Shervins Cafe
“Came with a friend with a Scoutmob deal…the cafe is very small, intimate, cozy- great for a date or a one-on-one hangout.”
“Great place to chill and/or play games (cards, connect 4, uno etc.) Comfortable couches, nice staff, and great sangria!!”
“My sister and my friend got something with Absinthe in it, which I am not a fan of, but they both loved.”
Shervins Cafe
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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So I stumbled upon this place one night after having eaten WAY too much food, to the point that I was actually in pain. I saw their couch through the open window and told my friend that we were no longer going to Gin Palace and I wanted to sit on that couch more than anything else in the world. Spent the next four hours sprawled out on that couch waiting for my stomach to stop hating me. Loved the vibe. It's a small place, very eclectic, but definitely a good place to chill. Fast forward to a few weeks later and I spent a good half hour searching for it since I hadn't had the foresight to remember the name. Since I had been in too much pain to drink anything the first time, I made sure to get a cocktail. Tried the rose infused champagne and it was delicious. My sister and my friend got something with Absinthe in it, which I am not a fan of, but they both loved. After the second visit, it's become my new favorite bar in the city. Shout out to Dan, Ian and Shervin (all mad cool and super cute)! I will definitely be stopping by again.
Location: east village has so many hidden gem! We were waiting for the death & co spot then we found this little place. it's small, and they serve all the interesting stuff like coffee, wine, and beer. When we got there, the place is very very limited – 2 table for 2, and a big table for party of 4. Or you can sit at their outdoor seats, or their couch, or at the bar.
There is only one people working on a Saturday night and when we got there, there was a chunk of group talking at the bar, basically occupying all the space.
So it was a bit out of control, and of course, my anticipation is low, low low.
The bartender came here quickly and tried to convince us what we should get. They are famous for their sangria, and all kinds of cocktails.
Drinks: their tequila shot is nice, it is very smooth, and easy to drink. I love it and I am excited to shout out to their wine selections. Those wines are delicious, (both red and white)
Price: oh, cheap. Its a great place where price is low and drinks are good.
Yeah, come in and have fun here!
Service: although there's only one person working , they responded quickly
very nice.
Overall: good good good.
4 star!!
yeah, i am so excited to come back again.
i have passed Shervins Cafe a bunch of times. though it was just a tiny coffee/cafe spot. never realize it served wine, beer, and light liquor cocktails til i looked at the chalk-art sign outside. never judge a book by its cover kids…you might be missing out like i have been by passing this casual cool eclectic joint.
first walked in and saw no one at the bar. took a seat and almost immediately someone sang over my should, "hey honey, how was your day?" and Laura, the bartender, appeared and slid a clipboard menu (super distressed. in tatters. almost arty without trying) over to me. without missing a beat, i replied, "no complaints. killing time before meeting friends…" banter a little and Laura goes through the menu and gives her rec's on the specialty cocktails (which i imagine rotate frequently).
bypass the cocktails menu and go for the white mango blueberry sangria which she mixologizes away. muddle fruit etc. i had my doubts, but the drink was actually really refreshing, not overly sweet, a little bit of wine bit, and was a pleasant vacation from my typical whisky/scotch/classic cocktail journeys. served in a ginormous mason jar like mug.
anysway.
the layout. there's a small bench outside which i think you can drink at. then there's about 6-7 seats at the bar. a long couch on the side wall. and then a couple of two top tables next to the entrance. it's a snug, intimate place. lowlit colored light. a little bit of eclectic decorations (not over the top). there's an old school polaroid camera hanging from the ceiling. some art here and there.
i liken Shervin's Cafe to a successful artistic model friend's living room…1) who collected a bunch of different cool vintage things that go together; 2) throws cool crowded-esque parties with great music; and 3) fills said party with an eclectic mix of good-looking people.
yeah, it's that kind of place. me like. great vibe of aesthetic, music, people as an energetic chillout spot.
music: fun. least while i was there. mix of trip hop-esque, Iggy Azalea, etc. nothing annoying and nothing depressing. noise level perfect. not overly loud that you need to yell to be heard. though music's loud enough that it drowns out other folks' conversations which is nice. was actually able to have a short phone conversation and hear the other person without having to duck outside.
