MOKAFÉ

On a busy afternoon in Manhattan, I stopped by Mokafe and found the place completely packed, always a good sign in New York. The space feels new, modern, and thoughtfully designed.

The décor is clean and contemporary, with a warm atmosphere that makes it comfortable whether you’re meeting friends or settling in with your laptop.

One of the advantages is the upstairs seating area. I was with a large group, and despite the crowd, we managed to find a table, whether that was luck or the result of many customers ordering to go, it worked in our favor. Like many Manhattan coffee shops, a few tables were occupied by people working on laptops. The vibe is similar to a Starbucks-style setup, but with a more refined aesthetic and a slightly more elevated feel.

Drinks & Pricing
I kept it simple with an espresso, which was solid and well-prepared. The rest of the group went for more elaborate drinks, caramel macchiatos and other flavored specialty beverages. Presentation was appealing, and the feedback from those who ordered them was very positive.
That said, prices are on the higher side. Specialty drinks start around $6 and go up from there, which is consistent with premium Manhattan coffee spots but may feel steep depending on what you order.

Service & Setup
Service is efficient and streamlined. You order at the counter, receive a buzzer, and wait for it to alert you when your drinks are ready, a system that has become common in busy cafés. Even with the place full, the process was smooth and organized.
The pastry display offered a wide variety of options. While nothing immediately caught my eye visually, the selection was generous and caters to different tastes.

Atmosphere & Overall Impression
Mokafe stands out for its cleanliness, smart layout, and location. It’s the kind of place where you can:
- Grab a quick espresso
- Enjoy a more indulgent, Instagram-friendly specialty drink
- Spend an hour or two working remotely
- Meet friends in a relaxed but polished setting
The environment feels lively yet comfortable, and the upstairs area adds flexibility when the main floor fills up.

Mokafe delivers a modern Manhattan coffee experience: stylish, efficient, and slightly upscale in pricing. While not necessarily a budget option, it’s a pleasant spot to enjoy quality drinks in a well-designed setting.
A reliable choice if you’re looking for a clean, energetic café atmosphere with efficient service and a touch of refinement.

This was our 1st stop while visiting NYC for the day, and I'm happy we came! The 2 baristas working were very welcoming and friendly, and we arrived so early that the freshly-baked goods were being put on display while we ordered. If you're looking for a cafe with delicious food & drink options, a classy, elegant interior, or a place for a nice date, I highly recommend you come to MOKAFÉ and enjoy everything they have to offer.

Beautiful space! I ordered an iced latte and a feta/arugula croissant which were both so delicious. The space is huge with plenty of seating (unlike most tiny coffee shops in nyc where it’s always difficult to find a spot) and it’s a great place to work on your laptop. They also have AUTHENTIC Dubai chocolate here and it’s not as expensive as other places ($11). It’s also wheelchair accessible

Pros
* 🏢 Spacious Seating: Expands across three levels (basement, main, and upper floor) with plenty of seating for working or relaxing.

Cons
* 📶 Unreliable Wi-Fi: internet was down/unusable, forcing reliance on personal mobile hotspots.
* 🥐 Stale Bakery Item: The Nutella strawberry croissant was hard/stale and overpriced at $10.
* 🌡️ Indoor Temperature: Air conditioning felt underpowered compared to neighboring spots like Starbucks.

Recommendation: Great space potential for remote work, but management needs to address internet reliability, pastry freshness/pricing, and climate control to match top-rated expectations.

Shai adeni and baklava both flavorful and not overly sweet. Beautiful presentation. Friendly staff and cafe very organized and clean. Can be a challenge finding an outlet to charge electronics while chatting/working.

Best place to work or study! Has one of the beat best coffee in town and they also have the viral pistachio chocolate these days which got famous in dubai.

However I would highly recommend this place for chilling and working.

The young girl working here with a lip ring deserves a raise! When me and my husband came in it was just her all by herself, and even though it was just her and soooo many customers she got us our coffee and our food quickly and with a smile on her face. Give this girl a raise! Great spot to get some work done, tons of different beverages to enjoy and lots of seating.

