In the wake of neighboring Goro & Gun's transition from a restaurant with a killer bar into the more streamlined bar-only concept Moving Sidewalk, it may seem odd that The Honeymoon Café & Bar is positioning itself as a sort of one-stop shop for downtown residents and visitors. Goro's split personality proved confusing to would-be patrons hopping the block in search of bars, who took it for just a restaurant and kept on moving. What's to keep The Honeymoon from suffering the same fate?
The light and lovely space, for one, open from 7 a.m. on through the night. Those early hours mean a simple place to grab a cup of coffee and maybe a quick bite before heading into the office. If you're in a rush, it's worth noting, you can be in and out in about six minutes with far better than average coffee in hand. With a program installed by the highly caffeinated minds behind Boomtown Coffee in The Heights, it's easily the best cup in downtown.
On the espresso side, drinks occasionally come out a bit under-extracted compared to those at the city's best shops, but it's not a wide margin. If your drink includes milk, it will also include a tastefully drawn rosette or heart, set in white foam against tan coffee whose slight paleness hints at not-quite-perfection. Still, your cup will boast a depth of flavor and an integrated quality you'd be hard-pressed to find anywhere in the ZIP code, a welcome addition for downtown's coffee lovers.
If you have a few extra minutes, snag a seat and watch downtown fill up as you enjoy a Kalita Wave pourover of a single-origin coffee roasted on site, with notes of grapes, citrus and slightly smoky chocolate. Since you've got a few minutes, why not enjoy that coffee with a proper breakfast?
The smoked salmon, perhaps; a twist on eggs Benedict and probably the best item on the breakfast (and brunch, more on that later) menu. Two perfectly poached eggs, their centers trembling in anticipation, rest atop potato latkes whose only flaw is a slight limpness at their very center. Tarragon aioli- stands in nicely for hollandaise, though a bit more brightness would be welcome. The salmon is silky and understated, melting into the spreading yolk and undergirding the resulting richness with a ribbon of smoke and a pop of salt.
Would that the same pop graced the soft scrambled eggs on rye. Reading like a sure thing, a simple take on luxury light enough to kickstart the day, the execution just doesn't live up to expectations. Such a simple thing has to be done perfectly to work as intended. A bit light on seasoning or a too heavy hand over the heat, and the dish loses its luster. Had the eggs been creamy and flowing, more appropriate for a spoon than a fork; had the eggs been sprinkled with just a bit of good salt after plating; had the fines herbes whisked into the scramble been just a little more abundant, or the rye toast given a more authoritative crunch, this might be the best thing to have for breakfast in downtown.
If you don't have time to stick around, though, there are a handful of grab-and-go options to complement your coffee. The sweeter end of the spectrum is the surest fit, including an apple turnover whose graceful shatter and burnished top reveal a lush and yielding filling with just the right notes of spice and a restrained sweetness.
As the rush of breakfast slows, the seamless transition to lunch begins. Office workers stroll in, students spread their studies across marble-topped tables. A brave or foolish few sit at the bar, taking a partly liquid lunch. You might be tempted to take advantage of the relaxed attitude toward boundaries, ordering off the breakfast menu well into the noon hour as some do, but the kitchen has a deft hand with the prescribed lunch offerings.
