Noa Cafe

Date joon lattes and a pistachio croissant

The drinks list is where Noa Cafe separates itself from the espresso bars around it. The iced date joon latte is the one to know, and the Coconut Cloud puts a matcha foam over the top. Around them sit the expected specialty coffees, teas and matcha, and a pastry case with a Persian accent: pistachio croissants, the Crookie, which is a croissant and cookie hybrid, Swedish cinnamon buns, cardamom buns, a matcha cinnamon roll and a Persian Love cake. The kitchen goes further than a case, with breakfast bowls, sandwiches and salads running through the day, including a Soho Sourdough sandwich that pairs neatly with the date joon.

Midtown, with a hotel lobby attached

The cafe sits in Midtown Manhattan between Koreatown and NoMad, which is to say in an area thick with offices, hotels and transit, and it works both as a destination and as the practical stop between two appointments. It is connected to a hotel, and the lobby doubles as overflow seating when the room fills. Breakfast bowls, salads and sandwiches give it a lunch role as well as a coffee one. Inside, the look is modern with vintage touches, including a bar area with orange stools, and the feel is closer to a European cafe than a takeaway counter. It is also unusually laptop-friendly for the neighbourhood, with free Wi-Fi and outlets people can actually reach, so a good number of guests do settle in for a while.

Sweet, savoury, or the whole room

For a first visit, order the iced date joon latte with something from the Persian side of the case: the Love cake for the clearest expression of the kitchen's point of view, or the pistachio croissant if you want pastry. For a longer sitting, the breakfast bowls and sandwiches make this a proper daytime stop rather than a coffee run, and the Soho Sourdough is the sandwich to start with. Catering and special orders are a real part of the business, including whole Persian Love cakes made for parties. The cafe is female-owned and used as a neighbourhood room as much as a coffee shop, and it takes private hire as well, with a mini-bar setup for cocktails and wine and a rooftop that looks toward the Empire State Building.