Simon Sips

Starbucks what?
this place is cheaper than Starbucks, with much better coffee. excellent food and good wine.
If you live or work in the neighborhood, it’s a great everyday place to have around.

After a short lived half-​year Simon has left Simon Sips. The flowers attracted fruit flies and were not blessing my beloved little wooden tables, and, even though I’m an occasional nostalgic rocker, they were playing a less than desirable round of 90s grunge era rock.
The one star is barely intact for location, and is temporary until I go back and it’s a new business entirely; new name, new owner’s face in the window, and new approach to wine, food, and advice.

Really nice little place. Joining the chorus of the other good reviews, SImon Sips is a great place to just chill. Its really cozy, good coffee, excellent snacks and some good wine and beer options as well. Love sitting in the seats on the sidewalk with a cappuccino and watching the wheels go round and round…

Mmmm delicious!
I’m here just about once a weekend for my weekly latte indulgence. The rest of the week I make due with office-​coffee from the less-​than-​adequate coffee-​machine we have in the breakroom (which incidentally, isn’t even a room but that’s an entirely different discussion).
The coffee here is excellent and coming from the Pacific Northwest Coffee Capital I feel like I ought to know a good cup when I get one. Not to mention the service is great, Simon is a wonderful guy, his staff are great and the space is super cute.
Two thumbs WAY up!

mmm. double crème cake.
the coffee is very very good as well.
i never thought id say this, but the décor has a modern yet homey feel to it.

My friend and I went there for brunch on a Saturday morning. While it was busy, not all the tables were taken. (There’s only 4 – 5 tables inside and 2 outside.) The owner took our order and seemed really frazzled. (The other waiter there also seemed extremely frazzled.)
I had the double cream cake and the Spanish tuna sandwich. The cake was good, but the sandwich was *amazing*! Can a sandwich be described as refreshing? Because it was. It was refreshing and filling (even though it looked pretty small, especially for the price).

I think I know how Simon Sips came to be. Picture this: a couple friends, drunk-​as-​sunk, late night:
«Youuuu knowww what’d beee amazin?»
«WHAHHT»
“A barrr, or, like, restaurrant, orrr bar-​restaurrant, that’s like tiny and cute and has like cheap food… BUT GOOD FOOD… and like, wine! And beer on tap! SIX POINT BEER! and… and… amazing coffee! Wouldn’t that be, like, the best?”
«YEAHHHH»
“Did you say you had $ 20,000 in your pocket?”
«Yeahhhh… you wan’ it?»
«Yes.»
And so Simon Sips was born.

My better side is winning out here. I really don’t want to share this place. It’s too small, and I love it too much. I love being able to waltz into a charming little east village chameleon of a corner and with no wait slurp a divine latte, eat delicious sandwiches, drink Sixpoint. I love being able to consistently get that seat outside under the tree. Whatever hour of the day, Simon Sips has something perfect. Company? Bring them here for coffee. Friday night? Perfect place to whiddle the hours away, sipping wine with friends. Alone? Bring a book.
On the other hand, I have some strange soft spot for the owner/​people who work here. And I definitely don’t want it to go out of business.
So fine — descend.

I went there today specifically to try their coffee. The space is a bit smaller than what I expected. This was a pleasant surprise. It is cozy and comfortable. OK, I was there in the mid-​afternoon on a weekday so it wasn’t crowded. I ordered a cortado and enjoyed it while seated at the window. It was the best cup of coffee I’ve had since returning to the US after spending four years in London. Counter Culture Coffee is the coffee of choice here and bags of whole beans are sold there. I will definitely be back to see what its like during breakfast hours and also to try their french pressed coffee which is only served in the morning.

On the first warm Friday evening of Spring, I sat outside on one of two patio tables and sipped a delicious glass of Bogle Syrah, while listening to the great music that was playing inside. I also enjoyed snippets of conversations from people walking past. It was the perfect end to a hectic work week.
I will definitely return to try some more wine and sample the menu.

