Cafe Zaffri

Name: Cafe Zaffri
Address: 16 E 16th St, New York, NY, United States, 10003
Price range: $31 to $50
Rating: 4.5

Visa Dining Collection

4.5 (104)

$31 to $50

Middle Eastern

16 E 16th St, New York, NY 10003

Make a reservation

2 people

Jun 15, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 32 times today

About this restaurant

Charming
Romantic
Good for special occasions

Cafe Zaffri, lovingly known as “Zaf’s”, is the third dining concept from the acclaimed team behind New York City mainstays Raf’s and The Musket Room. Located inside The Twenty Two New York, a hotel and private members club located in Union Square. The sprawling restaurant will be open to the public and serve modern interpretations on Levantine cuisine and its diaspora.

Additional information

Dining style
Fine Dining
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Cocktail Bar
Hours of operation
Dinner Daily 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
Website
https://www.cafezaffri.com/
Dress code
Business Casual

Location
16 E 16th St, New York, NY 10003
Neighborhood
Union Square
Parking details
None

What 104 people are saying

Cafe Zaffri reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.5

4.5 based on recent ratings

4.4Food
4.4Service
4.8Ambience
4.1Value

Noise • Moderate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Cafe Zaffri enchants with "gorgeous interiors" and "wonderful cuisine." The "magnificent dining room" boasts a "beautiful skylight," creating an elegant ambiance. Guests rave about the "attentive service," and "creative, delicious food." The "vibrant atmosphere" and inventive cocktails make it "a perfect spot" for dining. Service can be slow, yet the potential for greatness is evident.

104 Reviews

a
anna
New York City4 reviews
5.0
Dined 4 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Went for breakfast with a friend. I had the Labneh with Pistachio Granola and he had the Jerusalem bagel. The food was delicious and beautifully prepared. The space is stunning! At 8 AM when we arrived it was so quiet and peaceful with natural light coming from the bright skylight overhead. The dining room for dinner is also gorgeous. We loved it! HIGHLY recommend.
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M
Mary VIP
New York City6 reviews
3.0
Dined 5 days ago
1. Overall 3
2. Food 2
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 3
Hosts and wait staff were all very pleasant during our lunch although very slow to get drinks on the table during a not very busy lunch service. Food was disappointing - breads & spreads especially seemed like a wasted opportunity. Skewers were ehhh (steak, fish & pork were all tried) - nothing special on flavor and fish overcooked. Rice accompanying them was very good though. And the spaghetti with green chilies was delicious although the name/description might throw people off - not hot spicy but very well flavoured. Of the 4 of us locals, 1 would go back to try the broader dinner menu, the rest of us found it overrated.
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L
LISA VIP
New York City4 reviews
5.0
Dined 7 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Cafe Zaffri NEVER DISAPPOINTS... And I truly mean never!! It is my Sunday brunch favorite every week! The staff is truly magnificent and the food is unbearable!! Sophia.. Chef Moe.. Shashank are all highlights that make the Zaffri experience unmatched. This week, in addition yo the always amazing Qatayef and Skewer Service, after a truly brilliant description of the flavors by Shashank we decided to indulge in tasting their ice cream and sorbet offerings. Transformative would be the only way yo properly describe these delights! The Coconut Rose Sorbet is otherworldly boasting a beautifully balance coconut flavor laced with a ribbon of candied rose.. the Dulcey Mahlab ice cream has a subtle- but every present warm caramel flavor and the very unique Mastic Ice Cream has a fresh herbaceous flavor that one would never conceive would make such a phenomenal sweet treat. These are the most undeniably brilliant confection conceptions!! Try them all, you will not be disappointed!!
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i
israel
New York City17 reviews
2.0
Dined on June 7, 2025
1. Overall 2
2. Food 2
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 3
Very inattentive staff Restaurant was not busy Staff didn’t ask us for anything - we had to ask for More coffee- it felt like a very cold uncaring brunch My Jerusalem bagel was good - very disappointing Experience
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D
Dorothy VIP
New York City52 reviews
3.0
Dined on June 6, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 3
Good food but terrible service. The restaurant appears well staffed, but most people just seemed to be standing around not doing anything. After waiting at least 15 minutes, my husband called a young man over to see if our table had been assigned a waiter. He took our order, without comment. We had to request a second glass of wine repeatedly. My entree, a bland mackerel, needed salt, but I used a salt packet I had in my purse because I decided it wouldn't arrive until I was finished. With each request, we had to summon a different person. We normally order dessert but after waiting 5 minutes after our table had been cleared, we decided to get the check instead and stop at Van Llewellyn on the way home. It's a beautiful space, but we won't be returning.
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J
Julia
Tampa / Central Florida West1 review
5.0
Dined on June 5, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 5
Wonderful granola and scrambled eggs - creative and great taste. Service soso
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M
Marsha VIP
New York City23 reviews
2.0
Dined on June 3, 2025
1. Overall 2
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
Beautiful room with very little staff that was adequately trained. .The Breads and spreads as an app was good. Lots of bread type stuff--not too much spread. We had the Skewers to share. They were 2 skewers, each with 4 one inch pieces of meat and pickled thinly sliced veggies. They were also $45.00. There was no bartender to make a martini--but one did arrive midway through the meal. It was gratis. The place was busy-but the crowd looked like tourists. Breads Bakery is next door and provides a much better experience
1 person found this helpful
V
Victoria
New York City2 reviews
2.0
Dined on June 1, 2025
1. Overall 2
2. Food 4
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 4
we came here for lunch after reading the NYT review, which raved about the food and atmosphere. we ordered the skewers, which were overpriced but very delicious. if this were all i wouldn't write a review - but the service was beyond baffling. from the time we were seated, we waited about 15 minutes for someone to come take our order - no one came until we flagged someone down ourselves. we ordered tea, wine and food - it took another 15 minutes for our waitress to come back and tell us that one of the wines was not available and that we needed to reselect (from what we could tell there was only one person taking orders for the entire room which may explain the delay...?) while we were waiting for our food, we asked a member of the staff to help clear the tea that we were done with - he said yes, but please wait a few minutes i'll come back (odd why he didn't just take it then?). he comes back a few minutes later with a to-go cup and we had to explain that we actually just needed the table cleared. any one of these issues would not normally be concerning, but the accumulative effect was very frustrating, especially since no one on the staff seemed particularly concerned about...anything? the service alone is enough to keep us away, unfortunately.
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K
Kimberly
New York City1 review
5.0
Dined on May 31, 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Excellent evening with a gorgeous setting and wonderful cuisine. Food was exceptional. Amazing staff. Will definitely go again!
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A
Alissa VIP
New York City42 reviews
3.0
Dined on May 31, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
Our experience was satisfactory, but not outstanding.
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FAQs

Cafe Zaffri is rated 4.5 stars by 104 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Jun 15, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 32 times today

16 E 16th St, New York, NY 10003

Additional information

Neighborhood
Union Square
Hours of operation
Dinner Daily 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
Price
$31 to $50
Cuisines
Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Cocktail Bar
Dining style
Fine Dining
Dress code
Business Casual
Parking details
None

Website
https://www.cafezaffri.com/

Cafe Zaffri

Make a reservation

About this restaurant

Additional information

Menu

What 104 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Review summary

FAQs

How is Cafe Zaffri restaurant rated?

Is Cafe Zaffri currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information