Red Horse Café

Coffee and food are good but they are so slow! Was waiting for 5m for someone to acknowledge the 2 of us waiting and another 10 for a single latte to be made.

I love this coffee shop. Everyone is super friendly, great coffee (try their famous ice coffee with coffee ice cubes!), homemade small pastry, free wifi and comfy spots to work.
I spend here an entire morning very once in a while and it’s always a great environment to get work done.
Good music too and bathroom is clean, big, and always good smelling profume.

With coffee ice cubes for iced coffee, excellent scones, and wifi, Red Horse is the perfect place to write. At times it can get crowded with laptop users, but thankfully the lack of plugs/​power supply encourages a good turnover in seating on the weekdays. On weekends it can be crowded with obnoxious Park Slope parents complaining about their domestic workers, but the weekday crowd is much quieter. Also it’s locally owned by a friendly couple with kids who live down the street from the café. A great independent neighborhood café.

I used to spend inordinate amounts of time in coffee shops — studying for grad school exams, writing long memos for work, blogging and just generally getting out of my claustrophobic 8×8 box of a room. Having just moved away from Brooklyn, I am realizing just how much I’ll miss NY’s local/​independent café culture. And Red Horse is one of the café’s I’ll miss the most. This is the place I turned to when I needed to zone out and bang out my work… I guess my affinity for it is tied to the number of hours I spent here slaving away on something.
The coffee is pretty good. And they have iced coffee cubes for iced drinks (!), which is awesome because it prevents (to some extent) iced coffee from getting too watery. Sometimes they’ll offer; other times you might have to take the initiative to ask for them. There’s a great variety of baked goods (can never go wrong with an everything bagel with CC), as well as more substantial food options (quiches, sandwiches, wraps). Some of the baristas have been around a while and remember the regulars’ orders, which is always a nice touch. The owners are really great, and even though I gave Forty Weight (the newer coffee shop right across the street) a try from time to time, I always found myself back at Red Horse. I don’t care if there’s a dearth of outlets (go fully charged!) and that the place can get really crowded on weekends and some weekdays, Red Horse remains a great little gem in South Slope.

Red Horse Café is very true to the ‘90s culture and has a grit-​and-​antiquity ambience that I thought only possible to find in the better preserved pockets of Haight-​Ashbury in San Francisco.
The mochas I had were delightful, and the whole story about why I had mochas plural is probably the best representation of what you get when you walk in through the door here.
As I happily lapped up the last of my mocha, I noticed that there was a wealth of chocolate syrup at the bottom. I was very excited by this, and decided I’d do something unconventional and trot back up to the counter and asked if I could get it topped off with a wee bit of coffee. Mind you, I was smiling and overtly joyous while making my request, but this is the response I got from the tatted man with sad/​angry eyes (or at least that’s how I perceived it) who’d made my first drink:
«Well, I’ll just make you a new one, because…» [followed by indecipherable, misanthropic mumbling drowned out over the procedure of grinding and packing down another heapful of espresso, then generating milk foam.
«I…it wasn’t a complaint!» I shouted, bewildered. I lingered, trying to catch his attention to communicate this fully, but his back remained turned. I met the eyes of the girl working with him. She mouthed, «It’s ooookayy!»
Unconvinced but slightly comforted, I went away for a moment and came back. He firmly set down the new cup in front of it and said, «There’s less chocolate in there now so you won’t get all the stuff on the bottom.»
What could I do except thank him and drink that entire mug too, until I couldn’t even feel my face and spent the rest of the day cleaning my whole house in order to burn off the maniacal caffeine buzz that ensued?
This sensitive, grouchy kind of ‘tude is what defines the coffeehouse culture, and I have to say that until my time at the Red Horse Café, I’d only really experienced it through select scenes in the movie Singles.
So, while I accidentally probably ruined the server’s day (and I hope that he’s secretly reading this so that he finally realizes the whole misunderstanding), I had a pretty darn good time, and TWO legit mochas served up in the same bitter/​sweet spirit as the bean juice itself.

This is a place to come in grab a dark chocolate walnut cookie, a book and drift away in soul healing music. The lattes are also awesome! The milk choices are soy, skim and whole.

