Ciao For Now

Such a great little place. Stumbled on this because Northern Spy hadn’t opened yet for the day. So happy we did. Soup of the day was some of the best soup that I’ve had in a very long time. Add in a super reasonable carafe of mimosas and a delicious BLT… Awesome. The service is so refreshingly good also.

I like the space.
I like the pedestrian yet characterful décor.
I like the cheerful staff.
I dislike the food.
A lot.

I’m obsessed with the blueberry scone. Soft fluffy inside, firm outside, delicious taste. The pbj bar is really good too.
Very nice staff each time I’ve been here.

I’ve been to Ciao For Now multiple times and have found the service and beverages to be wildly inconsistent. The two women who seem to be the regular staff behind the counter are relatively nice, though they often focus on each other at the cost of the customers, regardless of how busy they are. Strangely, they do not appear to know how to make espresso drinks: I’ve ordered a double espresso from one woman and received a trickle at the bottom of the cup and a double espresso from the other woman and received an ENTIRE COFFEE CUP OF ESPRESSO, which not only is extraordinarily wrong but the taste is vile (espresso is not meant to be pulled for that long, ew). The lady who appears to be the boss is always getting orders wrong when she goes to ring you up, even if she is the one who took the order from you. I have also TWICE seen her heat up double the amount of breakfast wraps ordered and then acting surprised when the customer, who ordered one wrap, doesn’t want to pay for both. Both times the client ended up taking both and she made them pay for food they hadn’t ordered.
And the kicker to all this? The prices are waaaaaay high for what you’re getting. A yummy but smallish breakfast wrap is NOT $ 7 people. That is NYC corrupting the brain! Fight the unnecessary price gouging!!! And maybe train your staff how to make coffee drinks when YOU ARE A COFFEE SHOP.

Food: 4 Stars
Service: 4 Stars
I’ve been to this spot twice for brunch and they’ve both been pretty good experiences. I will say that I find the quality to be somewhat inconsistent from visit to visit for some reason, but I just cannot forget the time that I had a perfect chicken fajita for brunch. The chicken was seasoned and grilled to perfection with the right amount of sweetness for a mid-​morning pick me up.
On this occasion we ordered one of their sticky buns (pictured) which was actually delicious and tasted so fresh. A little bit on the heavy side, we really enjoyed. I ordered an omelette with an english muffin. Though the omelette was a little bit bland, the english muffin was crisp, fluffly and fresh. My girlfriend ordered a vegetable quesadilla which came right off the grill. Flavors were in balance and quite satisfying.
Another note, they have beautiful interior décor. It has a very quaint vibe, the feel of a very intimate, personalized countryside café.

My second attempt to use PayPal here was successful, and their PB&J bar packed some nice flavor, though it could’ve been more moist. Preferred this location to the East Village original (which took PayPal earlier), and it should see business ramp back up after the shuttering of neighboring Bee’s Knees. Super friendly staffers so it’s no wonder they were featured on the «What’s on your plate» documentary.
PS Unilocal hilariously feels this is between 16^th & 17^th

All I can say is that I grab a light breakfast here everyday before work. That says something about the variety of options and the quality. The morning Glory muffin is basically the best muffin I have ever tasted. My boyfriend loves the scones. Sometimes ill order egg breakfast burrito if I’m a bit more hungry. The girl who works there is always fast and sweet. Love this place.
Go for the baked goods–

Very conveniently located, very cute space, very delicious food! This is a lovely place to take my laptop to and enjoy my morning coffee with the added bonus of incredible pastries, deserts, sandwiches, and more! My personal favorites are the apple oat scone and the ginger tea! (Also has a lot of BOGO/​deals in the afternoons)

bought a sandwich with mold and the manager said the owner will not refund me.

nice attention to customer experience. they accept credit cards without a minimum. can tip on card. generous coupons and loyalty perks with smartphone app. coffee less expensive than Starbucks. vegan options in drinks and pastries. great view from window bar seating. friendly workers. i stop in whenever i’m in the neighborhood.

This place is a law suit waiting to happen! I was served a ridiculously large cup of tea which was placed on the counter without the lid being properly put on. As a result, as I lifted the cup, the hot liquid spilled all over my right hand and arm. No apologies from the staff. Absolutely appalled! Never ever going back! And neither should anyone else! This place needs to be shut down ASAP. I am disgusted by their lack of concern for their customers.

