Cafe Frederick Harlem Parlor

Nice quiet place for coffee and study time. I had the Goat cheese salad and was less than impressed. Literally, I was a plate of lettuce smothered in balsamic vinaigrette with one strawberry cut into quarters. Oh! I counted about 5 whole almonds in the salad chop with a few pieces of goat cheese. I think I’ll stick to just coffee when I come here.

This was a Unilocal find after getting some errands done in the area and having a strong craving for crepes. This place popped up and my sister and I decided to give it a try.
Day One: we got savory crepes which are buckwheat. Definitely the best buckwheat crepes I’ve had. I got the one with chicken, pesto, avocado and Mozarella and it was very good, though not mind blowing. Pesto was definitely the best part. My sis had similar, only hers didn’t come with pesto and was very dry. It was provided when she asked. 4 stars this day.
Day Two: we decided to head back for a late «lunch/​brunch» on Memorial Day. My sisters Apple crêpe was undercooked and had only a few apples. Since they are skin on, I think it messes with the texture. Maybe it’s just me but when apples are heated in any way I think they should be peeled. My sweet cream berry crêpe was ok, but barely had any cream in it. Overall we both left disappointed and still hungry. 2 stars.
Overall: great, friendly staff, location isn’t bad but it small and fills up quickly.
Will I be back? Yes IF I had a strong urged for crepes and I’d be sure to ask for extra pesto and extra cream

Despite being directionally challenged and the tiny sign in their window, we were delighted to have found Frederick’s Harlem. Coffee is perfect. Pastries divine. Breakfast healthy and perfect. The owner is a warm, gracious French woman who shared her much larger sign/​awning is on its way.

Great place to study while drinking the best cappuccino I have tried in a very long time!

I so want to love this place, it’s so cozy and bright, good music, great for working — the people behind the corner are so nice, both times I’ve been in, but — I just can’t. I asked for a dry cappucino, got a very milky one. On two different occasions. So they don’t know how to make coffee, ok. Lots of places don’t. It’s an art, right? I got a breakfast crêpe. Barely cooked egg. I mean BARELY. Tasteless cheese, not spread evenly throughout the crêpe, but in clumps. I’m pretty sure one square thin cold cut of ham cut in 4 pieces, put in each corner of the crêpe. Mostly batter, and it’s buckwheat — and just not very tasty. Worst one I’ve ever had, to be honest. But such a great place to work, I stayed longer, got hungry again and ordered — two eggs, bacon, toast. Again eggs undercooked. Butter was the unsalted kind, some people like that, I don’t. Bacon made up for it — VERY salty. So, ok! Just — have to avoid in the future, because the food quality is so dissapointing. Otherwise I’d be a guaranteed regular. Oh also I was there 4 hours, biased my own table both times because she was never going to clear that stuff off my table. Tiny place. And nowhere to bus anything, I just brought it to the counter.

Staff is very friendly, coffee is great and reasonably priced. Great place to get some work done especially with all the great lighting.

Comfortable place, the food is okay, not so amazing though.

Very sunny, which is absolutely love! It can get busy on the weekends but I’ve almost always been able to find a table at some point, and there are multiple outlets. Such a great place to do some work; I enjoy their music and not to mention the coffee is great and fairly priced!

Love the vibe here. So cute! Friendly staff. I wish they would use a different batter for their crepes. Great coffee!

I like Frederick — good coffee, nice food, nice space, good music, lovely and polite staff. The reasons for the 3 stars are the following:
— the inside is freezing during colder days. It is cold to the point that you can’t take your coat off once sitting inside, because it gets very unpleasant. I am not sure if all the glass windows contribute to that, but they should seriously invest in some heaters. My husband and I avoid this place when it gets too cold outside, and I think that other people do the same as well, because there are not many people sitting there when it gets too cold.
— your clothes will smell like grease if you spend some time in there. This one particular issue bothers me more than anything. Everytime I sit down and spend some time there, my hair and clothes end up smelling like grease. The smell is coming from the kitchen, which is wide open, but they should invest in some better ventilation.
There aren’t many options around, and as I said, besides these two points above I like Frederick, but I wish the owner would look into these issues.

