Primrose Cafe

I live around the corner and am so happy Primrose is in the neighborhood. It’s charming and accessible. The food is healthy and delicious. My wife and I are both regulars and our kids love the Madeleines. The best thing on the menu (IMHO) is the omelette sandwich with sriracha, but everything is yummy. It’s not cheap, but it’s excellent. The espresso machine is right at the counter, so the coffee is as fresh (and hot) as can be. The vibe is relaxed and informal. The staff is warm and friendly.
I would like to address a couple of things others have said in their reviews.
Cafes have a strange culture of customer entitlement. It’s hard to imagine another business where you say, «I would like to buy a $ 3 item, then sit all day, listening to music, use your internet, etc.» I don’t think you would get away with that at a *friend’s house*, but somehow some folks think that buying a cup of coffee is a ticket to having your every wish granted.
So I find some of the complaints that a few others have listed here — like the (2 hour!) limit on wifi — to be sort of absurd. When you get a coffee at the Primrose, you get a code that grants 2-​hour access. Seems reasonable. If you want more wifi, ask for another slip at the counter. I’ve never been denied. And while you’re there, *buy something* to make sure the place can keep the lights on. Sheesh, people.
The space is small (its in the basement of a brownstone) and sometimes demand can be high (like in the mornings before work or in the late afternoon). It’s across the street from a playground, so there are moms with kids who come in, along with professionals, students, etc. Embrace it. It’s part of the charm. And its a good sign that this is accessible to everyone.

Happy to discover this gem of a coffee shop.
My wife and I had perfectly brewed lattes. Best I have had in Brooklyn and among the best ever.
Even better that the coffee, which was incredible, was the amazing service. Warm friendly with smiles all around.
It is also a delightful space.

Weekend Laptop wifi policy is just odd for a café… I visited about 12pm on a Saturday and the place was quiet and there were plenty of open seats. Maybe use discretion, or have designated seats for laptops? An outright ban is just crazy talk.

M-​F morning staff are great! Fundamental problem: coffees, latte’s, etc are *always* lukewarm. Not coming back until they address this.

i love this place! i’m selfishly worried about recommending the almond croissant or almond chocolate croissant to everyone here, because i love having my daily one and would be crushed if they ran out. just kidding HAVE AT IT i’ll survive! their lavender ceylon iced tea is honestly otherworldly. service is amazing and everyone’s always so kind – brightens up my morning! really cute and cosy atmosphere.

Love this place. Service can be a little iffy. But the atmosphere is great and the coffee and food is awesome.

This coffee shop seriously has better coffee than Ninth Street espresso. I stop in about twice a week after 11am when it’s not crowded, but I can imagine that the space would feel incredibly close with a lot of customers because it is located in a brownstone after all. My experience with the majority of baristas has been great, although the Pratt-​student types (just guessing) have tried to pour on the attitude when it’s not necessary. The baked goods are pretty standard, but good, and it’s a bonus that they accept cards for payment.

This place is the best! Cute outdoor area in the back to hang out at in the summer. Amazing chai lattes! Everyone is super friendly and they have good pastries. What else could you possibly need? Way better than some of the other coffee shops in the area.

It’s not worth it. Yeah the food and coffee are good and the place is nice, but it’s not
worth the price you pay, in dollars and in hours standing in line. If you do have to go (Because it’s so damn cute!) Avoid around 4:00 when the line is long, space is crammed, and there 10 kids running around at your feet. The baristas will be taking their sweet time, and your food will take 30 minutes to get to you.

Good coffee and reasonable food, but it’s hilariously over priced. $ 8 continental breakfast was one egg, a very small bowl with ¼ of a pear, some bread, and a packet of smuckers strawberry jam. It was fine, but should have been $ 4 not $ 8.

Very cute café with delicious coffee, treats and a wonderful new addition of beer and wine. The vibes are mellow and quaint and both the backyard and front area are a pleasure to sit in. The only reason I’m not giving five stars is because the staff is never pleasant. They rarely communicate when you come in and move SLOWLY with no apparent care for the line. If they smiled and were pleasant, the wait would never be an issue! I’ll go back-it’s a great place, but a smile would not kill them!

