Essen Slow Fast Food

I go here with my colleagues nearly every single workday. If you go at 11:30−45 to the hot & cold bars, you will have a better lunch experience than anything I can think of relative to the price.
Essen provides a scrumptious array of options from kale salad to gourmet mac & cheese. The meat selection is consistently on point (I usually lean toward the baked salmon) with legitimate variety.
One of the underrated parts about the Essen experience has to be speed (mind you I’m referring specifically to the hot/​cold bars which I contend should be graded independently from the rest of the establishment). I walk in, fill my box, and in no time I’m summonded by a lovely lady in a pink shirt to weigh my food!
In closing, I’m compelled to submit such praise for Essen NOT because I want to encourage more business, but rather because I’m motivated to remunerate this fine restaurant in more ways than just my money.

Large scale deli/​hot food sections/​everything else in between. Really nothing special and overpriced. If it wasn’t in the same building of my office and if I wasn’t super lazy I wouldn’t go here.

This place gets the job done for me. If I’m ravenous and forgot to pack my breakfast, I usually run in here for a quick trip to the breakfast buffet. Now the food itself is bland and there is nothing exceptional about it. I like that there are different varieties of eggs, so I can have my choosing and drizzle with a gallon of hot sauce at work. Anyway, it’s not exceptional, but it’s better than eating no breakfast.
The iced coffee is tasty (although I digress that sometimes I worry they don’t clean those things), and the staff is friendly.
Doesn’t break my wallet to come here sometimes, sad that there isn’t more variety in this part of midtown.

Had the vegetarian sushi today.
It was actually tasty, unlike others I’ve tried, was plentiful and inexpensive.
Will definitely be coming back here.

Essen’s selection is great. Their food quality is very high and their soups are well priced and delicious. Really impressed with it!!!

TATER TOTS!
Best regards,
Tots lover

Since I work in the area, I tend to stop by this place when I want some hot food or soup! Honestly, midtown is not the best place to eat affordable food. Most of the places I knew were around the 42^nd Grand Central area and thirty minutes was definitely not enough for me to make that trip!
They have a buffet where you pay according to the weight of your food. A lot of delis do this so it’s nothing too surprising. But this place is perfect for me since I want food and I want to be fed ASAP! I don’t need to eat THAT much so last time I got food for less than six bucks! What a steal! But if you need much more food than me then your food won’t be as cheap as mine. Just a fair warning. Heh.
Other than that, cashier was quite nice and talkative when I didn’t arrive during the busy lunch time. During this time, I opted to just get a small chicken noodle soup. Very friendly, funny and had a nice smile! She provided enjoyable conversation when I honestly expected to just pay for my food and go! The soup was not too salty and was quite tasty. It hit the spot during the chilly weather~
Enjoyed the food whenever I stopped by, so I’ll definitely keep on visiting this location!
EDIT: (Taking off one star on my previous review) For some reason, they don’t provide water for customers? I ate here before and the really kind cashier gave me water.
But as I eat at this place at this very moment, this other woman stated that they «don’t do that.»
Oh ok. I mean it’s not like I didn’t just buy food??? The hell is that shit.
So maybe you guys need to teach your employees to be consistent and have better customer service. Just a thought!

The employee in question recognized me when I was walking past and apologized in person to me. Unilocal is weird — I think there’s too much potential for knee-​jerk reactions, considering the internet moves much faster than real life. If I had waited I probably would have never ended up posting this after he apologized to me. From now on, if I have a bad experience, I’m going to talk to the place directly. Unilocal really should be an absolute last resort — or maybe not an option at all — after basic human interaction fails.
People make mistakes. We’re only human. I bet the world would be a better place if more people erred on the side of forgiveness & face to face interactions instead of passive aggressive online reviews.

Best service, fresh food, so many options, fair prices, friendly staff and quick check out, even during morning and lunch rush hours.
They are my go-​to when I don’t have time to pack food.
Btw, this is in STARK contrast to the Blake & Todd across the street — overpriced, rude, slow.

I love places in Manhattan serving lunch. Salads, sandwiches, soups and smoothies are my thing. Went to this place after a physician’s appointment who just happened to be across the street. Read all the reviews on Unilocal but was kind of disappointed with the food. There were skimpy vegetarian options and whatever they were, they had a strange stench. Although I will try the salad bar next time!