I’m using a blog post from my wine blog
for this…
After ingesting a good, albeit, oleaginous meal at Great Jones Diner, my friend Todd and I wandered over and down to East 1^st Street. A new wine bar opened a few months back named Simon Sips. My wife and I sat and had a glass there a week earlier, while waiting for a table at a restaurant around the corner. It was relaxed, small and welcoming in comparison to other similar places, and made me want to return. My friend and I were greeted by a frazzled but kind-​eyed woman. In the evening the space is dim, but in the day it’s large plate window pours the sunlight in. One of the six or so small tables was available, so we sat down and looked over the menu. Next to us were a table of lanky women that could have only worked in fashion. At the outside tables there were men fiddling with laptops. Not only is Simon Sips a wine bar but it is also a café, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as brunch and an array of desserts.
I asked about the Channing Daughters Cabernet Sauvignon from Long Island that they were out of the week past. I have yet to have a wine from New York and am curious. They still had not restocked, but she had another from the same winery. She didn’t know the price and went off to check. I saw her make a phone call and then two tables wanted to pay at the same time. This seemed more than she was able to handle. Once she got back to us with the price, ten or so minutes later, the bottle turned out to be $ 60. Not wanting to pay so much, I started to re-​scan the menu. I spotted the 2006 Marques de Montemor, Quinta da Plansel — Alentejo, Portugal ($ 9 glass, $ 36 bottle). I suggested that we get two glasses of this and the overwhelmed woman asked if we were friends of Simon on facebook. «Because if you are bottles are half price». I told her that I wasn’t but I could do it right now. I fumbled around with my iPhone trying to «facebook» him, but I couldn’t find it. She forgave us this and gave us the bottle at 50%, $ 18. She did tell us to make sure that we do «facebook» him. Looking at her say this, I felt as if she had never been to, or even knew exactly, what facebook is.
A few minutes later she returned holding the bottle of 2006 Marques de Montemor that we were only paying $ 18 for. This wine is a blend of three varietals that I have never heard of, 40% Aragones, 30% Touriga Nacional and 30% Trincadeira. She poured a taste for me. Swirl, sniff, gulp. I approved and she left the bottle. In the glass… well it was pretty dark in the place and I wouldn’t have known if it were green in color. The nose was a combination of blueberry and an earthy floral scent. On the tongue it was easy going down and medium-​bodied, with notes of currant, spice, pepper and dark fruit. It was balanced, dry and a good end to the night. As the liquid in the bottle got lower, our voices got louder. We finished it off, paid our bill and I wandered home to try and figure out how to «facebook» him.
_​_​_​_​_​

The place is small, but very quaint. The owner is friendly and attentive. The cappucino is simply amazing. Love this place. Love. Love. Love!

I really, really enjoyed my cortado (perfect texture even though I’m not a huge fan of Horizon milk) and bowl of granola (nutty, crunchy, oaty) here but I had a very weird interaction with the owner. He rang me up when I ordered, and I paid, left a tip, and sat down, waited for my food and drink. Everything was awesome. Then I went to leave, and he embarassingly chased me out of the store asking if I paid. I felt very awkward, since he was the one who rang me up. Oh well. They should have a consistent practice here for ordering and paying since I was pretty confused how it all worked (which is a lot to say, given I work as a barista).

I’m thrilled to have such a great coffee joint so close to my house (not to mention on my walk to the subway in the morning). I have yet to try the food but I can’t wait to stop into this cozy spot for a bite to eat and a glass of wine (or beer — they have three on tap). Simon, the owner, is super friendly too!
Note: cash only

I really heart this place. Simon, the owner, is incredibly nice and makes a mean cappucino in two shakes of a lambstail. Sorry Think, but Simon Sips is my new go-​to.
*Cash only

This is what Starbucks wants to be.
I go there for a quick latte when I hop on and off the F at 1^st Ave.
It’s cheaper than Starbucks, and it’s not awful, burnt, or stale. The owner is always there and the guy behind the counter knows how to make a mean espresso.
If you live or work in the neighborhood, it’s a great everyday place to have around.

I went there for a pre-​brunch cappuccino the other day. (I’m under the impression that they get a lot of the people waiting in line for a spot at Prune down the block.) The cappuccino was the perfect balance of espresso and foamed milk. Although I tried nothing else, I found the wait staff so courteous, responsive and pleasant that I had to write a good review about this place. Good service is hard to find in New York.

In the old The Tasting Room space. Kept the wine/​coffee/​light dishes mode, and Davy, the former coffee-​maker, who is now the waiter/​host.
I went on a Sunday at 1PM. During our hour there there was always at least one table available. We lingered with our books over our coffees and sandwich, and they were fine with it. There were more dishes than when it was The Tasting Room, and they were less precious, more straight forward: sandwiches, bread-​pudding, cakes. I had the goat cheese-​sweet mustard sandwich. It was delicious. I’m coming back at night to check out the wine and dinner menu, and will decide on that last star.

Went late on a Thursday night and it was dead. It’s also a week new so understandable. The space is tiny, what used to be the original Tasting Room. The staff is great, actually brought over from the tasting room staff. This is a great date place since they have tons of organic wine, small cozy tables, spanish songs playing at a good level and really good pastries. Try the fig bar and coffee.

Stopped into this new place this morning. Definitely a fan already. Soy latte was made perfectly, and they offered me a free baked item because it was my first time in the shop — I had the double cream, which was very good.
The coffee shop turns into more of a wine bar in the evenings, so I’ll reserve awarding a fifth star until after I have sampled the evening fare as well. It seems like a cozy spot that would be great for a date.
I will say that the price point is a touch higher than what I would regularly spend on a quick morning coffee, so I doubt it will replace my daily ritual of swinging by Little Veselka’s before jumping on the F, but I will probably be back for a Saturday morning latte with the Times or a magazine, and an hour or two to relax and catch up on some reading.
Also, very friendly staff.