I gave 4 instead of 5 because of one female employee (brown hair, olive-ish skin tone, short, thin/slim, hair often in ponytail) who was there today around 1-1:30 PM
The two male employees provided exemplary service and allowed me to pick out what pastries I wanted. They were very kind, polite, and went the extra mile with their customer service.
Last time I came, the female employee would not let me pick the one I wanted. She insisted that the prepackaged version of the item I wanted was the same size. It was not. I measured it when I got home that time and compared the measurements with one my brother picked up recently that wasn’t prepackaged. Prepackaged was smaller. I saw her there again today - wasn’t sure it was her at first, but when I saw her arguing with the Asian male employee about giving me the smaller prepackaged pastry instead of the one I picked, I knew it was her. If she still has doubts about the size difference, she should take measurements and she’ll see they are not the same. As a paying customer, I should be allowed to pick what I want to get.
Otherwise everything was great. There’s a reason I come back and it’s because of the quality of the food / drinks, the environment inside, and the great service, aside from that one female employee who was working today 11/7 around 1-1:30pm. Al the other employees have been great to say the least- attentive, courteous, accommodating. She really brings everything down to the point that a 5 star review became 4.
Next time I come here and I see that one petite brunette pony-tailed female employee, I will walk right out the door.

They have so many options! Their Kunafa tiramisu is my favorite. Their drinks are also very large! Lots of seating and they have wifi so it’s the perfect spot for getting work done!

Great coffee and spacious seating with wifi. Knafa chocolate was delicious but a bit pricey.

Seems like a nice cafe. A little pricey but probably normal for the area. Good cappuccino but on the smaller side. Slight discount for cash paying customers.

Great place to study or for a quick zoom call in a pinch, but keep in mind there is background music.
They have adequate seating both on comfy cushions and also an upstairs area.

Great wifi speeds. As of Oct 2025 download speeds were 60Mbps and upload speeds of 40Mbps. Keep in mind it takes about 1 minute to fully connect even after inputting password.

There is also a bathroom for customers. Ask cashier for code.

Really cute study spot - there are tons of table, free wifi. Very cozy vibes. The lattes are huge!! (Maple oat latte)

Really delicious sweets and treats. Tried the croissant with pistachio cream and chocolate. It was pretty messy to eat, but the flavor was good. My favorite is the Dubai chocolate! We always order extra to take home.

The AC wasn’t working when we went, so expect your treats to melt quickly if you decide to eat there.

my favorite cafe to study! wifi is fast, and you have croissant-wiches, pastries, desserts, and so many different drinks to choose from for a full day of working/studying. the service is also consistently amazing and everyone is so friendly!!

Fast wifi. Clean bathrooms. Comfortable seating. Square tables.

I’m so disappointed to write this review right now but I was completely shocked at our experience. We got to this Mokafé location at 8:30am in hopes to grab a quick bite and drink. We didn’t think it would be too long since there were only 2 couples already inside already eating and 2 people ordering ahead of us. Since we had never eaten here before we used the kiosk to order so we could also see pictures of the sandwiches and drinks. We placed our orders through the kiosk which was 2 Turkey and cheddar sandwiches and one cucumber mint lemonade. We didn’t think it was a big order at all and expected about a 15-20 minute wait. However, it was 20 minutes for just the lemonade to get made. Then we started to get confused because there was no sight of the other worker making our food. Turns out the person making our drink didn’t give the other coworker the ticket of our food and was complaining about us using the kiosk right in front of us. Saying things like “I don’t get why customers even use the kiosk” and “we need to cancel orders through there and make them come up to the counter instead.” Then we got to the 30 minute mark and no one was still working on our food. So we went up and asked the person who made our drinks when we could expect our food to be ready. They made a passive aggressive comment and finger snapped and pointed at us saying “well you ordered from the kiosk and we don’t recommend customers do that. You also ordered sandwiches which we also don’t recommend you do that. So it’s gonna be a bit longer still” we were so confused because why would you actively push customers away from buying your food because you didn’t want to make it. We met up with another friend who ordered a coffee and a croissant, who got his stuff before the sandwiches. So after the 40 minutes we finally got them. They weren’t bad, but for cold cuts on a toasted piece of bread there was no need to it to be 40 minutes. We wouldn’t have minded if it was crazy busy, they explained they would take a bit longer, or it they demonstrated some kind of respect and patience. However the workers attitude and response to our confusion was unprofessional and deterred us from going back.

