Ever wish Hot Topic was a coffee shop? Great news, goths of Bergen county! Shopping streets in Westwood officially welcomed a new addition to their stores: a Victorian-style coffee shop just a short drive away. The cafe, Nightshade Coffee, is decorated with gothic chairs, paintings, and vinyls, making visitors feel like they’ve stepped into a vampire’s castle. Its menu features eerie original drinks, sandwiches, and syrups, some of which even veteran cafe-goers have never seen in a cafe menu before!
Nightshade’s drinks menu is divided into classic coffee drinks, original specialty drinks, and syrups. Non-specialty items include coffees, varied espressos, and other drinks for every season, mood, or time of day. Available coffees include drip, pour over, and nitro cold brew. 11 types of customizable espresso drinks are offered, ranging from double shots, to red eyes, to cappuccinos, depending on the preferences of the customer. The cafe’s menu offers lemonade, assorted teas, hot chocolate, and other general drinks.
Nightshade’s specialty drink menu is one-of-a-kind, offering unique drinks named after popular rock bands, actors from gothic films, and morbid aesthetics. Popular specialty drinks include the “Deadly Nightshade,” the “Xymox,” and the “Cemetery Dust.” The “Deadly Nightshade” is a customer favorite, and is an espresso with blackberry vanilla syrup, blackberry cold foam, and sage. The “Cemetery Dust,” a sweeter drink contrary to its eerie name, is a tiramisu latte with chocolate ribbons, topped with mascarpone and chocolate powder. The “Xymox,” named after the band Clan of Xymox, is jasmine tea with rose syrup and hot honey. The in-store version of the drink is topped with edible flower petals!
Drinks can include syrups chosen from Nightshade’s special list, which includes house made, imported, and general syrups. Distinct housemade syrups can be found already within some specialty drinks and include vanilla bean, cherry vanilla, blackberry vanilla, brown sugar cinnamon, rose, and lavender. Import and general syrups aren’t exclusive to the cafe, but the store offers a wide variety of them, including nutty syrups, spice syrups, and even maple and honey. These syrups can be added to any drink of choice, and inquiring about them to a staff member could help discover delicious syrup and drink combinations!
On top of its impressive selection of drinks, Nightshade has separate menus for pastries and sandwiches—or, as written on their menu, “sand witches.” For customers looking for a sweet treat, four special croissants are offered. The “Midnight” croissant has dark chocolate and black salt, the “Little Lad” has berries and cream, and the “Fat Bee” has lavender cream, honey, and lemon zest. The cafe also offers the “Yule Feast” croissant, which leans into sandwich territory with its torched brie, salami, and rosemary marcona. If customers are hungry for lunch, they have a choice of three sandwiches: the “Fire & Cream,” with ricotta, egg yolk and pepper, the “Slavic Shadow,” with farmers cheese, radish, and scallion, and the “Counter Culture,” with mortadella and scamorza.
Nightshade Coffee hosts in-store events, like trivia nights and terrarium building, for those looking for a fun activity. Seasonal drinks are always in rotation to offer some fresh new flavors, so customers can be sure to check regularly for new creative beverages. Ain’t nothing like a drink from Nightshade to complete the perfect dark, stormy night!
