Birch Coffee

A cozy gem tucked in a quiet neighborhood, this coffee shop charms with its warm ambiance and friendly baristas. The aroma of fresh brews fills the air, complemented by locally sourced pastries. the coffee is rich and thoughtfully brewed, and the pastries are always fresh. Very warm and welcoming.

Coffee was really good here and the people that take your order are really sweet and attentive. I bought a bag of coffee as well and they grind it in store for the method of coffee making of your liking. The place is small but has a common table were you can sit and some chairs outside. The energy is really nice and the smell nicer.

Love this coffee place in UES! The staffs are always nice. And if you don’t know they celebrate your birthday with a free cup of coffee too! ☺️ My favorite to go is their blackberry oat latte, and always go for large!

Our favorite coffee shop! I come here almost every day and the coffee is always amazing. The staff are very friendly and are super consistent. It has a warm, inviting ambience and yummy pastries. 10/10 recommendation.

We love this neighborhood coffee shop, and can’t imagine a day without stopping in. The staff are all really friendly and welcoming. The cappuccino is the best I’ve ever had. The vibe is very upbeat, and the playlist is fantastic. It’s the best.

Not only is this the best coffee in Manhattan, but the staff at this location is truly incredible. Every detail is carefully thought out and they make each customer feel truly taken care of. The manager always goes above and beyond. Birch makes my day better every day!

This coffee shop is so delightful! It truly made my day coming here. I only shared a coffee with a friend but as soon as you walk in, the energy is great. The staff is welcoming, its neatly organized and nicely decorated. The note I found after a few sips, truly put a smile on my face. Thank you Birch. I definitely will be back and I highly recommend.

This is my favorite coffee spot. The people are fantastic, amazing coffee/espresso. The highlight is the blueberry muffin- legitimately the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever had. I come here every morning. Highly recommend!

Context - wife and I came into city to enjoy the vibe (we are from West New York). Found this place on upper east side. Needed to do some work, and also enjoy a drink - or two in this case. Immediately thoughts - amazing vibe. Staff: Forget the young ladies name, but her attitude and smile was the antithesis of some larger chains I have been in. Felt no pressure to be in a hurry, and answered any questions my wife (Matche latte with oatmilk) had with a smile, scratch that a Genuine Smile. The rest of the staff including the gentlemen washing the door was cordial, apologizing as I took a break outside and went back in. He was doing his job, and he apologized - when I was the one to say "my apologize, kindly excuse me" That is customer service 15/10. Yell can we have 6 star - outlier rating system? Drinks: I got the organic green tea. Added just a little sweetener. Simply amazing & .... oRgaaaaaNicc would buy again but then I would not have been able to focus and would have needed to go Bio My wife loved her matche latte with oatmilk as well. We thought about a desert, but decided not too. Immediately regretted after leaving. Everything looked fresh and super tasty and the sentiments shared by those who passsed through and bought them echoes this. Vibe: There is outdoor seating with WiFi. Indoor is packed, but I like to call it snuggle. Even with the sun breathing on our back, felt like there was no one from the staff pushing us to leave as we sat inside to do the work. Barista was very friendly as well. Just.... I think it really comes down to this - Staff, staff, staff, drinks, vibe, atmosphere In a time where we need more of this I applaud Birch coffee and will 100% come back here again, maybe after work (I work in Manhattan, live near Hudson in West New York NJ Side) Must go. Birch Coffee - I tip my hat off to you. Last note - help Small businesses. Especially ones who deserve it, and Birch Coffee deserves it in spades

Birch store at LaGuardia is awful. . The billboard says macchiato ,.I was given there version of it. I complained to the barista, and she said we don't make espresso macchiato !! As if there are any other options! Thanks to Starbucks for messing with my favorite coffee drink

This is a nice little gem of a coffee shop! I love the exposed bricks and Edison light bulbs and wood and especially the coffee! I got a vanilla latte with almond milk. It was incredibly smooth and silky. Service was lovely and fast but I'm an early bird. Definitely will come back!