The guy working here was super rude. I had waited for 30min for coffee and sandwich on a weekday, so I went to the front and check on the status. He said "there are people in front of you, do you want wait or what?" I def don't need to pay to get the attitude.

Latte is too sweet. Pistachio flat croissant is good

They cannot provide simple wifi! Also expensive

This was my second time here, I was so excited about a new coffee shop in the area and my favorite treat Dubai chocolate anything. The first time I came here was okay the crossiant was decent and there is plenty of seating for you to relax and enjoy a coffee or pastry. HOWEVER, the customer service and STAFF is terrible. I passed by today as I was wanting a little sweet treat to take home and was in a rush. I figured I would ask for it not heated up to save time and be in and out. The guy at the register takes my order and hands me a buzzer for my order, which makes sense if I was dining in, but to put in a crossiant in a box and hand it to me I felt it was unnecessary, then to make matters worse as I’m standing by the register for my crossiant to be packed I see all the staff just standing around talking and not packing my order, the guy who took my order knew I was waiting for something and he’s just talking with coworkers , after WAITING for 5 minutes for my crossiant to be put in a box and given to me , they place it on a plate , instead of a box for me to take and when I said it’s supposed to be to go they all looked at me like I was inconveniencing them. I have a lot of respect for food industry workers and I wouldn’t mind waiting even longer if I saw them actually working or occupied, but waiting so long for one to go item and then them packing it wrong is unacceptable. There needs to be some sort of shift leader overseeing the efficiency, again this is a cool place to sit and chill but it’s in NYC we also need to be able to grab and go!

This place is perfect for working or studying. The desserts are delicious, the coffee is amazing, and the staff is exceptionally attentive and friendly, making you feel right at home, specially Valeria.

Mokafe is amazing. The coffee is delicious and the atmosphere is cozy. Ideal for working. Also, Valeria's service was excellent, very kind. Highly recommended!

After i show the catchy atmosphere and beautiful space I decided to go in for something sweet, the guys was very kind and explained me some sweets combinations, I decide to get a tiramisu and by surprise I did found any coffee inside, after I ask for a manager they told me to talk direct with the owner that he stood right at the door talking on his phone ( as I’m working in hospitality over 20 years manager in fine dining restaurants in NYC, Mykonos, Milano and Berlin I wanted to help out and give the owner my opinion and nothing more then that) I ask him if he has a minute to talk to me and he responded me that I should wait until he call ended, after 10 min his call ended instant to come to me and see what I want, he go to his staff and ask what happen and he start to tell them that they supposed not to send the guest to him etc..obviously I left right a way because I think first of all he did respect me as a costumer and second of his attitude to the staff. ( I know who he was I didn’t wait of the staff to tell me, his attitude was like “im the owner”)
Well Mr owner let me clear something the store is open 3 months and I give you one year and then I’m sure you will close down, is not something I wish is just something I can see.

This place is INCREDIBLE! The tea, coffee, pastries and dessert shooters are to die for. Lots of seating with wifi making it a great place to get some work done as well. Highly recommend

Save yourself the walk, wifi is not connected to internet

Excellent customer service from Mahmat and Muhammad. Great spot to study and even relax at lots of space and great wifi.

wifi doesn’t work

Great for working when it's not crowded in the AM

I like that they always have room to sit, but the last three times I’ve gone, the wifi has been broken. If I’m spending $17, I expect wifi that works

wifi not working. they said that thats normal and if I wait 15 minutes it should fix itself. I waited for probs an hour, no success

Cool place. wifi wasn’t working and some guy employee seemed very off put. Pistachio latte not great.

9th July, beautiful cafe to be in, however the service are not up to par, especially with a state that you need to pay for tips.

When I came in, the machine to order by the door was not the first thing I saw. I saw all the selections of bread, the menu which was a good thing, of course.

However, when I go up to the cashier to order , there was no greetings, no smiles, nothing friendly or nice about the cashier. It was 0800 in the morning.

Maybe they were tired or too groggy for the morning, however, you are working not because of your customer forced you to.

I watched, even to other customers, still no greetings and smiles. If you want the customers to order through the machine, a very big sign would help.

Please, have a basic service up to par. greetings at least. You are in the middle of New York City, with halal selections and beautiful cafe.

It would be nice if the staffs are as nice as the cafe.

The potato bread was lovely, I would come again but not with the same staffs, I guess. until they have better service treatment.