The staff behind the counter are incredibly snobby and rude. As cute as it is inside, the people who work in there (other than the actual chefs) are atrocious. I live UPSTAIRS and every single time I have come inside I have never been greeted kindly. I once ordered the Nova Scotia bagel and received a $ 11.75 bagel with two microscopic pieces of fish. They don’t «do» pick up either, even if you are a regular customer for the past 7 months… and the wait time for ANY food order at ANY TIME weekday or weekend takes an average of 15 minutes. (THATS A LONG TIME for a bagel with cream cheese). The staff look miserable, always frowning, never in a good mood. I have a photo of the salmon bagel if anyone is interested please message me. The place inside is sweet but they forbid laptops on weekends 8−4pm…what kind of café is this?! To top it off I’ve overheard the of their staff brag several times about how much she enjoys firing people… it is sick and overpriced.

Location, location, location may be a truism in real estate, but its not sufficient for a coffee shop, at least for me. Quaint doesn’t do justice to the backyard/​patio of this coffee shop in the ground floor of a Clinton Hill brownstone — it’s an idyllic setting for one to enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee and a tasty snack. And therein lies the rub… the coffee here is bitter and mediocre, their espresso disappointing. I find the food OK, but small portions, and a bit overpriced for what it is.
If you wish to try it yourself, make sure to come on a nice day and get an outside seat, which makes for a worthwhile experience. The inside, on the other hand, is a bit cramped and uninviting. Finally, FYI, as many other reviews have pointed out, there is a 1 hour wi-​fi limit. Personally, I don’t have a problem with this — an hour seems like ample time to sit and enjoy a coffee, and I think I bear a bit of a grudge against people who camp out in coffee shops all day, stealing space from the rest of us. But if that’s your goal/​scene, this is definitely not your place.

This place is super cute and I really enjoyed my almond latte and the chai I tried. There are plenty of seats and they have two outdoor spaces. One in the front, one in the back. The baristas were nice. It has a lived in feel. There is also free interest! There is a large food menu but I can’t speak to it. $ 7 credit card minimum but one time I didn’t have cash and they didn’t give me a hard time. My only complaint is they are a little slow.

The people who run this café are horrible… they are nasty, snotty, lazy and unhappy.
After my rude, eye-​rolling barista today. I will never go back.
Avoid this place.

The front door gets crowded when there is a line waiting to order and pay, but I love this cozy neighborhood spot.
Some of the baristas are really friendly and fun to talk to, there are some lovely seats right in the window, and the backyard is one of my favorite Sunday morning reading spots. These are the things that keep me coming back (as well as the cinnamon chili lattes).

The front door gets crowded when there is a line waiting to order and pay, but I love this cozy neighborhood spot.
Some of the baristas (Helen is great, the manager Vicky is also really cool) are really friendly and fun to talk to, there are some lovely seats right in the window, and the backyard is one of my favorite Sunday morning reading spots. These are the things that keep me coming back (as well as the cinnamon chili lattes and more recently the lavender lattes).

This café is right by the B52 bus stop that I take every Sunday morning so I like to run in here and get a quick coffee. The interior is cute — kind of like thrifty-​chic. I haven’t had any of the pastries here, but if it weren’t for location, I don’t think I’d go out of my way to come here. The cashier, although not unreasonably grumpy, is just not as nice as is comfortable, if that makes sense. It just was not a pleasure to interact with her. But whatever, coffee is strong and caffeinated.

The coffee is great and so is the food but the service is atrocious. The atmosphere and garden are nice. They allow dogs in the coffee shop and back patio, health code violation but not really my issue. Don’t stop in to get your coffee before work here you will crazy late for your job. The communication system between the staff is abysmal, i have been grossly overcharged for pastries more times than I care to count. The baristas will forget your drink, you have to manage them. I know the owner (who is not American and could give two fucks about quality service) and am still treated like a second class customer at this establishment. If they weren’t the closest place to me I would NEVER patronize them again.

Another neighborhood fav. We only get the lattes — either iced or hot, and they are on point. We always get it to go. It’s a little to crowded for my liking but the backyard is really comfortable. I can’t say much for the food as we’ve never ordered any. It’s a weekend staple for us.

