Sambuca’s Cafe

I had coffee and sweets here after my friend and I had our thanksgiving dinner. We wanted to go somewhere else but the preferred place was close that holiday. The place is small but it got crowded as soon as we took our seats. That night, the staff were not bringing out what many of the customers asked for. One of the supervisors (she was probably one of the owners, who knows for sure) then took charge so some semblance of order could be put in place. My friend and I didn’t wanna be bothered by such fuss. We just enjoyed ourselves and that brief moment in that tiny space.

Really really really expensive and weak coffee. I got a latte and it was super watery. It was also almost $ 7, and my friend got a drip coffee for 5 and it was watered down as well. You would think that an Italian restaurant would have good coffee, but this clearly did not make the cut. You’re better off just going to Starbucks. They also charged my friend for hot water $ 1.5, which was ridiculous. I guess they get a lot of foot traffic so they can afford to jack up the prices and deliver an inferior product.

Great place! Haven’t had an actual meal here but their desserts are fantastic! The gelato is great and their cannoli and pastries are always tasty and fresh!

Comfy little café in Little Italy serving stellar desserts and espressos. Had the raspberry sorbet and it was so fruity and delish. The guys in there are charming and cute. They brought out the dessert with a candle and sang because it was a girl in our group’s 14^th birthday. Would be a great place for a romantic dessert, or an espresso and a book.

Cash only. Overpriced. Average service.
Tiramisu was so-​so «ehhhh» and the slice was so small for $ 10. Only good things were convenience of location and friendly staff. Except for the fact that the waiter took away our plate and drinks without asking if we were finished, which I wasn’t… There are a lot of options on the menu but I don’t think I’ll be back to try any of it.

Terrible. I know never to come to tourist spots and expect good food but the only reason I came here was because I had family from out of town that wanted to try gelato and some Italian pastries. It was raining and this was one of the first spots we saw. Let me start off by saying the service was awful. Not only did the waiter mess up my order of gelato and ice coffee twice but he never apologized for it. He also failed to inform us they don’t accept credit cards until the very end when we got the check. The place also charges $ 5.00 for tap water! And they don’t tell you! As for the food, below average. The pizza and panini the rest of the party ordered were bad, flavorless, and looked like frozen pizza from the supermarket. I ordered a spiked iced coffee, the waiter got it wrong twice and then the coffee was watered down. This place is awful and not worth it.
Clearly this is a rip off tourist spot. Go somewhere else.

Avoid this place at all costs! Much better off spending money elsewhere. I was shocked by how awful the food was as it was most definitely not up to the standard of Little Italy.
Ordered the daily special Margherita Pizza… instead we got a cheese pizza with Kalamata Olives. The pizza was the worst I’ve ever had… couldn’t even cut through it with the sharp serrated knife. The pizza should have been pre-​sliced to say the least.
Also, ordered a specialty coffee with Irish Crème liquor. The coffee was so watered down and had no flavor… especially considering the liquor couldn’t even be tasted. Total rip off for an $ 8+ coffee.
Another big negative… when you get the $ 45 bill they all of a sudden tell you CASH ONLY! Unbelievable… just so the lazy ATM owner can cash in on fees to withdraw money.
The staff, although friendly were very disorganized… being offered menus or a table multiple times, even by the same person.
Never coming back here again… there are enough other good places on Mulberry. If anything, maybe the dessert would have been good?

Very disappointed! Ordered an iced Irish coffee. It was Luke warm. No Ice. No cream. And no whiskey! I asked the waitress if she put whiskey in it. She said yes… Didn’t taste a drop so asked for more whiskey. She came back to tell me there was none left. Not many desserts… My girlfriend asked for 3 desserts because they didn’t have any left of what she wanted.

A place to avoid. The owner has terrible manners, coffee is bad and expensive. A tourist trap.

Used to be great– don’t know what happened and how it went downhill so much. Bad dessert and atrocious coffee.

If you go here you are robbing yourself of great Italian. We went here for convenience as it was on the corner. They had a pizza special and my friend and I ordered it plus a drink. The drinks and pizza took forever to arrive which was surprising as there were not that many people in the restaurant. The pizza itself was terrible. Possibly the worst I’ve ever had in all of NY. It was worst that school cafeteria pizza and tasted as if made from the cheapest of ingredients. After all of that, we were told their credit card machine was broken even though they never mentioned it before we ordered. There is such great food in this city, don’t let this location be your take away experience.

I’ve tried almost everything at Sambuca’s and i only like their tiramisus really. And their drinks are just okay. Nothing spectacular. However, their tiramisu is almost impossible to find at any other places that has tiramisu. But its odd. My stepbrother did buy tiramisu from Jetro and it surprisingly tasted the same as Sambucas!!! Hmmm. Overall, this is the place for tiramisu. They serve it by slices with whipped cream if u like. If u want the whole cake u must preorder. Theres outdoor seatings (nice for warm weathers) and indoor seatings. The bathroom is down the stairs (ladies, watch ur steps esp w heels!!)

