During my recent trip to New York City I enjoyed some delicious coffee at Brooks Brothers’ Red Fleece Café. What a great concept in the heart of Manhattan!
Delicious Coffee At Brooks Brothers Red Fleece Café In New York City
Brooks Brothers has an especially sentimental attachment for me. When I lived in Washington, DC and worked on the Hill and later in the White House, Brooks Brothers was my brand. Suits, ties, shirts, suspenders…Brooks Brothers. I loved wearing a suit (I still do) and loved wearing Brooks Brothers.
Brooks Brothers, which opened its first store in 1818, calls itself America’s oldest clothing retailer. The style, especially 15 years ago, is not at all trendy. But it’s certainly classic and I would still argue chic.
But when I moved to Germany 10 years ago with all my Brooks Brothers suits, I received the weirdest stares in the office. Indeed, you could tell I was an American from 10 kilometers away based upon my Brooks Brothers suits, a far cry from the slim-fit, tighly-cut European-style suites.
While I eventually embraced the European style, I’ve hung onto my ties, suspenders, and seersucker suit from Brooks Brothers.
So when I saw a Brooks Brothers coffee shop in New York, I had to try it. Really, it was more for the novelty, though I noticed the café carried Stumptown Coffee Roasters coffee. Little did I know what a delicious cappuccino and cortado I would enjoy.
Red Fleece Café
346 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Monday-Friday: 8:00AM – 8:00PM
Saturday: 9:00AM – 5:00PM
Sunday: CLOSED
(212) 682-8800
The ladies behind the counter were charming and good-natured (though still amused at all the pictures I was taking) and thankfully did not fight me over my request for a “real” cup. Indeed, everyone seemed to be staying to drink coffee, which is something some of my favorite coffee shops in LA could really do better to emulate.
I was in Grand Central Terminal at the Apple Store and found the café located just one block west.
The cappuccino was strong, dark, and rich…the cortado even more so. I’ve bought Stumptown beans before, but will have to check out that brand again as I really enjoyed the coffee. Having a beautiful La Marzocco machine certainly didn’t hurt.
I will return to Hole in the Wall again, but this coffee greatly exceeded my expectations and I look forward to returning. Note, Brooks Bothers has a second location on 901 Broadway near the Flatiron Building. Even if you are not a fan of the Brooks Brothers style, the coffee is great.
Have you tried coffee at Brooks Brothers?
Speaking of Brooks Brothers…
What do you think will come of the new United uniforms now that UA’s financials are more healthy then they were when they shelved them?
Personally, I still hate the new look, and think the existing look could easily last another 5ish years (and I could really go without “Pacific Blue (Green)” & “Atlantic Amethyst (Purple)” as dominating colors….
I do think the new uniforms will come in 2023. While I personally don’t mind them, I also don’t think they are necessary.
Sadly Brooks Brothers the company went bankrupt and was bought, and their headquarters is no longer in that building (I believe is going to be re-developed as something else). I think the staff at the cafe told us that the cafe is going to stay, but I honestly can’t remember.
When my mom and I ate there, the woman taking our order and bringing out the food was wonderful and so high-energy. We both had the Eggs Benedict and the Hollandaise sauce was perfectly cooked (and handmade — she said sometimes the cooks don’t get it to go into emulsion right and they have to start over).
If you’re in this area in the afternoon/evening, the Campbell Apartment in Grand Central Terminal is quite a nice bar (though it can get busy). It’s a shame that the Metro North trains run so frequently that you won’t really have time to wait at a bar like that.
Bonus points for correctly identifying Grand Central as a Terminal and not a Station!
Matt,
Your latest post is exactly the reason I visit this site often. A very nice write up even for people who does not know about this little coffee oasis in the middle of Manhattan. For me, this is the place I go to for my escape from my hectic New York meetings which take place less than a block away.
I will be in the NY Mid-town area for a couple of weeks in December, and I look forward to spend a lot of time there.
Nice reporting!
Thanks UA Flyer!
This sent me down memory lane. My late father was a NYC native (Bronx) and even though I am my siblings were raised in Michigan, my father would take me to NY and to Brooks Brothers. That was before there was a coffee shop. But I still had a great suit and blazer from Brooks for boarding school in Connecticut. Thanks for the story about a favorite old place.
Ahhhhh Seersucker suits & madras plaid walking shorts always purchased at Brooks. That takes me back to a time when people knew their place, privilege was taken as a given , subservience was expected & supremacy was not a contentious issue. Thank you for reminding me of the world you, myself & our kind most long for, Matt.
Flatiron location has been closed for a while.
Did they check your vaccine info as required for indoor dining in NYC?
Nope. I’m ready to show it whenever asked, but no one asked. They did at the hotel.
Interesting. I don’t go to coffeeshops often to drink there, but have had both an NYC Starbucks and a New Orleans non-chain shop check when I ordered to stay.
You can get any style cut of clothes at BB if you use their affordable made to measure service. At one time made to measure was all produced in the USA (no idea if this is still the case). Almost all clothes bought of the rack from Walmart to luxury brands are imported from asia now.
I’m not familiar with coffee prices in Manhattan, but those menu prices struck me as quite lower than I would have expected.