The place is nice, the food is good but the service is bad, they treat you horrible as if they were doing you a favor by serving you.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Giang Nguyen
It was quite busy at 10:30am Sunday, but fortunately I was able to get a table in just a few minutes. Based on photo timestamps the food came out about 15 minutes after I sat down, which was reasonable for a really busy time.By the time I finished there were some 7-8 guests waiting in the small indoor area for a table. So instead of waiting for servers -- there were two -- to come to me with the check -- I suspected it would probably have been a 5-10 minute wait -- I went directly to them to pay so they could sit people.Long winded way of saying, it can get VERY busy ?On to the food:I didn't quite enjoy the smashed avocado tartine. It lacked flavor. The presentation was pretty, and they gave extra salt and chilli flakes and lime on the board. I had to use quite a bit of salt, and also the lime, but it didn't help too much. Too bad they couldn't help the dish. 3 ⭐ for food overall. (The matcha latte was decent, and a huge portion, but not enough to compensate for the underwhelming avocado tartine.)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Sally
The food and coffee both looked delicious but tasted disappointing. The coffee had almost no coffee flavor and the bread wasn't crispy.
Gligi
The food was very good. Can recommend the Pain au chocolat and the breakfast sandwich. The toilets were clean.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Céline BODART
I’ve been to nearly every maman on Manhattan.People really really love this place and it shows in the brands radiant expansion since the opening of the first café right here in SoHo in 2014.There are so many of them it’s astonishing how quickly the brand has expanded. I think it’s in part owing to America’s (and perhaps New York in particular’s) well-documented and longstanding fascination for France, French culture and French cuisine. I grew up in Paris so this doesn’t hold any sway over me and, if anything, as with most places that claim to be French in NYC, all it really does is highlight the crying differences. I think the thing that irks me the most is when something ultra basic in France (eg baguette, brioche, croissant) is hailed as ultra sophisticated here and sold off at truly ludicrous prices (eg $8 / brioche —> seriously tell that to any French person and believe me they will easily do without eating brioche). So there’s a little bit of that essence here at maman that I don’t care for but I think other people really enjoy it so that’s great.The pastries are very rich and lush and delicious albeit overpriced. The matcha latte is of particular note for how well made it is. It’s tricky to get matcha lattes right. Every specialty coffee roaster in nyc seems to order a different powder and they vary in the purity / intensity of the matcha and how much sweetener they add. This one is intense with matcha and just the right amount of sweetener. And then there are the individual differences in how each barista makes it. I’ve found the matcha lattes at maman to be consistently excellent. Maman also serves *many* other really interesting and innovative and delicious beverages. Yeah you know what, I think what I like most about maman is the beverages. They do beverages really well.In addition to all of the above, this particular maman @ W 81st is particularly notable for how family-friendly and literally mother-and-baby-friendly it is. Much more even than the one on W 66th or the UES one on E 81st or any of the downtown ones. This one really has a unique community and family feel, it’s very interesting. All of the other ones feel decidedly more ‘downtown-y’.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Nicole Fox
Please do not eat here if you are gluten free! Despite offering gluten free bread and pastries they cook everything on the same surface. When this happened to my friend they were neither apologetic nor offered to fix the situation, and we ended up forking over another $20 for something she could eat. It felt very inconsiderate and calous for a place promising a homey and welcoming environmentDietary restrictions: Do not eat here if you are gluten free! They truly do not care or take care!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Melanie Royston
Very disappointed with my experience, which is a shame because I’ve enjoyed other maman locations. We were seated out of sight out of mind, and had to continuously flag down staff to get their attention for any service during our entire experience. When we finally did order (a good 15 minutes after we sat down), 30 minutes passed without our food or coffees. A different waitress finally came by and asked if we had ordered… shouldn’t she have known that? Turns out our order was never submitted, so we had to order again and it was a full hour before we got all of our food. The staff never apologized, only said there was a ticketing problem and our food would “be right out.” When our food finally came, she mumbled, “This is on the house for the wait.” We never had our waters refilled, had to flag down very bored and unengaged staff for everything, and were never once asked if we needed anything. Don’t waste your time at this location.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Stacie Stine
Today was not a good day at Maman and the service at this location just feels like it gets worse every time I go in. Went in at 12:45, they took our order (just my friend and I), never put it in and had to retake our order about forty minutes later. Then it took forever to get our food and my friend waited for her sandwich for so long. Waiters never came to check on us and we continually had to approach them to ask questions and the bill. People were waiting for tables that were open for SO long. We probably would have gotten our food faster if we hadn’t dined in.
