Café Biba

The perfect place to escape what Williamsburg is becoming (a scary construction war zone). Situated just in front of the east river park, the café has a small terrace and serves freshly made and delicious sandwiches.

wow I love paying $ 10 for a small burnt burger. Currently eating it right now and all I can taste is the wonderful taste of BURNT. Love it so much

The food here is excellent. Everything is completely homemade and one can taste the quality. Also, the café owner is extremely nice and will go out of her way to help you out. I’ve been back multiple times and try to come back every time I make it to the Williamsburg area.

What a pleasant surprise!
We we’re looking for coffee and found so much more. On the first truly cool day of Autumn we enjoyed chicken soup and beans on toast. The food was hot and tasty and the waitstaff — Erica helpful and attentive. Check it out if you get the chance.

This place is right around the corner from my building — and each and every time I come by for coffee the staff are always helpful, happy and honestly just super nice. It’s nice to know I can get a great soy latte and not have to go to starbucks.
I’m definitely a fan and happy to have Biba in my neighborhood!

The bartender wouldn’t let a 7 month pregnant woman use the bathroom on an empty Tuesday afternoon.

Pretty good Espresso off their La Marzocco machine in a café right off the East River State Park! Warm feeling, friendly staff and nice outdoor sitting in the covered patio… ideal place to read a book, observe the local crowd or have some work done.

I’ve been to Café Biba two times and both times I ordered the same thing: a medium latte. Both visits were on a weekend at around 10 am, which to my surprise the café was open! (One time the door was open but the sign says «sorry, we’re closed!») This is because I tried visiting on one time on a weekday at 8:15am or so but was sad to find that it was closed. (Note its hours on Unilocal says 8am-​6pm.)
The latte was pretty ordinary. The barista’s service was not bad. Overall, a pretty average place to go and grab a cup o’ joe in my opinion.

Second update: Stopped by at 10am on a weekday and it was closed again. Ridiculous.
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First update:
I originally gave this place 2 stars; I’m now giving it one. The problem? Unreliable hours. I passed by at 9:05 am this morning and it was closed. This is a coffee place: It should be open. And one of the servers once told me that they sometimes close early, though there’s no way of knowing what days that might happen. I’ve copied my original review below.
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Finally it opened! Waited a long time. In construction forever, it seemed.
Now: Sometimes offer some delicious and unique iced teas, though last time I was told that they stopped making them. Unclear if that’s temporary. Coffee is usually very good but once or twice has tasted a little funny. Pastries are fine, nothing special. Staff is fine. Ambience sort of dull. I’m hoping it improves as time goes on and I’ll give it more stars if it gets better; it’s still a relatively young place. No wi-​fi (well, they tell you to use the park’s wi-​fi from across the street); I think they are trying to avoid a laptop scene, which is understandable, but it would be nice to be able to do some writing here.

Today was my first venture beyond the threshold, lured in by the sign promising Mexican hot cocoa. I had been watching them fix the place up for the past year, puzzled as to why it was taking so crazily long, and very skeptical about the café’s relationship to the strange bar of the same name across the street that only has a door onto the park and is never open… somehow, this place is much more put-​together than it’s sister, and seems to have regular hours. The only drawback for me was the cash-​only policy, which is clearly a gimmick to get people to use their ATM across the street.
First of all, I’m extremely partial to booths and built-​in barstools, so points on seating (there’s additional tables outside for warm weather). It’s perfectly sized, cream-​colored paneling and dark wood make it cozy, and it smells heavenly. The barista was friendly and relaxed, and I liked the soft electronic beats he was playing. The Mexican hot cocoa did not fail to impress: spicy and dark chocolatey, not too sweet. Croissants and stuff looked good, but I have yet to sample them. They’re also testing out a delicious-​looking sandwich and salad-​based menu, so I will be back for that!