Starving Artist Cafe & Gallery

Stopped here for lunch on a whim and I loved it.
First of all, the atmosphere was adorable and so welcoming.
Our waitress, Valentina, was very sweet and took very good care of us. There was only one other group of people in the restaurant and after they left Valentina came back to make sure we were ok but without overwhelming us. She even asked us what kind of music we liked and was willing to change the playlist for us.
The food was very yummy. We got the buffalo chicken flat bread and an order of garlic bread with mozzarella. We were very happy and I can’t wait to come back to try everything else.

I absolutely love this place. I’ve been here a few times and I always leave satisfied with the food and service. Amazing food, really creative and cute décor, excellent service. And the owner is very sweet. He comes around to all to say hello. I’ll definitely come back.

This is a pleasant little restaurant for any kind of meal, or if you just want some coffee or tea. I’ve passed this place dozens of times, every time wondering what it was, but never coming inside. Reviews from here on Unilocal finally swayed me and my fiancé to drop by for a weekday lunch.
If you are driving to the restaurant, there is a dedicated lot in the back. A little tight but a good size for the capacity of the restaurant.
When we entered the building, we were promptly seated by the waitress and had our drink orders taken. Service was quick and friendly. The owner even stopped by our table and talked to us about the café.
As for food, it was absolutely delicious! I had the Florentine flatbread and my fiancé had the Starving Artist Burger. My fiancé said it was one of the best burgers she’s had, and I was really happy with how great my flatbread was. We finished off with the Cannoli dip, which was great but too be honest I may be a little biased on that.
An all over great lunch spot that you should at least drop by once.

Came here a few months back with a friend for lunch. There was only one other table there and the service was painfully slow. We didn’t have much to do but we were there almost 2 hours and had quite a wait for the things we ordered. It took 15 minutes for our drinks which were both coffee and cold. It took another half hour for our appetizers and once we finished our app it was another 25 minutes for our sandwiches. Food and drinks were tasty, just didn’t understand why the slow service. The owner is friendly and it’s nice to interact with owners, shows their attachment to their business and customers. Will be back again hopefully they are speedier next time.

I never write reviews on Unilocal-​ever, but I just had to write about this place. Me and my friend were looking for a place to get tea and relax/​chat. We not only found a very cool, artsy environment but the owner and staff were more then friendly. It is so rare to find genuinely nice people who care if you had a good experience at their establishment. The owner was so genuinely enthused about his restaurant. You could tell how proud he was and it made us feel like we were more then just customers, but guests in his home. I would definitely recommend trying this place. We will definitely be returning!

Heard about this place from a friend of mine and finally got a night out to stop by. What a nice, cozy place with a unique atmosphere right in my home town. The owner Jeff and his entire staff were so friendly. Jeff came over to our table and made us feel very welcome. The food was tasty and reasonably price. I had the chicken pesto panini and the tastiest french fries I’ve had in a long time. Dessert was the original Canoli dip. The place itself was creatively decorated and I loved the gallery section that showcased a local artists work. Was a little disappointed to hear that the wait for a gallery showing was three years! It is awesome though that there are so many talented local artist willing to show their work and a place for them to do so.
I highly recommend the Starving Artist Café for a nice evening with friends. Now that we’ve been here we’ll definitely be back often!

Very cute place. Nice service and cheap prices. I only had cake and tea but they were both delicious and it was a pleasant dining experience especially if you’re looking for a unique atmosphere!

Thrilled that I found this little gem via Unilocal.It’s a fantastic place to sit and chill over a delicious cup of coffee or tea. I had the cherry festival green tea and it was great. Our waitress was sweet, helpful, and attentive. The owner came by to say hello, and spoke with us for a few minutes to tell us a bit about the café, in particular about the little gallery they have in the back displaying artwork from local artists, which is a great touch and wonderful for the local artist community. He was very warm and friendly. I will definitely return.

Awesome Place… The burger was delicious. The baked ziti sauce was amazing and great portion. We had Tea & Coffee both warm and cozy

I love this place. You can see the owner is really passionate about the experience. The food is good and the ambience is super!

My wife and I were looking for a quick dessert place before heading home for the night. This place was easy to find and has a parking lot in the back. It may not be the prettiest of places — it looks like a house converted into a restaurant. The prices are fairly inexpensive and there seems to be some variety. This would make a great brunch place. Unfortunately, since we were already full from dinner, we were only able to experience dessert here, which was up to par. FYI: there is no minimum for credit cards.

My family and I LOVE this place. The owner is super nice and attentive and always comes over to make our little girl feel welcome. The food is great, deserts are awesome, and I am not a tea person but the pot we ordered was delicious.
Adding — my husband is a foodie and really likes this place — in fact he ate half of my sandwich the last time we went, in addition to his own. that speaks volumes.

This place is so nice. Definitely adds a gem to Franklin square! Staff and owner are so so nice. The menu is great, something there for everyone. The place is clean and inviting! Just lovely! I will definitely return.

Great spot located at the end of Tulip right by NHP Road. They have a good size parking lot in the back with a rear entrance. The place is bigger than what the outside shows. Plenty of tables and nice little sitting areas. We went for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. There were a few tables taken at that point and more were coming in as we left. Our waitress was nice and the owner came by and chatted with us for a few minutes. Its a nice relaxed atmosphere. This month they were featuring work from a photographer who happened to be having lunch at the same time we were. The place and the people just make you feel welcomed. They have lots of fun events: sip and paint, murder mystery dinner, comedy night. They also sell some home goods items: mason jars, paintings, etc.
If that wasn’t enough, the food was excellent. I ordered the shrimp & avocado salad. It was quite good and had this delicious citrus dressing. My wife ordered a flat bread pizza and loved it. They have a few items on the kids menu too. My daughter had buttered noodles.
We will certainly be back to try more of the menu out and maybe come to one of the events.