Laura played the role of bartender and waitress that night. assume they have extra staff on primetime nights like Th, Fri, and Sat as i have walked by the place and seen it packed. she's friendly with the banter. understands hospitality. it still kills me that a number of places in food/drink industry don't train their staff to smile, be friendly, display some personality and be able to hold a conversation without being too anxious or annoying. it's the easiest way to create "regulars."
ordered a second drink which was absinthe bitters drink with mango and lavender. very summer. fresh. not too strong. mango and lavender cut the bitters nicely. it's no Maison Premiere (re: absinthe based drinks), but a well-crafted cocktail for warm summer nights.
they have 6 or 7 different types of white wine, red wine, and beer (Six Point Sweet Action and Dirty Bastard–whut? i hardly ever see these on menus. nice.). they have small eats here like a cheese plates, hummus, etc. much like the space, it's a small intimate drink and eats menu. it caters to relaxing with a drink/have a bit…not fratty bedlam. thank God.
was going to tour another one of their signature cocktails, but i got "the call" and had to close up the tab. despite some math confusion by both bartender and myself. we must have been passing money back for a few minutes bc of mutual confusion that probably appeared to someone like i was conning Laura out of her tip. math–stay in school, kids and pay attention. lol
the takeaways:
do NOT come in here with a sense of entitlement or attitude. won't fly. it's a positive vibe place with staff and ambiance to match. positive breeds positive.
do come here for a relaxing drink or pre-dinner or after-dinner date drink. it's casual and intimate. this place is super date-y for your first, middle or last (breath).
my friend Stefan calls the place hipster. i call it hipster 2.0. (vintage-y cool young without the pretentiousness).
lastly, this place is mostly always filled with females or couples or both. the staff here is "VERY easy on the eyes" and from what i can tell most of the clientele is as well. good looking equals bonus points in my book! that said, don't be a creeper…lulz
Management was pretty much shit when I came LOL. But the sangria was really good. The menu was missing like every type of appetizer except a cheese plate. It was so fail. But the cheese plate we had was also lacking a lot of what they mentioned on the list. Server was nice but couldn't attend to everyone because she was the only one there.
When we'd walked by originally (on our way to another bar), I thought that someone had spelled 'servin'' wrong. Haha. We decided to give Shervin's a shot when we realized the other bar was way too dark and way too crowded/noisy for our liking. In contrast, Shervin's was a bit brighter and much emptier. We were pretty much the only patrons for the entire time we were there.
In terms of size – Shervin's is pretty much a hole in the wall. A large party would fill it up easily. The ambiance is lounge-y and the music isn't the typical top 40 playlist. If you are looking for a low-key night out, this would be a good place to start or end the night.
They do have happy hour specials, but I'm not sure how long they last or what days of the week they offer them. FYI, they were offering them around 8PM on a Saturday night. How the HH special works is kind of odd – basically, you can get 2 infused champagnes for the price of one…per person. So you can't just get 2 champagnes for the price of one and share it with a friend, you each need to order your own and then you'll get two glasses per person. Make sense?
It was fine with us since we thought there were a few interesting infusions on the menu (which, btw is updated from the online menu) and we ended up going with the Rose's Holy Water (rose water and raspberry) and the Purple Maria (lavender and blackberry). My favorite of the two was Rose's Holy Water, but it's probably because I'm a huge fan of rose water to begin with. My friend's Purple Maria was a little too strong for me – so when it came time for our second round, I asked for less lavender, and that tasted MUCH better.
There is a minimal food menu (cheese platters, hummus platters, and the like), but some of the items weren't available when we were there, including the Korean tacos, which I would have liked to try!
PSA. If you are looking for the restroom, don't fret! There is one hidden behind the curtains right next to the bar. There's only one stall, but since Shervin's is a tiny place anyway, you're probably not going to run into a line.
A favorite place of mine to visit. Good atmosphere, goooood music. Good combination of new and old world decor.
Honestly, this sounds thirsty AF, but besides the delicious sangria, I would still go for the incredibly good looking employees.
Definitely the most unique bar I've been to. It has a hipstery vibe. It's tiny but loveable. I enjoyed the decor.
The white blueberry mango sangria was awesome. Not too tart, not too sweet. It might not taste that strong, but believe me, it will catch up to you. My sister and I ordered a pitcher for $36 and it was well worth it.
Halfway through the pitcher I realized the sangria was stronger than it tasted cause I was gettin' real tipsy. I knew I was gonna need some sustenance. Unfortunately the bartender said all they had to offer was a cheese plate or hummus. We opted for the cheese plate, and he was gracious enough to give us lots of extra pita.
Definitely a hip place to hang out. I wish they had more options as far as food goes, but I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to have some fancy drinks in an intimate setting.
They don't accept LivingSocial anymore!! Noted, but the bartender let us have happy hour prices, even though it was over, to make up for that blunder 🙂 cute spot to grab drinks with a friend after work…. Good people watching, too!