Caribbean cafes in Brooklyn: Lips, Antilles, Doctor's Cave (November 2026)

Brooklyn's Caribbean cafes don't live in just one neighborhood. You'll find a mother and son with St. Vincent roots on Nostrand in East Flatbush, a Plantain Brulee Latte in Prospect Lefferts Gardens and a Bed-Stuy cafe named for a Montego Bay beach.

A cafe's Caribbean connection can sit in a family story, in the food, or in the coffee itself. Those are different things. Start with the people and menus below, without assuming that a Caribbean cafe necessarily pours Caribbean-grown beans.

Lips: St. Vincent roots in East Flatbush

At 1412 Nostrand Avenue, Lips Cafe is mother-and-son owned. Its own story traces the family's roots to St. Vincent and describes the cafe as part of Little Caribbean. The food gives you a concrete place to start: Bake and Saltfish comes with sauteed saltfish, garlic, onions, sweet peppers, thyme and tomato, served with a bake and plantains.

Get breakfast with coffee, or try the Ethel Sorrel Ginger Lemonade from the drinks menu. Lips also describes a community table on its About page, useful if you would rather sit for a while than carry breakfast away.

For East Flatbush, this one stays open past breakfast. Lips' own contact page lists 8am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 9am to 6pm Sunday. Recheck those hours before an early or late stop.

Antilles: a Plantain Brulee Latte in Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Antilles Cafe is at 1170 Nostrand Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Our shop page describes Haitian- and Dominican-inspired decor and names the Plantain Brulee Latte as its signature drink. It also lists Joe Coffee.

Ask about that latte when you order. Our page lists outdoor seating and WiFi. Check the day's opening time too: Antilles is listed as closed Wednesday, with an 11am opening Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and noon on Sunday. Sunday closes at 5pm; the other open days run to 7pm.

Doctor's Cave: a Jamaican story on Marcy

The name of Doctor's Cave Cafe, at 856 Marcy Avenue in Bed-Stuy, comes from Doctor's Cave beach in Montego Bay, where its owners met in 1989. The owners grew up in Jamaica and southeast England. Both came from families that grew, prepared and cooked their food, and shopped in local markets.

The couple later renovated a former luncheonette in their Brooklyn brownstone to create the cafe. Their story describes a compact, seasonal menu, with food cooked from scratch using their own or adapted recipes. Leave room for food here.

The cafe's own location page lists Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. Recheck before you go. It does not confirm weekend service.

787 Coffee: a chain with a Puerto Rican farm tie

787 Coffee, at 595 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, is a multi-location chain. Its Puerto Rican connection includes Hacienda Iluminada, the company's farm in Maricao, which it identifies as the source of its Supremo coffee. Ask which coffee is on the bar if that origin matters to you.

In Bushwick, our Obscure Coffee Roasters page names the Coquito Latte and a focus on Puerto Rican beans when available. The longer account is in our Latin American coffee guide.