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Cafe Borgia II
Category: Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
161 Prince St(between Broadway & Thompson St)
New York, NY 10012
Neighbourhood: South Village
(212) 677-1850
- Nearest Transit:
-
Spring St (A, C, E)
Prince St (N, R)
Houston St (1, 2)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 9 am - 12 am
Fri-Sat 9 am - 2 am
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Dessert, Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
$14 Prix Fix Sat/Sun Brunch, Over 35 Imported & Belgium Beers, 35 Wines by the glass in our temperature & vacum controlled storage, Open 24 Hours a Day,… read more »
35 reviews for Cafe Borgia II
Review Highlights
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"This place has great outdoor seating, and is really fun for..." In 3 reviews -
"Cafe Borgia II is on Prince Street in Soho." In 5 reviews -
"Espresso was nice and warm." In 3 reviews
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35 reviews in English
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Review from mike G.
2/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
café borgia aka cocoa and espresso. why didn't i think of that?
Listed in: Soho-Noho-Nolita
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Review from Christian R.
Woodside, Queens, NY
1/8/2012
A lackluster yet positively low key experience and quite expensive menu didn't seduce me into coming back after my last visit. Good but not great. A sloppy chicken ceasar salad with tea came to $13 (ballpark). It's definitely a cute place but a little cramped. For quality and unforgettable sweets, coffee and sandwiches, you're better off darting across the street to Birdbath Bakery.
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Review from Danielle C.
Jersey City, NJ
6/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
Casual spot in SoHo... depsite the low reviews, we ordered a sandwich and a salad. Food was decent and so was the service.
nothing much more to say about this place.... -
Review from Zvezdana O.
5/1/2011
Worst espresso I've ever had in my life. My cappucino was watery and there was no foam.
My roommate's food also looked like slop - she reported that it was completely tasteless.
The staff were indifferent and inattentive.
Um, never again! -
Review from Lia G.
9/30/2011
This is the first time I'm giving a restaurant a 1 star.. But I guess I should've checked the reviews before eating there! I was out and about with family and it looked cute enough so we thought why not. The place was adorable and had plenty of seating. The waitress was rude right from the start. She came over and dropped the menus then came back and just stood there with her notepad..I guess it was time to order. 2 in my group ordered lemonade, 1 had tea, and I had coffee plus a slice of mud pie. The waitress came back with the lemonade and said they needed lots of sugar.. Shouldn't lemonade be made with sugar already? After my husband added sugar it was still gross, so we sent that back. No apologies from the waitress. The mud pie looked good.. Tasted AWFUL. It was dry and hard as a rock. And tiny for $5! This place is a joke. Save your money and go elsewhere!
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Review from Brennan M.
Manhattan, NY
11/26/2010
Met a really good friend for brunch here one morning. I think I can sum up my review with on sentence:
"You call *that* french toast?"
We were underwhelmed. I expect good things of New York restaurants, and especially of restaurants in this part of town. Cafe Borgia has cured me of that romanticism.
Also, you can't make chocolate milk? Are you demented? Do you have milk? Chocolate? .... -
Review from David B.
New York, NY
12/1/2007
This restaurant barely warrants a star. It pained me to roll over that star and click.
Seriously, this is one of the worst places ever.
Food: Garbage. Seriously. The ham and egg croisant could not have been more bland. All their breakfasts come with some hash brown. Calling that thing a hash brown is an insult to hash browns everywhere. Ever taste a dog biscuit out of curiosity? Well, I would have preferred the dog biscuit. This hash brown was as if it was frozen for the past 7-10 years, microwaved warm, frozen again for the better part of the Bush Administration, reheated, then served. Thats not food.
Service: Was there any? Faster service at a buffet. This was terrible. Totally understaffed.
Price: Unbelievably high for the slop they serve. $28 for an unedible meal for two. Just wrong.
Really made a wrong turn today into this place. Unfortunately, the really good brunch spots dont open until 11:30 in the neighborhood. Next time I am sticking to the egg sandwiches at the corner store. -
Review from Denis S.
10/30/2008
I came here because the place I intended to go to was closed... Yeah, that's what I get for coming to a place without checking with yelp first.
To be fair, the service was not as bad as some other reviewers have claimed. While not friendly or particularly warm, the server was efficient and didn't make me wait long for anything.
The food was simply not good. The sandwich was bland and tasted like it had been made a while ago and simply heated up.Listed in: Lunch places in SoHo
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Review from james m.
