Ciao For Now

New York, United States

4.1

20 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 212-677-2616
Website:
www.ciaofornownyc.com
Address:
523 E 12th St, New York, NY, 10009
b/t Avenue B & Avenue A
East Village, Alphabet City
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 mi1st Avenue (L)
0.4 miStarting Point for M9 - To City Hall
0.5 mi3rd Avenue (L)
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Description

Specialties

Cool down this summer with an iced ginger green tea with honey & lemon.

History

Established in 2001.

Simple. Fresh. Flavorful.

Ciao For Now is a family-​owned and operated restaurant, café and catering company that has been proudly serving NYC for over 13 years. We specialize in market-​to-​table menus prepared fresh daily from the highest quality ingredients.

Each morning we bake a wide selection of homemade muffins and pastries on-​site that pair perfectly with our freshly brewed organic coffee.

We are committed to providing healthy, original and delicious menus with vegan and gluten-​free options. We use organic eggs and Hudson Valley milk. We source organic grains, fruits and vegetables when available and use free-​range, grass-​fed, hormone-​free and nitrate-​free meats.

We look forward to serving you!

Meet the Business Owner

Amy M.

Business Owner

Kevin and Amy started Ciao For Now as a counter service store front in the East Village. The focus was on delicious baked goods (using some of the highest quality ingredients available) and coffee that you could grab and go.

Over the last decade, the small store front has grown into a full-​service restaurant where you can sit and enjoy the same home style cooking and baking. They serve muffins, cookies, and other pastries along with breakfast, lunch and happy hour fare.

You can find a Ciao For Now coffee shop in the West Village too! The duo also caters to many high-​end clients throughout the city.

Community involvement is a priority for Kevin and Amy. They believe in sustainable practices, like composting and buying locally sourced ingredients, and often donate their time and delicious culinary treats to local schools.

They believe a world where everyone takes pause to reflect on their actions and thoughts will bring about a better tomorrow…

Ciao For Now also recommends

Ciao For Now

25

reviews

Café et thé

,

Soupe

,

Sandwichs

Amy M. says,

«Our West Village Café»