Валерий Рогозин
Delicious pastries, matcha latte and toast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Sarah
Such a cute spot! The food was mixed but the rude service made the overall experience a bit unpleasant.
Has a nice ambiance but service needs some upgrades . Out of whole milk , no napkins anywhere we had to ask , messed up order too . All that being said I’d still go again because other Mamans are typically great . Might have just been a bad day -we’ve all had’
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Nia D
Pros:1. Warm and accommodating staff.2. Aesthetic presentation of food and drinks, perfect for photos.3. Enjoyable one-hour visit without feeling rushed.4. Tasty tartine au saumon and a decent honey lavender latte.Cons:1. Limited space, especially with large groups causing crowding.2. Confusing layout and unattended designated standing areas.3. Mixed service: Drinks were called out, but food was brought to the table.4. Tartaro salmon had a strong fishy smell.Overall, a pleasant experience with some quirks. Consideration for large groups and minor service adjustments could enhance the overall dining experience.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Lucas Bernard
What an awesome place! From distinctly unique pastries to the sophisticated international clientele, this place rocks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bakery
Carmen Ferreiro Cabezas
Good place for breakfast. They don't allow laptops. Very nice traditional
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erica F.
Even though I love their coffees I have to point out the person at the counter. She is always at the register and never say hi or good morning, she is not pleasant.I order a coffee and I wanted to order a pastry but she told me the price of the coffee without asking if we want something else. She has the worst attitude to be a person in front of the house.Also my coffee today was not made as Maman standard. Having a barista strives for good coffee and this is just unacceptable.
The place is nice, the food is good but the service is bad, they treat you horrible as if they were doing you a favor by serving you.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
It was quite busy at 10:30am Sunday, but fortunately I was able to get a table in just a few minutes. Based on photo timestamps the food came out about 15 minutes after I sat down, which was reasonable for a really busy time.By the time I finished there were some 7-8 guests waiting in the small indoor area for a table. So instead of waiting for servers -- there were two -- to come to me with the check -- I suspected it would probably have been a 5-10 minute wait -- I went directly to them to pay so they could sit people.Long winded way of saying, it can get VERY busy ?On to the food:I didn't quite enjoy the smashed avocado tartine. It lacked flavor. The presentation was pretty, and they gave extra salt and chilli flakes and lime on the board. I had to use quite a bit of salt, and also the lime, but it didn't help too much. Too bad they couldn't help the dish. 3 ⭐ for food overall. (The matcha latte was decent, and a huge portion, but not enough to compensate for the underwhelming avocado tartine.)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
The food and coffee both looked delicious but tasted disappointing. The coffee had almost no coffee flavor and the bread wasn't crispy.