SoHo, New York, NY
2/18/2009
Cafe Borgia II is on Prince Street in Soho. Having recently moved to a palatial loft on Wooster, this is the perfect place for a first date.
I am a tall American of European descent, English/Hungarian mix. Both my parents hold Master's Degrees, I am working on my dual masters in Sensual Massage and Listening at Columbia.
When I'm not practicing erotic relaxation techniques on your body in my mind, I am reading Lacan, where I find many excuses for my behavior.
Cafe Borgia would be an excellent place for the two of us to meet, that is assuming that you are highly intelligent, unmatched physically in terms of attractiveness, enjoy being served Opium infused duck bladders from an amber spoon, and think that people like us should have casual sex as often as possible.
A few of Borgia's cappucinos will provide us with sufficient energy for an Aeneid-like sexual encounter. I will identify with Lord Byron, Sting, and Abraham Lincoln, while you channel Mumtaz Mahal, Sade, and Maggie Cheung c.1988.
I will wait outside Borgia smoking in a green overcoat. Do not delay.
-J -
Review from Frank R.
New York, NY
1/3/2012
SInce it is usually too busy for me to go there during the day I find that it make for a perfect spot to unwind at in the evening. SInce I go there at night during the more casual hours the staff gets to experimenting with the coffee drinks. My favorite is an off the menu thing called Cafe Gusto. It comes in a glass goblet. made with espresso, half & half, a little vanilla, chocolate and two small scoops of chocolate & vanilla ice cream. It costs a drop more than the usual but it drinks like a meal. Good stuff. Ask for Billy or Lenny since it is their invention. As for the rest of the staff, I enjoy the fact that there are no gum cracking kids working there. For the most part the staff is Polish & Czech. and each with a good sense of humor. Best thing is they are open late because sometimes it is good to have a place to go when you do not want to drink.
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Review from Phil M.
New York, NY
3/22/2006
Cafe Borgia II is a nice European-style cafe with exposed brick walls and clean, uncomforable seating.
My server spent more time talking to her friends in the place than she did serving me. She was pleasant, but wasn't too concerned with service. When she did speak to me, it was hard to understand her.
The sandwich I had wasn't hard to understand though. A bit on the small side, but thoroughly delicious. I speak fluent sandwich. -
Review from lillie m.
New York, NY
11/2/2008
The only reason we came here was because we waited too long to find brunch and this was the only place with no wait. We should have waited. This place was crap.
The Service:
Terrible. It took 20 minutes for someone to come up to our table. First words were: "Ready?"
The Food:
Not Good AND really expensive for what you got.
My boyfriend ordered the omelette, which starts at around $9 and NO that doesn't include cheese. It's $2 to add any extras, $3 for bacon. And when they say "extra" they really mean we'll lay some bacon on top.
I could literally copy David B's description of the "hash browns" above. Freezer burn - ew! They could have been several years old.
The only plus was that there was no wait, but now I know why...because everyone else knows better. -
Review from Stephanie T.
Los Angeles, CA
11/14/2008
I thought this place was adorable. Our little waitress Maria was so cute. Every time I looked at her she was smiling.
Espresso was nice and warm. Lovely place to sit outside late at night and people watch. -
Review from Emily C.
New York, NY
9/30/2010
DO NOT COME TO THIS PLACE!!!!
i've never said anything like this before. for me to say something like this...this must be BAD. this place is HORRIBLE. RUDE SERVICE.
i ordered a cup of americano, but i knew i wouldn't be able to finish the whole cup while sitting there, but the waitress said that it's okay, i can get it in a to-go cup and still sit in one of the tables (many of the tables in there were still empty at that time). So i thought, wow, how nice of her ;) so i got an order, and sat down. While I was about to pay, i realized that they take CASH ONLY, so sadly, i took out my last bit of cash and paid...not sure if that was the reason, but her attitude changed COMPLETELY.
3 seconds after i sat down, she came up to me and said, " I'm not sure if i didn't make myself clearly, but people with to-go cups CANNOT sit in. Do you want your money back?" And then, of course, i was hella pissed, i asked for my money back, without a second word, she took away my coffee as well -- even spilled on the counter when she took it back, what kinda service is this!?
I STORMED RIGHT OUTTA THE PLACE, THINKIN WHY THE HELL DID I GET TRICKED BY THE OUTSIDE SEEMINGLY "EURO-STYLE" ATMOSPHERE. CAUTION! DO NOT GET HOOKED! -
Review from Allison T.
