Romeo & Juliet Columbian Coffee Shop

Romeo & Juliet.  Household names, yes.  But probably not what you think of when you think of a Columbian coffee shop or cafe?  At least, I don't.  Yet that memorable name belongs to just such a place, located on 11th Ave & 42nd St, not an area I suspect many people venture unless they live there.  I honestly would have never heard of this place either, if it wasn't for seeing that they offer online ordering through Clover, which in term offers payment via Paze, a relatively new payment system that was offering $10 credits back this summer with certain credit cards/banks.  Ah yes, of course I sought out a new place for the freebies!  Part of why I did though was exactly for this reason: to find places I'd never normally just randomly stumble into.  And trust me, this is one you want to stumble into.

Romeo & Juliet is actually a small coffee factory that sources only single origin beans from Columbia. This is a coffee shop outpost that also sells their beans.

Patio.

The location is a bit out of the way, but this affords them space for a relatively large outdoor dining area, with vibrant yellow umbrellas.

Inside Seating.

The vibrancy is even more pronounced inside, with murals on the wall, lively music playing, and just genuine happy vibes all around.

Display Case.

The display case showcases various empanadas, cakes, pies, and other desserts.  I was drawn to the carrot cake as it looked moist and with a great ratio of thick frosting, but for my first visit, I was on a mission to try one of the pastries.  I returned for the cake soon after.

Amazing Looking Pastries.

Speaking of drawing you in, the pastries.  One glance and you can tell these are not generic coffee shop pastries.  They look fresher, they look so crispy, but also, they look unique.  There were no signs labelling anything, so I was glad I had read the menu on their online ordering page, as I'd have no idea what anything was (and even then I wasn't quite sure what was what for about half the items). 

My first visit, I almost went astray and got the giant chocolate twist in front, or the exceptionally flaky looking ham and cheese croissant, but I was there on a mission to try one of the guava pastries, and stayed the course, even though I actually had no idea which item in the was the guava one I had seen on the menu.  Given how amazing it turned out to be, I did indeed return for the others a few weeks later.

They also have an extensive prepared food menu, with breakfast selections ranging from eggs, burritos, and breakfast sandwiches to healthy acai bowls, oatmeal, or parfaits, or more fun waffles or french toast (and of course all the aforementioned pastries).  They also have lunch sandwiches, soups, salads, and of course all the empanadas.  And the full coffee shop inspired menu, and alcoholic drinks too.  It really is a place you could visit any time of day.

Drinks

Decaf Americano. $4.50.

I actually ordered a decaf drip coffee, but the staff member said they didn't have decaf drip, and offered to make me an Americano instead for the same price.  I said that was fine.

While I love that Romeo & Juliet seems to care about their coffee program, offering single origin beans, and a variety of prep methods (you can opt for pour over, Chemex, French press, V60, etc), this sadly was not a very good Americano.  It was weak and watery, and the aftertaste was quite sour.  I would not get coffee here again in the future, at least, not decaf.  1.5/5.

[ Update Review ]

I returned a few weeks later, and ordered online for a pour over decaf.  I got there only to be told that they don't do decaf as pour over, even though it was an option on their online ordering page.  They said they can only do decaf as an Americano.  I gave it another try, hoping last time was just a poor preparation.

It was again horrible.  So sour.  Just really, really not good.  This time they charged me for the pour over and gave me the Americano, which is considerably cheaper, so that was lame. 1/5.

Pastries

The pastry case is definitely what draws me back to Romeo & Juliet over and over.  The filled croissants, the danishes, the cheesy items ... I want them all.

Guava & Cheese Stick. $5.40.

People rave about this item in particular when you read reviews - "the guava pastry" comes up over and over.  I'm fairly familiar with the concept of guava and cheese together, as found in various Latin American cuisine, but it isn't that common in my day to day life, so I was excited to try it.  Plus, I just love great laminated pastries in general, and these looked above average for a cafe.