One of my favorite spots for coffee on the UES and they have multiple locations around Manhattan. They make their almond and oat milks in house and they are incredible. They also have my favorite muffins in the city, the blueberry is incredible. Such a warm and friendly environment in all birch's I've been in

I must've ordered the wrong thing, but their Matcha Latte was not good. You can tell how good a matcha will be based on how vibrant the powder is, but even prior to mixing mine, the matcha color was already quite yellow-green/dull. I'm not sure if it's the matcha powder or the brand of oat milk, but I couldn't taste a lick of matcha in my drink. No hate to the baristas! They were nice enough to remake my drink (although reluctant) - to which the second attempt did taste like there was more matcha powder, however it still didn't taste anything like a traditional matcha latte. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish my bev and won't be ordering Matcha Lattes from Birch Coffee moving forward. I shall try a different option next time!

I won't lie: I'm a Bucky's (Starbucks) girl, especially during the Pumpkin Spice season. Essentially, I'm not an indie coffee shop person. However, I have a coworker who raves about this place. Although, not this particular location. This just happened to be the one closer to me geographically. But I digress, I decided to see why she loved it so much, and I got it. The interior reminds me of a ski lodge, so to speak. A lot of wood. A large communal table dominates the majority of the space along with a wooden bench. The light sources come from beautiful Edison lights. Essentially, it screams small-town coffee shops from a hallmark movie, and I'm not mad at it because it's a good thing. Honestly, Birch is a refreshing change of pace from the mass-produced monotony of Starbucks. I didn't know I could get fatigued from a coffee shop chain, but evidently, you can! The customer service and baristas are always extremely kind and hella patient because swiping my card so it can go through is no easy feat. They do not complain ever! Usually, my go-to order is a large vanilla latte with breve hot. So very basic. But... if you order at Birch instead of a mobile order, they will do some latte art, and I'm lame, so I basically live for it every time. I don't know at the location my coworker goes, but at this one, they have a calendar where customers could put their birthday. I'm not sure if you get something or if it inspires a sense of community in our increasingly divided world, but I think it's pretty neat. All in all, if you need a change of pace, just come to Birch and enjoy the peace.

So many pros and very few cons for selecting this quick coffee spot. Their coffee is flavorful, branded, but still "off the record" in terms of reputation compared to the other main coffee shops like Starbucks or Dunkin. The indoor space feels cozy with wooden table tops, and even a bookshelf filled with books available for borrowing. The outdoor space is unique, carved out onto the street with plenty of space to sit and catch up with a friend. Perhaps, purposefully by design, there is no Wi-Fi available at this coffee shop. I don't blame them given the propensity for many to spend hours sitting in coffee shops doing work while taking up valuable seating real-estate. Birch coffee exists elsewhere and consistently offers good tasting coffee.

great little birch location. they have great flavored options like blackberry matcha. they have a small selection of pastries and some refrigerated things like yogurts. seating inside and outside. I appreciate that they have honey and simple syrup available at the front as sweeteners too. the staff are friendly as well.

Love their coffee (my neighborhood go-to place for mocha). Cute vibe/ decor. And they have friendly baristas.

First time here! i ordered a Matcha Latte with Oatmilk. First sip was amazing. You could tell how organic the Matcha is. On top of that, it was not too sweet as I like it. I would not change a thing! Also, there is a cute little "patio" for you to sit at in front of the store. Note, there isn't much seating in general. I'd definitely come back to this place and order the same thing.

This spot on the UES is just so reliable and I find myself coming back all the time. Everything from their lattes to their drip coffee. To the beans you can buy in bags, it's all fantastic. The ambiance is very relaxing and they get you in and out very quickly with everyone being so friendly! Please come check it out if you haven't been!

A perfect spot to pop in and grab a cup of coffee. The location itself is super small so not the place to catch up with friends (they do have 2 outdoor picnic benches if you don't mind the cold). The decor is very eclectic and matches the vibe. They have a cute little community library where you can borrow a book or leave one, so I really liked that. I got a medium drip coffee with some cream. It was super hot, which I love because I know it's fresh. It had a really nice flavor profile and was the perfect afternoon pick me up. The team working was also great. Laid back, no pressure and some nice small talk. I'll be back!

Decent coffee shop that happily survived the pandemic lockdown last year. Kind of a cozy joint for takeout with just a few spots to sit at, but now there is really no seating inside. Nice counter staff. They have some tasty coffees along with bags of beans to take home if you prefer to brew your own. Some bottled waters and juices too. No wifi though. Guess they really don't like anyone hanging around.

Quick& friendly quick service. Nice relaxing atmosphere. Outdoor tables. Good coffee. What's not to like?

