Jembetat African Art Gallery

I went to the gallery to purchase a few pieces for my sister and mother for Christmas. The owner was extremely passionate about his art and jewelry, and we ended up having a nice conversation while looking at several types. The selection is great- he really does try to find something for every price level. I am certainly not disappointed by the quality of the items I purchased, and I believe his are some of the more fairly priced in the area. Would recommend.

"Are you buying coffee, cause you cant sit there, we own those" Excuse me. People buy coffee only after they have a seat. People only buy coffee cause they see others in seats. You dont own nothing if 1 out of all 12 open seats outside can not be sat in without a purchase.

We went on the website to check the hours and it says they are open until 11:30 pm "everyday". We show up at 8pm and try to open the doors and the owner begins screaming at us across the street saying he was going to call the cops on us and they are closed. Will NEVER go to this place again. Was blown away how rude he was.

This place hasn't posted correct hours in ages and they never answer their phone. In fall or winter, make sure you get here before 6 or you'll find the doors locked. Or maybe not. Who the hell knows?

A brilliant mix of art and coffee.

Very interesting artifacts, jewelry and cafe

Speedy service and polite employees!

Good stuff.

This place is so underrated and skipped over on Park Avenue. I feel like people don't even realize that they carry some bomb coffee and even more BOMB gelato. Their gelato is homemade and they are constantly switching flavors... they usually have staples all the time such as chocolate and vanilla. Some of my favorites have been tiramisu, mint, pistachio and amaretto. The only reason why I'm giving them four stars instead of five is because their hours are misleading. There have been times where the doors were locked, but the website said they were open. I found it strange for them to be closed mid day randomly because of their coffee shop. But if you stumble upon this place when they are open, do yourself a favor and walk in!

This rating is mostly for the gelato. I am giving this place an extra star just for the fact that the space is unique in that it is an African Art Gallery as well as a gelato/coffee/cake shop. My lower stars is for their gelato and cake. I tried the pistachio and blackberry gelato and it was easily the worst gelato I have ever had. They were both too sweet. Texturally, they were not as smooth and creamy and stretchy as gelato tends to be. I saw the salted caramel one and opted not to try it just because I saw that the texture wasn't smooth. The pistachio one tasted like it was made with salted pistachio nuts. It had a flavor reminiscent of dirty armpits (if you were to guess what that would taste like). The blackberry was a little soapy and tasted off as well. I also tried the cannoli cake. I think this is a unique and fun flavor and the cake was presented beautifully. The cream was gorgeous and looked like an Italian meringue buttercream. It had a great consistency and color. The cake however, was dense. My fiance and I didn't finish even 1/5th of our gelato. We had to throw it away. We have never thrown away any food before but it was extremely hard for us to consume.

Unique place with gelato that is mediocre at best. I highly recommend sampling whatever you try before making your selections. Last time I was here my wife tried the mango flavor and it was not very good. But at least at the Park Ave location they give a normal amount of gelato unlike the place in Pittsford. You're basically paying for the atmosphere when you come here.

Fantastic gelato with lots of yummy looking flavors, but I'm so boring I just go for vanilla or cookies & cream...which are delicious too! The atmosphere is quiet, and I love that there is no wifi (seriously, I love seeing other customers talking to each other rather than loving in their phones). The service has been friendly the last couple of times I've gone in, and they are always happy to let you try a tiny spoon on the different flavors.

Needs to update website because hours of operation are incorrect. The owner is super rude and needs to not threaten his customers. Will never return, extending my awful experience to friends.

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 like the concept of this "no-tech" cafe, 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 (TM) 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.

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 cafe 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.

Perfect 1st date spot. Nice selection of wines, gelato, interesting conversation starting art and oh by the way...great jazz playing in the background.

This place is a joke, Its not even a gallery, basically this guy could care less about the cafe and more about the gallery and these people who work there make 10 an hr and make commission on the "Art Work" that they sell. The Cafe is there to get people to come in and buy the pieces of "Art" that I am sure he buys off of ebay. This man is absolutely nuts, my friend and I walked into the gallery he had brought a friend who is deaf - I don't know ASL that well so we had to communicate Via typing on his cellphone. And the owner freaked out when he gave him his cellphone for the order, he took his phone and yelled at us. The owner should be more aware of the fact that Rochester is known for the deaf community, don't worry we will never come back again for his crappy gelato and burnt coffee. And also that one written by tommy s I am sure is someone who works for Jembetat.

Going to school in Rochester, I frequented the shops on Park Ave and watched this shop transform from a quiet, dusty gallery to a quirky gallery and shop fusion. It's kind of strange to have an African Art gallery serve cappuccinos and gelato, but it did the trick! I see a lot of writers and art lovers sit here and talk in the warmly light cafe. They have a great selection of desserts and some of the more unique gelato flavors I've seen. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the cantaloupe melon was and love the atmosphere! It's a great date spot and good quality for the money you pay.

