Not Much Elbow Room At Union Square Cafe
We'll admit it -- we set our expectations far too high.
We finally broke down -- we decided to try one of those "$4 cup of coffee" places. We went to Emporio Rulli Il Caffè--that's the one on Union Square.
Mrs. Trimethyldioxypurist had been there and proclaimed the lattes to be transcendent. A friend whose taste in coffee we trust had similar sentiments. The proprietor of one of our favorite coffee joints had recommended it as well. And it was a beautiful day to boot; Union Square was a perfect place to be.
We suppose everybody else felt that way too.
So how much were we negatively influenced by the crazy crowds? Quite a bit. Get out your salt shakers. We were wholly unimpressed with Rulli; the coffee was merely passable, the prices abhorrent, the logistical set-up of the place counterintuitive. The only saving grace was the courteous, calm-under-pressure staff that was manning the place.
Photo from Rulli's Web site, http://rulli.com
Man, we wanted so much to like this place. We wanted to think that overpriced coffee can survive for a reason other than being located in a prime spot. We also love that Rulli does its own roasting. The food looked and smelled great. The place was clean. Nice decor. Too bad all of that was buried under the throng of poorly placed people.
The truth? We'd never go back even if our coffee drinks had been superb. The physical space is the worst thing about it. There's not much space for people to line up; the line goes slow, there's overcrowding at the entrance. Pity the people who manage to snag inside tables; they have to deal with the folks impatiently shuffling in whatever haphazard shape the line manages to take. Waiting for your espresso drink is nearly as bad as the line; more elbow bumping with people trying to use sugar, cream, etc.
When a patron is overheated and waiting for sustenance, they tend to get testy. Or in the case of the kids behind us, get whiny. Did they have no idea when they built this place that the crowds would tend to be all-ages, tourist-laden, and, due to the location, rather sizable?
After all this irritation, the last thing we wanted to taste was an overly milky cappuccino. Heck, it was closer to a weak latte in flavor and consistency. We were thoroughly disappointed. The espresso shot we tried was good, though--nothing to write home about, but bold flavor and full of that sort of sweetness you can get out of a good shot. While we usually go for a cup of drip as well, we were not--NOT--going to stand in that line again. No sir.
Again, our compliments to the staff--the folks behind the counter were very attentive to people waiting, gave us updates on the status of our respective orders, and were super friendly to boot.
There are several other locations; we're optimistic that we would have much better experiences at those ones. At least we'd be able to breathe.
Emporio Rulli Il Caffè at Union Square
Stockton Street Pavilion
On the Square at Stockton & Post Street
Open every day 7:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m.