An Unforgettable Coffee Experience
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Last Friday, the long awaited Starbucks Reserve Roastery opened in New York! You may recall, we visited the Seattle location back in October. Funnily enough, that was one of our favorite things we ended up doing on that trip, so Shelby and I were excited to learn of the New York location opening to see if we could recreate that amazing experience. And since our wish was granted, in the form of whiskey cold brew, we had such a fun and enjoyable time!
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If you’ve never been to a Starbucks Reserve Roastery location, don’t expect your typical Starbucks experience. Just one look at the extensive menu will show you that. There was a fireplace going right by the door, immediately setting a cozy mood. Sadly all the tables adjacent to it were occupied, but if you’re lucky to snag a seat there I would imagine it would be hard to leave!
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The New York location has multiple coffee bars (the Main Bar is in the center when you walk in the door and the Experience Bar is down a set of stairs), a separate Princi food bar, and even a bar that serves coffee infused alcoholic beverages upstairs. We were greeted by a staff member with an iPad who asked if we were ready to order. As we had recently been to the Seattle location, and were familiar with the menu, we ordered the same things we got there, anxious to re-create that experience, but we do need to return soon so we can try some new things!
After we placed our order, we were showed the area we could pick it up, or we were told that if we saw somewhere open to sit we could snag it and they would come find us. It was pretty busy, so there were no open table around the Main Bar, and we were a bit confused about the logistics of how our coffee would find us if we strayed too far away. But when our order was ready our two helpful staff members carrying our coffee lead us down the steps towards the Experience Bar, and found us an open table in the corner. We got situated as they explained further detail on the coffees we ordered, and then we just sat back and enjoyed. To be honest, this is the same area (the “Experience Bar”) we sat in Seattle, so I’m not sure if this is the same up at the Main Bar, but at both locations in this area we had a waiter of sorts that you could order beverages and food from, or ask any questions. We had already purchased our coffee and food up at the Main Bar, but you could walk in the front door, go down the stairs, and grab a table in the Experience Bar area and order everything you want without standing in line at the Main Bar if you wanted to. The other interesting thing we learned is you’re not allowed to tip on this service!
The roastery is a multi level experience that offer a unique feeling of discovery. It’s a real life manufacturing plant, they roast all of the reserve coffee they sell onsite. We witnessed a coffee roaster explain each step of what he was doing to a small group of onlookers, almost as if they were in coffee school. The very well trained staff is willing to answer any question you have, from what I should I order if I’m hung over (we overheard a girl at the table next to us ask this question. The answer if you’re curious- an affagato- a scoop of ice cream topped with two shots of expresso) to where are the bathrooms (the person Shelby asked this to personally walked her to the bathroom stall, opened the door for her, and told her to have fun, ha!).
The menu is extensive and offers a variety of coffee (and tea!) that is exclusive to the roastery locations. There are less than a handful of these in the WORLD so the experience feels very special. And while the coffee is the star of the show, do not overlook the food. Some of the best things we have ever eaten have come from here. Highly highly highly recommend the caprese sandwich!
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All in all, we had a very enjoyable few hours at the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery in New York and we are so excited to have one so close to us now. We can’t wait to go back and try some of the cocktails!
A few tips-
- I would recommend you familiarize yourself with the menus a bit before going. It’s a bit overwhelming when you first walk in, so this allows you to take in the experience, rather than trying to navigate an extensive menu. Select a few things that sound good to you, then ask questions to an employee before making your final selections.
- If you want to try several things, and you’re with at least one other person, I recommend ordering one of the flights.
- If you are a fan of whiskey, you HAVE to order the whiskey cold brew. Pro tip- they also sell the beans, so you can purchase some and make your own cold brew (or just regular coffee) at home. They only sell these at the Seattle Roastery, and now the New York Roastery. No where else. You cannot order them online. Trust me, after Seattle I tried.
- While this may be a temporary thing because the location just opened, security controls how many people are allowed in at one time, so there may be a line outside just to get in. To avoid this, I would recommend getting there on the early side. We arrived right around 11am on Saturday, the second day they were open, and there were just a handful of people waiting outside in front of us. We stood outside for less than 5 minutes before we were allowed inside. They do this so it doesn’t feel overly crowded inside, and we were even able to find somewhere to sit. When we left several hours later the line to get in was much longer, wrapping around the block. I did notice they were handing out free cups of coffee to the people in line, so at least there is that, haha.
-Ash