Quintessence

I loved this place. I had the All American «Burger» which was super tasty and filling. My dinner companion had the Mexican Platter, I had a taste of it and loved it. The place is small but the atmosphere was very nice and relaxed. I highly recommend this place.

What an awesome restaurant! I love the food and location. So nice to have a restaurant like this in NYC. The owner is so sweet and accommodating and has the highest integrity. And the food is delicious! There are more and more vegan restaurants in New York, but this is hands down my favorite.

Ordered the Butternut Squash and Tomato soup. Both were terribly awful. Couldn’t even finish the tomato.

SUPERB! A place everyone must visit; we will be back very soon. The food was delicious and provided so many great flavours and textures. But most importantly, the customer service was impeccable, and just added to the all round experience. Highly recommended.

Quintessence comes to me as a higher more expensive end vegan raw place to eat. With this East Village vegan place, I found the dining experience as whole to be A-​OK.
FOOD: I got the savory crêpe while my friend got the bibimbap. I would have to say that the bibimbap is definitely the way to go here at this place compared to the savory crêpe. I guess I’m not used to eating raw all the time, but I thought the crêpe would be one thing that should not be raw or at least have a not raw option. The bibimbap on the other hand mimicked that of a standard Korean restaurant. I think the quinoa base was a good modification to the dish. Overall though, the portions are very small compared to the price that you pay.
SERVICE: I thought the server did her best, but it was tough for her since she had to be a server and a waitress. Albeit, this place is small, the service suffered a little bit due to there only being one person in the front of the restaurant.
Although I am not vegan, I do appreciate eating vegetarian/​vegan a lot because of its sustainability and health benefits. Maybe Quintessence and I aren’t right for each other, but I wasn’t so crazy for vegan this time around here.

Purest food you can find in Manhattan. 100% organic, vegan, mostly raw, and very well priced considering the quality of what you get.
People spreading exaggerated and made up facts by the media have no idea of what is actually happening.

As I was strolling through this beautiful part of the city as a visitor from Los Angeles I walked upon Quintessence. Such a cute and cozy place where you can walk in and feel at home. Great service and extremely friendly. I ended up going back every single day while I was in the city and became friends with a lovely lady.

This is my absolute favorite raw food place in NYC they make incredible food and drinks. I was raving about it to my skeptical brothers and family (when there is no meat involved it’s not considered food to them) and they did admit the food was sensational! I mean the combination of flavors would melt any hearts, it opens up so many possibilities and what once was seen as bland (vegetables) can now be seen as a truly wondrous staple that has been misunderstood for far too long. This is a very small place but well worth the while to get there and be adventurous… The mini pizettes are delicious!!! Everything I tried made me feel like I undervalued vegetables for far too long, it opened my eyes and gave me new hope and excitement for raw foods… Whenever I am back in NY I’ll be sure to revisit this mouth watering little restaurant

Please, please, please give Quintessence a go. The food is absolutely delicious and the restaurant is cozy.
I recommend the Enchilada (small plate) and the All American Burger with BBQ sauce (w/​sprouted kamut bread). The burger tastes just as good as a non-​raw/​vegan burger and the bread is out of this world. Don’t be fooled by the photo. It’s hearty and absolutely amazing.
The small plates are actually pretty small so I recommend ordering two-​three plates.

I’m not vegan but I want to be so I checked this place out (so take what you read with a grain of salt)
Wasn’t super crazy about the roll I got but the nachos were good! Wasn’t a traditional nacho though. mostly guac and something spicy.
I had the food about an hour or so after I picked it up so I’m sure it is better straight after it has been made.
They made the food quickly so I didn’t miss my train which was good :)

This is my new neighborhood go-​to ever since I’ve been more strict on eating clean. They have a wide variety of inexpensive small and large plates. When I’m hungry and want something to tie me over until the next meal, I stop in for a $ 5 quinoa bowl. The best ones are the mushroom and curry cauliflower bowls. The staff is very friendly and the ambience gives off a nice peaceful zen feel.

Loved the food! Totally recommend o try the items on the brunch menu. The fofu is weird at first but makes the best breakfast egg you can imagine.
The all american burger was amazing, and the macadamia ice cream, yum!

