Cupfuls of New York City

Smiley Coffee

It’s pretty hard to be in a bad mood at a coffee shop called Smiley Coffee! This Lower East Side spot is cute, colorful, and a little funky without going overboard. It’s an easy place to stop in while walking around the neighborhood, and the coffee is good enough that the smiley branding isn’t doing all the work.

Drinks

The lattes are smooth, creamy, and really good iced. They have the usual coffee classics along with flavored options if you like something a little sweeter. The tiny smiley faces on the cups are such a simple detail, but I’m easily influenced by cute packaging, so obviously I loved them.

They also have matcha and other non-coffee drinks, so your friend who somehow agrees to go to coffee shops despite not drinking coffee will survive.

Food

The food selection is pretty simple, with pastries and small bites to grab alongside your drink. This is definitely more of a coffee-first stop than somewhere I’d come specifically for a full meal, but sometimes an iced latte and something sweet is all you really need.

Atmosphere

The inside might be my favorite part. It’s bright, colorful, and playful, with warm reddish tones, pops of yellow, and little smiley details throughout. It has personality without feeling like the entire place was designed solely for Instagram—which I appreciate.

Smiley Coffee is exactly the kind of place that fits the Lower East Side: fun, casual, and a little different. Come for a good latte, stay because the interior is cute, and leave carrying a cup with a tiny smiley face on it. Very hard to complain about that combination.