Cafe Clara

I am a newyorker for 45 years and must congratulate the service at Cafe Clara!! Exceptionally kind, especially a young man with salt and pepper hair!I wish more young people take their jobs so seriously! Great pastries too!

This review is about sustainability only! I was disappointed to see almost everything sold at this lovely café wrapped in single use plastic that is destined for the landfill, our waterways, or the incinerator. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, as over 95% of the plastic that we produce and use actually does not get recycled in the end—even when we put it in the “proper” receptacles. In a waterfront city such as New York, I find it incredibly frustrating to see local and essential institutions perpetuate the plastic waste crisis that is impacting New Yorkers and wild species here, and our environment abroad. I understand that there is not always staff capacity available or the infrastructure present to allow for washing reusable dishes and glasses. But perhaps there’s a happy medium you could strive for here. Maybe that looks like offering fewer food items wrapped in plastic, and instead wrapped in compostable packaging. But that would also require that you have receptacles for compost collection. Because if not, it all goes to the landfill, where it will not break down. You could likely work with the city of New York or Grow NYC to coordinate composting. And again, while I appreciate that you have compostable cutlery available, when it gets thrown into one trash receptacle like we see in these pictures, it doesn’t actually get composted. It is a nice thought, though. That could also look like not offering plastic cups for people who need to drink water there. Maybe you could even promote on the museum or café website and social media that folks can bring in their own reusable bottles for use? Thank you for considering how to be better stewards of New York City by way of your dining options at this café. We loved the food and the coffee, and the surface was wonderful. But it is up to both the patron and the establishment to help stop the stream of plastic waste at the source.

Recently opened and located inside the New York Historical Society (side entrance on 77th Street and CPW). This small café offers hot & cold beverages, pastries, snacks, sandwiches, and salads. The café isn’t very large, but they have managed to put in several small coffee tables and chairs. Apparently they will also be offering outdoor dining soon. I came by during lunch to check out Café 77 and got a hot chocolate ($6), a slice of banana bread ($5) and a Ceasar salad ($13). The hot chocolate was, sadly, disappointing. I was hoping for a rich chocolatey drink but instead got a watered down and bland beverage. The banana bread was good. It tasted fresh, had the familiar real banana flavor and a nice crust with a little bit of sugar. The Ceasar salad was really good. It had kale, croutons, bacon bits, boiled egg, and was topped with fresh parmesan. The Caesar dressing was a bit bland and the salad serving was on the small side, especially for this price. Nevertheless, it was still tasty. It was a so-so first visit but hey, they just opened a couple of weeks ago. I’m guessing they are still ironing out kinks. I would say save your money and skip the hot chocolate but would recommend the food. I’ll probably visit them again to try out their sandwiches and their coffee.

The Cafe at the Historical Society Museum reopened and is a sad little place. First what cafe doesn’t have half and half for coffee? The croissants are gorgeous but tasteless and the other dismal pastry/breakfast offerings are all savory. There is a teeny tiny banana loaf which is mixed with chocolate- can be yummy but if you don’t want chocolate in the morning you’re stuck because the other pastry is also with chocolate. Empty case where goodies should be - sad. Also just a note to management - why are you buying plastic straws??

The New York Historical is a great treasure but I found this new cafe disappointing. My friend and I stopped by on Sunday afternoon for a drip coffee (so-so) and muffin (blueberry-almond—on the dry, bland side) before exploring two of the museum's wonderful current exhibitions. Nowhere near as nice or inviting as the Parliament cafe, which it, sadly, replaced.

Great little cafe with very kind servers. Awesome cup of coffee w espresso. Cranberry scone was delicious. A lovely spot to recharge in this beautiful Museum or come in from the Street. Thank you.

Everything was awesome, but the service was outstanding!!! LJ is the best barista ever!!! I highly recommend the place!

Ordered a hot drink which came out lukewarm and they couldn’t fix it.

Recently opened and located inside the New York Historical Society (side entrance on 77th Street and CPW). This small café offers hot & cold beverages, pastries, snacks, sandwiches, and salads. The café isn't very large, but they have managed to put in several small coffee tables and chairs. Apparently they will also be offering outdoor dining soon. I came by during lunch to check out Café 77 and got a hot chocolate ($6), a slice of banana bread ($5) and a Ceasar salad ($13). The hot chocolate was, sadly, disappointing. I was hoping for a rich chocolatey drink but instead got a watered down and bland beverage. The banana bread was good. It tasted fresh, had the familiar real banana flavor and a nice crust with a little bit of sugar. The Ceasar salad was really good. It had kale, croutons, bacon bits, boiled egg, and was topped with fresh parmesan. The Caesar dressing was a bit bland and the salad serving was on the small side, especially for this price. Nevertheless, it was still tasty. It was a so-so first visit but hey, they just opened a couple of weeks ago. I'm guessing they are still ironing out kinks. I would say save your money and skip the hot chocolate but would recommend the food. I'll probably visit them again to try out their sandwiches and their coffee.

This is a great hidden gem of a coffee shop on the UWS. They've recently changed hands and it shows. Wide selection of snacks/prepared meals and the baristas actually know how to make different coffee drinks (something I don't take for granted anymore). Plus they are very nice.

I don't know what the Historical Society that houses this cafe is thinking, but they were doing well for a couple years, and they changed hands and overpriced all their goods, and then they changed hands again, and all I can say is that the muffins and the sandwiches and everything were marked improvement. That was a half year ago, notably because a young lady there made blueberry muffins that were quite conceivably the best blueberry muffins I've ever had in my entire life (and I grew up with Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins from Boston), and considering that's one of my favorite things that's a lot to be said. This very young Hispanic woman, who didn't speak English and worked in the kitchen across the hall at the restaurant was making these amazing muffins and deserved a lot of accolades for her cooking. I told her so in my broken Spanish, and she had the most lovely smile. She's going places even if her business doesn't appreciate her. I even went in and complimented the manager in the restaurant across from the café and he seemed to just dismiss my comments. Anyway, somebody else had now taken over now and they've turned it into all the other cafés in the neighborhood with these light fluffy croissant-like tasteless creations that are so bland and boring (I'm seeing all over Manhattan, what's wrong with you people lol?) now that have no substance whatsoever. So essentially you're spending almost $11 for this black tea, and a hollow pastry shell dipped in cinnamon, which probably about a .50 with labor. Not worth the time. Get a new vendor. Or bring back the old one, or just that amazing baker. If you want some substance in the neighborhood, just go over to Levain's bakery on Amsterdam nearby.