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20 reviews of Ciao For Now

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Place rating: 4
Manhattan, NY
I highly recommend this restaurant for food and service. Can’t go wrong with the ambiance of feeling like you’re in someone’s home either. Definite pick whether you’re in the neighborhood or required to train or Über.
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
Great little spot in the East Village. If you are considering having dinner, DO IT! You will be very happy you did. Food is fantastic! The atmosphere is very nice and probably the only restaurant in NYC where you can actually hear what the person across from you is saying. It’s like having a home cooked meal you won’t need to clean up after.
Place rating: 5
Norwell, MA
This is a lovely little café/​restaurant in the East Village. They serve a first-​rate cold brew, for example, but we also loved the daily specials, the salads and wholesome sandwiches. Ciao for Now is quickly becoming a favorite spot in our neighborhood. Gotta love those turquoise swinging love seats out front!
Place rating: 3
New York, NY
The staff is friendly and the food looks good.
This is not a vegan place.
When people search for a specific food diet like vegan please respect that they hope more than just 3 items on a menu of 30 items are vegan (especially when two of those items are sides.).
Please remove the vegan tag for this place.
Place rating: 4
New York, NY
We went to Ciao For Now for brunch because we saw they had good ratings and some gluten free options and we were happy we choose it! Surprisingly we were five people and were still seated very quickly. The restaurant is very quaint and adorable — it is tight on space but we had a great corner table by the window and it was perfect for us.
The food was perfect. My brother-​in-​law said his gluten free blueberry muffin was the best he has ever had. Apparently the Huevos Rancheros was delicious but was consumed so quickly by my sister that I never got a bite. and come to think of it I did not share my chiliquilies either! Really nice to see all the use of organic foods on the menu and not outrageous prices!
The service was good and we would definitely go back.
Place rating: 4
Long Beach, NY
Cute lil spot in the East Village. In general, I’m totally against any breakfast sammie over $ 5, however I rocked one hell of a breakfast wrap here last week. It took my hangover and smashed it good. Their standard egg wrap is $ 7 and comes with cheese, sautéed onions, and meat. It’s not bad like this, however, when ordering, for a small up charge, you can make it outstanding. Add avocado (duh) ($ 1), spinach ($.50), tomato ($.50) and put it in a different wrap (go healthy if you must)… the combination is magic. Beyond my hangover special, they have some sweet baked goods and various specials (summer rolls and curry soup were great!) that aren’t on the main menu. You can peep their webpage for info on the rotating specials. Def stop by if you’re in the area!
Place rating: 1
Brooklyn, NY
I only write Unilocal reviews when I encounter great or horrific experience, never in between. Unfortunately, this one isn’t going to be great as you can guess.
I stopped by here the other day just to scope out the place and ordered a cappuccino. I’ve wanted to check out the place ever since moving to the neighborhood a few months ago. I am sorry, but I won’t be going back. Cappuccino wasn’t bad… but the service was really unfriendly and downright rude. The two workers there gave me a hard time about not ordering food and taking up a chair.
All I wanted to do was swing by there (on my way back from the pilates lesson), get something to drink, and check out their menu to see what was up. They really don’t want you there unless you are ordering a full-​on meal. I get it. It wasn’t like I took over an entire table… just a stool at the counter… but it was awful nevertheless. Every time my friends and I walk by the place –which unfortunately is everyday! — I cringe remembering how rude they were. I tell my friends not to go there. I also heard the food is pretty mediocre. Why go there when you have a great place like Westville just around the corner? They have fantastic service and food.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
Seated right away for brunch on sunday at 1030am, it was getting more crowded by the time we left around 1130am. I had the omelet which was very filling and my friend order the green acres plate. Fyi, She said the bacon was very good. We both ordered a side of homefries, I would not recomend those, as home fries go they were mushy and looked like they were intesenly seasoned but didnt really taste that way. Otherwise everything else was delicious, cute little brunch café for a quick easy brunch. They have a side of truffle mac and cheese that I will have to try next time.
Place rating: 5
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Among the many breakfast spots I’ve visited and revisited in East Village, this one is the winner. With quick and friendly service, a casual but stylish, cool, inviting space, and a pleasantly varied menu (including both high-​protein options for carnivores like me and vegan selections for the testudines in the audience), this is exactly what I look for in a neighborhood early-​day fueling station.
Try an omelette with spinach, goat cheese, and sausage.
Place rating: 4
Manhattan, NY
Great cozy and charming spot!
Breakfast was wonderful, relaxed, a little slow, which was lovely so we could take our time.
The iced teas (honey ginger tea) were great and its true the spelt biscuits are a delight! Great bread (aka muffin) basket with strawberry butter! Will return for sure.
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
Chill atmosphere! A spacious place with good brunchy décor. Our waitress was also very friendly and sweet. Overall the experience was very pleasant!
As for the food, the size was decent and plated very well. The French toast was good, nothing particularly special. They also had a salmon cake special this past weekend, which I gladly enjoyed off my girlfriend’s plate. Hopefully they keep it!
We went for Sunday brunch, near 12. It was nice and quiet when we went but as the day went along, more and more people came and thus, it became loud. If you want to chat, I would definitely recommend going earlier.
Place rating: 4
New York, NY
Ate: Omelet w/​bacon and spinach, spelt biscuit
Drank: Honey Ginger Tea
Everything I had here was amazing from the moment I walked in — at 8AM. My mom had an early flight and so we thought we’d have a nice although early breakfast. The waiter was amazingly upbeat and took such good care of us. I’ll totally be back for him alone! The omelet was very good — not great — but I rarely find omelets amazing. The spelt biscuit was THE BEST biscuit I’ve ever had and I’m from Texas. We know biscuits. The tea was amazing and exactly the jolt I needed to properly be awake at that hour. Seriously considering getting up that early every morning just to come here and enjoy the quiet of the city. I bet their coffee and pastries are just as yummy!
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
