American Wing Café

YOU'LL BE LUCKY TO GRAB A SEAT HERE! This is a loud, crowded, and fairly annoying food area at The Met. There's rarely a seat open near the huge windows with views of Central Park. What you will encounter is a non-relaxing, cacophonous noise zone where tables are crammed together and offer no buffer from whomever decides to plop down beside you. The Cafe is also a magnet for screeching babies and kids and their blissfully unaware parents.🫤 The food is average, overpriced fare ($6.50 for Dixie cup of ice cream) with need for more meatless options (besides PB&J). If your blood sugar is low enough or you're tired enough, this place will do.

Jonna M

YOU'LL BE LUCKY TO GRAB A SEAT HERE! This is a loud, crowded, and fairly annoying food area at The Met. There's rarely a seat open near the huge windows with views of Central Park. What you will encounter is a non-relaxing, cacophonous noise zone where tables are crammed together and offer no buffer from whomever decides to plop down beside you. The Cafe is also a magnet for screeching babies and kids and their blissfully unaware parents.🫤 The food is average, overpriced fare ($6.50 for Dixie cup of ice cream) with need for more meatless options (besides PB&J). If your blood sugar is low enough or you're tired enough, this place will do.

Mr. Tre

We spent $40 for our lunch. My wife Oder hot tea and try to asked for more hot water before it’s too strong. And the staff refused to give her a hot water and act like ignored us.

Inflation at its worst. $19 cheap quality Sushi , $20 mediocre dry sandwiches, no table service but still forced to tip. If you are hungry be smart and eat somewhere quality for less.

Small cafe with limited selections of food and a long line. A small piece of brownie costed $6, and the hot coffee costed $4? Although the receipt says 12 oz, but they provided everyone a 8 oz cup? Overpriced!!!

NOMAD X

Inflation at its worst. $19 cheap quality Sushi , $20 mediocre dry sandwiches, no table service but still forced to tip. If you are hungry be smart and eat somewhere quality for less.

Linda (BrightBear)

Small cafe with limited selections of food and a long line. A small piece of brownie costed $6, and the hot coffee costed $4? Although the receipt says 12 oz, but they provided everyone a 8 oz cup? Overpriced!!!

RUDE staff who didn’t let us add milk or water to our tea. I noticed a lot of people complained about this on here, MET, do something! I saw reviews on hot chocolate, tea, coffee, the staff won’t let you adjust your drink unless you pay $2 for hot water on top of the drink that you already overpaid for. I also saw a staff stopping a group from leaving, shouting “CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!!!,” so remember to clean up and DON’T TIP because there’s no service (well, some bad service with attitude at the cashier)! All the food tasted horrible, eat anywhere else in the MET but here. You’ve been warned. Photo of the rude staff explaining why we can’t make the tea how we like it. Photo of our receipt attached also.

That such a world-class museum has such a horrible cafe makes me ashamed as a member. Overpriced, pre-packaged mediocrity, with horribly inefficient ordering. Compared with an incredible (and less expensive) experience at the Rijksmuseum cafe last month, this is a joke.

Terrible experience, we bought hot chocolate for $6.5 what they gave us is a cup with powdered chocolote and we had to add hot water on our own... The chocolate was initially too thick even after filling the cup to the brim so after drinking a quarter, we wanted add hot water, the staff stopped me said no refill and wanted to charge me $2.00 for the hot water. This store should be closed.

Came here starving expect to fill my stomach up, ended up getting served cold food with awful and questionable taste, overpriced and no where to warmed your food. I really should've known better. Why is this place even here inside museum?

Absolutely disappointing cafe at the met. One of the top museums in the world and they have a cheap cafeteria style “cafe” serving on paper plates and Starbucks cups with milky coffee and outrageously priced everything.

Awful service (no hot water refills!), undrinkable coffee and the tuna salad was not fresh. Shame.

Rachel Chan (therachelchan)

RUDE staff who didn’t let us add milk or water to our tea. I noticed a lot of people complained about this on here, MET, do something! I saw reviews on hot chocolate, tea, coffee, the staff won’t let you adjust your drink unless you pay $2 for hot water on top of the drink that you already overpaid for. I also saw a staff stopping a group from leaving, shouting “CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!!!,” so remember to clean up and DON’T TIP because there’s no service (well, some bad service with attitude at the cashier)! All the food tasted horrible, eat anywhere else in the MET but here. You’ve been warned. Photo of the rude staff explaining why we can’t make the tea how we like it. Photo of our receipt attached also.

Chris Hammer

That such a world-class museum has such a horrible cafe makes me ashamed as a member. Overpriced, pre-packaged mediocrity, with horribly inefficient ordering. Compared with an incredible (and less expensive) experience at the Rijksmuseum cafe last month, this is a joke.

Matthew S. Quimba

Terrible experience, we bought hot chocolate for $6.5 what they gave us is a cup with powdered chocolote and we had to add hot water on our own... The chocolate was initially too thick even after filling the cup to the brim so after drinking a quarter, we wanted add hot water, the staff stopped me said no refill and wanted to charge me $2.00 for the hot water. This store should be closed.

