New York City is known for some of the best shopping opportunities in the country. However, one thing NYC is not known for is its malls. After all, this isn’t Minnesota. Where other cities rely on malls to bring the people and retail chains together, here in Manhattan, clothing stores and specialty shops can thrive without the confines of a shopping mall.
However, there is at least one mall on the island of Manhattan that I’ve stumbled upon, and that mall, of course, happens to have a Starbucks in it.
The Manhattan Mall is just south of Herald Square and rests in the shadow of the gigantic Macy’s. It consists of your typical, run of the mill mall stores like Victoria’s Secret, JC Penney’s, Express and Aeropostale, but is lacking the typical mall food court. The mall is typically flooded with Midtown tourists and a younger crowd of high school mall-rats with nothing better to do — oh the memories!
The Starbucks is located on the first floor near the entrances on both 33rd and 6th Avenue. Unlike some mall Starbucks that I’ve seen in my day, this one doesn’t have a seating area or separate lobby at all. It was literally built directly on top of the mall tile below the escalator to the second floor. It almost looks like a pop-up Starbucks — like they could clear out at any moment without a trace of ever being there.
I would say I’d only recommend this Starbucks to someone up for some serious mall shopping, but then I really wouldn’t recommend coming to Manhattan to shop at a mall.
The Good:
The WiFi… They offer wireless Internet despite the fact they have no seats.
Transportation… Almost all trains run within a block of this area.
The Bad:
The Location… In the Manhattan Mall
The Design… Nothing to really separate this Starbucks from the rest of the mall.
The Seating… None
Restroom… None on the floor the Starbucks is on.
Barista Friendliness:
Drink of Choice:
Grande Iced Coffee…
Overall Starbucks Rating:
A Starbucks in a mall. Need I say more.
Starbucks and the City 
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