NYCReview
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Little Flower Cafe
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Astoria is well-known for being a neighborhood where you can get a wide variety of excellent food without having to hop on the subway. The area is full of local spots that maybe don’t get a ton of attention outside of a half-mile radius, but Little Flower Cafe is worth traveling to from any borough. This all-day halal cafe serves exciting food and some of the area’s best coffee in a beautiful space that you’ll want to hang out in all day.
Operated by the same people behind Sami’s Kabab House, a much-loved Astoria destination for Afghan food, Little Flower is like that restaurant's Gen-Z younger sibling. The wood is blonde, the lighting is industrial, the tables are modernist gray slabs. Everything about the space says “this is a cool place to be,” and it is. You could easily have a first date here, stop by for an hours-long catchup with a friend, or park yourself with a book and consume one excellent cup of coffee after another.
photo credit: Devlin Claro and Aniza Iniguez
Little Flower’s food is just as elevated as the space, and all of it pays homage to the cafe’s Afghan roots. The bacon, egg, and cheese, for example, is halal. For the many New Yorkers who don’t eat pork, this sandwich is a beacon. Then there’s a firni doughnut so light you might not realize it’s filled until you break it open and see the ooze of gently-spiced pastry cream. The real star, though, is the gochujang chicken sandwich. It holds the current top spot in the endless battle of fried chicken sandwiches.
At some cafes with food this good, coffee is an afterthought. But Little Flower uses beans from Sey, a Bushwick-based roaster known for sourcing some of the most exciting coffees you can get in New York. You can’t really go wrong with any coffee order here, but we’re particularly fond of the rose latte. If you’ve had bad experiences with rose-flavored things in the past, let this be your palette cleanser. It brings out the peppery, spicier notes of rose, with just a hint of sweetness and absolutely zero soapy taste.
photo credit: Anne Cruz
While there’s no shortage of places that try to elevate cafe fare, few are doing such fresh and exciting things with coffee, doughnuts, and sandwiches as the folks at Little Flower. The combination of modern sensibility, deep roots in the neighborhood, and destination-worthy food makes this place an instant classic.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Gochujang Chicken Sandwich
photo credit: Anne Cruz
Firni Doughnut
photo credit: Devlin Claro and Aniza Iniguez
Breakfast Sandwich