The cozy artsy coffeehouse of the south slope situated off quiet 6^th avenue… They actually conceptually created what I’d imagine if I thought of a coffee house in Brooklyn. Semi dingy pre-​war building renovated with dark colors and art on the walls playing some indie or jazzy music.
A great place to sit and read, study, or watch other people doing so.
They have pretty decent pastries, occasionally delicious chocolates, so-​co creamery ice cream, and ice cubes made of coffee for your iced coffee (in the summer) as well as baristas that are pretty good at their job. The coffee is never too bitter.

This could* be the best.
Cheap breakfast and wine bottles
«It’s like Northampton»
*the lady behind the counter was a huge mess and hopefully, it was her first day working there/​on earth for service to be so bad

This joint has ice cubes made of iced coffee, which is brilliant and why isn’t every place doing that? It seems so… obvious. I mean, I didn’t think of it, but I don’t run a coffee shop either. I have people for that.
So the iced coffee cubes make this place the best iced coffee place ever, which is weird because it’s actually not. It’s pretty good, but it’s not, like, explosively good. Bummer, huh?

One of my favorite spots in the Slope to park it and write. Comfy, cozy, and friendly. Much more so than other places around here that actually post signs telling you to leave your computer at home.
Come prepared with your devices fully charged because there really aren’t any outlets. But they have free wifi… (And really, why should a café pay for your use of their electricity ALL DAY? Or wifi, even… We’ve gotten a little to used to these kinds of «perks». No?)
They’ve expanded their food menu to include lots of yummy breakfast options. Coffee is good and always fresh.
(BTW, I don’t understand all these negative reviews… People are so dumb in this hood sometimes. Go make your own coffee at home if everything elsewhere «tastes like ass» to you. Or move to Australia. They live coffee down there. So much so that if you try to order a plain ol’ «coffee» they look at you like you’re insane.)
As for finding a table — I’ve never had a problem. Weekdays, weekends… just wait a couple minutes and you’ll be fine. EVERYONE CALM DOWN.

Big fan of Red Horse– I study there frequently and love their extensive tea menu — my favorite is the Vanilla Black. However, I usually don’t bring my computer, because there’s only one outlet in the whole place. If there were more outlets, this would get another star. Only other downside: it closes at 8 pm on weeknights, so not the best place to camp out after work and get stuff done.

Red Horse has charm like the slope has babies strapped to cool dads. It’s comfortable, on a beautiful quiet street, with decent coffee and baked goods. I just wish I could ever go there.
This place is impenetrable on the weekends. If you want to stay, get ready to fight for it. it’s like prison; just act crazy and you might find yourself with your own table. But if you’re more than two people (I feel that way sometimes) I wouldn’t bother.
The times I’ve been able to snarl at enough hipsters to earn my place I’ve had good times here. Just be warned.

Come here for…
— The friendly male barista who will serve you with a smile.
— Cheapness! $ 3.25 for a 12oz chai latte… that’s pretty awesome.
— WIFI
— Great atmosphere: Wooden tables & chairs, leather couch, unique yet subtle details in décor like the front door & bathroom door handles
— Lots of natural light!

This is definitely one of my favorite coffee place in park slope, mainly for the atmosphere. The really decorated the place well, and it’s just enjoyable to sit there to read, work, or hang out. The also usually play great music in there. I’ve heard The National, The Clash, some old country, post-​punk, and even Japan in there.
The coffee is decent, but I won’t say it’s great. Probably around the quality of Starbucks, maybe a little better. So it’s not the best cup of coffee to be found, but I still like it enough to drink black.
They have some pretty good sandwiches there. They are prepared in the morning, so what they have left in the evening can really vary. I am in love with their new portabella sandwich, which also has artichokes, red onion and goat cheese if I am remembering right. It’s there most expensive sandwich ($ 9); wish it was cheaper. They typically will give you tortilla chips with the sandwiches unless they are out, then you may get a pickle. I wish they would offer a different side, such as carrots.
They also server beer and wine and have some pretty cheap deals on glasses of wine. Not unusual to see people in there having a glass.
They only have one electrical outlet in the place for customer use and it is near a wall mounted table in a corner. It’s obviously intentioned to keep too many people parking there all day with their laptops, but this is a win for those with a good battery or with one of those pre-​computer information devices with printed words — I think they are called «books».
This place is cash only, but they do have an ATM machine in the corner. Also, the bathroom is pretty clean. The bathroom door has this cool weight-​and-​pulley system to pull it closed. Just one of those little design elements I think is cool.