In the morass of expensive and mediocre midtown lunch places, Essen stands as a beacon of hope… When you go in, make an immediate left and you will find yourself in the udon section. All options are under $ 10 (!!) and when you add all the toppings, which include tofu, seaweed, carrots, and other misc veggies, it makes for a very filling and satisfying lunch. My favorite so far has been the pork dumpling udon — not very authentic of course and the dumplings look like they’ve probably been sitting out for a while, but who cares when it’s this delicious.

If you’re a Seinfeld fan, THIS is where to get a BIG SALAD. Seriously, they’re monstrous and you can put whatever you want in ‘em for under $ 10, which is pretty sweet, if you like some life in your salad, like me.
Smoothies are okay, too.

Disclaimer: I only like the salad bar and this review is mainly for the salad bar. I think everything else is overpriced and would not recommend.
I love the salad bar. It’s precisely $ 9.74 after tax for a small salad with unlimited toppings. UNLIMITED toppings. So yeah, it becomes a healthy large salad after I have my way with it. Here’s how it usually goes:
Me: Small spring mix and baby spinach please
Him: What toppings?
Me: Broccoli, onions, grape tomatoes, ummm… carrots and umm. spicy chicken
Him: *gives me a LOT of chicken*
Me: Spicy shrimp, hard boiled egg, turkey, ham
Him: Chopped?
Me: Mozzarella, corn…
Him: Chopped?
Me: Roasted red peppers, chickpeas. and cauliflower please! Sorry yes, chopped! Oh can I also have avocado???
Him: *starts chopping* What kinda dressing?
Me: Spicy sesame please, and can I have some bacon and walnuts too?
Him: *finishes chopping and has to push my salad down in order to fit inside the small container*
Every time I come here I feel like a little kid again. The thrill of choosing everything as part of the unlimited deal is so incredibly enticing.
They change up some of their toppings so there’s sometimes steak! I love steak in my meat salad. Also, avocado is included as part of the unlimited at no additional cost? Marry me!!!
I hate crowds and love having fresh and plentiful selections so I make it my mission to either come here at 11:30am or not at all.
Okay. a slight update a couple months later: it’s not the freshest and they kinda skimp on the greens, but definitely still bang for your buck for all the protein you can add on.

GREAT salad bar. Unlimited toppings. Quick, efficient service.

Very upset with how this place is running. Maybe when I actually try this place, I’ll change the rating but first of all, it says they’re opened till 6PM. I arrived with my coworker around 3:30−4PM and they were already cleaning and ready to leave. We were so confused and asked where is everything and why are they cleaning so early and they just shrugged us off and giggled. TERRIBLE!

This is where I come to get my Korean fix for quick sushi and soba & udon noodle soup (phở).
This is quite the lunch rush spot, so it’s always good to call ahead if your in a rush and just want to pick up. Also they deliver, but be sure to give them about a 60 minute heads up because this is quite a popular spot for local businesses.
The prices are on par for Midtown lunch places, but are generally higher than similar locations downtown. Location, location, location dictates price.
They also have a large selection of hot and cold sandwiches made to order, daily soup selections like fresh chicken noodle (with big chunks of shredded chicken and veggies), turkey chili, or miso. These always hit the spot on a cold winter day.
The salad station is always very popular, but if your in a rush they also have a hot and cold table with plenty of daily options to fill your To-​Go box with.
TIP: The freshest time to get from the hot and cold table is 11AM. After 2PM stuff tends to sit longer and longer till it’s gone.
Great spot for setting up a corporate account !

I was in NYC for business a couple of weeks ago when I came across this awesome breakfast/​lunch spot in midtown. I was somewhat skeptical at first because it looked like a typical cafeteria style joint — but it wasn’t! They had a huge selection (udon, sushi, sandwiches, cold/​hot food, salad bar, burgers, and on and on) of dishes that were reasonably priced. The first day I went to Essen, I tried their shumai udon and spicy salmon roll. The 2^nd day, I picked up their sashimi salad. All of these dishes were freakin good– better than some of the Japanese restaurants I’ve been to. This place was clean, quick, and everything that you would want in a lunch spot. We need a place like this in seattle!

Don’t fear the long line at the Udon table… this establishment knows what they’re doing and they have service down packed. Nestled quietly between buildings, this is definitely not your typical «fast food» joint. They’re clean, they offer a decent variety of dishes, have reasonable prices and their food is consistently fresh and delicious. If you work in midtown, this is a must try lunch spot!

Loved the unlimited topping salad station. Great value and selection

I liked this place a lot, not only because it is so close to my company, but also because it offered so many options. Their beef soba is definitely a must try. Besides, they have good soup and good buffet. The line is not long also if you come early in the morning or at noon!