A clean, well decorated, neat small coffee shop. But the price is not $ but $$, at lest, for what you get. The small for a mocha, which is espresso, milk and chocolate was $6.50 and appears to be an 8oz cup verses 12oz at Starbucks for a "small". Maybe they justify this with the chocolate choice. I did also have an up charge as I got oat milk, which I understand. While I understand Starbucks is larger than Birch they still have a ton of locations. So the price for the size was a bit jarring. They only have 2 sizes. The drink itself was yummy just nothing mind blowing for the price. Clearly it is popular as it had foot traffic the whole time I was sitting outside. Maybe they have a loyalty program too but I don't know if it will be my first choice for my coffee. Note: for this place there is no inside seating. Only an outside bench and 2 picnic tables outside. So expect to take it on the road or sit outside with your coffee.

Birch coffee is great and in my opinion the the latte is one of the best in the UES. The baristas are always friendly, and the drinks are made quickly. I haven't ever seen any gluten free pastries at Birch but they do offer some prepackaged pastries/cookies that are gluten free. Also - they make their own plant based milks fresh! The indoor space is very small, and while there's a community table at the center of the store there isn't enough space to actually sit at the table. There is an area outside on the street that you can sit at if you want to sit and enjoy your coffee and pastry. Birch offers loyalty punch cards where after purchasing 10 coffee you get the next coffee free! One downside is that the cards are paper punchcards that you have to remember to bring in with you each time, or start a new one. If you end up collecting a couple of punch cards you can bring them into the store and have the barista combine the punches onto one card for you.

Excellent coffee. Always friendly and cheerful service. Love to sit at the picnic tables in nice weather. All-around, great coffee place.

Always enjoy coming here and sitting outside on the weekends. The dirty chai tea latte is my favorite, and the pastries are delicious as well. The workers are also always very kind.

ok I'm not usually one to complain about food and drinks but this place is quite over priced for what I ordered. the place is small and quaint which I love, but I paid $4.75 for an iced macchiato with soy milk (not sure what kind of place has soy and oat milk but doesn't have almond milk in 2020) and i'm not joking, the size that I got was the size of the cups you get with your airline food when you ask for water or buy a soda. I've included a photo for reference, but it was super disappointing how much I paid for this coffee. I'm not asking for a 20oz drink for $4.75 but when it's an iced drink and ice is taking up 40% of the volume inside this tiny cup, i think it's a bit absurd. The coffee was good but nowhere near almost $5.

Cute coffee shop. Feels posh but not stuffy. Good vibes. Not a place you can sit and chill on a busy morning as not a lot of seating, but a wonderful place to stop in for a cold brew. Their cold brew is definitely above average in taste. Was hoping to try the Kyoto style cold brew that they are famous for, but they didn't have it here. The alt milks they have here are oat, hemp, and soy. Don't forget to get your punch card stamped here.

Great addition to the hood. I wish they opened early. I need to eat. I stop by and get to go. Great eats and coffee. Great service from friendly employees. I need to try the coffee. I am usually fully caffeinated when I arrive! If you're in the neighborhood and like a cool coffee house with a snack, stop in to Birch!

Birch's almond croissant is one of the best, if not the best almond croissant I've had in nyc (and I've tried a lot of almond croissants across nyc). I highly recommend their almond croissant specifically! I've also tried their chocolate croissant but was disappointed to find that it was mostly hollow with just a smidge of chocolate inside. I was also disappointed with their iced matcha latte, which is their new drink. It mostly tasted like milk with barely any matcha flavor. Also, a medium sized drink is 12 oz, which is too small for a medium in my opinion. I would come here over and over again just for their almond croissant though!

great service, quick, and cute interior space. They also have a punch card - once you fill it up, you get a drink free :)

Good place with its own atmosphere. A very nice style of the place, the staff is very friendly and customer-oriented. I always order Cappuccino and they did it great. Very good foam, the right temperature, awesome ratio of espresso and milk. Everything great!

Birch is a great little coffee shop to stop by for a quick pick me up in the neighborhood. The interior is relatively small, but they do have outdoor seating set up if you're looking for somewhere to take a seat. The staff seemed kind and patiently answered a question I had about the menu. They have a unique Japanese style of a cold brew-like drink called Kyoto, but this was not available during the winter. May be something worth coming back to try during another season! Two lattes came in at just over $11 before tip. Definitely pricey but unfortunately not surprising for the Upper East Side or Manhattan in general. Happy this is in the neighborhood!

