New York Chinese Restaurant Lucky Lee’s Closes Less Than a Year After Racism Controversy - Eater NY
"Lucky Lee's, a fast-casual Chinese American restaurant, faced viral outrage for racist marketing language and is now closing after less than a year in business. The restaurant, opened by nutritionist Arielle Haspel, aimed to sell classic Chinese American dishes while following diet restrictions and wellness trends. However, it received backlash for marketing its food as 'cleaner' than traditional Chinese food. Despite attempts to adjust the marketing, the restaurant announced its closure without specifying the reasons." - Serena Dai
I really like their Matcha Lattes! The matcha flavor is distinct and doesn’t taste watered down at all (unlike some matcha cafe chain with pink and green palm trees). Their Scallion Cheddar Scone was a miss for me, as it was quite sweet!
Comfortable, aesthetic interior with ample seating. No laptops allowed. Great, convenient location. Maman will always be a go-to of mine!
Buffy Bolen
Google
Such a cute, yummy stop. We had a blueberry goat cheese scone and a crème brûlée sugar bum. They were both yummy, sweet (not too sweet) and just enough to tide us over. We had iced coffee, simple and delicious. The he atmosphere is cute, blue decor and cute bunnies in the wall paper! Staff was efficient and nice.
Reza Rad
Google
Such a great spot with amazing people and delicious food! There’s usually a line, but it’s definitely worth the wait. The cozy atmosphere, tasty food, fresh bakery items, and incredible coffee made for a perfect lunch with my family. Everything we tried was full of flavor and made with care. You can really feel the love they put into what they serve. 100% recommend!
Gabriela Gonjon
Google
Lovely place and even more lovely people. Liz Megan was so sweet and considerate. Explained the menu and their best items beautifully.
Luis Guzman
Google
Love this coffee spot! Super chill vibes and great drinks. Liz was awesome! super friendly and made my coffee just the way I like it. You can tell she loves what she does and made the whole experience even better. Definitely coming back!
Juliette Kang
Google
The atmosphere of every maman location is great. I always enjoy going with friends and ordering some food and drinks. However, this location really disappointed us due to their low quality food priced very expensive—higher than New York expensive.
First, I ordered the flank steak sandwich ($18) and the flavors of the sandwich were good BUT there was barely any meat and by the looks of it felt like they were being stingy w the meat.. even at 18 dollars?? Lol 😔. For 18 dollars I can get more than a pound of flank steak or two restaurant sandwiches of high quality. But I digress.
For 7 dollars I got the breakfast potatoes. This was also my fault for paying that much, but I was really hoping for some redemption. They were really not good. They were dry.. was hard to breathe..
I think maman has reached a point where their brand aesthetic assumes perfection and class, so as a result there is less care or effort put in to maintaining quality in every item. We all like the cafe for the interior appearance. But I am really hoping that they reflect and improve on their quality. The little things matter and add up. The businesses that last and are loved for decades all maintain authenticity and quality. I think maman is so close to achieving that if they improve the quality of their food a bit.
Callie Arambarri
Google
A barista name Brigette or Brianna (I forget) make my matcha and it was the best matcha i’ve ever had also Matthew was my cashier and he was great. Great place great vibe great matcha!
Libinski 0G
Google
My second favorite coffee spot in the area. The coffee has been consistently good. The pastries were decent. I had a few simple lunch here a few times, and they were good experiences. Great sandwich with fresh veggies.