Corte Cafe

Quick and easy yes. Food is pretty basic, nothing to crave. My issue, however, is that they’ve closed due to health inspection in the past and my last visit there to accompany a friend we were in line behind a rat! This thing was sitting on a woman’s foot while we all tried to alert her. The fact that it wasn’t scurrying told me it lives there and was not fearful. That moment more than half of the patrons left. I will never be back.

So this so called café which it is not, is actually a food court with just three major spots. A caribbean section, Salad bar, and Pizza. There are some spots to sit down and eat your food but they are alt tile tight and mostly close to the multiple entrances and exits around the location, bad during the winter because of draft. Today I wanted something different with some variety since I last ate here around the NY Courts which this place caters to during the daily lunch rush.
I had a large Jerk chicken, of which I am from the islands and should know how the food should taste which it was not. The Jerk chicken was large, moist which was great but the flavoring was not authentic to West Indian culture but give credit for the effort and the spice. The Rice and peas I could tell were regular and weren’t even slowed cooked in coconut milk the traditional way, the only tasteful thing I actually enjoyed was the sweet plantain. The small Petri dish which is not even a quarter of the size of the large starts around $ 5.25 or so and the large $ 7.75 which I recommend. If you want to get a get laugh listen to the staff as they sit together on there break and talk smack about who shouldn’t get vacation and etc, great laugh I had.

Horrible place. The guy who takes your food order for breakfast treats you like he thinks you’re screwing his wife. The other food staff are slow and incompetent. They’ve gotten my order wrong about half the time (apparently a bagel with creamed cheese is too complicated) and are ridiculously slow. The bacon and sausages are premade so they sit there to get dry and then reheated. The cashiers are very friendly and very good at what they do but everything else about the place sucks.

This place is right outside the 6 train brooklyn bridge stop by my job. In the morning they offer buffet style breakfast. Many options to pick from, like grits, boiled eggs, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, eggs with onions and cheese, bason and sausage. You can also get fresh items on the spot made like home fries, pancakes, bacon/​egg/​cheese on croissants… etc. Its directly across the main courts in downtown nyc so its always pretty busy. For lunch they have a build your own salad section and more hot food options like breakfast, sandwhiches, pizza, fried chicken, etc. Overall this is a deli type place with varied selection of food. Its always fresh, i have been coming here for past 5 – 6 years and never had issues. I dont recall them being closed for health code violations which is pretty frequent with other similar places in the area. They also deliver in the area which makes it convinient for the offices sorrounding that have slave workers stuck to their desks. Parking is killer here dont try it. Lost a star because their breakfast buffett (although very tasty and fresh), is a bit overpriced compared to other places.

Do not go here for a pizza slice if you are a woman. The dude in front of me was given the larger of the 3 slices and I was stuck with the smallest and least amount of sauce even though we are paying the same price. Why? Cuz I’m a girl? Well, why don’t you make this shit free for me since I’m a girl and all? Smh #sexist #pizza

This place is ridiculous for breakfast now. There is a whole new staff here now and they are slow as the day is long. The system for ordering food and paying for your food needs a serious overhaul. Yet, people continue to come here and stand in line for 20 minutes to order and pay for breakfast. You would think you were ordering a leg of lamb or something. The attitude of the new workers stinks. The food is mediocre at best. As well as overpriced. The cleanliness leaves much to be desired. I can only freak to the breakfast experience. As I have never come her for any other meal. In conclusion: I recommend you DO NOT GO HERE for breakfast. I will never return.

My sister and i went here today for breakfast and encountered one of the customers yelling at the guy behind the counter. Turns out she spotted a dead fly in the home fries so she kindly ask the guy if he would disgard that batch and put in another one not only was he reluctant to do so he told her he didnt care about how she felt. My sister and i walked out completely disgusted by the food and extremely poor customer service. IF YOU LIKE CLEAN AND WHOLESOME FOOD DO NO EAT HERE THERE IS A SERIOUS SANITARY ISSUE WITH THIS PLACE. GRADE F

Used to come a lot. Not anymore as I am grossed out. Dead flys have started to be the norm on your food here. Never again

Good place variety of everything and friendly staff… love the fresh and made to order

This is my favorite place to buy a salad, in the Foley Square area. Sometimes, I get one in the afternoon, just so I can take it home to eat for dinner – that’s how much I love their salads. It’s fast, whatever you order, has a decent-​sized (for NYC) eating area, and the prices are great.
It gets really crowded, so sometimes it’s not the cleanest, but I appreciate the fact that you can get in and out fairly quickly, and back to work, with decent food to eat.
Don’t expect anything fancy, and you’ll be fine.

I used to come here ALL the time when I was a student in the near by high school. My friends and I were a rowdy bunch, never got kicked out or anything. Pizza is okay here.
I came here Monday early morning being that I was going to take a city exam next door and bought a drink and a snack to kill some time. It wasn’t busy or anything, a few customers here and there. There were a few people sitting around just waiting (Idk for what) and they didn’t consume anything.
I throw out my stuff and proceed to read a paper for maybe 15 minutes or so… and then he came, the old European man, «excuse me miss, you’re just sitting here, the owner says he doesn’t want to see people sitting here if you don’t buy nothing, we want to see people come in and out, and not sitting.» First off, back up, secondly I bought something, thirdly if this wasn’t supposed to be a sit-​in spot then why the hell are there tables and shit? All I told him was that I was a paying customer and continued to read my paper… reading *he’s staring* still reading *he’s still staring*. Like don’t you have WORK to do behind that stove or something?
I would completely understand if I hadn’t bought anything or if there were customers that needed the tables but I myself was a customer as well. NO ONE was searching for tables. Rest assure, Corte Café has seen the last of me… and that Grade Pending sign on the door does them no justice.
NO stars for rude customer service to a PAYING customer.