This is the triumvirate: prices are highway robbery for the portions, with so-​so service to boot. I’ll preface this review by admitting that I am a fairweather vegetarian with the occasional hankering for steak and with no interest in going raw. I like the idea of eating cherry tomatoes and baby carrots for a good part of the day, but it’s only because I want to clear up space for the dinner buffet.
Anyway, it was a disaster.
2 spicy forfu rolls, 2 enchiladas, 1 vegan bibimbap, 1 small soup, and 1 banana crème pie was $ 80 with tip. What pigs, you might think, but the portions were for ant-​people. Each forfu roll was the size of two medium-​sized bites. The enchilada was neither lengthy nor girthy. I understand that, had I waited around 30 minutes, I would enjoy a feeling of pleasant satiation (or at the very least, that familiar sensation one experiences after consuming tons and tons of fiber), but I confess to turning beet-​red at paying so much for food I could have bought at the local organic store for half the price. The best thing about the whole meal was the sauce that came with the vegan bibimbap. The SAUCE. Condiments should never be the best thing ever.
The service was off too. There was only one girl running the whole rodeo, and she had an especially flat affect that made it hard to discern whether she thought I was ordering all the wrong things or just didn’t care if the soup tasted like boiled vegetables, with nary a sprig or a sprinkle of salt in sight. She also added two $ 8.50 chia drinks to the check when chia seeds love to embed themselves in the crevices of my teeth. Nope.
The banana crème pie was amazing. It was also $ 10, without ice cream.

It’s awesome to find a restaurant that offers the pure food that I normally eat! I feel happy that I can trust the food here to be healthy and clean.
All of the dishes seem almost chef made! I love the way the food is put together. Only con is that it’s kind of expensive to get full (the plates are quite small) but worth it!

Went here last week for my bf’s birthday and it was SO FANTASTIC. We were really looking forward to it (especially him — he’s mainly raw vegan) and it exceeded our expectations in every way.
I didn’t realize it would be so small and cozy but we were seated right away by the lovely waitress and she gave us plenty of time to decide what we wanted and gave us great recommendations. She was very friendly and helpful and was just the right amount of attentive but not overbearing.
Most things are served in ‘small plates’ tapas style, which is really fun to try a bunch of different things, but may throw people off if they are expecting dinner plate sized portions (hopefully people don’t come here looking for this as they will be disappointed). Most memorable was the enchilada (so crunchy and the sauce was amazing) and the pesto tostada, but everything we had (and we tried a lot) was amazing. And of course as it’s raw, we left feeling satisfied but not bloated and sleepy like normal after a restaurant meal.
The only drawback is that it was quite pricey, but for specialty food in a great atmosphere, it was definitely worth it. I wish I could afford to come here more often!

Rarely can I write a review with just one visit with such glowing confidence in the establishment, but this place deserves 5 stars on a first, second or hundredth visit. The staff is lovely, incredibly knowledgeable, and helpful. The décor is simple and clean. The menu is abundant and diverse. The plating is tasteful simplicity. The food is vegan, raw, gluten free divinity on a plate.
Let me say first and foremost that I am impressed that everything here is organic. Then, when you look at the prices and recognize the ingredients that they are serving… you have to award them 5 stars. How they do it, I don’t know. For NYC prices of this caliber raw vegan food that is all organic? I just don’t know. I feel like it’s a steal. In other cities and other restaurants even in NYC, they are not all organic, and if they are, the prices are easily 25−50% higher. Ok, aside from that…
The food! They have desserts that will make you happy, very happy, if you love raw eating. Even if you don’t like raw food, this place will change your mind for the better. Your palate will fall in love with a smooth finish to the pies and mousse-​like desserts that include rich and healthful coconut and chocolate flavors, berries and fruit. Heaven.
Ok, so maybe you don’t like dessert? Well, the beverages here are also incredible. Who doesn’t love chia if you’re a raw foodie? Well, they take it to the next level because they have an entire set of beverages based on chia seeds. Oh, yum — plus, of course, your «traditional» chia seed pudding (chocolate bonus!). They also have lattes and juices.
The starters are awesome, as all the small plates are starters/​appetizers. Their use of raw seaweed to make rolls absent the traditional cooked rice is impressive. The flavors stand out well against a rich encasing of raw nori. There is some cooked quinoa in some dishes, but everything else, including «caramelized onions,» is raw.
If you like sandwiches, they have an interesting take on sandwiches with some sprouted «bread.» I have never been a fan of raw «bread» being called «bread.» Bread is airy and light, but here, it is more like a chewy cracker. Not to say that it is bad — it is tasty, but, I would rather have a different preconceived idea than the label «bread» would create in my mind’s palate. They also have some «nachos» and pizza-​like offerings, which are based on having dehydrated foundations with some tasty veg toppings. Salads are classic, and the portions are reasonable. Nothing here is over the top in either price or serving, but they are all a «just right» kind of feel. These are portions that I feel normal appetites should be consuming.
The brunch offerings on the weekend are exciting with the avocado, fofu and sauces. The fofu, as others have noted, is delicious and unique among raw food establishments. Most of the time, something with that texture is rendered into a sweet treat. It is exciting to have it as a savory item!
I loved everything I ate here. The tiramisu special should be a permanent fixture on the menu — although it doesn’t have that fluffy ladyfinger sponge cake soaked in espresso/​coffee, they superbly captured the mascarpone+ coffee + cocoa flavor profile.
Can’t wait to go back!

