Cornerstone Cafe

We stopped by this place to grab a quick brunch and the Unilocal reviews led us here. The place doesn’t have a great vibe or anything but the food is pretty solid. We ordered the 2 eggs — any style brunch menu option and an Eggplant Panini. Both were excellent and the 2 eggs came with potatoes, mixed greens and toast. $ 4 for the eggs was a great deal. The eggplant panini was well made with just enough cheese and a crispy eggplant to bring out some unique flavors.
The biggest disappointment was the service. The waitress didn’t care one bit to serve us properly and barely communicated. The experience was pretty cold. If we have to tip you, then show us why we should. 2 stars off for the ambience and the service.

We came here for a casual early dinner on a Sunday evening. The place is small but cozy and the service is excellent.
I ordered the oven-​baked mac ‘n’ cheese with chicken and asparagus and it was SOOOOO good. Mm’mm talk about a delicious comfort food! The mac ‘n’ cheese was so creamy and steaming hot. The asparagus was a little al dente which offset the soft creaminess of the cheese perfectly. It was quite honestly some of the best mac ‘n’ cheese I’ve had and that’s saying a lot because I am a mac ‘n’ cheese fanatic.
My husband ordered the tuna steak with asparagus which was also quite excellent. It was seared perfectly and had a light seasoning.
This place was a surprisingly good little dinner spot; I would never have guessed it from the outside or from the inside ambiance but we were delightfully impressed with the quality of the food.

Sweet spot for relaxed low key brunch. Outside seating is great if you get there early enough to snag a spot! Prices are reasonable. The Texas french toast is amazing!

I mean I could not wait to write this review. I found this place thanks to all my Unilocalers, so a HUGE THANK YOU to you guys. You’re the real MVP. Anyhow, where do I start??? oh yeah, Plain Buttermilk Pancakes. I mean come on. They are literally the fluffiest and richest pancakes I’ve ever had. I didn’t even order them, but my friend almost died when she tried them and said I must try. It turned out that I ate the majority of the pancakes (Sorry bud). This in itself is worth coming to this place. Now, I ordered an omelette with avocados, spinach and tomatoes. The omelette came with toast and potatoes and a side of greens. I will admit I was way too concern about the pancakes and the pitcher of mimosas that the greens weren’t really on my mind (Oops). However, all equally as delicious. My other friend ordered grits which she completely devoured and also an omelette with bacon. She was one satisfied customer. Additionally, another friend ordered the french toast. Which off course we all tried. There was an orange zesty taste to the bread witch made the bread so moist. Ugh, what I would do to be at Cornerstone Café right now.
Well guys get your stuff together and get here already. You won’t regret it. Ohhhh and please order the pancakes. Finally, if you are going on Sunday I recommend getting there a little early. The wait could be about 45 min to an 1hr.
Enjoy fellow Unilocalers :)

My friends and I decided to try this place out for brunch after hearing it was good and seeing the photos on Unilocal.Was very excited and I have to say, it didn’t disappoint. I already wanted to go back for a second time right after I left the place (crazy I know… I was so full too). But I have to say it was that good.
The guy who was taking names on the waiting list and seating people was so nice. One my friends came first and put her name down. But my other friend and I weren’t there yet. He kept nicely asking my friend if her whole party was here yet and if so, to tell him. When I arrived, my other friend was still not here yet. We waited for quite some time, and the guy kept checking up with us about our whole party being here. He was all smiles too. When our friend came, he was able to quickly seat us at a table in the corner by the front.
We ordered so much. I got an order of the corn (so good but kind of small for its price), the baked eggs with salmon. One of my friends got a different baked eggs and an order of corn as well. My other friend got the steak and eggs. On top of that we ordered pancakes with fruits to share amongst the three of us. The baked eggs with salmon was absolutely amazing and had tons of salmon. It was a bit salty when eating it by itself but using the bread, which comes with it, to dip the sauce made it just right. I would get that over and over again but I would want to try other things next time. And the price was decent as well for the amount of food you get. The baked eggs also came with a bowl of home fries. So basically we had our table covered with plates of delicious food. We got two mimosas (the deal was 2 for $ 10). Not too bad for the price. The pancakes were fluffy and soft and it can’t go wrong with some fruits over it. Great brunch place but make sure to go early it can get busy!
This is a solid 5 stars. Enough said. (I would go again, did I already say that?)