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!

I LOVE this place. The gelato is delicious and is perfectly portioned, and they make a mean cafe 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.

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.

This is a European Cafe. 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 decor is that this originated as an African Art Gallery and jewelry shop, which is now adjacent to the cafe and serves as a dining room.

Hey business owner: How about correcting the winter hours on your web site? Went to your Park Avenue location on Friday 2/3/17 at 8:00 PM, expecting it to be open until 11:00 PM as stated on your site. Found out it was only open until 9:00 PM. You're putting your really nice employees in the awkward position of having to throw customers out. Aside from this felony, it's a really great place, assuming you don't mind rolling the dice with regard to the hours.

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 cafe is alright - I have never had anything exceptional there. And it is definitely over priced based on other options that are very near by.

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.

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 owner really needs charm school or anger management classes. Or lots and lots of therapy. He is so picky over the behavior of his customers, he's essentially micromanaging your whole experience. I'm surprised he doesn't monitor conversations and advise on what proper topics are, or how to instruct people on how to eat and drink properly! Of course there is polite etiquette that people should abide by when in public, but god help you if this guy even sees your cell phone sitting on the table. And I didn't even use it except for a couple of texts! I guess texting takes away from the, uh, ahem, authenticity *guffaw* of this place. I had never even heard of this hole-in-the-wall before, but was meeting a friend there who said someone recommended this "cool African art gallery" on Park and that it was worth a look. Really? Where? I got there and it was a cafe with some art on the wall the way that Starbucks hangs up local art for sale but in the mean time is something to talk about over your food and drinks. This place can't decide if it's a cafe, a gallery, or a gift shop. Having met the owner, I imagine this schizophrenic amalgamation and lack of clear identity or purpose mirrors whatever is going on inside his mind. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of the art and tchotchkes are either not authentic or that maybe he drives over to One World Goods, buys that stuff, then brings it to his "gallery" and jacks up the prices several times over. And that gelato? I advise you to lick the sidewalk instead. I couldn't get out of this place fast enough. First time, and last time. Bottom line: nobody needs to be rudely scolded like they're a child for leaving a phone on a table because they MIGHT use or it MIGHT ring, and there are MUCH better places out there for art, and for coffee and desserts.

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.

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.

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.

Great Gelato, great cappacinos, and Bob was kind enough to donate some beautiful earrings from Bali to our charity!

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.

Last year, Park Avenue caught on to gelato like swine flu and now every cafe, motorcycle dealership and art gallery on the street has it. But Jembetat is the best, because you can't use a cell phone inside.

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 cafe. Bring your Amex...or settle for some delicious gelato.

We went on the website to check the hours and it says they are open until 11:30 pm "everyday". We show up at 8pm and try to open the doors and the owner begins screaming at us across the street saying he was going to call the cops on us and they are closed. Will NEVER go to this place again. Was blown away how rude he was.

While I understand that this is not authentic gelato, I don't really care. Every time I go in to this establishment I'm treated really well and always leave feeling satisfied. I happened by there last night and the woman at the counter was extremely pleasant and accommodating. She let me and my two friends try all the flavors we asked for and made helpful suggestions. She told me to try the hazelnut and the chocolate-peanut butter. Let me just tell you, artificial or not, that was insanely good. She also probably didn't skimp on the portion size and was quite knowledgeable about the jewelry when asked. I've always liked their idea of being a 'Technology Free Zone' and it's refreshing to go into a place where you can sit and talk to your friends without everyone staring into their phones. Yes, I understand we should all be doing it any time we go out in public and have to interact with other humans; but it's especially nice that Jemebetat uses that model for their business. I had a great time last night, have had one in the past, and will go there again soon!

The owner of this place is a real jerk! I went in tonight to have coffee and dessert while doing some work. In the two hours I was there, there were four other people in the place. At around 9, the owner came up to me and said "We have a party of 15 coming in. We don't like people to bring work in here on weekend nights. This is not a Starbucks atmosphere. It's fine during the day, but we like this to be a bar in the evening." In all seriousness, would I have tried working there if 15 people were drinking wine in a wine bar atmosphere? Probably not. But when I'm the only customer in the place and you kick me out, you clearly have a problem. When I got up to leave and pay my bill, the hostess apologized for his behavior. If the owner is this picky about what his customers do while enjoying his expensive coffee and dessert, he should put up a list of rules on the front door. That would have told me not to go in there in the first place. Although the hostess was friendly, I see no reason to patronize an establishment where I am insulted. This was my first and my last visit.