Allston, MA
6/26/2007
Eat here on a summer day and you'll be paying for the atmosphere alone. The cafe is understaffed, the servers are rude, and the portions are not what they should be for what you get charged. The coffee was decent and our panini wasn't bad but we really couldn't get over the rudeness of the servers here. I did appreciate that they let us sit and enjoy the open air atmosphere but we would have been better off at another cafe.
Oh--and the bathroom--literally a water closet...and very gross. -
Review from Sasha M.
12/18/2009
Not in a long while, if ever, has a rubber disc passing for an omelet blocked my esophagus so well that no amount of equally crappy coffee could flush it down.
The only reason this place exists (and thrives?) is because of all the "Lonely Planet New York" readers seated next to us. Before I make a pass on tourists though I have to mention that I just moved to the area and ended up suffering at Borgia for a similar reason all of them do - it looks inviting and has outdoor seating.
This place does not deserve a single star; too bad Yelp doesn't have that option. I wonder why - to calculate an average, no division by zero is involved... -
Review from Sean S.
6/23/2009
This is one of those cafes that survives solely on location. So I won't bother you with the pain of discussing it's coffee quality (lacking) or treats...
Instead why not concentrate on the positive. This place has great outdoor seating, and is really fun for summertime people watching, and chatting. Perfect for that in fact! -
Review from Gail T.
Paramus, NJ
7/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
The coffee here was great! Didn't try the food but the menu as me wanting to come back.
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Review from Emily L.
New York, NY
4/15/2006
If you're timing is right, you'll be able to grab a seat and an au lait in this SoHo cafe. It's a place to rest your tired feet after trudging through the hustle and bustle of weekend shoppers and tourists. Not the most comfortable spot, but it'll do.
Although the place is small and there aren't many tables, it gets hectic in there. There should have been someone else other than the single server working the room. She was nice, but looked a bit frazzled and it took her a while to take our order. -
Review from Austin V.
New York, NY
5/7/2007
What happend to CB Number 1? Will we ever know?
You walk by this spot, particularly in the spring and through the summer to see it's packed! When you get a chance to sit down, you'll realize that 90% of the patrons are not locals... you can imagine what this does to the typical server and the resulting service when most people here are the map reading, no tipping tourists.
This is a spot that gets business because of location, location, location... the food isn't particularly good, nor is the coffee, but it's worth it for a few beers on the patio to catch a break between laps around the outdoor mall that is SoHo. Oh how I've longed for them to update their chef/menu/food offering or all three but alas, I'll stick to stellas when I go. And make sure you tip! -
Review from Chris P.
Flushing, NY
7/12/2010 1 Check-in Here
Unless you want to pay to sit down and grab a cup of coffee or some juice and talk while you people watch you should skip it. We all know New York is expensive but the fact that it's about $10 for a ham and cheese is absurd.
For that much money they better be killing the pig in the back, with the wait time for the food you'd think they make everything from scratch back there, they don't. -
Review from Tendy C.
New York, NY
9/27/2009
With the NINE DOLLARS they charge for a ham and egg on croissant one has a right to expect it would not be made of lunch meat. My expectation in this regard was dashed and the "hashbrown" was one of those patties they serve at mcdonalds. The coffee was miserable, the service was abysmal, I waited for ages to order and I was the only person there!
I can't imagine this place gets any return business, it has to be subsisting solely on tourists. -
Review from natalie i.
11/1/2009
The food at this place is so bad, I actually think it takes effort to swing it that far in the negative direction.
From the outside it looks very cute, and has lovely little tables on the patio where you can sit and watch people walking by on Prince. Come here if you're in the mood for a beer or bottled juice. Basically anything they wont have to actually prepare for you. The coffee was awful. My friend and I got different coffees and couldn't drink either one. We also ordered pancakes and eggs. Pancakes were ok if you drenched them in enough maple syrup, otherwise no taste at all. The eggs were totally horrible and on the side had this hash brown patty thing which I'm almost sure was microwaved from one of those store bought freezer packs.
Sad but true...the place must survive only on the tourists walking by on Prince St. -
Review from Bob H.
New York, NY
11/2/2008
sucks.
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Review from Hannah L.
Hoboken, NJ
3/20/2008
It's kind of a fart of a place. Everything is uninspired. Two stars for outdoor seating.
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Review from Alan V.
