Birdbath Neighborhood Green Bakery

You can’t get better service anywhere else. The people that run this place are really awesome. I had gone in the day before I had an important meeting to cater, just on recon and for some of their delicious coffee. I’m spoiled for coffee now. After a few questions about the bulk coffee I went on my way thinking I would put the order in this morning. I walk in this morning and it’s already put together for me! There was even an offer of a quick escort to the office (not that far) because of the bulk of the order. I couldn’t just walk out without a pile of scones. That would be uncivilized and sad. We did some Tetris magic and managed to get everything in a bag so I could manage on my own.
These guys are awesome, the coffee is amazing, the pastries are perfect and they have hot chocolate with real marshmallows! I’ll be there every morning I can. Thanks guys, you rock!

I just recently found out about Birdbath from a coworker who frequently eats lunch from there. I’m always looking for a new lunch place to mix things up and try something new. I went to Birdbath a few weeks ago for the first time and it was great! The line seemed a little long, but it was lunch time in a popular work neighborhood next to grand central.
The concept is interesting that they have pre made sides and you fill up a box with different sides. It depends on what size and that will allow for different number of sides. I’ve got to say they totally fill up the box. The first time I ordered (being an amateur) I ordered the medium and the amount of food was absolutely ridiculous. I actually ate less than half for lunch and ended up taking home the rest for dinner and having even more left over. I clearly learned that the small was way more than enough for just lunch. In the small I believe you’re allowed 3 sides? But not 100% sure.
Side options:
Mac n’ cheese– this is probably my favorite side. It’s awesome mac n’ cheese that’s perfectly cheesy.
Spaghetti squash– love this side! It’s spaghetti squash with a red sauce and it’s delicious!
Broccoli– Roasted broccoli side is pretty good, but they give a large portion and I’d rather have just a few pieces.
Sweet Potato– It almost looks like sweet potato fries, but they’re thicker strips of baked sweet potato that’s very yummy!
There’s many more side options, but these are the usuals that I order. It’s a great place and it’s also the same as City Bakery, which I love. The pastry’s are excellent and the prices are semi reasonable.

Since I’m on a name basis with my Tues-​Fri crew, I guess it’s about time to write this up. (They’re great, obviously).
In this food desert called Midtown East, I just look for the basics to survive a work week: fast, close, and fresh. Variety in food selection would be a quality of an overachiever.
Fast: Even if the line seems long, most of the lunch rush come for the salad bar, so the staff goes through the line quickly. I’m usually in and out in under ten minutes.
Close: one block away
Fresh: Everything arrives fresh daily. Lots of local, organic, part vegan, and seasonal foods.
Variety: The salad bar usually has 1 – 2 rotating items that vary by season. Same with the special sandwiches/​wraps.
Recommended orders:
— get a SMALL salad box. Birdbath apparently had a bit of trouble understanding the proportion «small» … to our benefit. The box may look small-​er, but they fill it up to the brim and you’ll walk away with a heavy, hearty meal. You can mix the cold/​hot salad bar, so definitely do so. My go to is getting the broccoli with mac & cheese on top, amongst other things. Because if I can’t eat like a 5 year old, what’s the point?
Also good: spaghetti squash, kale salad w/​chicken, sweet potato (seasonal)
I’d avoid: the tofu with bean sprouts concoction
— Pumpkin seed burger: Not bad for being veggie. Has middle eastern spices and maintains its moisture. The Moroccan flat bread adds the not so healthy savory flavor into the mix.
— Breakfast wraps (scallion cheddar is my favorite, but you could do half/​half with the egg white avocado spinach)
— Five grain cereal
— Seasonal Shrimp burrito
— Seasonal ginger/​pear muffin
Oh, it costs an arm and a leg to purchase food here.

I’ve been here a number of times. It’s not cheap but you do get a decent amount of food. I usually get a small salad box and it’s best to tell your server which salads you want first so they can strategize. Don’t forget the hot ones either — the butternut squash one was amazing and my coworker loves the mac n cheese. After a while I got really sick of chewing the lacinato kale. The food seems clean and relatively healthy but not everything is (look at the pastry case).
I call this place hipster food… they’re not open that late.

Love this place:
— Creative foods that are high in quality
— Happy + friendly service
— Nice outdoor seating (for when weather permits)
Looking forward to incorporating this place in my weekday lunch rotation. A hidden gem in an otherwise boring, corporate neighborhood.

Jeff & Chad were super helpful on my aunt & I’s «bakery crawl» we got the pretzel croissant and it was amazing! they also threw in a free cookie.

I loveeee this place! Ahh! It only loses one star because it certainly is pricey. Lunch can very easily cost $ 20+ dollars.
First, the pumpkin seed burger is my favorite veggie burger ever. It has middle-​eastern seasoning and is savory, moist, and just so delicious. It’s served with avocados, onions and cilantro. It’s so balanced and so satisfying. It is served on the most wonderful Moroccan flat bread which kind of has a fried flavor which is so so yummy.
Next! The side salad I tried, Kale chicken corn salad, was crisp and wholesome. I felt so good eating it! (It tasted good too!)
I’ve ordered their cookies many times. They are some of my favorite in the city. I prefer the double chocolate cookies but the chocolate chip are great too.
Lastly, their pretzel croissants are to die for. If you get one to go, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds and top with jam or preserves and you will be in heaven.

