Cloister Cafe

by becca g.

I discovered Cloister Cafe 3 years ago while living nearby on 3rd Ave. It was summertime and --forgive me if I wax nostalgic about finer weather during these arctic NYC doldrums -- the ivy ceiling bespeckled with Christmas lights caught my eye.  Venturing through the medieval-inspired wrought-iron gate at its entrance, the whole world seems to melt away with every cobble-stoned step.  Everything about Cloister contributes to its sanctuary-esque atmosphere: exposed brick walls enclosing the outdoor garden seating area, a modest fountain separating the space, plants and flowers galore, even the sometimes-wobbly wrought-iron tables add a touch of something special...On my most recent trip, I noticed that the back portion of the garden is covered, enclosed, and heated for winter (a relatively new development), but if it's not busy you can still smoke back there.  Speaking of smoke, Cloister has added hookah to their menu.  I didn't try one, but the table nearby seemed very satisfied with theirs.Now about the food:Cloister is very expensive.  At times, uneccessarily so.  The pasta and meat dishes tend to be pricier than the rest of the menu ($20-27), but burgers linger under $10 and pasta dishes range somewhere between $11-15.  The wine selection is adequate enough, and mixed drinks are prepared with a generous pour.  Still, the real prize is dessert.  Cloister has the absolute BEST friutti di bosco I have ever had, and the display case (definitely worth getting up from your seat to look!) is always brimming with delicious fruit tarts and luscious cakes.  The truth is, at Cloister what you pay for most is the atmosphere.  As evidenced by this review, it's certainly the most outstanding part of the dining experience.  Still, I consider a haven from the hustle and bustle of NYC a priceless commodity.  Cloister is oozing with romance, Old-World charm, and modest elegance.  A wonderful choice for any date scenario, or if you just need a quiet place to retreat from the world.

by Lorelei D.

Great pasta and amazing ambience.

by Justin B.

I actually have been here a good number of times, and the only reason to go is if you want to hookah outside.As some of the other said, the atmosphere can be kind of fun if you sit outside. The seating is in a courtyard area with exposed brick and I think there are a lot of plants and hanging vines. I really don't remember too well, because I generally go there when I am pretty drunk (which is probably the best time to go to Cloister Cafe).Let me repeat, the only reason you should go here is if you want to hookah and drink outside.I don't suggest ordering the desserts, let me just say that we had a bad experience with them and we were able to get the whole bill (including drinking and hookahs) taken care of for free by the management.

by Christina M.Samira S.C L.E N.Lucia C.

I had a bad experience here with the service.  Like, an experience that ruined my whole dinner and caused me to fight with my friend afterwards.  An experience that put a bad taste in my mouth... a taste that I wouldn't use to describe the food, which is pretty good (except the salmon pasta which is bad).  Despite this experience, I've been back.  The atmosphere really does feel like a cloister garden and it's adorable.  The pasta options are good, but not great.  You can order a hookah, you can chill and relax, but you might not be able to communicate with your waitress who probably doesn't speak perfect English.  She also might not apologize when she gets your order wrong.  She also might not take your wrong order back.  You might have to talk to the owner if you want an apology and compensation.  At least he was amenable.  Like I said, I don't want this one experience to taint every other pretty decent aspect of The Cloister Cafe, but.... well, it's kind of hard to forget.Holy hookah, Batman!Cloister Cafe has all the right ingredients to be a kick ass chill spot:1. Hookah  2.Whimsical/Dark inside/outside dining area  3.Inexpensive food4. Somewhat thoughtful drink selections..However, the staff here was able to muck all of that up, and quite quickly too. When me and a friend of mine showed up here, I was still reading the Yelp reviews and feeling skeptical, but I decided to give it a try. That's the last time I ever doubt you guys again. The waitress gave us one food and drink menu, despite the fact that there were two of us, sitting across from each other. OK..We ordered drinks, those came out pretty fast. The food however, took quite a while. I was contemplating eating my napkin, but it finally arrived.The HUGE heaping steaming portion of pasta in my seafood fra diablo was completely unnecessary. It looked like one whole box of angel hair was used in that plate. The sauce was OK, and the seafood pieces were big, but the scallops and shrimps were not even seasoned, or flavored. It was like eating an unsalted edamame, or a gulp of fresh air. My friend ordered chicken with a ton of mushrooms on top, looked great, but she had the same disappointing reactions that I did. I noticed that when the food was extremely hot, it tasted good..but once it got colder, the show was over, and I could not stand to eat one more bite. Food should be somewhat good hot or cold, and this dish was simply disgusting when it chilled off. And then it took the waitress about 20-30 minutes to actually talk to us again. We were watching Crash ( on the big TV inside) and making oragami paper cranes at our table. Our cups were empty, and a mound of napkins were sitting in our food. We were clearly done.  I decided to stop the madness and request the check myself, but the damage was already done.So if you have a lot of time on your hands, you could come here and wait a million hours for your food ( and it was not busy at all in here), a million hours for your check, and get semi gross food. Sounds fun, right?This has got to be the worst service I have encountered in NYC. The wait staff is misinformed and it seems none of their wait staff has had prior training in the restaurant biz. Water took 15 minutes and I had to go up to find our waiter since she was missing for 20 minutes for our bill.The service is way too slow and the hookah is stale/dried out. The only pro was the outdoor seating.I would not waste your time on subpar hookah and service.Horrible service and extremely overpriced food. My friends and I got hungry enough to order food anyway, but they didn't HAVE any of the food that we tried to order from their menu. The waitress told us that they only had $6 humus. We ordered it and received a tiny smear of bad-tasting humus. When we got the check, we realized that we had been charged $9 for it. Naturally, we called the waitress over to correct the mistake. She laughed and said, "Oopsy, I guess it's $9 then!" When we told her that we would pay $6 for it, because that was the price she had given us, she gasped repeatedly and became very confused. She couldn't understand why we wanted to pay $6 if the check charged us $9. When I tried to explain that $3 is 50% of the original cost, and therefore a big deal, she became even more confused. We ended up paying for the stupid humus and not leaving a tip. One of my friends got sick right before we got that check. We were sitting directly in front of the waitresses, next to the large T.V., and they failed to notice or to help in any way.As for the hookah, I've had much better. Most of the flavors are barely detectable.Do yourself a favor and save your money for a place with decent service.I've been here twice, the first time okay so I came back which was a mistake. First, the waitress refused to just give me and my group of friends a hookah, saying over and over again that it was not possible without ordering drinks and food so we did then she proceeded to say that we could not order just one hookah but at least 3 for our group of 9 people. Waitstaff is horrible, location is great but out of the three flavours (watermelon, cherry and mango) only the watermelon was not completely bitter and unappetizing. Total bill $120 for three hookahs, 9 cokes and two plates of pasta.