I love everything about this Birch. The team and staff are great. It's rarely ever overcrowded during the day. The environment is great and really well done. And above all else, I love that it's just around the corner from my place! Of course, we're here for coffee, right? So what do we love? Their espresso drinks are great. Rich in flavor, unique & original selection, and it leaves you wanting more. Their pour over selections are really incredible. My favorite is the Rwanda choice. You can also purchase cold brew to take and have at home (I believe it's available in 2 liters?). You definitely won't be disappointed when you come here. If you love specialty coffee, then you've got to check out Birch! They have several locations around Manhattan, but if you're in the UES - then this place is a must!

Glad to see a Birch on the upes. Stopped in for a quick afternoon espresso on the way to the met. Space: it's small and intimate. There's seating for about 8 skinny people or 6 regular size people. I can't imagine trying to work here. Drinks: the espresso was well pulled and tasted great, can definitely hang with intelligentsia. My brother got the Chai latte which was also tasty. Definitely a place to stop in for a quick drink but not somewhere for a long chat or to do work.

They just opened as fika is getting close to shot down around the corner , thanks G-D.... as their is no competition in this neighborhood. Saturday morning with nice line . Good quad espresso. Seems that they have good (usual suspects) collection of pastries . Let's see the consistency .

Very sweet staff, the tea options are unique. cute small location, nothing bigger is needed. i must say my tea was wonderful, although very hot. i couldn't drink it for like over an hour at first. suggestion, lowest the temp please!

Wildly erratic coffee (flavor-free iced coffee really bad) and really iffy service--new staff constantly.

The ambience is lovely, simply decorated and have cute little cups with bamboo shape for sale. I ordered a kyoto coffee (it is cold) and it is the best I had from other coffee shops. It was smooth, it was superb. Cannot wait to have another one soon! Also, the staff is so friendly! They displayed enjoyment for their job.

Really tasty cappuccino. I learned that all birch coffee branches has only a long table. The concept is coffee brings people connection. It is nice interior and enjoyed the cup of coffee.

Dear diary: I went to an attractive looking coffee place, with a bench outside, there's 1 big table inside, the service was friendly both times I was there. That was good. The bad: there's 1 big table, so about 6 people get to sit down. I made the silly mistake of trying to bring a laptop. Silly! I still remember the conversations I overheard. I had to use my t-rex arms to use the laptop without hitting into people. I was terrified I'd knock over my own coffee, or someone else would knock their coffee onto my laptop. So I downed it, and then tried to use my t-rex arms in a defensive sort of way. I saw one other girl doing the same thing. Then people arrived and, no judgment here, one had a disease which made them lurch their arm out, while sipping. This is not their fault! We all have our issues for sure. But it did make me extra nervous. In the end, it was a poor decision for my laptop. I would not come here again with my laptop. I would come here if I wanted to overhear conversations, or if I wanted people to overhear mine. The people ended up talking to me and asking what I was working on. I'm surprised they asked since they could probably read my screen being so close to me. I explained, and then their friend basically said "ah that's nothing, I can do amazing things that are better than yours!" or something... conclusion: don't bring your laptop. Or anything that will be destroyed by fresh coffee thrown on it. Do bring your friendly side, if you sit down, you'll prob be talkin to some people.

Super cute cafe on the UES with a nice outdoor seating however the menu is quite pricey. They charge you for regular milk and even more for plant based milk. The cold brew is delicious and strong, but the lattes are weak. I ordered an almond croissant the last time I came and was disappointed with the quality, but I may have received a bad batch as other reviewers seem to praise them.

Had the best hemp milk latte during our visit to NYC! The blueberry scone was also delicious. It's a tiny and cozy coffee shop. Definitely worth a try.

I've been in here several times when in the area, and it never disappoints. The staff is always friendly and they have a great menu of coffee and pastry items. They have a small amount of seating and the space itself gets in a lot of sunlight, which is lovely when the weather is nice. Would recommend if in the area!

