Café Orwell

RIP my beloved favorite place to go, write, chill, biting on great bagels, sip on tasty chai lattes and listening to good tunes …
New owners have their little kid running around, screaming, the music is bad (comes with some extremely loud Skype ringing tune when you are lucky), and your latte will eventually comes after 15 minutes of wait.
You got it, I will truly miss you …

This place recently had a nice remodel that give it less of a thift-​store mismatch vibe, but I’m giving this place a bad rating for three reasons:
1, I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and jam, toasted. When I say toasted I mean toasted, not warm. I believe it’s a reasonable expectation.
2, when my girlfriend ordered coffee, she asked if it comes with refills, to which the woman replied «yes.» When i got the refills, they charged a buck a piece. I guess by yes, she meant that she would allow us to buy more coffee and put it in the same cup.
3 (and this one really put me over the top) they have really crappy internet. I kept having to turn off the wifi on my computer and turn it back on. I use internet at coffee shops all the time (i’m at a different coffee shop down the street writing this right now), so I know they just went cheap with their wireless router. If you’re going to offer wifi, don’t just do it symbolically. To be fair, my girlfriends computer connected just fine.
I’ve been to this place a dozen times, but I’m not sure I’ll be going back.

I work next door to this place so I stop in fairly often.
Aside from it being convenient for me to go to, I do really enjoy the coffee and bagels.
The scallion cream cheese there is delish!

Met a date here before going for a bike ride, had the strangest tasting americano of my life.

Noisy!
It was 6pm and the volume of the music belonged in a club. I was trying to read but I didn’t end up staying long. It’s a shame because the place is really quaint with wifi and several outlets for computers. The barista was friendly but the chai latte I bought was very weak. This and the music makes me a little turned off with this place but I think I will give it another chance.

This is one of my spots when I need to concentrate and work on something. I love the vibe, the staff, the wifi and the David sandwich. They are cash only but there is an ATM inside. The place is usually busy.
Some negatives:
–The bathroom is a tad creepy and always smells weird. I wish they would put something in there to freshen it up.
–The music is sometimes a couple of notches louder than needed which can be distracting if you are trying to work. Which… may be why it is that way.

This block is practically bursting with new stuff opening. There’s a gym, a health food sandwich shop, a bicycle store and this fine café.
I’d been to the bike store a few times, picked up a helmet, and inflated my tires a few times. So here I find myself there again stopping at this café next door.
Orwell looks rather one way on the outside, what with the awning of indeterminant font origins. But upon entering, a dark gothic forboding comes over you, yeah but in a good way. There is great artwork on the walls, and a long food service bar to one side. I step up and order a toasted everything bagel and happily find tofu cream cheese on the menu. I’m happy, and my café neighbors will be too that I’m not eating real cream cheese! I also order up an espresso and grab a seat in front near the window.
My espresso comes up and me being all sensitive about these things, examine it with great care. I find a good aroma, and plenty of crema. Their stumptown shot pulling methods are firmly in play.
I take my seat and flip open 1Q84, as I careen perilously towards the end of that tomb. Me, my espresso & I.

Let me first say that I come here at least twice a week. Its one of the only places I can go to get work done effectively in my neighborhood. The air is calm, people are quiet and usually there for the same reason I am. The music is your average hipster fair with some weird choices intermixed, but its never so loud you can’t pop ear buds in to listen to your own music. I like the actual shop very much.
However, its nothing to write home about. The lattes are of average quality. The service is good and the variety of food/​pastries is pretty decent. I like it when they have vegan cookies. Whoever they get them from is a decent baker.
I wish the lattes here were larger and I wish it didn’t cost 7 dollars to buy a small sandwich. I hate spending more than 10 bucks on a trip to the coffee shop, but at Orwell its very easy to do if you go in hungry.

This place is a friggin lifesaver. As far as I can tell, it’s the only place to get decent brewed coffee in all of Bushwick. Orwell also does a good espresso drink, but it’s not your only option in the area, if that’s all you want. Their coffee brewing skills are way above average though and that’s what keeps me coming back.
I can also highly recommend the bagels. They serve a proper bagel here. Dense, crisp on the outside (when toasted) and chewy on the inside. They are also generous with the cream cheese, which I love.
Minus one star for constantly playing music that makes me want to shoot myself in the face. Seriously, if you plan to hang out, bring headphones.

Having recently moved here from Portland, Oregon, I have found few places so welcoming as this one.
I had spent far too much time riveted on my laptop and decided the only way to break away was to abandon ship. This was one of the few cafes open at this hour (8pm) and just a short walk.
While they only have one decaffeinated tea (mint) I was charmed that they stumptown coffee (the best) as well as their comfy and spacious interior, adorably decorated with old lamps, plants and accented with hard wood and metal. They also have a most intriguing menu including «specialty toasts», something I often make and never thought to find in a café.
In contrast to others reviews, the barista, Ania, was a total sweetheart and played the magnificent Bill Callahan (of Smog). I found the logo (which is a scale, pencil & spoon) delightfully coincidental as I’m a libra, drawer and spoon-​collector. When I inquired about it, Ania confirmed it was a sign. Not only that, I soon realized the cafes name is Orwell and the book I’d brought to read was none other than Animal Farm. It was a lovely and mystical experience.