On days when I’m crowded out of my local café (most days, it seems) I walk the extra blocks to Red Horse and squeeze in here. There’s rarely much room to sit on a weekday afternoon, but the benches along the wall and the little tables make for lots of options to squeeze in. Everyone bent over their laptops and notebooks seem pretty industrious, so there isn’t a lot of loud conversation.
A mug of black coffee here is strong, full-​bodied, and perfect.

OK I need to change my review — again! For a while, the coffee wasn’t as good as it used to be, but they changed suppliers and it’s excellent again. I really like the structured, fruity character of the espresso drinks here.
Also, they got rid of a couple barristas — really one in particular — who I found really hard to take. One time, when there were no other customers & 3 staff on duty, she burned and ruined my sandwich because she was talking & not paying attention. When I declined to take it, she said, «*I’d* eat it.» OK, you eat it!
But that was then, this is now. Everyone whose been there on my last couple visits, including the owner, has been professional and friendly.
I miss the couches, but the upside is it’s not so full of kids anymore. And the music is still (or again — that took a dive too for a while) awesome.

A nice and quiet place to get some work done.
[For a small space, there is ample seating. The coffee is bold and strong. The barista is conversational and service-​oriented with serious frothing skills. The natural lighting is fantastic. The artwork is interesting, and the music is appropriately ambient.]
Which is all well and good, BUT… your visit will last as long as your battery life. There is no possibility of using their outlets. Charge up beforehand and have a backup place in mind.

The only reason I go to coffee shops is to plug into a cup of Joe. Let me tell you something Joe don’t work here. After experiencing many variety’s of coffee in this big city. This place is borderline weak.
Have had the cappuchino, latte and hot chocolate. All were not as rich in flavor as some cheaper and way better places I have been to. So this will be the last time I try to live the high life in a low class coffee shop.
Shit if you name the place Red Horse you better have some kick. Looks like this place kicked the bucket.

Nice cosy place. Good coffee and other drinks.
Quaint and fun to relax in, however, it’s always been crowded when I have wanted a seat. I think people stay all day long, and turn it into an office (unemployment or other) for the free wifi. That can get somewhat annoying if you want to sit for an hour.

Yum-​o! The latte was phenomenal. I’m from DC and this is the closest thing to Arlington’s Murky Coffee that I’ve found so far. The free wifi is great… just be considerable of the shop and buy something every so often. Outlets are available but not in abundance so unplug once you’re charged. I think they turn off the outlets on the weekend, so come prepared with a fully charged battery. I’ll be back to this place for sure!
Updated ¹⁰⁄₁₈: I’ve been going to Red Horse pretty regularly since it’s around the corner from my apartment. The espresso drinks have gotten a little unpredictable depending on who’s behind the counter. It always seems like there’s someone new working there… I wonder why such the high turnover? I still love the atmosphere in this cute little place, and there’s also plenty of seating compared to other coffee shops within a few blocks. I dropped a star to reflect the uneven quality (still great, just not as great as it was).

Redhorse muss man lieben. Super Kaffee, kostenloses Wifi und nette Leute. Im Gegensatz zu Tea Lounge auch eher ruhig und entspannt.
Wer keinen Kaffee mag, der kann auch Tee und Saft usw. ausprobieren. Das Essen ist auch ganz lecker.
Preislich nicht so guenstig, und leider auch ein paar Bushaltestellen entfernt. Oder man laeuft 20 Minuten durch den Sommer in Brooklyn (HOT!).
Ansonsten super. Ich glaube ich hab schon fast eine ganze Woche (nicht am Stueck) dort verbracht.