Alexandria, VA
9/10/2010 1 Check-in Here
$6 was a bit much for a smoothie that's mostly milk and not enough strawberries.
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Review from Kaps w.
New York, NY
8/16/2009
I dread to think there's a Cafe Borgia I somewhere. Or even worse, that there was a former less successful version of this coffee shop that was revamped and made into Cafe Borgia II - the Next Generation.
As other people have mentioned, the food is grossly overpriced. In addition, charging $2 for atrocious coffee and then declaring there are no refills is incomprehensible. I mean, you know this is New York, right? You know there are about 50 million other food establishments in a one block radius, right?
My first logical conclusion was that this place is still in business because it serves as one of the Mafia's money laundering facilities. But upon closer inspection I realized there are always people in there. And so I now believe New York's never ending stream of tourists supplies Cafe Borgia II with enough customers to survive. Sad, really.
Here's hoping that this review will be the final nail in Cafe Borgia II's coffin! -
Review from Under C.
New York, NY
8/16/2009
Cafe Borgia...II?....really guys? I was pained to think that there are humans out there that can sleep at night after working at Cafe Borgia. The guilt they must feel after gouging so many unsuspecting tourists with unjustified prices for food that my elementary school lunch cafeteria would be too humiliated to serve to anybody, even third graders that don't have a choice in the matter.
What hurts even more is that there is someone out there that willingly runs this place and makes a conscious decision to put a gas station quality ham and cheese croissant on the menu. The Hash brown (That's what they called it anyway) was purchased from the Schwan's Food Truck about 32 years ago, and despite the "Do Not Resuscitate" sign, experienced an attempted revitalization by drowning it in vegetable oil. The scoreboard is as follows:
Ham and Cheese Croissant from Cafe Borgia II = 0 points
Mystery Meet From Andrew Jackson Elementary= 1 point
Sorry Cafe Borgia. -
Review from Adele n.
8/3/2010
The setting is super charming, with seating that spills right onto the sidewalk through the wide open front windows. I had a tasty, but overpriced, tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich. Everything in the place was a lil dingy though -- especially the menus, which looked like they'd been spilled on and trampled. Still, a cute place for lunch with street watching.
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Review from Wayne K.
7/5/2010
I agree with others, the place gets 2 stars at best. We sat here to take a rest after a long walk. Although it's a nice place to drink a coffee and the service was nice enough, but it seemed a bit over priced. We only got a smoothie, which was ridiculously small for $5.50. It wasn't a bad smoothie, but not worth the amount we paid.
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Review from Matthew C.
Fremont, CA
11/28/2008
Mediocre.
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Review from Andrea L.
Brooklyn, NY
9/1/2008
I'm a little surprised that no one else liked this place. I thought it was a nice change from the overpriced cafes and restaurants in the area. I went there with some friends for lunch and found it to be very cute and informal. It was nice place to sit for a while and get out of the sun. Our lunch was very, very good and only about $13 a piece, with drinks. The food was decent, not great, but nothing to complain about...Especially for the price.
If you're in SoHo and looking for a place to sit for a while, check it out. -
Review from Tim T.
New York, NY
8/7/2009
So much potential, so much promise, yet delivers so little....
This place gets two stars for the great location and sidewalk seating. It's the type of place that looks like it would serve a great, farm fresh, french inspired breakfast. Looks, however, are often deceiving. -
Review from Lauren G.
New York, NY
6/4/2008
I give it one star for pretty good cheesecake.
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Review from James S.
New York, NY
9/24/2007
Avoid this place! What a pit. I live in the neighborhood and never visited Cafe Borgia until today. An out of town friend was visiting and she had an urgent need for an espresso after walking around the nabe for a few hours. I don't know why I agreed to go to this place. Our visit lasted no more than 5 minutes. The place was about half full, with only one female server working; she looked bored and frazzled at the same time. My friend's espresso was awful --perhaps the worst excuse for an espresso ever. I had a sip and can describe it as weak, watery, and lifeless. My friend asked for another espresso shot to add to her cup. The extra shot did not help. My fresh lemonade was like dirty water with a little ice and a few drops of lemon juice. No sugar. A total waste of $10 for a very poor espresso and a limp lemonade. Tourists: please be warned. Be smart and avoid this sad excuse for a cafe. Three suggestions around the corner on Sullivan Street: Once Upon a Tart, Local cafe, and GrandDaisy Bakery. A few blocks away you will find perhaps the best coffee in NYC: Joe's coffee at the Alessi store.