Visited with Groupon.
Ordered bronzini & steak tuna. Very good.
Didn’t like any of their smoothies.
Ordered green smoothie which has only mint taste and kale smoothie which has only orange taste.
Must try tiramisu and cannoli.
Overall, decent experience:)

My first time trying this place and I loooooved it! I came here with my mom on a Saturday morning around 12:15 and had NO wait. That’s amazing considering how many new yorkers brunch on the weekend. I ordered a stack of buttermilk pancakes with fresh blueberries, bananas, and strawberries and my mom had the baked eggs with tomato sauce & smoked salmon and both were so good. I was super duper full by the end of my meal. Pancakes were nice and fluffy and the combination of smoked salmon and tomato sauce was so good (like who knew that could be a good thing?). Prices here are super reasonable compared to other brunch places and I’m definitely coming back here again. Give this a try if you don’t want to wait for Clinton st baking co which is down the block :-)
Only reason star was knocked off was because my experience here was disturbed by the little girl who kept knocking her chair back and forth into mine and shrieking the entire time and I mean the e n t i r e time. Kids will be kids! Hopefully, i’ll be luckier next time.

Has brunch everyday until 4pm. Bonus!
Salmon Benedict. Good.
Steak and eggs. Steak was meh.
Poor service — had server had two tables.
Forgot that I wanted to substitute potatoes with fries and did not refill water.
May return again.

Right down the street from Clinton St. Baking Co – serves equally fluffy pancakes, without the one hour wait. (Unfortunately, no warm maple butter.) I got pancakes with blueberry compote. There was a lot of the compote (a good thing), the pancakes were fluffy and filling. My friend got the French toast, which were equally thick and came with a ton of whipped cream. The mocha was very good, with just the right amount of chocolate sweetness. Keep in mind that this place is cash-​only.

I came here on a whim when the other brunch spot down the street had a line around the corner. The food is delicious and the prices are incredibly cheap! Such a great meal that I had to come back again!
I had the breakfast sandwich with cheddar and turkey bacon ($ 6)
and my friend had the 2 egg combo which came with house potatoes, a salad and toast (ONLY $ 4)!!!
We also got an iced coffee
It was great. Our meal ended up costing $ 13 and we were both very satisfied

Delicious food and great service! Service was a bit slow but our waitress was super friendly and helpful. We got the omelette and the scrambled eggs with mozzarella and tomato sauce. Both were delicious and satisfying. Coffee was smooth and delicious. The only inconvenience is that the restaurant only takes cash.

We’ve been here a few times… good for kids, groups, or just a plain old date night… I have yet to go there where there’s been much of a crowd or a wait– always visited at night so I have yet to dine during breakfast. The place isn’t too big but the service is great — the waitresses are very attentive and the orders come out pretty quick. The food is real good as well; from my visits I’ve tried the burgers, the paninis, the wings, and the best I’ve tasted so far was the lamb shank. They even have a decent dessert menu but they get me every time with the apple pie and ice cream — sometimes the old school faves are the best!!!
I would definitely do a repeat visit — duh… The prices aren’t too shabby either just be sure to have some money on you because they’re a CASH ONLY establishment.

Good spot. $ 4 penne vodka! Went for dinner, white wines are only ok. Had Sauvignon blanc and wasn’t too pleased. Penne vodka was delicious. The antipasto was alright, nothing special.

STEAK — 4 stars … asked for a medium rare steak, but got a medium well, nice seasoning however
EGG BENEDICTS — 5 stars … great poached eggs and loads of bacon, home fries were seasoned very nicely
AMBIANCE — 5 stars … feeling interconnected with outdoors on a nice day
SERVICE — 4 stars … our waitress just refused to refill my water, I know she saw that my glass was empty
TOTAL — 4.5 stars

I liked the Cornerstone more than I thought I would. There was a small line and I HATE to wait, but once we checked in there was a table available for us right away. With that said, the table was smack up next to the entrance and a flimsy window so there was super cold air blasting from one side of us colliding with huge waves of warm air coming from the heaters. I’m surprised a rain cloud didn’t start to form over our heads! Also, the tables are packed in so tight, that I was backed in like a puzzle piece, blocking the person behind me from getting out of their seat. On the other hand, everyone seemed to be of good spirits and this didn’t prove to be a problem.
On to the good parts. There was a Bellini special 2 for $ 10, which was pretty awesome and the coffee was good and strong. We had a super nice waitress who suggested a twist on my breakfast order that turned out to be exactly right. Cornerstone has an interesting brunch menu, but it seems like baked egg dishes are their specialty. I ordered baked eggs in a spinach, feta and cream sauce. It came with a bowl of home fries and a choice of toast (rye). It was actually very excellent, well seasoned and filling. My friend had the baked eggs in a tomato sauce with sausage and liked it.
Prices are really reasonable. I would absolutely go back if there were tables available but would go somewhere else in the neighborhood if there was a wait.
One last curious note, there seemed to be a homeless man who was allowed to stand in the entrance of the restaurant and sit at empty tables. I have no idea, but am guessing this was a kindness offered to him by the café to get out of the cold for a few minutes. Definitely a beautiful thing, but the problem is, the entrance is tight enough already and the man was blocking the ability for both customers and the waitstaff to get around. Not sure how to solve that, but it made for some awkward maneuvering!

