The bookstore café is an iconic New York institution that sadly faded out over the past few decades, but literary, culinary spaces are certainly on the rise.
Dozens of spots to shop for books (or borrow books) and enjoy caffeinated or alcoholic beverages are popping up across the boroughs. As You’ve Got Mail turns 25, a whole new slew of independent bookstores with dreamy bookshelves and cafe menus are taking center stage, and we’re eager to cozy up in all of them.
Here’s where to read and drink at the best bookstore cafés in New York City.
RECOMMENDED: The best bookstores in NYC
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This independent bookstore and bar in the East Village is one of the city’s few literary nightlife destinations. The venue opened in 2019 and sells wine, beer and high-end coffee drinks to enjoy in cozy reading chairs. Nightly events include readings, drink and draws, poetry slams, adult spelling bees and more.
Created as an intersectional feminist bookstore that also has a quaint cafe, this bookstore on a residential street in Crown Heights is worth seeking out. At this proudly “Black, feminist and bookish” space, readers can find a well-curated selection of progressive reads across genres and settle in with a hot mug of tea.
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This welcoming space in Chinatown—the city’s first independent bookstore to be owned and run by an Asian woman—was designed to center community and conversation, with a backdrop of books and beverages. Sip on espresso, wine and beer while browsing contemporary fiction and nonfiction or during events including readings, clothing swaps, book clubs and more. Briefly closed after a fire in 2023, the bookstore is now re-open for business
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This Black-owned independent bookstore cafe debuted in Prospect Lefferts Gardens in late 2020, when we all really needed some good escapist reads. The space has since thrived as a destination to find a new read, settle down with coffee and pastry pairings, and even slurp on some soup.
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Co-operating in Bed-Stuy out of 90 Kosciuszko Street, this independent coffee shop and used bookstore offer craft beverages and used books, to go or to stay. Find pre-owned contemporary titles, plus rare books, and lounge on the loveseat with your new reads.
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The only independent bookstore in The Bronx, The Lit Bar is a years-long dream brought to life by proprietress Noëlle Santos. Here, readers will find a curated selection of books, plus programs for all ages that emphasize diversity. The bar itself offers plenty of seating and wine.
The city’s only queer, trans and sex worker-run bookstore, this Lower East Side shop and activist space is full of radical reads. Books are curated to help shoppers find reads to support trans children, enjoy a queer novel set in New York, educate themselves with feminist fiction and more. The cafe vends coffee, tea and vegan treats, and a back room is available for reading, coworking and organizing. All are welcome regardless of ability to pay, and a free store and community pantry offers complimentary snacks, beverages, reads and more.
A Ridgewood staple since 2014, this indie bookstore sells and buys used books, plus some new titles. The cafe vends Variety Coffee and offers outdoor sidewalk seating.
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One of the city’s few food-focused bookstores, the Greenpoint-based Archestratus expanded in 2021 to offer even more book space adjacent to its cafe. Known for arancini, excellently curated new and vintage cookbooks, plus happy hours, specialty groceries and more, Archestratus is a literary foodie’s paradise. Cafe seating and an outdoor area offer ample space to linger.
This nonprofit dedicated to fiction occupies a multilevel space in Fort Greene, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a membership-based writer’s studio and co-working space on the second floor. The cafe offers standard coffee shop fare, plus beer and wine and a spacious room to read, write and snack in.
A Manhattan mainstay since 1917, The Drama Book Shop relocated to 39th Street in 2020, thanks to support from Broadway icons including Lin Manuel Miranda. Hamilton set designer David Korins and his team designed the new location to pay homage to 20th-century European cafes and reading rooms. Among the dramaturges and theatrical texts, you’ll find a cafe serving coffee, teas, and light snacks.
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