The food was very good. Can recommend the Pain au chocolat and the breakfast sandwich. The toilets were clean.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’ve been to nearly every maman on Manhattan.People really really love this place and it shows in the brands radiant expansion since the opening of the first café right here in SoHo in 2014.There are so many of them it’s astonishing how quickly the brand has expanded. I think it’s in part owing to America’s (and perhaps New York in particular’s) well-documented and longstanding fascination for France, French culture and French cuisine. I grew up in Paris so this doesn’t hold any sway over me and, if anything, as with most places that claim to be French in NYC, all it really does is highlight the crying differences. I think the thing that irks me the most is when something ultra basic in France (eg baguette, brioche, croissant) is hailed as ultra sophisticated here and sold off at truly ludicrous prices (eg $8 / brioche —> seriously tell that to any French person and believe me they will easily do without eating brioche). So there’s a little bit of that essence here at maman that I don’t care for but I think other people really enjoy it so that’s great.The pastries are very rich and lush and delicious albeit overpriced. The matcha latte is of particular note for how well made it is. It’s tricky to get matcha lattes right. Every specialty coffee roaster in nyc seems to order a different powder and they vary in the purity / intensity of the matcha and how much sweetener they add. This one is intense with matcha and just the right amount of sweetener. And then there are the individual differences in how each barista makes it. I’ve found the matcha lattes at maman to be consistently excellent. Maman also serves *many* other really interesting and innovative and delicious beverages. Yeah you know what, I think what I like most about maman is the beverages. They do beverages really well.In addition to all of the above, this particular maman @ W 81st is particularly notable for how family-friendly and literally mother-and-baby-friendly it is. Much more even than the one on W 66th or the UES one on E 81st or any of the downtown ones. This one really has a unique community and family feel, it’s very interesting. All of the other ones feel decidedly more ‘downtown-y’.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Please do not eat here if you are gluten free! Despite offering gluten free bread and pastries they cook everything on the same surface. When this happened to my friend they were neither apologetic nor offered to fix the situation, and we ended up forking over another $20 for something she could eat. It felt very inconsiderate and calous for a place promising a homey and welcoming environmentDietary restrictions: Do not eat here if you are gluten free! They truly do not care or take care!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Very disappointed with my experience, which is a shame because I’ve enjoyed other maman locations. We were seated out of sight out of mind, and had to continuously flag down staff to get their attention for any service during our entire experience. When we finally did order (a good 15 minutes after we sat down), 30 minutes passed without our food or coffees. A different waitress finally came by and asked if we had ordered… shouldn’t she have known that? Turns out our order was never submitted, so we had to order again and it was a full hour before we got all of our food. The staff never apologized, only said there was a ticketing problem and our food would “be right out.” When our food finally came, she mumbled, “This is on the house for the wait.” We never had our waters refilled, had to flag down very bored and unengaged staff for everything, and were never once asked if we needed anything. Don’t waste your time at this location.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Today was not a good day at Maman and the service at this location just feels like it gets worse every time I go in. Went in at 12:45, they took our order (just my friend and I), never put it in and had to retake our order about forty minutes later. Then it took forever to get our food and my friend waited for her sandwich for so long. Waiters never came to check on us and we continually had to approach them to ask questions and the bill. People were waiting for tables that were open for SO long. We probably would have gotten our food faster if we hadn’t dined in.
Delicious pastries, matcha latte and toast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Such a cute spot! The food was mixed but the rude service made the overall experience a bit unpleasant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Has a nice ambiance but service needs some upgrades . Out of whole milk , no napkins anywhere we had to ask , messed up order too . All that being said I’d still go again because other Mamans are typically great . Might have just been a bad day -we’ve all had’
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Pros:1. Warm and accommodating staff.2. Aesthetic presentation of food and drinks, perfect for photos.3. Enjoyable one-hour visit without feeling rushed.4. Tasty tartine au saumon and a decent honey lavender latte.Cons:1. Limited space, especially with large groups causing crowding.2. Confusing layout and unattended designated standing areas.3. Mixed service: Drinks were called out, but food was brought to the table.4. Tartaro salmon had a strong fishy smell.Overall, a pleasant experience with some quirks. Consideration for large groups and minor service adjustments could enhance the overall dining experience.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
What an awesome place! From distinctly unique pastries to the sophisticated international clientele, this place rocks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bakery
Good place for breakfast. They don't allow laptops. Very nice traditional
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Even though I love their coffees I have to point out the person at the counter. She is always at the register and never say hi or good morning, she is not pleasant.I order a coffee and I wanted to order a pastry but she told me the price of the coffee without asking if we want something else. She has the worst attitude to be a person in front of the house.Also my coffee today was not made as Maman standard. Having a barista strives for good coffee and this is just unacceptable.