E.A.T.

New York, United States

2.2

20 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 212-772-0022
Website:
www.elizabar.com
Address:
1064 Madison Ave, New York, NY, 10028
b/t 80th St & 81st St
Upper East Side
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
380 ft79th St / Madison Ave
510 ft79th St / 5th Ave
0.2 mi79th St / Lexington Ave
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Today

Today –
Local time (New York) 12:36 PM Thursday, June 26, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Breakfasts from Eli’s bread, butter and jam to caviar omelets; soups, sandwiches, salads, and hot and cold dishes from blinis to roast chicken all day; sweets and savories at teatime; and dinners from grilled swordfish to veal chops.

Stop by day or night for a great meal, a cup of tea and a nosh, or to order a gift basket to wow friends and family or business contacts.

Catering:

Residential and Corporate Catering, including special Holiday menus, makes planning any event a snap

Gift baskets:

Our spectacular hampers are shipped all over the country — including as a favorite gift of the rich and famous. Packed with good eating, they’re unique in that almost everything in them is made by Eli.

History

Established in 1973.

E.A.T., Eli’s first shop, is still a showcase for his original ideas: salads made in small batches several times a day; overstuffed sandwiches on thin, very good bread; and tender, flaky croissants. This attention to detail, this careful thinking about how to refine an idea, remains Eli’s signature today.

Meet the Business Owner

Eli Z.

Business Owner

While the name Zabar is synonymous with smoked fish and the quintessential New York brunch, Eli Zabar envisioned a different kind of food store from his family’s West Side landmark delicatessen. Inspired by the food halls and the markets of London and Paris, Eli has become an institution on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, directly across town from the store and home where he grew up.

Vicinity

Near this location:
1
ft
Eli’s Bread
1064 Madison Ave
30
ft
E A T Gourmet Foods
1064 Madison Ave
70
ft
Deblinger Jason, DDS
19 E 80th St Ste 1C
80
ft
Peter Elliot Men’s Store
1070 Madison Avenue
80
ft
Peress Shops
1070 Madison Ave
80
ft
Aesop
1070 Madison Ave

20 reviews of E.A.T.

