Plowshares Coffee Roasters

Very disappointing! They have NO gluten free bakery, even though it was advertised. I went out of my way because I saw the ad for gluten free pastries only to find, after a long trip, that they no longer carry them. To top it off, the woman who made my coffee acted very annoyed with me when I asked for change of a ten dollar bill. She threw it on the counter and started to help the person behind me. I kept asking and finally she opened the the cash register as if it was a nuisance and slammed my change on the counter. The cappucino was ordinary even though it cost two dollars more than where I usually go. I could have gotten the same tasting coffee anywhere. When your cappucino comes in a tiny cup and costs over 5 dollars, you expect a little more of it. If I am ever on the upper west side again I will avoid this place.

The coffee is good. The Baristas are judgmental and unfriendly.
Case A) on my first visit to Plowshare over the summer, I order a Nitro Cold Brew with a shot of espresso. «I wouldn’t do that,» says the Barista. I kindly inquire: «Why not?» To which she replies «I’m a barista and EVEN I wouldn’t drink that much caffeine.» I insist on my order, and after an «okay, if you say so…» get a great, strong coffee — just the way I like it.
Case B) today, I enter the establishment to get my winter go-​to: a large redeye (a coffee with a shot of espresso) to go. The order taker then asks if I want a 8, 12, or 16oz coffee. While I figured the large implied I wanted a 16oz, I reaffirm that’s the cup I want. When she hands it to the barista, and mind you I’m standing right there at the counter, he says to the order taker «Man a 16oz redeye — that’s a lot of caffeine,» to which the order taker responds «I guess that’s what the people want these days.»
I wouldn’t be totally surprised if my jaw dropped — then again I doubt they would have noticed.
I’ve been drinking redeyes for years. They’re goddamn delicious and it does wonders for my energy. Why does plowshare take such a strong stance against them?
I understand the Barista is there to help and inform your order. But if you’re not asking for the help, just pour the damn drink.

Overpriced, pretentious, 20-​minute wait, got my order wrong after the long wait and later discovered the bakery that provides their food has a C rating. Do you know how bad an establishment has to be to earn a C rating? Good luck with the rat dung infused croissant that is being made next to your coffee.

Love their coffee!!! I walk down almost ten blocks nearly every morning just to get my caffeine fix in from Plowshares. I used to resort to the nearest Starbucks or Oren’s, but Plowshares can’t be beat when it comes to the UWS (and beyond). I’ve tried all of their roastings and although I have a slight preference for the Colombian and Nicaraguan bean, Plowshares hasn’t let me down at all. It’s not the best place to do work – it’s tiny and they have a no-​wifi policy, but for an amazing cup of java it’s the place to be.

Boyfriend had the cortado and I had the cold brew. A small but cozy place. We got coffees to go because we wanted to eat at central park.
The cortado was very good, chocolatey tasting and the cold brew was very smooth and good black. I’ve had some amazing cold brew in Nashville and I would say this is comparable to Portland Brew in Nashville. [i love portland brew btw]
A small gem with delicious handcrafted coffee and highly recommended if in the area!

Now that I’ve been visiting more and more in the past few months, I have more to say than when I first reviewed this place. I have sampled their teas, pastries, and chai, and I am quite content with this place! In addition to the Balthazar pastries they’ve carried since the beginning, they now carry Underwest Donuts! It’s nice to get one on 104^th and Broadway as opposed to the Faaaaaaaaaaaar West Side. Ha! Their tea selection is pretty delicious, and I am in love with the fact that they carry Dona Chai! (Though, I have to keep those chai latte purchases limited to once a week, seeing as it’s $ 4.75 for a 12 oz. cup!)
For me, this has always been a «grab ‘n’ go» type of coffee place; they have limited seating, no WiFi, and no customer restroom. I only visit on occasional weekday mornings before going to work and on odd Sundays when the beau and I want to switch up our usual Lenny’s Bagel routine. (Haha.) Lack of those aforementioned amenities does not bother me in the least, but should be mentioned for those of you looking for a coffee shop to work comfortably at.
Overall, I really truly dig this place! It’s an oasis in a sea of Starbucks.

yummy and delicious freshly grounded coffee. Happy this was near our hostel and subway station.
they don’t have fancy drinks, just the plain real coffee stuff!

Ok here’s the deal– I liked that they slipped into the Starbucks gap on this stretch of Broadway. They seem very serious about their coffee, and when I heard one customer ask for flavored espresso they told him «we don’t have flavors but you can add as much sugar as you want» which I enjoyed.
Pros:
Nice atmosphere with relaxing jazz
Enough outlets for the number of seats
They have the bevs du jour: kombucha, nitro cold brew
Cons:
Tiny shop with not a lot of space or seating
No bathroom
No wi-​fi
The americano tastes like scorched water
So each of these cons seems to preclude one of the purposes of a coffee shop.
No wi-​fi = no working
No bathroom = no relaxing with a book once that coffee hits you
Brutally hot americano = no grabbing a cup to sip as you walk.
I plan on trying the kombucha, but aside from that, I’ll go elsewhere. It’s just not checking any of my boxes.