by Chris S.

I was here once a long time ago, and went again today to celebrate someones birthday. I checked yelp before leaving the house and was happy to say i have to disagree with a majority of the reviews. Sure the wait staff is mainly young, eastern european ladies who smile and nod more than I would have liked, the food wasn't spectacular, but 11.95 or something like that for a brunch wasn't too bad in the area. The outdoor seating was, well worth the long train ride to LES.

by Christina M.

I had a bad experience here with the service.  Like, an experience that ruined my whole dinner and caused me to fight with my friend afterwards.  An experience that put a bad taste in my mouth... a taste that I wouldn't use to describe the food, which is pretty good (except the salmon pasta which is bad).  Despite this experience, I've been back.  The atmosphere really does feel like a cloister garden and it's adorable.  The pasta options are good, but not great.  You can order a hookah, you can chill and relax, but you might not be able to communicate with your waitress who probably doesn't speak perfect English.  She also might not apologize when she gets your order wrong.  She also might not take your wrong order back.  You might have to talk to the owner if you want an apology and compensation.  At least he was amenable.  Like I said, I don't want this one experience to taint every other pretty decent aspect of The Cloister Cafe, but.... well, it's kind of hard to forget.

by Allison h.

Went just for drinks, prices were fine, the garden is the one selling feature of the place.  The chairs are uncomfortable but again you're outside so what can you do.  I enjoy the smell of huka, but if you don't you might want to go elsewhere.  Sitting in the garden I felt like I was at the cocktail hour of a bad wedding.  It was busy and chill, a nice stop over if you want to catch up with friends.

by E N.

Horrible service and extremely overpriced food. My friends and I got hungry enough to order food anyway, but they didn't HAVE any of the food that we tried to order from their menu. The waitress told us that they only had $6 humus. We ordered it and received a tiny smear of bad-tasting humus. When we got the check, we realized that we had been charged $9 for it. Naturally, we called the waitress over to correct the mistake. She laughed and said, "Oopsy, I guess it's $9 then!" When we told her that we would pay $6 for it, because that was the price she had given us, she gasped repeatedly and became very confused. She couldn't understand why we wanted to pay $6 if the check charged us $9. When I tried to explain that $3 is 50% of the original cost, and therefore a big deal, she became even more confused. We ended up paying for the stupid humus and not leaving a tip. One of my friends got sick right before we got that check. We were sitting directly in front of the waitresses, next to the large T.V., and they failed to notice or to help in any way.As for the hookah, I've had much better. Most of the flavors are barely detectable.Do yourself a favor and save your money for a place with decent service.

by Will P.

I've just been here for lunch, but that might be what they do best.  The lunch prices are much cheaper - $6 or $7 for a large chicken sandwich with a salad and fries on the side - they also have burgers, salads, and a mozarella tomato sandwich.  And the atmosphere is great - a little European-style garden, quiet and fairly empty at lunchtime. Lots of food for not too much money and a nice place to sit - can't ask for much more.

by Stephanie Y.

MEH! This place kind of blows, not going to lie. It's a hookah bar, some what cool ambiance, and when I say that its got this cloister, old church decor thing going on, and it does have a nice outdoor space but, other than that... no dice. The food- WOW, horrible. The wine- WOW, horrible.Not impressive.