Toby's Estate Coffee - Brooklyn, NY

The last time I was in Brooklyn, I was looking for a cozy place to work out of. Toby's Estate Coffee did not meet that need. However, this didn't effect my opinion of it greatly, because there are so many reasons to go to coffee shops. One thing I like about this shop is its design. I say that a lot, but I'm a sucker for  designed spaces (and I think secretly, everyone in the world is).

Here we see a bunch of clever things. The mirror that is angled slightly above the bar is adding a significant amount of natural light to this space. That is a totally ingenious way to work a space that only has one natural light source. Granted, in this shop, it's a huge light source, but one none the less. 

Notice that the use of wood-for-everything and clean white walls is something that we have seen work before. (Black Tap in SC and Blue Bottle in SF)

They also utilized 2 huge built-in shelving walls. On the left side, away from the door, it's used only decoratively, but on the right side, it actually serves dual purpose of decore and retail shelving.

Here's another photo of that decorative shelving wall:

One thing I really like here is their use of a huge tufted couch instead of a built in. I think the extra effort in this regard does a lot for keeping the character of the space upscale and more traditional.

This meshing of upscale, traditional vibes and up-to-date hipster/utilitarian design seems to be a cornerstone of Toby's.

In terms of logo and carry-out design, they are all over the place. Here are a couple of their cups:

Where are the going with this? Each one is completely different in its overall look. Confusing.

But they hit the mark on food, preparing lots of options for their picky New York clientele.

To be frank, I didn't notice anything particularly special about the coffee here. If it is unique in some way that I didn't notice, please forgive me. Sometimes I think I get distract by how a place is rather than what they're serving.

My biggest gripe with this place is the fact that they have no outlets. They literally have a room full of people using macbooks and no outlets. It makes sense since this spurs turnover and they don't want people camping out for very long. But it's a sore point for me.

All in all, Toby's Estate isn't my go-to in Brooklyn primarily because of the outlet situation. (I am a person who likes to get comfortable.) But that's okay, Toby's would be great for meeting up with friends and having a quick lunch and coffee. There are definitely times that all you need is to be in a beautiful setting with good coffee and Toby's is just that.