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    Essen Fast Slow Food

    3.2 (278 reviews)
    ModerateBagels, Delis, Buffets
    Open • 5:00 am - 7:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    ESSEN FAST SLOW FOOD ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Caesar Chicken Salad
    Jack H.

    If you are eating at Essen it's probably because you work nearby and need lunch, and that's as good a reason as any to eat well. Essen is a cafeteria style restaurant with a salad bar, hot food bar, salad station, noodle station, sandwich station and a juice station, with dozens of options (you can also generally build whatever you want within reason). At the end of the day you either go up to a station, get what you want, and pay, or else you go to the salad bar and fill up your pound of food. Once you've picked out what you want, wander on up to the front of the store and meet the cashiers, who will VERY efficiently ring up your meal and send you on your way. By default they'll package you to go, but there seems to be a way to eat in as well. You can take your food upstairs if you want to get some time away from the office, or just head on back to the grind. Overall, this is a great option for a quick lunch alone or with a group (everyone can get what they want). It's hardly gourmet, but it's quick and reasonably cheap ($20 for lunch in midtown seems good to me).

    Tuscan Pressed Panini ($9.25)
    Susana I.

    Super convenient place to eat and grab a snack. They have a huge selection of food from hot sandwiches, salads, fruit, desserts, drinks, and ready-to-eat meals. Today I had their Tuscan panini ($9.25) and it had: fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil, spinach and sun-dried tomato with balsamic, served on European flat bread. The sandwich was a good portion and it was super satisfying. I also ordered a Joe Peach Tea which was super refreshing since today was so hot/humid. I love how there's plenty of seating upstairs and the overall cafeteria feel of Essen. Highly recommend if you want something fast on the go.

    Oatmeal with coconut milk, strawberries and bananas, brown sugar and cinnamon
    Renee R.

    Essen is a pick your own deli type of eatery. I've been here several times for lunch and they have a wide variety of food. All very good. I am a regular for breakfast, they have a fantastic assortment and my favorite is the oatmeal bar, they have several different varieties of oatmeal and toppings. My favorite is the oatmeal with coconut milk, brown sugar and cinnamon and fruit. You make it yourself so you can perfect it!

    a bowl of pasta and a cup of coffee
    Simon P.

    For a lunch place on a work day, this place has everything - sushi, ramen, udon, sandwich, pasta, etc. In such a prime area the price point is reasonable, the quality of food is in general not bad either. I would avoid the coffee, but otherwise a great lunch takeout spot.

    Upstairs eating area
    Don I.

    This is another one of those high-end cafeteria type of places that has prepared food sold by the pound in a very wide variety On this particular visit I was looking for something later and found it in the sushi section with a pretty good seaweed salad and tuna avocado rolls Probably about 40 feet of cold cases of various type of bottled and canned beverages to go with your meal selection I was in the gap between lunch and dinner so plenty of staff to take care of you and chefs on the standby to make your salad or other hot entrées They had both a hot buffet with everything from chicken marsala to Chinese food as well as a cold buffet with a large selection of salads and fruits Bathrooms are for customers only and they print the door lock code on the bottom of the receipt which seems like a pretty decent idea They also had a very large upstairs seating area with tables from 2 to 10 people and a good selection at this time of day

    Parfait ($3.96) & bagel w/ lox spread ($2.75) very average bagel, parfait overpriced AF

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    2 years ago

    a bit overpriced but it is midtown. the food is good/fresh and can get hectic during lunch hour.

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    Great variety of stuff but it's pretty expensive. It's about a dollar or two ouch on each order. I do not mind coming here.

