Melbourne-style cafes have arrived in New York City and the locals are literally lining up to get in.

Cafes with Melbourne-themed names such as Brunswick, Little Collins and Bluestone Lane are standing out by providing friendly table service.

Brunswick's owner Alexander Hall said American coffee shops usually require customers to order and pay at the counter.

"It’s the table service that sets us apart from the Americans," he told 774 ABC Melbourne's Red Symons.

He said many American coffee shops had a "turn 'em and burn 'em" approach to their patrons.

"If you lose one customer there's plenty more behind."

He said Australian cafe owners are more likely to understand that the customer is important.

"Being trained in Melbourne you realise the worse the customer, the better you treat them."

Good coffee, good food

While the USA has a reputation in Australia for having terrible coffee, making a decent latte is no longer enough to stand out in America's largest city.

Mr Hall said the coffee had improved dramatically since he first arrived in America eight years ago.

"You're almost hard pressed now to not get a good coffee," he said.

A recent article in the New York Times on Australian cafes notes they offer good food and good coffee under one roof, where most American businesses offer one or the other.

The piece describes menu items peculiar to Australian cafes, including the flat white (which it mistakenly describes as "a small latte") and the avocado smash.

One thing that isn't on the menu is Vegemite.

"We have it for the staff," said Mr Hall. "We keep a secret stash."

"The Americans really screw their nose up at it."

Brunswick is one of six cafes Mr Hall owns in New York, but others are doing well with the business model too.

He said Midtown cafe Little Collins is "doing a really great job."

"Pretty much from 7am in the morning to 6pm at night you're lining up outside to get in."

Lining up for a cafe may seem alien to a Melburnian, but Mr Hall said it is expected in New York.

"The problem with New Yorkers is if there's no line you’re not going to go."

"You could have the best cafe in the whole of New York but if there’s no line outside, no-one’s going to turn up."

The New York cafes aren’t the only Australian-style businesses operating in the USA.

A 774 ABC Melbourne listener rang from Texas and said he didn't know of any Australian cafes but had visited a meat pie shop in El Paso called "Down Under".

"The funny thing is, its run by a couple of New Zealanders," he said.