Four stars for their fried chicken, which you can order by the piece with or without fries. Even when I changed jobs and moved out of the neighborhood, I would use my unlimited Metrocard and jump on the subway to get their fried chicken. Their Jamaican food is also a nice option for the neighborhood, which is dominated by generic delis. It’s not the greatest, but it’s a good change of pace if you’re sick of sandwiches or slices. I’m deducting a star for the sometimes surly service and rush-​hour subway-​like crowds at lunch.

3.5 stars, but since not too many Unilocalers seem to like this place, I’ll give it the extra star. You didn’t come here for a culinary experience, you came here in the middle of the day for calories.
I used to have a temp job in the area. This place wasn’t half-​bad, but it wasn’t that great either. It was pretty much the cream of the crap of the civic center. The area is neither a tourist trap nor a trendy neighborhood so there isn’t much hip dining around. But there are a lot of courts and city agencies nearby so most of the food service is lunch and a little breakfast. A cuisine restaurant probably wouldn’t do so well here.
At 5:20 PM the civic center is a dead zone, and this establishment is empty and cleaning up. But from 12−2PM you can barely get into this place.
The salads are great. The hot food was mediocre at best, but there were plenty of options. While I think most food places should do a few things well than doing lots of things mediocre, this place serves its purpose — serving a variety of food options quickly and smoothly.
As far as the pizza, I don’t know why people expect to get decent pizza anywhere but an Italian pizza place.
Service is quick. Employees are aloof, especially at the register where they’re also snappy. They’ve messed up my order a few times, blamed me for it, and got nasty. That’s why I can’t give them a 5-​star. But they keep things running smoothly.

Before you come to Corte Café, ask yourself some questions.
1) Am I stuck in the Foley Square area for jury duty/​work/​being a tourist?
2) Am I broke?
3) Am I ready to make tough choices between getting Italian, Caribbean, or Mexican food?
4) Is my stomach tough enough to eat non-​gourmet food?
If you’ve answered yes to these questions, get yourself to Corte Café. You can’t beat their prices for lunchtime, and you can really get any type of food you want. Their pizza is good, as are their tacos, strangely enough, and I enjoyed their mozzarella and veggie panini the other day. However, I would suggest steering clear of the salad bar. Although it’s passable, the ingredients aren’t fresh enough to save you from that weird post-​salad feeling. (You know what I’m talking about… right?).

In the mood for hot pizza. All I got was a lukewarm salty slice. No one makes good pizza anymore.

Stopped in for a quick breakfast. The place was packed, so apparently a lot of people like this place just fine. Waited in line behind the cash register to order, only to find out that I should have waited in line to the right, by the cooks, first. So, waited in line again. Got western omelet on a bagel and it was pretty cheap (about $ 4) and wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great.

I visited Corte Café during lunch last week and somehow (unusually) was undeterred by the B rating and proceeded to go inside. My friend had described this place as an «international» café type place. What I found inside were several mini-​restaurants offering different things, from Jamaican foods, salad bar, pizza, and Italian food (pastas, lasagnas, etc.) Upon perusing the Jamaican food, which looked good, I decided that it would be far too messy to eat with my hands in front of coworkers I was only beginning to meet that week, so I opted for Italian food instead. I ordered the penne pasta with chicken parmesan with marsala sauce on top, which came in the two-​combo platter.
The food was about $ 8, which wasn’t too bad. It had the makings of a tasty meal, but it was a bit too salty for my taste. Still, the sauces were good. I probably wouldn’t go back there too often, and the fact that the establishment got a B does scare me a little, but the food was decent, for what it’s worth.

So I was hesitant to come in here at first because it sort of looked like an over priced tourist magnet kind of place… but it is actually very good. Decently priced too, a plain slice is just $ 2.25 which is normal if not better for a real and good slice. This place also has a bigger selection of stuff than just a normal pizzeria. Sandwiches, salad bar, desert bar, and even some soul food. Still good quality food though despite its lack of specialization.
This place is right next to the court houses though and a lot of shady looking people were in here. A lady came in dressed like a stripper, balling her eyes out, who looked like Ailene wournos (see movie monster). I get the feeling such sights are common here… but I mean if your in the neighborhood looking for a quick good slice I would say this is a good bet.

I have worked in this area for close to 9 years and this is the first time i have ever set foot into corte café.
Its small. But not to the point that its claustrophobic. They move quick so you wont be here very long.
They take credit cards. And there is no minimum. Sometimes a girl needs to charge a $ 3 lunch. It happens.
They have different size options for platters of food. Small. Medium. and Large.
The selections vary from spanish food to italian to even pizza and lasagna.
They have a salad bar.
They also sell dessert and coffee.
I ordered a small plate of roasted chicken and their mixed vegetables. The vegetables were swimming in greasy water and when i asked for a plate I thought «They wouldn’t put all that liquid in my plate…» but they totally did. So i got vegetables and «soup» with a semi dry roasted chicken breast. Had they taken a second drain the vegetables from the spoon before serving it, it would have made for a decent lunch. The chicken was okay. But nothing i would write home about.
Really, this dish would warrant 2 stars… or maybe even 1.
But I know myself.
There will be another day when i need to charge a cheap lunch and I will likely come here because, well… at least i have choices when im broke.

I had been pronouncing the name of this restaurant «Cor-​TAY Café,» apparently it’s «Court Café,» named after the only place its customers most likely come from.
Had been avoiding it, but when I discovered that one of the nearby kiosks was cash only, it was the closest card-​taking alternative. The salad bar is fine, food is fine, and it will do in a pinch, but it’s a little dingy and otherwise unremarkable.