Coffee taste like ass here. I went for a quick cup of coffee and it was half hour before closing and the barista told me that I couldn’t stay to sit because they were going to close soon. Mind you there were 7 people sitting in different tables. Um? I saw a problem with that.
I told him I wasn’t planning to stay anyway. Yet when I looked around I noticed I was the only Hispanic. Okay. I don’t wanna make it racial but when it’s obvious that you let Asians and Caucasians stick around it’s okay? And I’m not supposed to analyze it in that manner? (Please correct me if I’m wrong and you’re my race and it was a different experience for you) The coffee was sour and not as good as Oren’s coffee or even silver moon bakery but I needed to head to work so whatever. Never again.
The guy had such a hostile tone and being that it was my first time going. I didn’t feel welcomed… I didn’t appreciate that. I am not worried this business won’t last here. I have told people their coffee sucks based on my first try. First impression is everything. I’ve been living on the UWS for 26 years. trust me. I’m not worried but that is why I’m nice enough to leave you a Unilocal review. :-)

Best coffee in the neighborhood. Great place for a newspaper and espresso — peaceful. I also recommend the cold brew and their A-​Train blend.

Sadly no nitro cold brew on the weekends. (why not??) Regular cold brew is also nice and strong. They started carrying sandwiches.

Excellent little place.
Coffee is great, gluten free cookies are delicious and cheese puffs are perfect!
The huge draw back for me is no wifi available. I usually go to coffee shops to get work done and can’t do much of that without connection.
Regardless a must stop for good coffee if you are in the area.

I welcome our third wave coffee overlords to the upper west side. They have a wide selection of beans and their baristas know what’s up for an espresso.
They have a wide selection of pastries and a standard array of coffee. Give the nitro cold brew a try — it’s strong without tasting sour or over extracted.
Right now they’re running a special if you buy a bag of beans you get a shot for free — how can you say no to that?!

Who says only Brooklyn has good coffee? Plowshares brews an excellent cold brew. Forgetting that Cold Brew doesn’t exactly last all day well, I ordered some in the afternoon, and it was surprisingly still fresh and not bitter. Staff was friendly and quite quick and knew their way around an espresso machine.

I love their iced/​hot almond latte! Creamy, smooth, full bodied and that coffee to milk ratio is perfect to me.
Staffs are friendly and obviously skilled. Stores not big but definitely has its charm. Somehow I have always managed to find a seat. Seems like people usually line up and take it to go.
The store isn’t dog friendly (I think it’s also because it’s such a small space), they leave a water bowl for your dogs right outside of the store where there is a bench. So far everyone seemed to be dog friendly there!

Charming enough space, decent food, good coffee, etc. however, service was slow, and the layout is bad (5 people in line and you can’t escape and/​or get to the sugar for your coffee. It feels like one more overpriced place with medium to decent quality goods, catering to the hipster crowd. Not going back for now, but I’d consider seeing if it’s different in 6 months.

While not close enough to be my local coffee shop, plowshares offers some super tasty coffee and the staff couldn’t be any friendlier.
I’ve only had their iced coffee and nitro iced cold brew. It’s worth the extra $ 0.50. The refreshing taste on a hot day can’t be beat.

I really like this place. I’m not over here that often but I definitely like to stop into Plowshares when I can. I’ve been really satisfied with all coffees I’ve ordered (espresso, drips, and cold brews), plus they have good baked goods, including a rice krispy treat as big as my head (!!!). It’s also relatively spacious for an NYC coffee shop. Lastly, the staff has been really friendly.

Only been twice so far, but they have only been around for about six months or so. Their cortado is a solid choice and they usually ask if you’d prefer Costa Rican or Colombian beans. Unfortunately, when I walked in as the second or so customer they forgot to ask, so I received Colombian when I prefer Costa Rica over anything else anyday. Owners/​staff are friendly folks who truly seem to care about their business and patrons.
Perhaps when they offer the option of heating up baked goods, they finalize their staffing (on my last visir they had help wanted sign) and I get around to buying a bag of beans to grind this place will bump up to 5 stars. I will definitely be back.

I’ll tell you right now — if I lived any closer to this spot, I’d be flat-​out broke, super caffeinated, and incredibly happy.
Plowshares is a great addition to the NYC coffee family. I stopped in spontaneously for some coffee, and it made my morning. Their dark Costa Rican was smooth and deep without being bitter.
In fact, they had 3 drips to choose from.
Prices are expensive but comparable to others in this class; plus, given how awesome it was, the value is great.
Has a few tables to hang out a while as well as some pastries.