This place works because:
A. It’s big and roomy. It’s not the typical café cluster fuck with awkward and/​or lack of seating. Plenty of outlets.
B. It stays open hours later than other cafes in the area, so you if you need to meet with someone professionally in a public place and don’t want to appear like a total alcoholic – this is your jam.
C. All i had was an iced coffee, so I’ll add an update later as it’s in my hood.
note-​they door have a selection of bottled beers for post meeting.

Praise:
Toasted bagel
Filter coffee
Criticism:
Drinking vessels — I got a cup of coffee to have in, and they still served it in a take-​away cup. It’s not that I am above drinking my coffee out of anything below bone china, it’s the WASTE that upsets me. Those waxed paper cups are not easily recycled. I’ll have to bring my own mug or thermos next time. I think it would be nice to provide some reusable porcelain for drink-​in customers. Helps keep the coffee warm too…

i loved this place. The music was a bit loud, but it was weird & the atmosphere dark & it made me happy. The coffee was fine, there were plenty of seats. The wireless was easy to access, and there were plenty of outlets. i think it’s the best place to work in the area, one of the best ones i’ve seen in the city (plenty of seating!)
definitely a place i’ll revisit.

I want to like this place and started going more when Archive closed. Cool vine inside, I like the seating options. But consistently bad coffee. They make Stumptown, but not sure what’s up with the way they make it, normally very sour/​sweet.
Service is often slow, attitudinal, and forgotten items, etc.
Swallow just opened up in place of Archive and it’s pretty good. So long Orwell.

Since Archive closed, I’ve been going to Orwell a lot more on my way to work and the most frustrating thing about the place is how inconsistent each experience is, from the coffee quality to the barista’s attitude and efficiency. I really want to like this place, as the atmosphere is good and the food is yummy, but they just make it so hard. I always go in with my fingers crossed and, more often than not, walk out disappointed.
The other morning, I ordered a regular coffee and the barista told me they didn’t have any sugar or lids — no good. I also witnessed an employee lose it with the broken espresso machine the other day and it wasn’t pretty. There’s only ever one person working in the AM, so I imagine it’s super stressful when you’re by yourself and the line is growing, but it’s uncomfortable to witness the breakdown.
The brewed coffee is usually weak, the espresso drinks aren’t always made well and the flimsy plastic stirrers never reach the bottom of the large cup to mix your sugar. Seems like the same quality control of the food needs to be applied to the coffee, as the small details that really count are often overlooked here. If I could get a consistent cup of coffee, I don’t think the other stuff would be so glaring.
I’ll keep going in, with fingers crossed, because it’s important to support local business, but they should really step up their game before the new coffee chain takes over Archive’s old space and disappointed customers take their business elsewhere.

Sweet Joe. Awesome cream cheese.
Super awesome staff as well. Especially this one girl who looked like Winona Ryder. Her name started with «Sh» Shannon? Sherry? I’ll go with Shannon.
Definitely going back soon.

After coming back here a few more times, I got my bagel, and it was good! :)
They have coffee refills for $ 1, not bad. Its welcoming to come here, sit around knowing that you can sip your ice coffee and do work without going broke. Their sandwiches are also cheap and very good. They have this open faced Summer special going on right now thats really tasty!
The counter people are awesome, and very kind. Its relaxing here, and they have some out door seats incase you want to sit outside, have a smoke, and chill on your laptop.
Café Orwell is becoming one of my favorite places. The atmosphere here is classy, and over all this place is well done. I prefer this place and the crowd here over Archive… greatly.

I stumbled upon this place one day, and I thought to myself WOW they have muffins!!!
since i happen to always have this weird urge to think outside the box. i decided to buy the «vanilla pear muffin», but after biting into it. i realized that it wasn’t a «vanilla pear muffin». it was a plain muffin with cranberries inside!!! (what if i was allergic to berries??)
I WANTED TO YELL, I WANTED TO COMPLAIN, and I wanted to slap the idiot who specifically told me that i was buying a «vanilla pear muffin». untill i realized that the plain muffin with cranberries was actually good. I ate my muffin, finished my mocha. and left the café telling myself that i will be back. and then maybe… just maybe… I will get to try the «vanilla pear muffin»

Like
Stumptown
And the space
To work but when
Slow music meets darkness… just like ruffies.

I used to live in Bushwick. I don’t anymore, so if I want to spend the day working at Café Orwell, I have to hop on the bike and ride over the bridge (or put up with the L train). It’s worth the effort.
The food and drinks are reasonably priced and quite good: try the toast with goat cheese and walnuts. The wifi is free and usually works well. The lighting is a bit dark, but if I’m in a bad mood then hiding in the dark back of the café is exactly what I want, and otherwise I can sit closer to the windows in front.
The music they play during the day is usually pretty tolerable. Sometimes, though, live music comes in later in the evenings, and, well, usually I take that as my cue to leave.