Super charming bakery and restaurant. I loved the rustic charm in the décor though the staff sways that vibe towards brooklyn-​hipster. We were there at 9AM on a Sunday morning right as it opened but within minutes the neighboring tables started to fill. We ordered the assorted pastries served with a strawberry honey butter and the smoked salmon & poached eggs — all delectable and delicious but took awhile to come out. I would not recommend dining here if you are in a hurry or extremely hungry. Still, there are few places that serve such quality dishes at 9 AM so I am a fan and would highly recommend to the early birds.
Place rating: 5
Florence, Italy
I love this place! I had the most delicious and fluffy pancakes here! (with lots of fresh fruits on the side) Luckily, after reading a few reviews, we decided to give it a try on a wednesday morning, so it would be crowd-​free ;)
We weren’t wrong and we easily found a table. Both our plates were amazing, and the place itself is soooo cute, even if from the outside it seems way too old and dirty. when you get inside it’s completely different, try their pancakes, you’ll thank me later ;)
Place rating: 4
New York, NY
I like this place a lot, but honestly, the food is not the main reason, or probably even in the top 3 main reasons. The food is solid, but where Ciao For Now really shines is in its atmosphere. It’s so bright, homey, and welcoming.
A lot of other reviewers commented about how awesome the owner is, and I couldn’t agree more. He’s hilarious and so nice. I came with a group of 5; we were initially told a 15 minute wait, but then the group they expected to leave ended up ordering more things. He set up a new table just us in the back of the restaurant, in a cozy little alcove by the restroom, and he said we were the first people to ever sit there. He came and chatted with us periodically during our meal, and the conversations were always fun and interesting.
My food was good, but a little bland — definitely needed salt and pepper. But there’s a good variety, and just the right amount of food. The prices are about as good as you’ll for a nice sit-​down brunch in the city.
My absolute favorite thing: when we went they had children’s art work hanging all over the restaurant. Some of them were quite impressive!
Place rating: 4
New York, NY
I lived a block away from this place for a year, and this restaurant was essential to my life (and part of the reason why it was my favorite place to live).
They always had great brunch specials! Sooo good. I love the ambiance. It’s just a fun spot all around.
It’s owned by a family man and he’s always been really great when we’ve come in. (Once I went in with my boyfriend and there was a wait, and he was getting visibly «hangry». Boyfriend went out for a cig and the owner comes out with a tray of muffins and stuff and asks for my boyfriend by name and asked where he was/​if everything was ok, and to take a muffin for him! Very nice).
The only downside is over the time that I was living there, they tried to add in more tables. Which means some crowded and bad seating. The last few times I went there before I moved out of the area I recall the experience being almost ruined by the seating arrangements. Oh well.
It’s been a year and a half and I still dream and whine for their brunch when I wake up on the weekends with my boyfriend. (once I even suggested we take the train into the city to go I was craving so bad!)
Some classics are their french toast and when they have their southern biscuits and gravy special. Also their rancho hueveros or whatever on their specials is SUPER yummy as well.
Place rating: 5
Brooklyn, NY
Fantastic Breakfast for just 12 bucks, you get two eggs however you want it cooked, bacon/​sausage, and a side (I got a big fruit bowl and my bf got a side of bacon). We were stuffed. Even more amazingly, the biscuit was delicious and moist! Free OJ also! Nothing beats a hearty breakfast in a cute, rustic chic, chill setting.
Will go back to try their soup!
Place rating: 3
Washington, DC
I wanted to like this place. I think it’s supposed to be better on weekends, so fault me for coming in on Thursday lunch hours.
I ordered a lunch combo with half a sandwich and a soup. My soup arrives after I’ve finished my entire meal, and the waiter forgets to bring me the focaccia it comes with. He also had to be reminded to refill the water, and we had to flag him down for the check.
The French toast my friend wanted to order was «I believe only available on weekends» according to our waiter, and my friend asked if he remembered incorrectly when there was a complimentary juice with the meal. Again we were met with «I think that’s only a weekend thing.»
Maybe they changed their policy, maybe weekends are much better, and maybe the forgetful waiter was only a fluke, but I didn’t have a great experience here and nothing compels me to come back.
Place rating: 3
New York, NY
Not posting prices for baked goods = strike #1*
Providing estimates of prices when requested = strike #2**
The pastry I purchased being on the dry and/​or old side = strike #3***
Nice ambiance and a cozy little location, certainly an improvement over a chain if you’re looking to catch up /​work /​study.
I found it odd that the the FTR for the original was both nearly a year before its 2nd review and garnered a ROTD with very few votes (such were the times, I suppose). I’ve yet to visit the closer ‘West’ Village location, nor did I score the 2013 Google Offer (and I’m surprised they’re still around). They were also featured on the documentary
*At least there was a large assortment of sneakiness.
**Even if all three staff members involved in processing a PayPal transaction were friendly, the estimate was actually off by nearly 20%. They also had a $ 3 Eat24 voucher on the counter which confused them since the PayPal offer was for the same amount — their farthest east and least generous introductory offer yet (with no indication they’ll expand to the aforementioned second location).
***The ‘fudgy brownie’ nestled next to the register was far from fudgy or moist, though I suppose the price was somewhat reasonable given the size.
Bars
$ 3.25
Tax 1
$ 0.29
-$ 3.00
$ 0.54
Potato Puff — place is kinda dark each time, potato puff not bad, odd quiche pricing
$ 3.50
-$ 3.00
$ 0.81
Place rating: 4
Saddle River, NJ
The boyfriend and I woke up late on a Thursday morning and decided to come to Ciao for some breakfast food.
The restaurant was pretty empty so we got a choice spot next to the window. The waiter was so cheery and practically pranced his way over to our table to take our order. I got the Green tea Yerba Mate (so yummy!) and the Pancakes with Sauteed Apples. Those pancakes were so fluffy and filling, I’m still sad that I couldn’t finish the whole plate. The boyfriend got the breakfast platter and was happy with his meal (he’s very particular with breakfast foods), but it wasn’t enough food to fill him up.
Overall, the service was amazing. The waiters are super friendly and not too pushy. The food didn’t take long to come out and was delicious. Ambience is very kitschy-​cute and welcoming. I’m looking forward to coming back here!