The Best Cafs Around Central Park New York City

New York City’s Central Park is iconic, gorgeous, and, truthfully, pretty exhausting. Whether you’re looking to fuel up or wind down, the numerous cafés surrounding the park have got your next caffeine-craving covered. Here are eight of the best cafés near the city’s favorite park.

1. Cafe Sabarsky

Cafe, Restaurant, Austrian

Nestled within Neue Galerie New York is a café approaching eating as an art form. At Cafe Sabarsky, turn-of-the-century Viennese décor meets contemporary takes on Austrian cuisine, resulting in an appetizingly immersive dining experience. Be warned, though: sampling the spot’s sophisticated dishes, including smoked trout and horseradish-crème fraîche crêpes, hot spiced red wine, and housemade liverwurst tartines, will ruin you for uninspired pastries for good.

2. Bluestone Lane

Cafe, Australian

With its artisan cups of coffee and fresh, ingredient-focused fare, Bluestone Lane is keeping New York’s love affair with Australian cafés alive. Unsurprisingly, it’s the locally beloved chain’s Australian offerings that stand out amongst its array of café classics. The spot’s flat whites, Aussie iced lattes, avocado toast, and more provide a much-needed pick-me-up from Down Under.

Bluestone Lane | Courtesy of Ben Hider Photography / Bluestone Lane

3. The Great Hall Balcony Café & Bar

Bar, Cafe, Restaurant, American, Salad Bar

ETHEL at The Great Hall Balcony Café and Bar

Despite its solid selection of sandwiches, salads, and drinks, the café is not the main draw of The Great Hall Balcony Café & Bar. Located within the famed Metropolitan Museum of Art, an ordinary café is made extraordinary by its surroundings, which include awe-inspiring architecture, world-renowned artworks, and prime people-watching. Plan your visit for a Friday or Saturday evening, and you’ll be able to witness a live musical performance by global ensemble ETHEL.

5. DTUT

Bar, Cafe, Coffee Shop, Contemporary

The aptly named DTUT (an acronym for Downtown Uptown) brings a refreshingly funky downtown vibe to Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Vintage furniture, low lighting, and off-beat menu offerings earn this spot distinction among the area’s abundant coffee shops. With its fondue and wine pairings, locally sourced coffee and cuisine, and the “largest selection of American craft beers north of 86th Street,” DTUT is an ideal destination any time of day.

6. Two Little Red Hens

Bakery, Cafe, Pastelaria, American

While 2,000 Yelper recommendations sure are sweet, the all-American treats at Two Little Red Hens speak for themselves. Nostalgic noshers flock to this Yorkville spot to enjoy old-fashioned baking at its best. Serving quality coffee and tea, it’s the coop’s confections, including banana cake with homestyle cream cheese frosting, chilled Key Lime pie, and chocolate pudding layer cake, that’ll have you coming back for more.

7. Café Noi

Cafe, Mediterranean

Located in Manhattan’s Yorkville area, Café Noi is a neighborhood spot where Mediterranean dishes, such as bureka, shakshuka, and Greek omelets, are cooked up with care. Boasting Insta-worthy latte art, a warm atmosphere, and generously portioned plates of frittata sandwiches, fruit-topped pancakes, and more, Café Noi is an excellent pick for a long lunch.

8. The Brown Cup

Cafe, Healthy

Offering no frills, just flavor, The Brown Cup is a great option for on-the-go café cuisine. This small spot, which serves up super-sized sandwiches, breakfast rolls, and coffee beverages, packs huge value. While the café does offer places to sit, its finger-friendly offerings practically beg to be enjoyed on a casual picnic in the park.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.