GREY café: Upbeat, Swanky Café Built for Extroverts in Queens

A dark, polished, and modish café awaits you, situated next to Café Auburndale and Café Bench in a mini café mecca. The seemingly vicious décor, accentuated by the cafe's dark color scheme, is punctured by the radiance and warmth the staff greets you with. With unique drinks and food to match, I found the café to be exotic in a good way.

Service ✦✦✦✦✦✧

The service is a highlight of the whole GREY café experience. As soon as you go up to the register, they stand eager, keen, and ready to take your order. Although the repetitive upbeat music obstructed my ability to perfectly communicate with the baristas (some of their words were unintelligible to me), I felt that they were almost familial to their customers—willing to make small talk, unlike other cafés.

I knew they deserved a five-star rating as soon as they complimented my cat stickers on my laptop while I was getting the Wi-Fi password from the register. Cats are the best, and so is GREY café in the service category.

The Drink (Apple Iced Tea) ✦✦✦✦✦

Before this café, the words Apple and Tea haven't ever come together in my mind (the same holds true for other flavors that were on the menu). Apples are so sweet and scrumptious, though, and this tea captures that essence while also being low in sugar—as any regular tea would be.

Out of the many things I notice in a drink, my eyes first draw to the ice cubes (don't ask why—I'm just unique that way 😂). But ANYWAYS, the Apple Iced Tea had super clear ice cubes—almost completely cubic in shape if I remember correctly. In this way, this iced tea is perfect for savoring, as the clear ice cubes don't immediately chill nor melt the whole drink; it's more of a gradual process that perfectly matches my studying routine.

I also appreciated the lowkey design of the cup. It was highly generic—it looked like what would've been a part of a pre-fabricated, bulk-bought order. The only out-of-place feature was the GREY café sticker, whose presence, if lacking, would have confounded anyone to the café in question.

Oh, also! Love the stamp card they give you when it's your first time ordering. A win-win.

Space ✦✦✦✦✧

My four-star rating in this category is more due to my inner-introvert tendencies than the actual design of the café. The dark, upbeat vibe carried the character of a club—something intimate and communal. As it was my first time visiting, I felt self-conscious sitting in the middle of an open space. The striking bench seating in the middle of the room also encouraged people to not only sit next to but also converse with each other—something I dread.

There was also an upstairs room connected with the main area but I was also too self-conscious to go up there to take a look or to take pictures.

Final Thoughts ✦✦✦✦✦

If you're the extrovert type of person who loves to meet or talk to new people, then this café is for you! The drinks and atmosphere also provide a perfect place for doing work or studying. But yeah. Ok anyways thank you for tuning into another blog post and happy 4th of July!

Connect with GREY café

Address: 195-19 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY 11358

Website: https://www.greycafeny.com/