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    Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli - Everything bagel w/ egg, cheese, tomato, and avocado

    Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli

    4.3(701 reviews)
    1.1 mi•Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West
    •$$

    We had a lazy morning and procrastinated on getting breakfast, but I was determined to get some…read morereal New York bagels during the trip! I'm so glad Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli popped up in my search, as it was exactly what I was looking to enjoy. A couple of us trekked the few blocks to find the storefront. Inside it was PACKED, and several groups and lines snaked around the dividers. But the line moved quickly between customers picking up to-go meals and placing orders at the counters. The display cases are beautiful and feature so many different kinds of cream cheese. (Who knew you could make a whole vat of Biscoff?) They also had many types of smoked fish and toppings for customers filing through. Once you order food, you take your ticket to the register where you can add any drinks. This also went fairly quickly. Food and drink order numbers were called out and checked with the receipts, although they called out a set of orders for several minutes and no one came to pick them up. There are a few tables there, but since customers wait to grab drinks and food near the front, the couple tables at the front were basically for crowd control. I definitely wouldn't try to eat there unless I happened to be going at a quieter time. I got the bagel with smoked salmon, and it was exactly what I had been craving. Their bagels are a quarter pound each, so you might even get two meals out of it if you have a fridge for storage. But even as good as the bagel was, the hot chai latte with oat milk was the star for me. It was so incredibly layered for flavor and fragrant, just lightly sweet. I would go out of my way on a trip to NYC just to get one of these for breakfast! We all really enjoyed our food, and I will definitely return.

    After HOURS of walking through Central Park, I was hungry hungry. So when I tell you I was ready…read morefor this BLT bagel to change my life... Unfortunately, it did not. First mistake was mine. I should've trusted my first instinct and went with a different bagel. I chose everything, and that seasoning overpowered the entire sandwich. All I could taste was EVERYTHING. But what I can't take responsibility for is the bacon. Where was it?! A BLT with barely any B is nasty work. Especially after I just walked half of Central Park. I needed substance! Maybe I'd give Broad Nosh another shot and order differently, but this particular sandwich? I was NOT pleased. Palate don't lie. ‍

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    Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli - Busy place for a Thursday at 9:30am

    Busy place for a Thursday at 9:30am

    Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli - Smoked Salmon (Lox) Cream Cheese Sandwich Catering

    Smoked Salmon (Lox) Cream Cheese Sandwich Catering

    Broad Nosh Bagels & Deli - Pastrami Reuben

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    Brooklyn Delicatessen Times Square - Bacon egg & cheese sandwich

    Brooklyn Delicatessen Times Square

    4.0(69 reviews)
    0.5 mi•Theater District, Midtown West

    Last day in New York back the end of March, found us looking for a place to get warm and grab some…read morefood while doing our last exploring dash through Times Square. We ducked here to grab some nourishment before I became to hangry. Ordering takes place at the counter then grab a table. I had a 1/2 bowl of their "famous chicken soup" and 1/2 pastrami sandwich. Had good flavor and was enough to warm me up on this brisk morning. My niece did a bagel, and after trying all week she finally got one exactly how she wanted it made. We ate and chilled for a bit, no plans for the day other than making it to the airport to go home. Was able to people watch and catch up without feeling rushed to leave. Saw locals come through, so you know it is a place worth stopping. The staff were nice and even apologized for not being able to give me the soup I wanted in a half order. Though things can often get overlooked and passed by in the hustle and bustle of the city...stop in and relax while you grab a bite to eat.

    Date of visit: April 14, 2026…read more Our friend wanted to go to a real New York deli during her first trip to the city and this is the one in the vicinity of Times Square and our evening show that was the highest rated according to my fellow Yelpers, but I am not quite sure why based on our experience. Things did start out great, with Boudjema being very friendly and helpful as we placed our order. And once we got seated, we were able to fully appreciate the vibe, both in the primarily 70s playlist, but also the mirror and brass touches across the restaurant. Food-wise, however, there were some definite opportunities. My Roasted Turkey sandwich did come on quite possibly the best rye bread I have ever had, warm and flavorful. But while the gravy was also good, the turkey was cold. This odd temperature mismatch made it hard to appreciate the generous portion of meat on the sandwich. We also ordered some tater tots and those were quite good. While it definitely could have been worse--and I've had worse in New York City--this also could have been so much better.

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    Brooklyn Delicatessen Times Square - Brownie

    Brownie

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    Essen Fast Slow Food - bagels - Updated September 2026

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