Found this place on Unilocal.It’s an extremely cozy and cute coffee shop with plenty of chairs and couches to lounge on.
After making the turn on New Hyde Park road, you would never think there’s an adorable house turned into an artsy coffee shop.
They have an extensive tea and coffee list, along with food options.
I came on a Thursday night and it was somewhat busy. The owners are extremely nice and they came out to greet us and talk about the tea we were having. We had the cherry green tea and vanilla chai, both delicious and smooth.
They display the artwork of local artists for you to check out. This café is also a popular brunch and breakfast spot.
Parking in the back.
Definitely coming back for brunch next time

I really like this place! I’ve gone a couple of times now and the food is always very fresh and always delicious. Today for lunch they had a special of carrot apple ginger soup and it was excellent! It was the perfect size and it was served with a small piece of garlic bread toast, which went really well with the soup. For my lunch I ordered the turkey avocado wrap, which comes with lettuce, tomato and honey mustard, and it was delicious. If you want a side with your wrap or panini you have to pay a little extra ($ 3.00), but I just stuck with the wrap. I’ve also had the hummus wrap as well. I almost wanted to get that again because I remember really enjoying it, but I decided to try something new and I’m glad I did. They have heaps of healthy options, but also offer burgers so you can find anything really.
The décor is cute too. The place really brings about a sense of whimsy. There is so much to look at, even in the bathroom! If you are just in the mood for a cup or coffee or tea, this is a great option too. The coffee is delicious and they have many different flavor shots you can choose from. They also have an extensive tea selection. The service has always been spot on and the owner is very very friendly. I’ve never been here for the live music or paint night, but hopefully I’ll be able to one day soon!

The best coffee shop in the neighborhood! Not to mention a wonderful idea — I love the frequently changing gallery showing us local talent! There are monthly activities from painting to palm reading that is such a gem for a place like Franklin Square.
The service is quick and curteous, even on a busy night. The cappuccinos are amazing, whenever I am out and about I stop by for one. The presentation is lovely.
Theyre now serving brunch which is exciting because the food is always great. The tea selection is ah-​mazing! A great place for friends or a nice place to study — free wifi!

Starving Artist indeed.
Came here on a Friday evening when they hade live entertainment. The guitarist was great and sang well. The violinist played well but should understand she has no vocal talent. I thought I heard alley cats whenever she belted a miserable tune. We ordered the strawberry salad and it was cool. We thought we’d take a chance at the dessert and went for the Carmel Apple pie and two cappuccinos. The pie tasted stale and the cappuccino was more like hot milk with cinnamon. The owner asked me if I liked it and I told him no but he said thank you and walked away. Didn’t offer to remove it from the bill even though he knew I didn’t drink it. Our bill was $ 28.05 and we gave the waitress $ 40. She thanked us 10 minutes after taking our money and never returned with the change. We had to ask for our change back. Awful.

Great place, nice décor… waitress asked two questions, chair or couch as we entered the café. That was different.
The espresso was ok could’ve been a little better. However, the appetizer and desert was great. I’d give them 4 and ½ stars if I could. Definitely unique place, looked like we were going to someone’s house.
They have a little gallery in the back and different artists work.
Hope they stay in business for a while as it is hard to find places like this in Long Island.

I really enjoyed this spot. My friends and I are regular Witches Brew go-​ers because we love the selection of crafty and unique teas and a food menu that circle around simple yet locally sourced dishes. The Starving Artist is a mature version of The Witches Brew. It has couches, rock music, but is also well-​lit and designed as more of a country-​rustic café than gothic inspired. Think more Martha Stewart.
We came here for a post-​dinner catch-​up chat and we all ordered coffee or teas. I also ordered a pumpkin mousse, which was really good. It took me awhile to come to that conclusion because it didn’t have that overbearing in-​your-​face pumpkin flavor. But I finished it off feeling refreshed and happy.
I tried a slice of my friends garlic with mozzarella bread. I love garlic, a lot, and this bread didn’t really have a garlic taste to it. A tad disappointing but the mozzarella was good.
Another friend ordered an apple caramel cake crumble. The topping was delicious on it.
There are several really wonderful things about this place. One was the live music (the duo performing on our night were really good, they had such an eclectic mix of songs both country and rock and it was really pleasing). The second is the little gallery which showcases a local artist (s). My friends put their names down on the waiting list (which is something like a year). The next great thing is that they have a beer selection, I will have to check it out next time!
I’m super excited to return and try more of their main menu dishes. I’ve already told a few friends who are interested in coming.

What a quaint and charming little café! We stopped in on Sunday night for a light meal and were delighted by the way the place has been renovated. It used to be a dive townie bar and is now a warm and inviting «shabby chic» kind of place with folk art from local artists on display. There was a sketch artist there, who was happy to discuss her artwork with patrons. And the owner, Jeff, introduced himself to us and told us about the other artists who have displayed their work at the gallery in the three months since they opened the café. It’s a lovely concept and we will surely be back to support this unique local business!
Now, for the food. The menu is small and not very ambitious, but the food was fresh and tasty, and the desserts looked awesome – even though we were too full to sample them. I enjoyed the Crispy Chicken Panini with melted Swiss and a side of steak fries that were served hot and crisp. My husband had a cheeseburger with fries and it tasted like they actually made everything from scratch, which we deeply appreciated. The SAC has a nice tea and coffee menu, but we did not sample any of that either. There had been a mixup with their POS system in the kitchen, so our food took a long time to come out, even though the dining room was almost empty.
This seems like a place that should serve high tea or maybe Sunday brunch. I know I would become a regular if they did!