Super cute café with great coffee and generous pour of wine. The owner was so nice! She let us bring our pug in to the backyard! Tried the Brie and apple/​pear sandwich and the Madeline cookies: scrumptious!
I wonder why people were so annoyed with the 1 hour wifi limit. Just go order another round and ask them to refresh your wifi? I’ve seen folks who camp at café for hours on an iced tea…

First off,
The cooks are great! Very nice and hardworking.
Primrose gets one star from me for pretty much the same reason as all the low star reviews on here. The owner is mean and acts annoyed but customers. She constantly has a face that looks like she has poo under her nose and when she manages to be friendly it seems to be a huge challenge.
The short barista is never behind the counter and when she is she forgets to make your drink 50% of the time.
Had a few good months at the beginning of the year but entire staff has changed and the owner seems to be there more which brings down the whole atmosphere.
And can we change the music please, the french song from moonrise kingdom was only good the first 100 times.

I feel like I annoyed the owner (who I didn’t realize was the owner) with my existence when I offered to plug in in her charger…
Same with the staff when I was inquiring about the menu.

mediocre coffee and wifi with a time limit.
I mean really a 1 hour limit on wifi?
If you are going to be passive aggressive to people who like to work in cafes, just dont have wifi and we will go away!

Sadly it is fallen off despite it’s makeover. The vibe has become so pretentious and the owner as no personable skills. Despite coming here since it has opened I have never been greeted a hello by her. The good baristas have left and the short young one who is primarily there has a bad attitude. She says hello but talks under her breath and is snide. The cooks are great. The patio is nice, and seating is ok. I wish the vibe was better. The staff is constantly changing. There was a time this place was warm and friendly with great coffee, a staff you can talk to. Dont come on weekends, crowds, better during the week before the nanny/​parent parade comes in around 3pm. I wont be coming here anymore, waste of overpriced coffee with such a negative atmosphere because of the pretentious French owners.

I feel like if you’re going to have hilariously overpriced food, you can’t ALSO have crappy wifi on a one-​hour time limit. There’s just too much competition out there for me to bother going back.
The patio is nice… but there was a giant, seething nest of black ants under our table.

Ordered a ham and cheese on croissant to go. Dug in, no ham.

First and hopefully only Unilocal review…
I have been in and out of this place since they opened, as it is very close to me, and it has progressively gotten worse and worse. I’m writing this in hopes to discourage anyone else from waisting their money in this establishment, go to Annex on Fultonit is a bit of a walk but so much better!
The last time I went to Primrose i got to the door with my latte which was SO HOT, that when i spilled a tiny bit on my wrist I got a horrible burn that didn’t heal for over a week. When I went back to inform them that perhaps they shouldn’t make the coffee so hot, they didn’t seem at all bothered :(
Not my neighborhood coffee shop, the service is terrible, they have no community vibe, don’t waist your time and money!

The quaintest most special coffee shop you’ll ever experience!
I recently discovered Primrose and am so glad that I did. It’s incredibly unassuming, located in a beautiful Brownstone on a great block. Personally, I put a lot of emphasis on ambiance and this place has LOTS of it. Talk about outdoor seating. There are quaint tables and chairs out front with a small garden in the back. Think plants and raw-​iron furniture.
The menu is simple but good, the coffee is excellent, the staff is friendly. They also have some games to borrow should you want to challenge your company to a game of chess and there crayons and paper to keep the children occupied.

While the coffee was good, the continental breakfast was not. I wasn’t super hungry, so I ordered what looked like a simple snack — boiled egg, toast w/​butter and small cup of fruit. I ordered it to go.
When I got home, I noticed the egg was not boiled all the way so the yolk was runny, the toast was not toast, it was a sliced piece of french bread that was rock hard and crumbled to pieces when I touched it, and the fruit was not fresh or even remotely sweet. What a waste of $ 11.
Maybe their other menu items are better? I did notice a huge line as I was leaving. As with many joints within this part of BK, be prepared to see hipster parents with kids named Zoe, Smith and McKinley in tow.

I really want to like this place, because it’s very cute and convenient and they usually have water for the dog.
The coffee is OK – fine in a pinch but not worth going out of your way, and not worth dealing with the uneven service.
Which brings me to the service. Most of the time it’s good, with nice people who are making some kind of effort. Occasionally, you get service that is inept or slow or distracted.
But the last time I went, there was a barista who was inexcusably, unbelievably, rude from the moment I placed my order. I didn’t do anything out of line or unusual, except place my order, or perhaps my very existence was somehow offensive to her. We’re talking sneeringly rude, hostile, and dismissive — complete with derisive asides about you to a co-​worker while you’re standing right there.
Never going back after that.
But the place is cute.