Nice little café where we didn’t find so many options. Good seating area and a lot of people seem to come here to work ie different vibe than other places.
Our coffees were great and we also had bagels with a shmere and a egg and cheese bagel. We didn’t have to wait long at all and our food was brought to us with a nice little garnish.
Overall good service and clean and bright little spot. Wouldn’t mind if it had a more relaxed vibe but the music was great so can’t complain.

If you are going to have your café’s namesake be after a great figure like Frederick Douglass, at least invest in the cultural heritage that comes with that. I was naïve to think this would be a space to learn, maybe I could discuss Douglass’ autobiography with the owner … not. I’ve been here thrice and there’s always a rude Eastern European lady at the counter. Rudeness from staff is something I’ve always encountered in these kind white hipster places, since my college days. I don’t care about that specifically because restaurant work is hard and frustrating and at that level I can relate. It’s the fact that this café is monetizing on the image a great beacon of African-​American history and gives nothing back. It’s just an ultimate model of the cultural defacing that the gentrification of that area has brought. I would hold this in like I always do but have reached my tipping point with this kind of bull. I’m not coming here anymore because it doesn’t respect who I am as a person.
If you don’t care about any of this social weight — ignore this review and dine here. But I know that there’s people like me who do care and this is for them.

Fine local café. Tasty crepes.

My favorite place to work outside the office. Great coffee, great food, and decent prices. There’s wonderful natural light and music. Everyone who works here is super kind as well! They have a few plugs for charging around the perimeter, as well as varied seating (couch, armchairs, bar, and tables). They also have a loyalty card for drinks.

Own words: amazing.
Polite cashier, delicious food! Amazing place to do work, read, relax.

Wonderful place to work & read … Nice, friendly & smily service ! It is one of my favorite in this neighborhood. I did not try any food yet … A suivre ! :-)

I have to update my review since I’ve come back to the place a few more times. I still think this a fantastic place for doing work or to read a book; the wifi works great, it’s never crowded, the music is nice and soft and the big windows facing the street give it plenty of light. Also their latte is one of the most delicious ever!
However I have one complaint: they close too early, 6pm, and the guy closes the espresso machine way earlier, today I went at 5pm and he had already shut down the machine! An hour earlier! So had to go somewhere else; disappointing.

Excellent goat cheese salad for $ 8.50. The goat cheese salad comes with mixd greens, strawberries, almonds and balsamic vinaigrette. I added bacon for an extra $ 2.50, and it was very worth it. I got plenty of crunchy and crispy bacon bits, almost spread perfectly even throughout every bite. Very good.
Ordered a ginger tea, which was nice.
Subtotal: $ 14.70
I tipped: $ 1.30
Total: $ 16
It’s counter service, so you order there and then pick a seat. They do bring your plate to the table.
Nice and airy atmosphere for studying, working, or just reading a book.

I’ve been here a few times now after meetings in Harlem — it’s a pretty good coffee shop. Free wifi, plenty of good seating, good customer service and good coffee /​tea selection. Also enjoyed a panini which they grilled to perfection. Ingredients tasted fresh — though I must say, not the biggest fan of the bread.
Overall a solid spot if you are in Harlem. My next time there I’ll be trying the crepes for sure!

Is my friends’ new coffee hangout. My friends are big fans but they haven’t quite got the knack on the coffees yet, but they are trying and the staff here are very friendly (although they did laugh when I asked for a ‘coffee of the day’ maybe I go to Starbucks too much). Anyway, give them support & direction & keep them in business!
The environment of the place is great. Free wifi and comfy seats. Bright & airy. What’s not to like about it!