Forest Cafe

Krishin Asnani 2 months ago

There is a distinctly feminine sensibility to this spacious café, well integrated into a residential neighborhood. Surrounded by houses, yet domiciled next to a laundromat and a school rather than on a commercial Main Street, it cultivates a quiet neighborliness. That, with all due respect to the quality of the coffee, is ultimately the purpose of a café. Hanging from the ceiling are Japanese lamps, along with frilly turquoise paper decorations at the front. Plants—cacti, snake plants, and especially strings of turtles that shimmer down—hang from the walls. Mirrors dominate one wall, but it is the insignia of small stars and leaves around their edges that entice, together with a short shelf of Buddhas and dolls that sit watching the convivial servers. It is a place to read and study. Thankfully, it lacks the industrial mien of the laptop café. I am here for the first time today, reading the FT Weekend, and even had a chat with someone while waiting in line. It’s one misstep is lack of ceramic cups. Substack links in profile

Rowlemma 4 months ago

One of my favorite cafes in the city! Every new item I try becomes my new favorite. More people should definitely try their muffins- they're very underrated. Perfect environment for working in!

multifaceted wanderer 5 months ago

forest cafe is clearly a warm and intentional space filled with love. people come from all over the boroughs for their drinks (with evident good reason)! prepare to stand on a line on the weekends - which moves fast! even with the volume of customers; what i admire about this place is that they do NOT batch make their matcha- it’s hand-whisked. while known for their drinks, i must give them their flowers for their pandan butter mochi (the toasted coconut on top is delish), strawberry chunk cookie (simple sweet treat), and earl grey chocolate chunk cookie (a prominent tea taste, which is good). there’s plenty of street parking when you circle around and it’s easy to get to via public transit. lots of tables and outlets inside, but note on the weekends no laptops! no dogs allowed inside, but there are benches outside.

Christine S 6 months ago

This is new favorite local coffee spot that is definitely worth all the hype. The vibe is so warm and inviting as soon as you step in. I loved the plain croffle, ube latte, and horii matcha latte with lavender syrup. The cashier and baristas were really nice. Found out that they have a secret menu beyond just the season specials.

Anushka Sanil 8 months ago

The brown butter banana latte is good! Everything was combined nicely and the drink itself was perfectly sweet. The banana taste came in more subtly. I felt I initially taste the brown butter before the banana aftertaste comes through. The cafe itself is really cute and there’s some tables for seating. We also tried the carrot cake which was delicious and the cream cheese frosting was great.