I had one initial thought when the bakery bag containing my goodie was handed over: hefty.  Wow, this was one very heavy pastry!  It also just looked incredible, perfectly golden brown.  I took a bite off the end, and was blown away. The pastry shattered brilliantly, it was so so crispy and flaky, and had strong butter flavor.  The pastry element alone made this a stunner.

Guava & Cheese Stick: Inside.

And then of course the insides.  Filled with both guava jam and cheese.  Sweet and fruity, savory and salty.  Such harmony.  When I warmed it up, the cheese got a lovely cheese pull. Add in the already impressive pastry and there is nothing not to like here.  It seemed like the kind of pastry I could eat weekly and not grow sick of, as the flavors and textures were complex and complimentary in a way that didn't seem like it would get boring.

There is nothing I would change about this.  I have no suggestions, nothing.  It is perfect as it is.  Very high 4.5/5.

Ham & Cheese Croissant. $5.25.

After loving the guava cheese stick so much my first visit to Romeo & Juliet, it was time to try its cousin, the ham and cheese croissant.  It looked quite similar, and was just as hefty. 

It had the same incredible pastry as the guava and cheese one, and I think the same cheese.  These elements were just as glorious as in the guava & cheese one. So crispy, buttery in the good ways, insane cheese pull one it was heated up.  I adored it.

As for the ham ... I actually thought they had mistakenly given me a cheese stick given how long it took me to find any ham.  The entire first 1/3 had no ham, only cheese (which, was totally delicious and I was thrilled eating it, but I was actually wanting the ham ...).  I finally found a little in the middle, slice style, but it was only that single layer.  It really was easy to miss entirely and didn't add much to the overall taste.

As a cheese stick / croissant this was incredible, 4/5 or higher, but as an item with ham in the name, it let me down on that front (and it wasn't really a croissant, but I didn't mind that at all).  For a ham & cheese item, 3.5/5, but again, it was glorious in all ways other than the low amount of ham.

Chocolate Almond Croissant. $4.50.

Since the previous laminated pastries were so good, it was time to try a sweet version, more American style.  I ordered the pistachio chocolate danish, but alas, they were out of that.  I really wanted a chocolate pastry, so my options were either a chocolate twist, or this, the chocolate almond croissant.  Since I had been eying their regular almond croissant before, this seemed like an easy choice.

Since I was having it right then, they offered to warm it up.

I ... did not like this very much.  Perhaps I was feeling let down that they didn't have the item I had ordered, perhaps I was expecting it to be as magic as that guava cheese stick or ham and cheese croissant, but this was a pretty generic croissant.  Yes, better than a hotel breakfast buffet, or Starbucks pastry, but about on par with any reasonable coffee shop croissant, and not anything memorable.  In a city with great croissants, this doesn't stand up at all compared to local bakery options, and it really didn't compare even to their own savory options.

The pastry wasn't particularly flaky.  It was greasy, but not buttery in the right ways.  It was covered in almond frangipane and slivered almonds, for a bit of crunch, but both were pretty basic.  The filling had a reasonable amount of frangipane, but it didn't have all that much flavor.  There was also some chocolate, again, not high quality, and not memorable.

Overall, this had all the components it should, but it was very forgettable and average.  2.5/5.

So greasy.

This is the bag for that croissant, after the croissant was in it for < 2 minutes.  Both sides of the bag were saturated in grease.  My fingers were saturated in grease.  It was just a really, really greasy croissant, which I wouldn't mind if it was actually good!

Honey Cheese Danish. $4.50.

I decided to try another sweet pastry, and when they were out of the guava chicharron I really wanted, I opted for the honey cheese danish as a consolation prize.  I really hoped this would go more the way of the cheese stick / ham & cheese "croissant" than the chocolate almond croissant, but ... alas.  

This was really not very good.  The pastry was extremely hard and dried out.  It flaked off in layers due to the dryness, not due to excellent lamination. It really did not seem possible that it had been baked in the past ... 3? days. So dry and hard.

