no computer policy. For this Jembetat is unique and a good break from noisier coffee shops.
The reason for the décor is that this originated as an African Art Gallery and jewelry shop, which is now adjacent to the café and serves as a dining room.