Have you ever heard your own stomach grumble so loudly in a quiet exhibition gallery that visitors turned to stare? … Me neither. When hunger pangs strike during a moment of artful contemplation, many of us turn to the closest available food source: museum coffee shops. But even as admission fees for many of New York City’s most popular cultural institutions reach all-time highs, a post-show snack or beverage can easily add another couple dozen bucks to the cost of your visit. We looked at the menus of 10 cafés in museums across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens to bring you the lowdown on the most (and least) affordable options for coffee, sandwiches, and other snacks.
The Morgan Cafe at the Morgan Library and Museum
Legend has it that Polish composer Frédéric Chopin’s favorite food was zrazy, a type of stuffed beef. The $25 Morgan Smashburger, then, might be the item on the menu that most strikes the musician’s fancy — and unlike him, you can enjoy a dining experience without fear of cholera. Saratoga mineral water (purified) costs $5, a pastry can be procured for $8, and tea will set you back $4.50. The cafe also serves a no-frills selection of iced or hot coffee ($4.50), espresso ($4.75), and cappuccino and latte ($5.50). It’s generously lit, spacious, and open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11am to 4pm and Fridays from 11am to 7:30pm.
The Brooklyn Museum Café
After a sorely needed overhaul and remodel, the Brooklyn Museum Café opened this fall with a new menu crafted by the local restauranteur André Hueston Mack, and luckily, the price for a standard coffee sits at $4. In a space designed by the New York studio Office of Tangible Space, with tables and chairs formatted to mimic “islands and streams,” cranberry and orange and pumpkin spice muffins are reasonably priced (at least compared to other items on this list) at $5. Sandwiches are all $18 or under. The cafe is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 11am–5:30pm.
Espresso Bar at the Museum of Modern Art
Located across from one of MoMA’s gift shops, the aptly named espresso bar on the second floor of MoMA is bare-bones for a coffee shop tasked with awakening visitors before they go stare at Salvador Dalí’s dreamy “The Persistence of Memory” (1931). A San Pellegrino seltzer water will cost you $4, so you may as well get a latte for $1 more. For something sweet, the cheapest item on the menu is a $4 cookie. Next best is the $5 croissant. Savory pastries can be purchased for $6. If you’re really hungry, Cafe 2 is not far away, where sandwiches are as much as $24. Choose wisely. The most concerning item on this menu is a $12 canned cocktail. And even after getting your food, you may have to fight for a seat on one of the black half-couches. The cafe is open every day, 11am–5pm, except Friday from 11am–7pm.
Café Rebay at the Guggenheim Museum
Café Rebay on the third floor is a welcome interruption to Frank Lloyd Wright’s winding ramps. While Hyperallergic’s News Editor Valentina Di Liscia described the cafe as “one of the saddest places” at which she’s ever dined two years ago, I found it to be a half-decent experience these days. That said, prices are shocking. A latte set me back $7.75. They do have a prix fixe menu ($28.60 for a sandwich, beer or wine, and a humble soup), but the environment is much better suited for a solo coffee. After all, $4.65 gets you a black coffee, while a bottle of water will set you back $5.30. Other options for caffeine include a single espresso shot for a whopping $5.70, hot tea for $5.15, and $5.45 for iced. From the bakery, pastries range from $6.80–$7.95. Café Rebay is open Monday through Friday 11am–4pm, and Saturday through Sunday 11am – 5pm.
The American Wing Cafe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
To be brought back to your school cafeteria days, grab a tray and hop in line at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing Cafe. If you’re searching, for some reason, for the most expensive item on the menu, pluck up a ready-to-go $21.50 sushi combo. If you want something simpler, try the $10 peanut butter jelly sandwich. Salads cost an average of about $16. In terms of hydration, you can acquire a boxed carton of water for $5, or a reusable Met water bottle for $7. Don’t expect much by way of barista talent, because coffee is poured out of premade vats. (Black coffee is $4.50 and tea $4.25.) Though putting food on a tray and walking to a plastic chair is among the saddest of museum cafe experiences, the most stunning views of the list can be found here. The American Wing Cafe is open 11am–4pm on Sundays through Tuesdays and 11am–8pm Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Cafe & Bookstore at Amant Foundation
In Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, Amant’s 21,000-square-foot campus houses an its own bookshop café. Among its collection of recently translated works and literature published by independent presses inspired by the content of the museum’s exhibitions, you can find a small offering of snacks and an extensive beverage menu. A shot of espresso is $3.60, and a latte rings in at $5.50. Batch brew is as cheap as $3. In terms of eats — served only on afternoons Thursday through Sunday — there are three sandwich options, starting at $12, and two $16 salads. Open Mondays–Wednesdays 9am–2pm and Thursdays–Sundays 9am–6pm, it’s a peaceful spot to get some work done.
Unisphere Cafe at the Queens Museum
The institution’s Unisphere Cafe by the August Tree takes the cake for the lowest overall prices. Bottles of Hal’s seltzer waters go for $1.85 and several flavors of Boylan Cane Cola for $3. All hot drinks are $5, including cappuccinos, Vietnamese coffee, and Oaxacan hot chocolate. During the museum’s A Billion Dollar Dream exhibition celebrating the anniversary of the 1964 World Fair, the shop is selling $11.50 “World’s Fair Waffles.” A slice of quiche will set you back $6, and Japanese fried rice $12. These sundry snacks and dishes can be purchased during the shop’s opening hours 12pm-5pm Wednesdays through Fridays and 11am-5pm Saturdays and Sundays.
Mon Amour Cafe at the Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image’s Mon Amour Cafe in Astoria has a $2.75 cup of joe, a $3.25 cup of tea, and public wifi. A medium latte goes for $5 in the old Paramount Studios building. Cookies are $2.25 and flatbreads, pizzettes, paninis, and salads all clock in at below $15. Smoothies are all $6.50 and under, and bottled water comes in at $2.00. The cafe is only open Fridays through Sundays during the museum’s open hours.
International Center of Photography Café
Visitors of the International Center of Photography on Ludlow Street can secure a $3 espresso or americano or $2.50 cup of regular coffee on the way to the galleries or classes. San Pellegrino rings in at $3 and beer and wine are offered on the cafe’s no-frills menu at $6 alongside $2.50-and-under pastries. The spot is open from 9:30am–5pm every day except for Thursday, when it’s open until 7:30.
Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Frenchette Bakery opened last fall on the museum’s ground floor as a grab-and-go dining spot open to the public. A whole baguette can be yours for $6.50, or a comté kimchi savory pastry for a whopping $9. A simple jamon-beurre sandwich rings in at $15. Black coffee starts at $4.25, and $6.00 gets you a latte or cappuccino. Tea is the most expensive beverage you can select at $7.00 — and don’t forget, you have to drink it before entering the galleries. The bakery hours are Mondays 9am–6pm, Tuesdays 9am–3pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9am–6pm, Fridays 9am–6pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 9am–6pm.