I usually love this place and consider their coffee to be the best in the area. But it really frustrates me that their small lattes and large lattes taste completely different. The small one is always perfect, but if you get a large it will always be wayyy too milky and it's so annoying. For 7 dollars it's really disappointing

Reputed as the best craft coffee of the upper east side--and for once I'd beg to agree. Not because of any fanfare--quite the opposite. The space is tiny, best for a quick meetup with a friend, but not a long discussion of life. The entire front of the space opens up to the street in warm weather making the shop feel united with the neighborhood. Pups are frequently outside; so if you're into petting cute dogs without the owners casting impatient glances at you... yeah I didn't recommend that. Anyway, Birch's best executed and most unique beverage is the iced Kyoto. Get this if you're a true coffee affecionado or if you want to appear one. Otherwise the cold brew, is a solid alternative, less divisive (aka less strong) drink option.

This is my favorite local coffee shop on the UES!! It's a very small coffee shop and doesn't have WiFi but the staff are always really friendly. It has a very calming vibe in here. I used to go weekly there and always bring guests there when they visit!

Came here on a Saturday morning. I ordered a cappuccino for there but for some reason they forgot my order. Both baristas were very friendly and apologetic and I even got a coupon for a free drink! The cappuccino was also pretty solid. I would come back here if I was in the area again.

Stopped here to have a coffee and kill an hour before a evening commitment, place was not too busy. Great vibe, super friendly staff, super good coffee. I'll preface my criticism by saying I'm totally not the guy who camps with a laptop at a busy establishment taking up seating when folks want to sit down and freak out when I see that behavior. On this particular evening I had a ton of extra work I needed to get online and deal with so I was hoping I'd be able to do that at Birch. It was the reason I walked in. The super nice barista informed me that birch is a WiFi free cafe, which ok, totally not a bad thing, but I found it a bit silly to have a strict policy like this when Birch had plenty of available seating AND IS A CAFE. My suggestion would be to be flexible about this policy, or put a notice on the door. New Yorkers have been conditioned to expect WiFi at coffee shops. If it's part of the brand identity, I'd prefer to know it before I walk in, make a purchase and sit down. (This review was sent from Birch using my phone data and not WiFi.) Birch is a wonderful alternative to chain coffee shops, but I have to now go to one before my evening plans to finish 10 minutes of laptop work.

Best coffee and chai on the UES! My go-to is a dirty chai with oat milk paired with one of their many pastries. This location is more of a grab-and-go type of spot as it's pretty small, though if you come during the middle of the day, you'll find people working/chatting at the long center table.

This is one of my favorite coffee shops in the city. Their lattes are the perfect ratio of milk to espresso and the coffee beans they source for their hot and cold brews are amazing. They also have amazing chai lattes. They do have several different milk options, including nonfat milk. This particular shop is really small, and not during COVID times they only have enough space for about 6 people to sit comfortably. They offer a small selection of pastries and pre-packaged food such as granola.

the only place that is in consistent when making my coffee. additionally, the staff is super sweet.

Pros and cons, but the latter heavily outweigh the former in my opinion. Pros: Coffee was decent, I would come back if I was passing by and wanted coffee. Design of this shop is so nice, and it fits in the UES vibe really well. Such a classy, rustic feel, and plenty of table for working space when I was there. Cons: NO WIFI. AND NO RESTROOMS. This is honestly huge for me, especially since the tables and lighting are so nice for sitting down and doing some work! Also, this coffee shop is so cramped. The seating is small benches at a shared table, so you kind of have to climb over the bench (since you can't move it if someone's already sitting) because there isn't enough room to comfortably just sit down. It was hard to even get in line because there is just so little room to move around in this place. So unfortunate that this coffee shop is so cute but the customers can't really enjoy it. The coffee alone just isn't good enough to justify making a trip here!

Nice local coffee spot (and yay for flat whites). Small selection of baked goods, which I didn't get to try this time but hope to try next time. Cozy shop and friendly service.

I want to love Birch, I really do. The coffee is better than average, the prices are higher than average. This location is convenient for me, but the seating is limited to a single bench. The game-ender is the inability to get anything resembling a morning snack to go with a drink. The limited selection of pastries are always stale, and the croissants are equivalent to street cart versions. With Mason Kayser a block away, why even bother?

Super good quality coffee. Minus one star for charging extra .50 cents for ice like cmon!!

Birch has great beverages - tea, coffee, it's all pretty delicious. Everyone that works here is super friendly and the place always has a great vibe. They have some GF options which their staff was super thorough and happy to explain. It's mostly desert type things but it's nice that they have something. Hopefully, in the future they will have more food items that are GF!