Davelle

This is like a little slice of Japan in the lower east side. The food is as though you were plopped into Kanazawa, or another town in Japan, and ordered (note that includes the portion sizes). They also serve drinks as though they're from Japan. The hot chocolate and café au lait with coffee jelly is exactly the same as I've had in Japan (Delicious). They have a "Little Davelle" next door where you can order drinks directly. I highly recommend this place and will be going back!

Lunch at Davelle on the Lower East Side in NYC, a kissaten - a traditional Japanese cafe serving comfort food. This tiny place only has 4 tables and a half dozen bar seats. They have a small coffee bar next door. We had Mentai pasta made with spicy cod roe, known as a “drunk food” in Japan, often consumed after a night of drinking. I loved the salty, umami taste! Great service too!

Cute small space with a bunch of options. Got the black sesame toast, was decent bite. The Azuki latte was different, not too sweet. Overall a nice stop. The other menu options look quite appealing.

I couldn’t resist the allure of the beautifully crafted toasts and had to give them a try. While they were definitely worth the experience, I wouldn’t splurge on them regularly—more of a one-time indulgence for me. That said, the chicken katsu was absolutely delicious, and I’d explore their other options on my next visit. The ambiance is charming, though the space is quite small, so I’d recommend arriving right when they open. It’s a great spot to bring out-of-town visitors, but as a local, it’s not somewhere I’d frequent. Still, it’s undeniably a cute and memorable space

the toast is slightly overpriced, but it was delicious regardless. i really enjoyed the cappuccino i got! we were lucky enough to be able to walk in and immediately get a seat, but the seating is very limited so i would not be surprised if there is usually a wait

Part of me hates giving good reviews by my reputable incorruptible self bc I worry they will become too popular! This is a lovely place run by lovely people. If only more things could be Japanese. This is heartwarming

I have been keen to try out Davelle for ages now, but haven't come by since the idea of queueing for their busy weekend brunches does not interest me as much. So, I was excited to take the chance of not working during this holiday season to come by for a weekday lunch. I came by myself around 1pm, and was able to get seated at the bar immediately. I think there was always at least 1 seat available while I was there, but some parties of 2 did have to wait a bit ( not too long, maybe 20 min max?). I have to point out first that the interior design is so lovely, the neutral colour palette across the kissaten-style fixtures was just a very calm environment to eat in, and I really enjoyed being able to sit at the bar and watch, amongst other things, the coffee dripping down or the toasts being prepared. Anyway, I ordered the mentai spaghetti, a miso soup, and a iced matcha latte. The miso soup came first, and the presentation was a bit strange, since it was in two paper cups (like doubled up). It was fine-ish? A little bit too salty, and the miso sediment was too thick at the end to finish, but it served as a nice contrast to the pasta. The spaghetti was fantastic. I do generally perfer my pasta to be chewier/al dente, but Japanese pasta tends to be softer, which is fine. The sauce was really delicious - the creaminess was not too heavy, and the mentaiko mixed in was really the perfect amount - not too salty / savoury to overpower the rest of the dish. The shiso leaf was an interesting touch, I did have a hard time mixing it thoroughly in the pasta since it was largely stuck to the mentaiko on top, so I ended up getting a big dose of shiso in one bite lol. The matcha latte was also very good. The matcha flavour was very rich, and you can tell from that depth of flavour that they use very good quality matcha powder for their drinks. I heard some of their other drinks like the black sesame latte are even better, so I'll definitely have to give that a try next time. Price point was quite reasonable, and if it wasn't for the long typical weekend wait times I'd want to come back much more often haha. Lovely meal overall, would definitely recommend a visit!

I stopped by the coffee shop side and had the Matcha au Lait with Coffee Jelly. It was amazing and super refreshing. The matcha was smooth and flavorful, and the coffee jelly added a fun twist that made it stand out. The space was clean and had a relaxed yet energetic vibe. I definitely recommend.