Dayum, this spot is tiny. For this 13′ x 13′ space I bet the rent’s cheap… like $ 18,000/month.
There are like 6 seats and 2 make-​shift wall «tables».
The Café Americano was strong and tasty, for like $ 2.50…not bad.
There’s a board with daily sandwich specials and I saw some cookies and cupcakes on display for you fat-​asses.
I can’t see this place gettin packed, so if you are dyin for an espresso and don’t wanna wait in line, hit it up.

I almost walked by this place on a Friday morning, on my way to O Café– but it looked like a cute shop and there wasn’t a line so I thought I would give them a try. It looked like there were a lot of regulars as they seemed to come in in a steady stream while I debated their baked goods section.
They had cookies and cakes– some vegan. I ordered a cappuccino and was debating some chocolate goodie. But the woman told me their only chocolate baked good was their Chocolate Espresso cookie. I tried a sample of their Orange, Cranberry Bread and enjoying the combination of sweet, moist, and tart, I felt brave enough to order the cookie. Bad idea. The only thing it had going for it was that it was big, but who really needs a big thing of empty calories? If I’m going to eat it I want to enjoy it. It was hard and it didn’t taste like chocolate or espresso. For cookies I would recommend Insomnia Cookies.
For cappuccino I still prefer Think. Ciao’s cappuccino was a bit strong and lacking in dimension.

Just around the corner from where I was staying this weekend — the only word to describe it is «adorable» — the coffee is delicious and strong, and soy milk is only +$.25, rather than the Bucks standard $.60, so I was already stoked. A strong selection of non-​coffee beverages as well (types of iced tea, etc), and yum looking sandwiches, pastries, cupcakes, etc — it’s totally possible for a fussy New York epicurean to get a snack or a light meal here (oh, and a dec amnt of vegan stuff too) — though seating is limited to a sunny bench within the café, so needless to say, it’s not a place to study or lounge, but rather ideal for a caffeine quickie.
Prices range from reasonable ($ 2.5 for a large coffee) to absurd ($ 6 for a mocha??) — and salads are $ 6 or $ 8 or something like that — oh, and a CC minimum of $ 10.

After having visited in main café, I’ve stopped by this branch on two separate occasions. From my understanding, the main café prepares all the food items ahead of time and they sell those items at their satellite locations. This, unfortunately means that there aren’t too many «entrée» meals since there is a limited amount of refrigeration space. I was lucky enough to get the last asian chop salad when I went, but they were out of sandwiches. I tried a cup of herb grains (it was similar to quinoa, but the grain used is escaping me) and a bean wrap. I wasn’t really impressed with the bean wrap but the grains were good. This location had a fair amount of bakery items. I love the peanut butter and jelly bars so I got a couple for later. The cashiers on both occasions were very friendly and were willing to answer any questions about the food items.
I’m deducting a star just because of the inability to know for certain if the food items you want will be there. Otherwise, this is a great place to get a quick and nutritious meal.

This is a cute little hole-​in-​the-​wall that serves all of Ciao for Now’s specialties – the excellent Very Veggie soup, the vegan espresso chocolate cookie. True, there are limited vegan options, but they are reliably good and distinctive.
The other two locations are much closer to me, and it’s likely I’ll start going back to them more often. Their vegan banana crunch muffin is like no other!
It’s disappointing that this location has no restroom, but there are places nearby you can duck into before or after. It’s a law of survival in New York to know where the nearest public restroom is in any given neighborhood!

I give this place one star because the guy who served me was nice.
That said I got a vegan chocolate cookie… and after about a bite was OVERJOYED to find a garbage nearby.
It looked like a cookie… but had not a shred of taste to it. It was thin, crispy and oily.
Yick, i think they should rename their establishment as Ciao Forever… gross!

We came with intentions to have a light lunch. At 1pm, there were two pre-​made sandwiches in the fridge and a soup option. Turns out we chose the wrong Ciao For Now to visit. West side location is a small bakery, mostly for pastries and drinks. East side is the one with table seating and full menu.
Seating is few and communal. It is a cute spot for casual chats and as a meet-​up point. I’m planning a second visit for baked goods so look forward to a review update.

This place has limited vegan options, and it’s really small if you just want to hang out with friends, but I did enjoy the vegan banana muffin I got here ($ 2.50). It was a bit on the smaller side, but at least it was affordable and tasty. If you’re looking for a quick vegan snack while walking around the West Village, this is a good choice.

My office uses this place for catering regularly. I am often in charge of arranging catering for small events and this place has done a great job always… even when I call them on a Monday or Tuesday with a request for 30 – 40 person menu for Friday.
The food is tasty and they hire very nice serving staff. The prices are quite reasonable as well. They keep the menus pretty simple but everything is tasty and fresh. All in all, their service makes my job a bit easier!