Early Bird Cafe is a family owned business that just opened in Cresskill (29 E Madison Ave store 6, Cresskill, NJ)! Let’s see what CHS students had to say about it!

Coffee

If you want the best coffee of your life, go to Early Bird Cafe! Their “freshly roasted coffee” did not fail to amaze the four tasters, including myself. Yuni Park, a sophomore at CHS, absolutely loved the “authentic feeling” of the americano and fellow sophomores Shirelle Ben-Shahar and Erin Park agree the coffee “tastes like real coffee”- something that is hard to come across these days. Shirelle and Erin both ordered an oat milk latte that was “one of the best, if not the best [they] ever had” because of the high quality of the oat milk and coffee beans. I will say, when I ordered an oat milk iced latte, the taste of the roasted coffee beans was quite strong. Although I like the strong coffee taste,  if you like your coffee on the sweeter side, definitely tell the employee who is taking your order.

Pastries

When it came to their “handcrafted premium baked goods,” Early Bird Cafe did not disappoint. The regular croissant has a perfect balance of all aspects to make a delicious croissant, says Yuni; it is full of layers, crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside, and has the perfect amount of butter and sugar. The same applies to the almond croissant she tried which was an upgrade to the classic butter croissant with the ideal filling to dough ratio and lots of almond garnish. In addition, the lemon loaf was outstanding. It was just the right amount of sweetness and zest; but what was amazing was how every bite just melted in my mouth. The only somewhat of a let-down was the hazelnut cookie which senior at CHS, Danielle Tilp, was not a fan of. She wishes the chocolate chips were not melted throughout the cookie, but said the cookie was still enjoyable.

Sandwches

It is no surprise that with such delightful pastries the bread at Early Bird Cafe was what stood out about all their sandwiches. For breakfast, my friend and I went to the cafe and ordered avocado toast. It came with cherry tomatoes, radish, lemon, etc which were all very fresh. Most importantly, the avocado was chopped perfectly so it was not too chunky nor too squished. For the price of $13 and one slice of bread, we were a little hesitant about how worth it the avocado toast will be, but the multigrain bread was thick and very filling.Erin agrees the bread was the most notable part of her sandwich. She ordered the prosciutto sando that has fresh mozzarella, black olive tapenade, tomatoes, and baby arugula on crispy yet still soft semolina ciabatta. The prosciutto itself was good, but what made it unique was the black olive tapenade that she loved. Another sandwich you should definitely try is egg breaky sando that contains 2 scrambled eggs, macedonian sheep’s milk feta, avocado, and baby arugula all on top of a butter croissant .Shirelle says the ingredients all tasted very fresh and mixed together very well. Ever since she got it she went three times in one week just for that sando!

Employees & Vibes

Early Bird Cafe has good vibes only. The design of the cafe is very modern and minimalist; there are plants around, modern artwork, wood colored tables, pillows, etc. This environment is very welcoming and seems like a “great place to study and do homework while enjoying a baked good,” says Erin. But The employees’ kindness contributes to the vibes just as much. All of the tasters who visited Early Bird Cafe said the employees smiled while taking their order and helped explain the menu, creating a very inviting atmosphere. When Shirelle and Erin went to try out the cafe, the owner even gave them a delicious butter croissant for free. Yuni, who visited the cafe on a separate occasion, received the same treatment. You can definitely feel the warmth of it being a family owned business!

To make matters simple for you, go to Early Bird Cafe for good drinks, good food, and good vibes! 

Check out their Instagram page for more insight: @earlybird_cresskill