We’re back in New York City with today’s Coffee Spot, another recommendation from my friend and fellow coffee blogger, Bex. Paper Coffee is one of several speciality coffee shops within a few blocks of my midtown hotel, where I stayed during my visit in September last year, although ironically it’s in the lobby of another hotel, Made Hotel, on W 29^th Street.

Although very much part of the hotel, Paper Coffee operates as a standalone coffee shop with a counter and its own seating at the front of the lobby. However, you’re very welcome to take your coffee and sit anywhere in the lobby, including at the bar in the back, where you’ll find some sofas and armchairs. There’s also a patio upstairs, but that’s only for hotel guests.

Paper currently uses Variety Coffee Roasters from Brooklyn, with a single-origin and decaf on espresso and another single-origin on batch-brew filter, the specific options changing every two weeks. There’s also tea, beer (in cans) and a selection of wine available from the counter, while from 5pm each day, the lobby bar is also open and serving. Finally, if you’re hungry, there’s a small range of grab-and-go sandwiches, plus cakes and pastries.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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From the outside, there’s very little to indicate the presence of Paper Coffee, just a simple A-board on the side of the street. Granted, it doesn’t help that the front of Made Hotel was hidden behind scaffolding during my visit, but even so, it’s one of those places where it helps to know it’s there. Access is via the door on the left, which opens onto a broad corridor. This leads back towards the hotel check-in desk (which is on your left), while Paper Coffee is visible through the windows that line the right-hand side of the corridor.

Doubling back on yourself at the end of the corridor, you’ll find Paper ahead of you, occupying the front part of the lobby. Three tables run along a pair of padded sofa-benches in the windows at the front, two on the right, one on the left (looking towards the front). The counter, meanwhile, is against the left-hand wall, fronted by a large, rectangular table with just two chairs at the right-hand end. I believe that this used to have more chairs, but I suspect they’ve been removed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s it for seating in the front part of the lobby, resulting in a small, cosy space. Even though you’re next to the counter with the constant coming and going of customers, I found it very quiet and relaxed here, an oasis of calm in the bustle of midtown New York City. However, if you can’t find a seat, you can always take your coffee to the back of the lobby.

There’s plenty more seating here, past the elevators on your right and the check-in desk on your left. This includes a pair of long, rectangular tables with stools running front-to-back, one either side of a central pillar. Either side of these tables, low armchairs and sofas are arranged around equally low coffee tables. Finally, there’s the lobby bar right at the back, complete with wood panelling and a line of tall bar chairs. This opens at five o’clock each afternoon, serving a full range of drinks, but you’re welcome to sit here with your coffee any time of the day. The one place you’re not allowed (unless you are staying at the hotel) is through the doors on the left, which lead to the patio.

Returning to Paper Coffee, you order from the left-hand side of the counter, where you’ll find the menus on the table to your right, along with the selection of sandwiches, cakes and pastries on the counter itself. You collect your coffee from the far end of the counter on the right, which requires a trip around to the other side of the table, a neat trick that keeps customers waiting for their coffee separate from those queuing to order.

Paper Coffee has a simple, espresso-based menu, plus batch-brew filter and cold brew. While I was there, the Kolla Bolcha from Ethiopia was on batch brew and the Torera from Honduras on espresso, both roasted by Variety Coffee Roasters. I decided to have the Torera as an espresso, which proved to be a nice, well-balanced shot with a pleasing touch of acidity, the ideal way to spend a few quiet moments away from the bustle of New York before resuming my afternoon’s exploration.

Liked this? Then take a look at the rest of New York City’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to New York City.

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