CHEN CHENG

Came here starving expect to fill my stomach up, ended up getting served cold food with awful and questionable taste, overpriced and no where to warmed your food. I really should've known better. Why is this place even here inside museum?

nikola burnett

Absolutely disappointing cafe at the met. One of the top museums in the world and they have a cheap cafeteria style “cafe” serving on paper plates and Starbucks cups with milky coffee and outrageously priced everything.

Anna Pechnikova

Awful service (no hot water refills!), undrinkable coffee and the tuna salad was not fresh. Shame.

I got 2 waters, a wrap, fruit, and Twix Total came out to 50$ after the cashier "discounted" things with a meal combo! Total scam. Should've gotten my receipt because that's outrageous! Don't advertise combos if you aren't gonna honor them

Went to the Met two weekends in a row and got our coffee at this place. Every time the guy rudely told us no refill. Their coffee sucks

My visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was overshadowed by an unfortunate experience at the American Wing Café. I was charged $36 for a disappointing meal that included an old, fatty, overly sugary brownie, a rotten turkey sandwich, and a disgusting coffee. The coffee was the worst I’ve ever had—filled with sediment, it tasted as though it was brewed with stale water, and at $4.50, it felt like an insult. What made matters worse was the unpleasant environment. A staff member (a white male) seemed to be monitoring and unnecessarily barking at visitors, especially targeting non-white patrons. This behavior was deeply unsettling and unacceptable in such an esteemed institution. The café experience left me feeling sick—not just from the sandwich but from the overall treatment and quality. Tip for Museum Visitors: Bring small, packed snacks to enjoy in the designated dining area. The museum also has water fountains for refills, so you can avoid spending unnecessary money on subpar food and drinks. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a cultural gem, but the management urgently needs to address the issues at this café. It detracts from the otherwise enriching experience of visiting the museum.

I love the met but their cafés are absolutely horrible. It genuinely is such an abhorred thing to look at next to the artifacts, and they aren’t exactly honest about the prices. A taste of American mediocrity to balance out a good time in the museum.

By far the worst coffee I’ve ever had in my life! $4 muffin tastes like plastic! Paid $40 for coffee, 2 waters and 2 muffins then they offer you tip option! It should be a crime to be this bad! The French bloke working here has an attitude just to mach this place too!

The American Wing Cafe has an incredible location inside The Met, but unfortunately the setting is the best part of the visit. The food is surprisingly overpriced for what you get, with even simple items costing far more than they’re worth. Several reviewers mention tiny portions, bland dishes, and options like a small sushi roll priced at $16.50 — and honestly, the quality doesn’t seem to justify it. What makes the experience worse is the service. Multiple visitors report rude or dismissive staff, and that kind of attitude can really sour a museum day. When you’re paying premium prices, you expect at least a welcoming atmosphere, but this café doesn’t deliver. The views of the sculpture court are lovely, but the food and service fall far short. With so many better options nearby, it’s hard to recommend stopping here.

Yang Chen

Went to the Met two weekends in a row and got our coffee at this place. Every time the guy rudely told us no refill. Their coffee sucks

Philip Popratiloff

I love the met but their cafés are absolutely horrible. It genuinely is such an abhorred thing to look at next to the artifacts, and they aren’t exactly honest about the prices. A taste of American mediocrity to balance out a good time in the museum.

T A

By far the worst coffee I’ve ever had in my life! $4 muffin tastes like plastic! Paid $40 for coffee, 2 waters and 2 muffins then they offer you tip option! It should be a crime to be this bad! The French bloke working here has an attitude just to mach this place too!

sam si

My visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was overshadowed by an unfortunate experience at the American Wing Café. I was charged $36 for a disappointing meal that included an old, fatty, overly sugary brownie, a rotten turkey sandwich, and a disgusting coffee. The coffee was the worst I’ve ever had—filled with sediment, it tasted as though it was brewed with stale water, and at $4.50, it felt like an insult. What made matters worse was the unpleasant environment. A staff member (a white male) seemed to be monitoring and unnecessarily barking at visitors, especially targeting non-white patrons. This behavior was deeply unsettling and unacceptable in such an esteemed institution. The café experience left me feeling sick—not just from the sandwich but from the overall treatment and quality. Tip for Museum Visitors: Bring small, packed snacks to enjoy in the designated dining area. The museum also has water fountains for refills, so you can avoid spending unnecessary money on subpar food and drinks. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a cultural gem, but the management urgently needs to address the issues at this café. It detracts from the otherwise enriching experience of visiting the museum.

S Nguyen

Beautiful museum and well worth the entry fee but staff at the American Wing Cafe was super rude. The man at the till tried to limit the amount of hot water and milk I could put into my tea??! I've never come across that before in all my cafe experiences around the world. The MET needs to fix this ASAP as this behaviour reflects very badly on their management and the overall experience. Also the food was extremely overpriced and grossly underwhelming. The pastries were actually just sad little squares masquerading under different pseudonyms. Terrible food and even worse service. Don't come here unless you're starving to death and can't physically eat your money.