Sammy L Coffee: A Hidden Gem in East Village for Coffee Lovers

This is one of my favorite coffee shops in East Village. They have some Asian inspired food and drinks but also serve traditional menu items as well. There's a decent amount of seating, but it can get pretty packed on the weekends in the afternoon. They have free WiFi and allow laptop usage on weekends which can be hard to find in the city. Perfect place to do some work, read a book, or catch up with a friend here. I've tried both their chai latte and taro latte. Both are good, but I usually go for the taro latte since it's less common at other coffee shops.

Pammy L., was excited to meet owner, Sammy L., who is known for his amazing latte art. Unfortunately he was not there when I visited. Instead all I got was a blob on my matcha latte. But all is good because all the drinks were sipping amazing.

good coffee and super fast and the owner seems cool they have a lot of food options the vibe is really good to study

Their ambiance is so awesome. I was here on Monday around noon and what I love about this place is that they have delicious drinks like Taro Latte and Rose Latte. In addition, it has a good amount of charging outlets.

Really awesome spot. I came here on a Sunday afternoon to get some work done, and this is the best spot I've found in NY for that. Lots of seating, water jug, bathroom, well air conditioned, and super friendly staff (almost too friendly, I felt people were just coming in to use their bathroom and take water, and they seemed fine with it!) As for their coffee, it's actually really good. I got a large iced latte, and solid mix of coffee flavor balanced with the milk. I do think that the milk was helping mask the darkness of their beans, but I didn't mind. I also don't think this is a traditional coffee shop; they served my latte in a boba cup, but I personally didn't mind. I would have to try my standard order of a cortado to really test their coffee, but will save that for next time. Overall, definitely give this place a try!

Very busy on a Thursday afternoon. Most of the seats were taken already. I had their rose latte which was good, not too sweet and had a balanced rose flavor. They also have a ton of food options that I would like to try next time. Good working environment.

I was in the area and was tempted to come here after reading favorable reviews of their taro latte and osmanthus latte. The service is fine and the coffee shop has a cozy/bright vibe with a nice amount of seating (but seats are close to each other). I saw that most people were studying or working on their laptops. I might be drinking the osmanthus latte completely wrong when I grabbed a spoon and completely mixed up the flowers and latte together. I didn't have the foresight that with every sip, the dried flowers would constantly tickle my throat. At the end, there was still a huge amount of osmanthus at the bottom of my cup (it seems they were a bit too generous with their scoop). If you do get it, scoop all or most of the flowers on top off to avoid the uncomfortable tickle. Other than that, the taste was ok - bitter with slight floral taste and a heaping side of osmanthus. It's not my type of latte, but I did enjoy trying something new and I appreciate any cafe that allows people to work/study on their laptops. Would defs come again to try their sandwiches and pastries.

Still ever so delicious about the basque burnt cheesecake ($6.50) and the beautifully drawn design on the cappuccino ($5.00). If you want to ask for a face to be drawn on the cappuccino, the owner will gladly do it for you. Fast service from friendly staff and owner. If you go the cafe often enough, the owner will remember your face or maybe even your name too. Very pleasant to see that the place gets lots of customers. Lots of outlets to charge your devices even though tables are a bit cramped. Bathroom can get dirty at times but usually pretty clean most of the time. Ambiance wise still has very cozy vibes and a great place to stay away from the cold. Accepts cash and credit/debit card as forms of payment.