If you’re looking for desert you must try this place. if you have anything you MUST HAVE the hot chocolate. The staff is very pleasant. There are a few tables for desert dining.

Sambuca’s Café is a small little eatery right along the entrance to Little Italy. The weather was getting kinda crummy so my friend and I decided to venture here for refuge. Inside, it’s small yet welcoming with comfy pillows and cute tables to go around. The staff is friendly, they have free wifi and not to mention… a nice selection of delicious treats/​drinks to choose from!
I have to agree, their menu items are a bit pricey. Over $ 5 for a hot chocolate? That’s rough. But being in the Fall kinda mood, we got hot apple cider which came with a little cinnamon stick to add a little extra kick. It was delicious and satisfied out sweet tooth cravings. We must have stayed there for about 1 ½−2 hours just chatting away and it was nice not having to be rushed out. Our waitress was such a sweetheart. Next time, I’ll make sure to try out the desserts.

Decent but would not call the best tiramisu in little Italy. Props because it is as promised decadent and they actually soak lady fingers in alcohol. Very strong flavor that goes well with the mascarpone.
Excellent slice of Tiramisu but other than that the rest of the food is subpar and the service is below average. Small place and kind of stuffy. Question how clean and how fresh everything else is.

Nice wide space and usually one waitress to take everyone’s order. The pecan, lemon and coconut custard pies were absolutely great. Coffee can be a little stronger though espresso was perfectly caffeinated.
Whatever you do, do not order the muffin as you’re taking your chances. Mine was cold, stale and chewy.
Overall service for the two times I went was fast and courteous.

What a horrid little café!
Went with a friend and we each got a frozen drink — strawberry daquiri and piña colada. For $ 12 I would expect to at least get a tiny buzz but there was no identifiable alcohol. Strawberry taste was ok but the pina coloda barely even resembled anything.
Ordered Italian Cheesecake and Zabaglione. Cheesecake was disgusting and inedible. Dry, crumbly, chunky, and more like wet chalk than any kind of cheesecake I’ve ever had. Zabaglione was an overly sweet pudding.
Complained on all of the above items but got a «sorry» and blank face in return. At least they removed the cheesecake from the bill. Left a very small tip because of extreme dissatisfaction and the waitress actually ran down the block to say «You forgot your change» and then *throw* it at me.

Jesus Christ, this place is terrible in every aspect possible. I came here after eating dinner with my boyfriend and a friend. We had an hour to kill so we decided on some coffee and drinks.
My friend ordered a coffee and my boyfriend, an order of baileys. I ordered a sorbet but they didn’t have the flavor I wanted so I cancelled the order altogether. The coffee arrived merely seconds after placing the order. The unusual speed wasn’t the issue but rather the temperature of the coffee. It was completely lukewarm. The server also delivered my boyfriend’s $ 12 baileys in a shot glass… what?! We had to wait around for our served to come by to make the much needed changes. For starters, my friend wanted HOT coffee, not some sitting-​around-​the-​counter-​all-​day-​long coffee, and my boyfriend wanted a cup with ice. All of this should have been common knowledge. However, due to the server’s evident inability to communicate and understand english, this common knowledge was not so common sensical. She couldn’t even understand that we wanted her to wipe down the nasty table for us.
This café and the staff employed by it are the definition of failure. i could rant on and on about how terrible this place truly is but I think i’ve gotten my message across.

Sambuca’s a nice spot in Little Italy off of Chinatown for a late night chat and catching up. They have quite comfortable seats and the lighting is more on the intimate side. This café gives you a laid back feeling and at some points, I didn’t even realize I spent 3 hours there.
I’m sure their desserts are pretty good. I only had the Torta di Nonna, felt a bit too dough-​y and powder-​y to me.
The restroom was a bit of an adventure. It’s in the back and down the stairs. If you’re more than 5 feet 5, you would need to be careful not to hit your head on the ceiling when walking down those stairs. It’s hard to see also since it’s quite dim and dark in the café.

After touring around the NYC, my friends and I came here for a quick break and I ordered one of their «famous» tiramisu:
Sambuca’s Famous Homemade Tiramisu (savaiardi cookies soaked with espresso and ameretto layered with sweetened mascarpone cheese with shaved chocolate) $ 7.25 — As other Unilocalers mentioned, tiramisu was soggy and a bit too sweet. Since I have never been to Italy before, I would not know how an authentic Tiramisu might taste like. Just in terms of overall taste, it was okay … with a bit of disappointment.
Other than the free Wi-​Fi, I am pretty sure there are better dessert options in NYC.