Potion Cafe

Okay, so am I partial to this place just because they’re having an art exhibition by my favorite artist, Josh McCutchen, right now.
It’s just cozy. Not as in you’ll be immobile inside— but rather, it’s actually just an intimate space. It’s easy to sit at a table with someone else doing work and have a conversation or start up your own project.
Additionally, they’re a part of the Slow Food Revolution— what’s not to love about that? Petrini would seriously be pleased at their ginger lemonade. You can really taste the fresh squeezed love, better than having an aranciata in Italia.
This place makes me want to dance like Moretti in «Caro Diario.» It’s one of my favorite places in the world.

You know what, I hate Potion. One of the guys who works there is really rude and he embarrassed me in front of a bunch of other customers because I forgot to ask for something to go. I realize that not making an order clear is frustrating, but he literally just had to throw a crêpe into a bag.
I’ve worked at food establishments before and if I treated any of our patrons the way he treated me, I would have been fired on the spot.
And by the way– it took 25 minutes to make 2 small crepes on a quiet Saturday afternoon.

I found this place somewhat similar to Wykoff Starr, small, decent selection and terrible service. They do have free wifi, and serve beer and wine as well as a good selection of food, which is a plus, their location has more going on than Wykoff Star, so they don’t earn as many points on that end.

+1 Star for food that doesn’t suck (not to say it was excellent, it just doesn’t suck).
+1 Star for having a quiet and comfortable atmosphere, with an artsy/​hipster kind of motif.
+1 Star for the price. The food was better than what I (would have*) payed for it.
–1 star for the 45 (yes, «FORTY-​FIVE») minute wait from ordering to delivery for my eggs florentine. I understand they take a bit longer than a regular order, but that’s atrocious considering there were four people in the place, two had already been served and the other ordered a bagel. In their defense, they did give it to me on the house.
–1 star for rudeness with which I was treated by bringing it up. (again, they did end up treating me quite nicely afterword).

You’d never find this place unless you knew about it already or had a friend bring you here, because it’s so off-​the-​beaten-​path, it’s ridiculous! But that’s part of the charm. The other part of the charm of the place is good coffee and a most unique atmosphere.
You can drink coffee and play old school Nintendo games while sitting on an old dirty couch at the same time (yes, the kind of Nintendo games you have to blow into to get to work). This is the most un-​coffee shop coffee shop I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking in! And for that, I love you Potion!

I must admit, most of these stars are based upon location. I stay with friends at 248 McKibben every few months and Potion is wonderful if we wake up to discover ourselves without coffee nor breakfast and don’t want to head out to the more commercialized places in Brooklyn.
I do, however, miss the tire seat and car bench they used to have outside.

Potion gets an extra star for the location since it’s both badly needed and blends in well with the area. Maybe I’ve been out of real estate too long but I consider anything east of Bushwick avenue to be: Bushwick. I see the point about north of flushing still being East Williamsburg though, hmm. Recently painted and touched up the place seems brighter (unless it was the company I kept). It’s still a charming little dump though, like your French/​Bohemian girlfriend’s living room.
The espresso is good and the sandwiches smell great. I really like the energy from the staff, patrons, piano, everything. There’s also a bathroom that feels like a janitor’s closet which seems a bit naughty in a good way (just me?). You shouldn’t go out of your way for Potion, but if you’re in the Bushburg, stop in.

I’ve definitely never been treated as rudely as i was at this bushwick hole-​in-​the-​wall. the physical space is very disorganized and can only comfortably seat about 10 people. all of those people (except my friend and i) were on laptops anyway. this place is not worth it. at all. there are many many better coffee spots in bushwick and in williamsburg. AVOID. DO NOT WANT.

Potion Café serves excellent cappuccino. That is what I found today. The taste was excellent and the presentation was very chic with a nice swirl of espresso and milk. Such style for a café found in the bottom of a huge warehouse. I felt a bit self-​conscious walking to a very artsy place in my teacher attire, but everyone was very absorbed in their work. The free wi-​fi means that everyone – mostly a mid-​20s crew – was on their ibooks. The baristas were quite friendly and talented. The look of the place is quite low-​key, indieclectic (I hope I just coined that). The café also includes a small beer and wine menu, which is still rather rare for a lot of NYC cafes. My one complaint was that the place was so dark. There appeared no effort to make it brighter as the sun went down, making it hard to observe my non-​ibook material. Still, a great small café, although finding a seat may be challenging.

The. Best. Iced. Coffee. Ever. I get one just about every day, even when it’s cold outside. Plus, if you bring your cup back to reuse they give you $.50 off.
Super funky atmosphere, in a charming way. The music is usually courtesy of Pandora, which I appreciate.
The espresso drinks are great too.

1) This is not «Bushwick» as it is above Flushing.
2) The coffee is quite good and the baristas know how to make «fancy» coffee drinks properly.
3) The employees here are not known for being exactly thrilled to serve you the (quite passable) food. So don’t order a bagel unless you’ve got plenty of time to wait.
4) The physical space in here is cool the first few times, but it is kind of whack for actual use.

Potion is a nice little hole in the wall located within one of two huge loft buildings on McKibbin Street. Yes, it’s right outside my front door, but it really is fantastic. They’ve got great iced tea, and their coffee is just as good, if not better, than many other coffee shops throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. It’s super comfy in there too, so go check it out before your local Starbucks.

Even if it wasn’t right next to my front door, I would love this place. Great coffee, cheap beer and yummy sandwiches. What more could a girl ask for?

If there’s one place in Bushwick that truly defines the character of the neighborhood, it’s Potion. Set inside one of the 2 ginormous loft buildings on McKibbin St, stepping into Potion is like going over to your best friend’s house. If your best friend was an artist living in an old loading dock with 20 foot ceilings, that is.
Everyone here is so friendly, and so fun. No Williamsburg pretention or standoffishness to be found!
The only thing as good as the atmosphere is the coffee. And damn, Potion has the best coffee I’ve ever had in Brooklyn. And free wireless. And 3 DOLLAR RED STRIPES. Yup.
Too bad their bagels are stale and it will take the cute art school girl behind the counter 30 minutes to toast that sucker up and slather a thin layer of cream cheese on it. No worries, though. Just bring a book (or your laptop) and relax on one of the many couches. They’ll bring you your bagel when it’s ready.