Starbucks
“My favorite Starbucks yet, and they sure know how to brew a solid cup of coffee – especially Eric, that guy is a magician behind the bar.”
“It's really clean and has a great location inside the Gateway next to the Hilton.”
“Conveniently located right next to the Hilton and across from Penn Station.”
Starbucks
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Working: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range Moderate
8 reviews
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I'm glad that this sbux is attached to the lobby of the Hilton and easily accessible from Penn Station or the hotel. That being said this is the slowest one I have ever encountered. My order is not complicated. 2 grande non fat lattes should not take 10 minutes. I was the only one in there. Speed it up boys!
I'm about to whine…
Terrible hours. C'mon. Whyyyyy is it only open during weekday "business" hours? I understand that it's located in the heart of the business district of Newark (in Gateway Center), but people go through Gateway at night and on weekends, too. So unfortunate, but also so typical of anything in Newark, New Jersey.
I could not get a wi-fi signal. What? Friendly counter service. Comfortable seating.
This is certainly not the first or only Starbucks I've ever been to, but of all of the ones I have patronized throughout North America and Europe, this is surprisingly the best…. and yes, it's in Newark.
Starbucks has more-or-less perfected the art of standardizing their product, so I don't have to tell you about their coffee (although I do think Starbucks should be credited with helping Americans transition toward drinking stronger coffee as opposed to the brown water we used to drink), or about any of their other drinks, pastries, beverages, etc. This Starbucks is great because of how it is managed. Its employees are consistently friendly, efficient and the establishment is always clean and orderly. Granted, it's protected from the shady characters that tend to congregate around Newark Penn Station and Gateway Center by the fact that it's kind of hard to find, and technically a part of the Hilton Hotel there, but it's good anyway.
All in all, this Starbucks makes it worthwhile when I occasionally have to schlep out to Newark for a work conference or meeting.
If you were to take this starbucks out of the location it would probably be a one-star.
They are slow, the staff has screwed up a bunch of easy drinks… straight coffee for one… not kidding…
You have to sign for a 2 dollar credit card charge for some reason, which only slows the line down more.
Nobody in there seems to care and that they're doing you a favor for being open.
This place has pushed me towards dunkin' more and more for work
Normally I'm fine with Starbucks as long as the service is as expected. Today I NEEDED some caffeine and I needed something sweet (ever notice how the work week before vacation is REALLY tough?). So I walk over to Gateway and into the Starbucks and the super-sweet cashier looks at me, smiles and says triple shot grande white chocolate mocha?
I could've kissed her-I hadn't been here in weeks and I walk in out of the blue and she remembers my regular order. I gotta say, that little bit of excellent customer service brightened my workday.
I've been to a good number of Starbucks, and I have a favorite drink: green tea latte, light ice, sweetened. Every Starbucks I've been to has been able to make this drink, but few make it to perfection – and by that, I mean with minimal green tea powder floating to the bottom creating an undrinkable layer that I choke on if I'm not paying attention.
I've been to this Starbucks around roughly 10 times (it's conveniently located next to the Hilton Penn Station), and each time, my drink has been made to perfection. No bubbles of green tea powder, and that to me makes it perfect.
Couple this with the more-than-pleasant employees who greet me with a friendly smile regardless of the time of day and have come to remember both my name and my drink order, and I could not be happier.
Newark is basically an alternate universe where there is only a single Starbucks but there are Dunkin' Donuts on every single block. This particular Starbucks has added mythical qualities because it is literally impossible to find. "It's on Raymond Blvd!!!" Yelp proudly exclaims. What it doesn't explain is that there is no street-facing storefront (or sign for that matter). The most direct way to get there (apparently) is through a Hilton Hotel whose door warns ominously "Guest Entrance Only."
In my un-caffeinated stupor, I forged on and my journey took me through the belly of the beast, aka Newark Penn Station. Newark Penn Station would be a great place to film a movie set in post-apocalyptic America. I climbed upstairs where a pedestrian bridge took me through Prudential's downtown fortress aptly named "Gateway." There, nestled among an unassuming row of unfamiliar establishments, was my prize.
I decided to try coconut milk for the first time – it was whatever – but the satisfaction of success and the afternoon caffeine rush was sweet enough.
Now all I had to do was find my way out.