Eater’s recently published list of “28 Exceptional Coffee Shops in NYC” includes two on the Upper West Side!
Chalait — located at 461 Amsterdam Avenue, between 82nd and 83rd streets — was given primary praise for its various forms of matcha, though the food and coffee were given props as well. Chalait, which describes itself as a “purveyor of fine Japanese matcha green tea,” opened its doors on the UWS in November 2018, welcoming customers in the space formerly occupied by 2Beans. While the tea and coffee house made Eater’s list, reviews are definitely mixed. Some of the more critical online reviews mention rude staff members and overpriced, bland-tasting items. But plenty of patrons swear by it.
Advertisement
Australian owner Shweta Khare opened Gertrude — located at 204 West 96th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam — in the summer of 2020. Eater noted Gertrude’s cortado, citrus almond cake, spinach egg cheddar croissants, and the “scones with meyer lemon marmalade and clotted cream.” For the most part, the crowd agrees with Eater’s assessment. Gertrude only has a handful of bad reviews, two of which mention bad coffee, one of which mentions a bad chocolate croissant. The overall consensus is positive, though, as Gertude’s got a 5-star rating on Yelp and a 4.8 star rating on Google.
Thoughts on these spots from our readers? Leave them in the comments!
I’ll also shout out that Chalait is one of the locations in And Just Like That!