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Place rating: 3
Bridgeport, CT
The food is not bad. The service is not bad either. We had a split pea soup and octopus salad. Very fresh and well prepared. EXTREMELY PRICY! But this is the UES. None the less, the price does not match the experience. Upscale deli atmosphere. I would live this place to spruce it up. There are a lot of great eateries in the area where your money could go farther and for a better experience.
Place rating: 1
New York, NY
Obnoxiously expensive. Something like 18 $ for a grilled cheese sandwich. 9 $ for a bottle of amstel light (which incidentally was one of the few beers they carried – lol). Never again.
Place rating: 1
New York, NY
This is a ridiculously rude restaurant. We ordered the food and they don’t even let us sit down. Because we ordered at the to-​go session. If we knew, we could have ordered in the sitting down. But nobody told us. There are plenty of cafes around this neighborhood. We will never come back.
Place rating: 2
Manhattan, NY
The food is good (not great) but the prices are ridiculous. I’m very use to Nyc prices, I live here but these are insane for a «diner» type place. We spent $ 85 on one turkey sandwich, a bowl of soup and a salad… No drinks, just water! It is crazy!!!
Place rating: 1
Brooklyn, NY
I am not a tourist. I am a New Yorker. $ 24 for an average-​sized portion of mediocre mac and cheese. $ 6 for a small bottle of Coke. Strip clubs don’t even charge that amount for a Coke. A bunch of criminals preying on those who don’t know better and accept these kinds of prices because New York is «expensive.» SHAME ON YOU. I broadcast to the world now: DO NOT GIVE E.A.T. BUSINESS. PLEASE LET THIS PLACE DIE.
Place rating: 1
New York, NY
While I understand options in this neighborhood are fairly limited (especially for lunch) — I would avoid this one.
Three of us had lunch at E.A.T. recently on a Saturday late-​afternoon. First and foremost, it is extremely overpriced. Even by New York standards. I had the salad with goat cheese and a cup of regular coffee. My meal consisted of a plate of greens with 4 pieces of goat cheese, and an awful watered-​down cup of coffee.
For $ 27 (PLUS tax and tip) — I would have expected a lot more.
Given the ridiculous prices, you would expect a clean restaurant. Unfortunately, the restroom was filthy and apparently hadn’t been cleaned in hours.
E.A.T. calls itself a «quintessential New York eatery» (?) I absolutely do not agree, and recommend going elsewhere.
Place rating: 3
Manhattan, NY
I just grabbed a bagel with butter and it was pretty good, but a cost a little more than it should’ve… Still good though
Place rating: 4
Manhattan, NY
Hmmm. How do I defend E.A.T??? I have read all the negative reviews– and some (most?) of them are completely accurate. But I still keep going back to it? Why? I think E.A.T. is now kind of tenured for me. Alright, that is a weak defense. But for what it’s worth Matzo Ball soup is worth the price.
Place rating: 3
Oakland, CA
Zabars is a NYC institution. EAT is an extension of Zabars, and was started by Eli Zabar. I’m sorry, Eli, my expectations were too high!!!
We tried a whole bunch of things, including: grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, salmon paillard, soup, broccoli with garlic, tomato & mozzarella salad, Mexican chopped salad, and salmon salad. We were really disappointed by the food. The broccoli was under-​cooked, the salmon salad over-​mayonnaised, tomato & mozzarella salad mushy, the chicken and fish dishes underwhelming. The best parts of the meal were the matzo ball soup (naturally) and the giant basket of fresh bread they put on the table. The raisin pecan bread is particularly awesome. Also of note is E.A.T.‘s chocolate babka. However, for the INSANE prices they charge, their dinner options are remarkably bleh. You’ve been warned, tourists!
Place rating: 2
Aurora, IL
Passed by the area when we’re done walking around Central Park for a quick pit stop from our east coast road trip. First impression very cramped space, even the restroom which feels like an airplane’s lavatory. But I guess we were in New York so real estate is always very limited. Expect to spend some major dough for a sandwich, to put it simply everything is overpriced. Getting seated is another story. Took us 15−20mins just to get rest for our aching feet.
We ordered for the chopped liver sandwich $ 14, smoke salmon $ 18, and chicken salad $ 16. Everything is what you expect from a deli and I would say I had better at a local deli shop at least half the cost. I love the huge selection of meats and pastry that you can’t help at least buying few pieces to try, next thing you know you’re at the cashier paying an $ 80 bill just for giving in to your sweet tooth. Oh well!
Place rating: 3
Brooklyn, NY
This place has great sweets and even some good sandwiches but the prices are sky high.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
Really expensive, better than average pastries. A bit of a tight squeeze as far as the space goes and the sliding glass doors of the breads/​pastries were left open by the patrons which can’t be good for freshness. Wouldn’t go if I wasn’t in the area already and not willing to eat at the Met café.
Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA
I ordered the bacon egg and cheese sandwich on brioche. It was ok, but it was served on what looked like a basic hamburger bun. I know brioche and I can tell you 100% that was not brioche. Other than that the service was good.
Place rating: 3
Manhattan, NY
So EAT is an Eli Zabar’s establishment, and I obviously have to agree with every single other reviewer and concede that it is offensively over-​priced. There’s no arguing with that. My parents and I continue to patronize this place, however, because of how conveniently close it is to their Upper East Side apartment. That, and, if we’re being honest, their stuff is pretty delicious, despite the ridiculous price tag. For brunch I’ll usually do the tower of bagel, which is a bagel cut in four slices and spread with scallion cream cheese and lox. I’m very picky about my smoked salmon and EAT’s is up to my standards. It’s a whopping 25 $ for this. I also love their pre-​packaged sandwiches, but at 14 – 16 $ most people won’t find them good enough to justify the cost. The seafood salad is also delicious, but again, $ 22 for a small container. I am surprised that they’re still in business with these prices, but I do enjoy their food!
Place rating: 1
Town of Hempstead, Long Island, NY
Way too expensive for barely any meal, and unaccommodating service.
Apparently, you can’t ask for a simple grilled chicken sandwich.
Wont be returning here again.
Place rating: 3
Westchester / LAX, Los Angeles, CA
This place is on Madison Avenue. We came out of the Metropolitan Museum of art and were starving. We stopped here to get sandwiches for dinner. It is very expensive. The good thing is the sandwiches were great. My chicken salad was piled high and it was really enough for two people to share. My husband got the grilled cheese and it was very good.
The service was fine. The restaurant was clean. The restrooms were clean. It cost us $ 50 for two sandwiches and one hot chocolate. Ouch.
Place rating: 3
New York, NY
It’s what you would expect from a Zabars… it’s expensive, but it’s Good. Solidly good. I loved the meat borscht which was chunky, not puréed. And I split a turkey club w a friend. The sandwich was toasted to golden perfection and since we were sharing they brought each half to us plated w lightly dressed greens. Service was charming.
Place rating: 2
Manhattan, NY
Maybe don’t come here. The food and drink are too pricey for their quality, and aren’t very good to begin with. The interior is a bit tired-​looking and the service, while friendly, is a little slow.
It’s just not very good.
Place rating: 1
New York, NY
Blah.
I was in the area for some odd reason and I was starving and needed some food. I just blindly walked into this place without knowing anything about it. What a mistake. I should’ve fired up Unilocal…
I ordered a mushroom barley soup, pint size basically. When the clerk rang it up and told me «$ 10.83 please,» I was quite shocked at the price tag, but then I thought, maybe it is really good soup.
So needless to say, it’s going to take a lot for you to live up to $ 10 for a bowl of soup, but this bowl of mushroom barley doesn’t even live up to a $ 2 bowl. It was bland, and very oily.
I guess this will be my first and last time in here… so long farewell…
Place rating: 1
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
How on earth is this place even still there. Please, grap your things and go. Make room for a better place with better food and better prices.
A sandwich costs here at least 16 dollar. Therefore you get a before prepared sandwich which isn’t tasteful at all. Because it is probably yesterday prepared, it is cold. It taste like nothing.
For 2 horrible sandwiches and 2 cup of tea we spend more then 60 dollar. It’s crazy. And then without any shame asking for a tip. Okay I know it’s normal here but I was thinking of no tip at all. Please, don’t go here. Just get a hotdog at the trailers in front of the museum.