This is the #2 raw restaurant in NYC, and it’s very close to #1 (which is, in my opinion, Pure Food & Wine).
The food is high quality, creative, and fresh. The servers are very friendly and knowledgable, and the place is well designed.
The only reason I don’t give them as good a rating as Pure Food & Wine is because the competition is very impressive in ambiance, presentation, and food quality. Quintessence is great and I intend to go back many times.

I stayed with my friend who’s vegan when I visited New York and this was probably my favorite spot we went to. It was French vegan food so everything was exquisite! The server was also super nice.
I got a veggie crêpe and green juice! The portions are on the smaller side but it was pretty filling. We walked around a lot sightseeing afterwards and I didn’t get too hungry.
There is a $ 20 minimum on credit cards! The prices are on the higher side so it’s pretty easy to spend $ 20 here.

Pleasantly surprised with the raw vegan meal I had here. The portions are tiny, but to my surprise very filling (then again I tend to eat smaller portions). I tried the portobello and american bbq veggie burger (the plating was definitely picture worthy despite the lack of pics). I think the desserts are much better than the meal itself.
I’ll likely return during the summer months, when I tend to eat lighter. Solid 4 stars in my book.

Frankly, this restaurant just did not impress. It was recommended to us, so clearly some people like it, but not us.
We had:
— started with a pumpkin spice latter: taste like warmed blended butternut squash, which I’m guessing it was, but it wasn’t good
— miso soup: taste like ginger or I guess earthy soup. We asked for it warmed and it was cold
— spicy fofu roll: we likes this one, which is a play on the spicy tuna roll! Yum!
— Asian pâté roll: This one was decent with a nice crunch of sprouts
— mushroom pilaf: quinoa and mushrooms. This was good, but could make at home
— Q club: veggie sandwich, but the cashew cream «cheese» made this pretty tasty. Basic though
— enchilada: this was our favorite! It was large, filling, and I have no idea how they made the refried beans or mole sauce, but it was good!
Space is tiny and very casual, but it fills up fast for dinner!

Si vous voulez tenter l’expérience Raw Food à New York, c’est l’adresse où il faut aller!
L’accueil est plutôt sympa, pas incroyablement chaleureux mais correct.
La salle est petite et chaleureuse.
La carte, elle, est assez géniale. On vous propose pizza, tartes, burgers même, mais tout ça version Raw Food/​Vegan (pas de produits laitiers, ou animaux, ou oeufs, aucune cuisson)
Alors soyez prêts: c’est à la fois très déstabilisant, et délicieux. Beaucoup d’avocat, d’olive, de graines (les patties du burgers sont des galettes de graines), de tomates séchées… Leurs assaisonnements sont superbes. Le guacamole est une réussite.
En revanche, bien que j’aie adoré mes plats, j’ai été nauséuse tout l’après midi les deux fois où j’y ai mangé… C’est très difficile à digérer, d’autant plus qu’ils mettent beaucoup de sauces dans leurs plats.
Allez y surtout pour les desserts qui sont absolument GLORIOUS comme on dit. Le banana cream pie est à tomber, une vraie tuerie.
Pas donné mais à tenter.