Nice relaxed vibe, good service, overall a good place to meet friends and pass some time with delicious coffee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Islander
Purple Waves pretends to be a community-building, sustainability-driven café — but in reality, it has awful coffee, terrible service, and misplaced priorities. They don’t invest in loyal customers or create a welcoming experience for newcomers.
Wherever I’ve lived in NYC at different stages of my life, I’ve always thought of the local coffee shop as a place that brings people together and builds community. This one completely misses that mark.
I gave Blue Waves three chances. At first, it seemed promising. I’d stop in, order coffee in a reusable cup, and return the cup later. That worked fine — until it didn’t.
1. I came here for tea and a cinnamon swirl at least five times, and twice they couldn’t even prepare the tea I asked for. I stopped going.
2. A few months later, I gave it another try when a friend from LA visited and we went for lunch. My friend specifically asked for drinks to be served with the food. They forgot. The sandwich took forever, my coffee arrived cold, and when my friend asked for it to be reheated or replaced, the staff flatly refused. Only after I reminded them of our request did they begrudgingly reheat the coffee and slam it down on the table with attitude. I stopped going again.
3. Today was my final attempt. They had no reusable cups available — not my fault. I asked if I could borrow an indoor cup (for a fee) and return it an hour later on my way to the subway. The staff dismissed me, saying indoor cups were only for dine-in and that “everyone says they live next door.” I simply said, “Thank you, have a good day,” and left.
This time, I won’t be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
이창헌
This place is great for both foods and services. I visited here with my friends and requested something that is not allowered in usual cases. But the employee was considerate of us and readily agreed. Thank you for her sense of ownership and service spirit. I hope you visit this place to enjoy coffee and desserts and get good energy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
AVM
Great gift to the neighborhood. Food is not just tasty but good for you. Ingredients were outstanding. I enjoyed delicious crunchy toast with hummus, whole chick peas and shredded multi colored carrots with pickled veggies. All of the menu looked good. Espresso drink with oatmilk was perfect. Come with your own cup for take out coffee because there really isn’t good recycling for all those #5 tops. New addition of packaged foods from local farms is a bounty for this area and well worth a visit. Cafe inside and out was very pleasant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adam Spencer
Kind and welcoming staff. Clean and comfortable environment. Delicious coffee and Bliss Balls
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hadar Shalmoni
I really liked the egg salad toast. Good product and good coffee
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julie Pell
Great cafe in every way. Beautiful place to sit looking out towards Central Park, great ethical foods to buy and great selection of drinks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lidia De La Cruz
Visited this spot on a Saturday with my dad, they have a limited menu as they don’t have a full kitchen. They prep food in the counter. The food was okay. Nothing extraordinary and pricey. The views however if you are into people watching or working on our laptop then this is a vibe for you.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Michelle Kudyba
Finally a cafe that cares about the planet! Bring your own cup and enjoy delicious coffee as well as food from local farmers! Love the vibe here too, friendly and relaxed! My favorite place in the neighborhood!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Emma Mateo
A very airy, pleasant space with excellent drinks. The decor is nice and food is high quality, lots of local produce. Let down a bit on a couple of points. I came on a Saturday lunchtime, it wasn’t that busy, and there were at least 6 uncleared tables between inside and outside, including those with leftover food. Having dirty tables brings down the atmosphere. There didn’t seem to be any urgency from the staff to clear, even when there was no line.
Also I appreciate the eco-conscious nature of the no disposable cups policy. But I feel bad for the people who come and wait in line only to be told there are no takeout cups, and leave. (This happened twice in the hour I was there.) Having better signage about this could avoid people waiting needlessly.
Really very good food quality. Nice staff and great place to sit outside.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carissa Rosalie Shillingford
Excellent vegan panini! Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Great surroundings and lots of seating outdoors and indoors.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tanya
The vibe is weird and off-putting, and the coffee is terrible, which is strange considering this is a cafe. It's easy to tell whoever owns this place has no idea what they are doing. Just another cafe that thinks they can take advantage of consumers but will inevitably shut down. Hope the next one is better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Shai T
My favorite cafe in the city. I come here weekly for the avocado toast with a poached egg or the egg salad sandwich on challah brioche—both are insanely good. Everything is fresh, colorful, locally sourced, and made with so much care. The staff is warm and welcoming, and the owner makes the whole place feel like home. I always mean to take a photo, but the food is so good it never lasts long enough for me to remember. 💜
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alejandra Torres
George was incredibly kind! I’ve never had such wonderful & attentive service. He made the cafe’s cute & cozy ambience even better.
