Consider this polished Park Avenue café the adult equivalent of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Caffeine is a veritable way of life in New York City, and you can source everything from a $1 cup thanks to street cart vendors, or an alarmingly expensive superfood-infused latte if your heart so desires. What you don’t usually find, however, is a coffee spot that looks or feels quite like Felix Roasting Co.
The newly-opened venture is a java lover’s paradise. And hey, with its interiors conceptualised and executed by world-renowned designer Ken Fulk, it’s more than just the coffee that’s luring people through the doors. Still, whether guests stop by purely intending to swoon over the copper domed ceiling, printed sofas, elegant hand-drawn wallpaper and terrazzo floors, they surely stay for the coffee.
The Felix team source their coffee beans from all over the world and have them roasted in Texas. The elevated menu of beverages on offer is curated by in-house expert barista Reagan Petrehn, whom also serves as head of brand.
Beyond the usual favourites, you have the option to order something more bespoke, like a Late Summer Shrub (Serrano chiles and botanicals) or a deconstructed espresso tonic. Or, of course, there’s the Instagam drink of the moment: the $14 Hickory-Smoked S’mores Latte, made in a glass dusted with graham crackers and smoked inside a large bell jar. Naturally, house-made oat, almond, cashew and pepita milks are available on tap too.
The location is divided into three rooms – ‘The Hall’, ‘The Sanctuary’ and ‘The Lounge’ – at street level, with a large coffee lab and tasting room due to open in the basement. “Felix was inspired by the grand Venetian cafes of the past,” Petrehn told Lonely Planet. “We wanted to serve something that felt timely and modern, but in a grandiose and timeless setting.” He added that people can “expect a bustling cafe experience that instantly transports them from Midtown Manhattan to ‘somewhere else’ – and that guests can expect to see and taste things that one might never think to find in a coffee house.”
Petrehn noted that it’s the trifecta of “originality and quality” of the coffee, “extreme detail” of the space, and a “thoughtfully curated atmosphere” that truly sets Felix Roasting Co. apart from the abundance of NYC coffee spots.
Luckily, you don’t need to find a winning golden ticket to experience this wonderland either. You just have to get yourself to 450 Park Avenue South.
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