Its non-descript diner décor and menu are neither conceptual nor ironic, but it’s hard to imagine Union Square without Coffee Shop and its retro neon sign. A local institution, the general consensus is that the food is passable and the service shoddy but the ambiance fun, young and often entertaining. Coffee Shop is very much like an actual corner coffee shop pretty much anywhere, serving up diner food at all hours. Oddly, the m...

Its non-descript diner décor and menu are neither conceptual nor ironic, but it’s hard to imagine Union Square without Coffee Shop and its retro neon sign. A local institution, the general consensus is that the food is passable and the service shoddy but the ambiance fun, young and often entertaining. Coffee Shop is very much like an actual corner coffee shop pretty much anywhere, serving up diner food at all hours. Oddly, the menu also has a smattering of Brazilian and South American specialties like Brazilian cheese bread and seafood stew.

Unlike your corner coffee shop, however, the emphasis here is on hanging out with your friends, checking out the girls and boys or just the very pretty waitresses who could very well be local models. (Agencies have long been a supply of waitstaff of varying competence but exceedingly good looks.) And as night falls, it’s less coffee and more bar, complete with full bar menu and great mixed drinks.