Reliable brunch spot. The fact that it can immediately seat a group of five at 12:30 on a Saturday is enough to add it to the rotation.
Menu has typical brunch fare. Nothing really enticed me but you’ll find all the basics plus an assortment of baked egg dishes. Since these were the most «unique» offerings on the menu, I went with the creamy spinach feta baked eggs. The flavors were good but creamy became more of a soupy after a few bites. Next time I’ll stick to a classic like eggs Benedict (my friend’s looked good) or one of the lunch sandwiches.
The fresh squeezed OJ is fantastic and they serve it in a large glass. Perfect hangover cure.
To sum up: while this might not be foodie heaven, it’s a good place to meet up with friends and enjoy brunch.

I had such a great experience at Cornerstone café. My date brought me here for dinner so kudos to him for putting me on because I love cozy places like this.
Our service was great from beginning to end. Very friendly and accommodating staff. The server ensured our satisfaction throughout the meal.
I’m a mimosa/​sangria fan so I tried the white sangria and it was just marvelous. They have pitchers of mimosas/​red & white sangrias for $ 25 and a list of other cocktails and prices on the wall.
I ordered the Salmon fillet. The lemon butter wine sauce blends perfectly with the salmon… it’s delicious! The mashed potatoes were great and the entrée came with spinach. I tasted it but me no likey. I should have asked for a substitution… oh well. I’m not a sautéed/​steamed spinach eater period. I prefer raw spinach. My date had the tuna steak. Its taste and plate presentation was awesome!
I will definitely return and recommend. Great spot! *Cash Only* If you have Chase Bank, it’s right across the street.

Baked eggs with sausage were amazing — ⁸⁄₁₀. It comes with a side of potatoes and toasted bread, quite a large portion for me. Coffee was great for the price as I had as many refills as I wanted! My friend got the french toast — the fruits were fresh but the toast was a little too sweet for my liking. I would come back again if it wasn’t such a pain to get to this location.
Only downside — CASH ONLY.

A good brunch spot that accepts cash only. The manager was very welcoming and greets his customers well. The Belgium waffles were average and the whipped cream disintegrated quickly after pouring the syrup. I wish the waffles were more flavorful. I even ordered an extra side of fruit salad to accompany the waffles. I think I could have made a better Belgian waffle creation at my university dining hall. The baked eggs dish with smoked salmon had too much tomato sauce and protein.
The drinks were good and strong; we had the Mimosa, Bellini and Bloody Mary. They seemed to have other appealing drinks, but their brunch menu in terms of food was pretty standard and I did not see anything that stands out in terms of originality and creativity. The waitress was also not that friendly compared to other places. Conveniently, there is a Duane Reade right across this brunch spot, which has a Chase ATM if you need to withdraw any cash prior to being seated.

Yesterday I went brunching at Cornerstone Café.
You may ask: «…so what?»
Well, friends, CC is a magical pancake making place in the Lower East Side and not only should you read about it here but you should go and experience it.
I’m calling them magical pancakers because these guys are making approx. 8″ diam. x nearly 1″ thick pancakes… fully cooked and not burnt! How. Do. They. Do. That? If I tried that at home I’d probably go through an entire bowl of batter before getting a decent pancake. Here you get two. Two, beautiful, large, slightly dense pancakes topped with powdered sugar (or strawberries or chocolate chips for an extra $ 1 if you prefer) and all the orange blossom honey syrup you can pour for $ 9. They were good! I’m almost ashamed to admit that I couldn’t even finish them! Make sure you go to Cornerstone hungry… portions are very generous.
The space itself is cozy but that gives you the chance to spy on your neighbors meals and hopefully narrow your meal selection. Other menu highlights include $ 5 mimosas, and a $ 4 eggs/​homefries/​salad/​toast meal that I’m totally ordering next time. And yes, there will be a next time.
Reminder: Cash Only!

Un endroit très simple et très satisfaisant pour prendre son brunch dans l’east village. Vous retrouverez tous les classiques, les œufs, les sandwiches, les pancake, les granola, oatmeal et pain perdus.
Les pancakes sont absolument gigantissimes, servis par 2, ils se suffisent à eux mêmes surtout si vous mettez comme moi, un supplément banane noix. Sauf que c’était le dernier jour à New York et que comme je n’ai toujours pas conscience de la capacité de remplissage de ventre de leurs assiettes, j’ai commandé également du porridge irlandais, délicieux avec des bons fruits par dessus. Bien sur je n’ai pu finir aucune de mes assiettes mais je me suis régalée sur leur terrasse ensoleillée de l’avenue B.

Meilleur brunch de New York ! Un peu d’attente le dimanche midi, mais ça en vaut la peine ! Les pancakes sont fabuleux, et énormes. Les oeufs bénédictes sont également très bons. Le service est un peu lent mais très chaleureux.