The espresso bar on Jersey Avenue worth crossing the river for.
Issue 16
Dames Coffee Espresso Bar is a tiny room on Jersey Avenue with a butterscotch espresso drink we would go back for, and a garden out back.
Dames Coffee Espresso Bar sits at 581 Jersey Avenue in downtown Jersey City, a small room with a few tables. Most people order at the counter and walk out with a cup.
We ordered the butterscotch espresso drink. It was pulled perfectly, with a strong espresso aroma and real flavor behind the sweetness. The baristas know their coffee, and you can feel it in the cup.
If you are in the neighborhood, make this a stop on your espresso pilgrimage.
The pick, if you only have time for one
Dames is a Steep Pick, scoring 8.7. Order the butterscotch drink, and ask the staff what else they like, because they will tell you. They open every day at half past seven, so it works as a first stop on a morning walk. Check their Instagram for holiday hours before you go.
- Dames Coffee Espresso Bar Steep PickDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 8.7/10
A tiny Jersey Avenue espresso bar with coffee-minded baristas and a backyard patio garden out back.
- Choc O Pain French Bakery and Café - JC Downtown Steep PickDowntown Jersey City · Jersey City · Steep Index 8.5/10
A small French bakery cafe on Jersey Avenue with baguettes, croissants and tarts, and a pain au chocolat worth crossing town for.
Take it out back
Most people leave with the cup, but there is a patio garden behind the counter. It has plenty of room, including a communal table, and it makes Dames a place to sit as well as a place to grab a coffee. Go on a mild day.
A pastry on the way
Choc O Pain French Bakery and Café is about a four minute walk away, also on Jersey Avenue, and it is a Steep Pick too, at 8.5. We had the pain au chocolat, flaky and airy with a moist inside, and it was perfect. Skip the cortado, which came out a little under-pulled, and take the pastry.
On our radar
We have been working through downtown Jersey City, and there are walking routes for it on steep, one along Jersey Avenue and one from Bay Street to Van Vorst Park. More reviews are coming. If there is a Jersey City stop we are missing, reply and tell us.