Nice relaxed vibe, good service, overall a good place to meet friends and pass some time with delicious coffee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Purple Waves pretends to be a community-building, sustainability-driven café — but in reality, it has awful coffee, terrible service, and misplaced priorities. They don’t invest in loyal customers or create a welcoming experience for newcomers.
Wherever I’ve lived in NYC at different stages of my life, I’ve always thought of the local coffee shop as a place that brings people together and builds community. This one completely misses that mark.
I gave Blue Waves three chances. At first, it seemed promising. I’d stop in, order coffee in a reusable cup, and return the cup later. That worked fine — until it didn’t.
1. I came here for tea and a cinnamon swirl at least five times, and twice they couldn’t even prepare the tea I asked for. I stopped going.
2. A few months later, I gave it another try when a friend from LA visited and we went for lunch. My friend specifically asked for drinks to be served with the food. They forgot. The sandwich took forever, my coffee arrived cold, and when my friend asked for it to be reheated or replaced, the staff flatly refused. Only after I reminded them of our request did they begrudgingly reheat the coffee and slam it down on the table with attitude. I stopped going again.
3. Today was my final attempt. They had no reusable cups available — not my fault. I asked if I could borrow an indoor cup (for a fee) and return it an hour later on my way to the subway. The staff dismissed me, saying indoor cups were only for dine-in and that “everyone says they live next door.” I simply said, “Thank you, have a good day,” and left.
This time, I won’t be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
This place is great for both foods and services. I visited here with my friends and requested something that is not allowered in usual cases. But the employee was considerate of us and readily agreed. Thank you for her sense of ownership and service spirit. I hope you visit this place to enjoy coffee and desserts and get good energy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great gift to the neighborhood. Food is not just tasty but good for you. Ingredients were outstanding. I enjoyed delicious crunchy toast with hummus, whole chick peas and shredded multi colored carrots with pickled veggies. All of the menu looked good. Espresso drink with oatmilk was perfect. Come with your own cup for take out coffee because there really isn’t good recycling for all those #5 tops. New addition of packaged foods from local farms is a bounty for this area and well worth a visit. Cafe inside and out was very pleasant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kind and welcoming staff. Clean and comfortable environment. Delicious coffee and Bliss Balls
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I really liked the egg salad toast.
Good product and good coffee
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great cafe in every way. Beautiful place to sit looking out towards Central Park, great ethical foods to buy and great selection of drinks.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Visited this spot on a Saturday with my dad, they have a limited menu as they don’t have a full kitchen. They prep food in the counter. The food was okay. Nothing extraordinary and pricey. The views however if you are into people watching or working on our laptop then this is a vibe for you.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Finally a cafe that cares about the planet! Bring your own cup and enjoy delicious coffee as well as food from local farmers! Love the vibe here too, friendly and relaxed!
My favorite place in the neighborhood!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A very airy, pleasant space with excellent drinks. The decor is nice and food is high quality, lots of local produce. Let down a bit on a couple of points. I came on a Saturday lunchtime, it wasn’t that busy, and there were at least 6 uncleared tables between inside and outside, including those with leftover food. Having dirty tables brings down the atmosphere. There didn’t seem to be any urgency from the staff to clear, even when there was no line.
Also I appreciate the eco-conscious nature of the no disposable cups policy. But I feel bad for the people who come and wait in line only to be told there are no takeout cups, and leave. (This happened twice in the hour I was there.) Having better signage about this could avoid people waiting needlessly.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Really very good food quality.
Nice staff and great place to sit outside.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent vegan panini! Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Great surroundings and lots of seating outdoors and indoors.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The vibe is weird and off-putting, and the coffee is terrible, which is strange considering this is a cafe. It's easy to tell whoever owns this place has no idea what they are doing. Just another cafe that thinks they can take advantage of consumers but will inevitably shut down. Hope the next one is better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
My favorite cafe in the city. I come here weekly for the avocado toast with a poached egg or the egg salad sandwich on challah brioche—both are insanely good. Everything is fresh, colorful, locally sourced, and made with so much care. The staff is warm and welcoming, and the owner makes the whole place feel like home. I always mean to take a photo, but the food is so good it never lasts long enough for me to remember. 💜
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
George was incredibly kind! I’ve never had such wonderful & attentive service. He made the cafe’s cute & cozy ambience even better.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
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