The filling also was a letdown. The two ends had a tiny bit of the cream cheese filling, but inside was entirely void of filling. I never tasted the honey that the server mentioned multiple times,"cheese and honey danish" she kept saying.

So, hard and stale, no real filling.  It seems unfathomable that this came from the same place as the glorious cheese sticks. They clearly must use a different proveryer for the American style pastries, and they clearly must not actually get fresh product / bake it off fresh daily.  Such sadness. 1.5/5.

Chocolate Chip Muffin. $3.85.

I ordered a chocolate chip muffin.  I got ... blueberry.  Without even a mention that they didn't have what I ordered when I picked it up.  I only realized later when I was home and opened the bag.  Sigh.

It also just was not a good blueberry muffin.  It did have big berries inside, but the base flavor was extremely plain.  The top was crispy which I like, except that it also tasted stale, and seemed like it was hard because it was older, not because of the cooking style.  I gave up after a few bites as this was just not enjoyable. 1.5/5, the big berries were the only redeeming point.

Latin Alternatives

The "Latin Alternatives" section lists out several types of Columbian small savory bites, including empanadas, arepas, and a few styles of cheesy bread.

Pan De Queso. $3.60.

This was my first time having pan de queso, but I saw reviews online that talked about it being mochi-like inside, and I was definitely interested.  It is made with tapioca flour, which explains the texture.

I really enjoyed this, although it was entirely new to me, and not quite what I had expected.  The exterior actually reminded me a bit of melon pan or bolo bao, in that it had a sorta sweet crust.  I thought this was going to be entirely savory.  Inside was indeed sorta stretchy in a mochi-like way, and it was savory from the cheese.

This was really unique to me, and I enjoyed the flavors and textures quite a bit.  Even better warmed up, and I think it would go great with some guava jam.  I'd gladly get another. 4/5, higher end.

Beef Empanada. $5.25.

I am definitely not normally one to go for empanadas, but they get great reviews here, and I really wanted to give them a try, particularly when I saw they offered two styles, the corn type that I'm definitely less into, and this more pastry-like kind.  These came with several tempting fillings (spinach, ham & cheese, beef), all of which I actually wanted, so picking one was hard but in the end I settled on beef (as I also picked up the ham & cheese croissant here on the same visit, and had a spinach & cheese turnover from another cafe a few days prior).

It was an attractive item, seemingly homemade.  The pastry was soft and seemed quite fresh.  It was filled very generously with spiced ground beef.  For an empanada, it was quite good, although these spiced and the format aren't really things I gravitate towards.  High 3/5.

Then there was the green sauce.  Swoon, the green sauce. It was creamy.  It was zesty.  It was bright and flavorful.  It was everything, in a small little sauce container that delivered so much more flavor that seems possible given that portion. It went well with the empanada of course, but honestly, I wanted to drizzle it all over roast or steamed vegetables. It was just so uplifting.  I loved it. 4/5, sauce.

Cakes & Pies

The dessert case is loaded with things I like too: mini apple pies, carrot cake, tres leches cake, cheesecake.  I'm not sure if these are all made in house, but the mini apple pies sure look like they are.

Carrot Cake. $6.50.
w/ Whipped Cream (+$0.95).

The carrot cake was good, but not exceptional, and not something I'd go out of my way for again.

The cake aspect was great - it was nicely moist, I loved that it had tons of bits of chopped nuts in it for texture and flavor.  Pleasantly spiced, no aggressive warming spices, but enough to keep it interesting.  It didn't actually taste all that carrot-y, which was fine, but something to be aware of.

The ratio of cake to frosting was prefect for my tastes too, with a thick layer inside the two layers of cake, and plenty on top and down the entire backside.

So why am I not raving about this cake?  The frosting.  The frosting was really a let down.  It was overly sweet, and just a bit cloying, and more in the generic sweet frosting department than heavy cream cheese/cheesecake style.  

The cake itself was a 3.5 or maybe higher, but the frosting ... 2.5, if that, which knocks the whole thing down to an average 3/5.  I finished it but wouldn't go back for it.