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Great cookies, fantastic salad bar offerings. I have two main problems: 1) it’s expensive, as others have noted, and 2) there are always FLIES everywhere. They need to invest in a fly zapper thing, because seeing flies around all the food is very unappetizing. Also, while I absolutely LOVE the salads, $ 12 for a medium box is pretty expensive, though it’s a decent size. The $ 9.50 for the small will leave you hungry. An in between size would be perfect! The cookies are amazing, but the pull apart bread was bland and stale.
A quick warning: If you hate cilantro like me, be sure to ask about the salads. Half of them seem to have cilantro in them!

the atmosphere is inviting and trendy and i liked it immediately. the fact that there isnt a menu and you just point at things was immediately overwhelming. a few things looked good, but you need to know whats in them ya know? weird. i settled for the veggie panini bc how can you mess up a panini right? well $ 15 later, i took my first bite and it tasted like cardboard. tried one more bite and threw my $ 15 sandwich away.
from the reviews it sounds like i maybe shouldve settled for a cookie.

Décor (⁷⁄₁₀)
The décor is pleasant and great place to sit and relax during the day. There is plenty of space compared to some of the other smaller coffee shops around town.
Service (²⁄₁₀)
Service was such a disappointment. I have been trying quite a few coffee and bakery places nearby and this is by far the worst. The server seemed unenthusiastic and unfriendly. He obviously was new because he charged me two tea bags in my tea without asking me.
Food (⁶⁄₁₀)
Food was so so. I got a blueberry cornbread muffin. Nothing special and I’ve had plenty better.

This lunch spot isn’t dirty like the name «Birdbath» implies. Birdbath actually has a nice atmosphere with outdoor tables and an open feel, which is hard to come by in midtown. Prices are high (like most lunch spots in midtown), and they offer artisan style sandwiches and baked goods with high quality ingredients.
But, the food was a bit of a disappointment. I found my chicken sandwich to be very dry and not as tasty as it looked.
However, service is friendly, and it is a decent spot to find some quiet time in midtown.

Amazing portions, amazing salads, amazing spaghetti squash, amazing cookies and finally how can you forget the pretzel croissants! For $ 10 the box weights like 10lbs! Everything is delicious! So glad I found this spot, and I have also started bringing co-​workers!

Always grumpy and unpleasant staffs…
I only come this shop just because I love their pretzel croissant.

This place has really awesome pastries. Their cookies are really great made with high quality, organic ingredients. I highly recommend their oatmeal one. They also have excellent hot chocolate, which tastes like a melted chocolate bar so it’s super filling. I had the small one for breakfast and couldn’t eat for the rest of the day since it was so dense.

Birdbath is the crunchy earth hugging little sister of City Bakery, famous for the world’s best hot chocolate. Thanks to the keen eye of Nelson W., I’ve added Birdbath to my lunch rotation.
Birdbath serves up high quality, grab and go tartines, sandwiches, various premade salads, soups, pastries, one hot pasta dish, and hot chocolate every day. So far I’ve sampled several of their salads, favoring the curried cauliflower, beets, shrimp and arugula, sweet potato, pesto chicken, and anything with kale. The servers will pack up as many salads as you would like to try into a brick sized to-​go box and surprisingly, its dense enough for a full meal without having empty calories. I’ll usually treat myself to the hot chocolate as well, because it is THAT GOOD.
The price point is over $ 10 for most. Prices are also not posted anywhere — you’ll need to grab a paper menu from in front of the register if you’re trying to save a buck or two. The salad plus chocolate comes in just under $ 15 with tax. But its a high quality lunch that keeps me truckin all afternoon.
Note that the location is in 2 Grand Central Tower, set back from the street. In the cold months, enter from the lobby so you keep it warm. There are about 8 seats inside, but in the summer they place additional tables outside.

City Bakery brings its popular offshoot, Birdbath, to Midtown East. Here you have a bakery that is dedicated to fresh, organic ingredients for its salads, sandwiches, and soups. With that comes a relatively steeper price point for most breakfast and lunch seekers who are not picky. It will annoy some who notice that prices are not listed anywhere. An average meal can set you back $ 10+.
For others who appreciate the concept of an eco-​friendly eatery, Birdbath has everything going for it. The salads and soups taste very fresh and flavorful leaving you not feeling overdosed in oil or sodium by the end of consumption. If you are allowed one bad eat for comfort, then their mac-​n-​cheese will surely hit that spot. The vegan chocolate chip cookies are excellent without being «oversugared», and the amazing City Bakery hot chocolate (with giant marshmallows) can be found here as well. The enormous Baker’s Muffin alone, with its crusted top sprinkled with powdered sugar and soft interior loaded with raisins and walnuts, makes it worth giving Birdbath a visit!

Birdbath’s $ 9 flat price for a boxed salad is my go-​to for a healthy, appetizing lunch. The deal is you choose and mix as many salads they have that day and they add to the box until it is absolutely full.
Their selection changes every day to keep things interesting. Their kale and chicken salad — one of my favorites — is usually available. Tender and moist chicken breast with a tad of pepper and fresh kale mixed in light olive oil is a great balance of greens and protein meal. Purple rice is chewy and mildly aromatic — a great source of iron and vitamins, and has similar fiber content as brown rice.
Lemon shrimp and linguine is a heavier salad choice. Tofu and bean sprouts is a light salad with Asian flare. Mushroom and farfalle (bow tie-​shaped pasta) for a meatless option but heavier on carbs.
The baked goods don’t get me excited. The cookies are dry and hard as rocks, and the muffins are bland.
Hot chocolate is kept in a huge metal pot as the soups. Birdbath is an affiliate of City Bakery, which is known for its amazing hot chocolate. The hot choco here at $ 5 per cup does not disappoint — rich, sweet, and 75% dark, although I can never finish the entire cup because it’s so thick and sweet.

Sweet sassy molassy when did this joint roll into town!
Midtown east is starved for non-​chain… anything, really. So yes, while I guess a chain-​ish type place, Birdbath (little sister to The City Bakery, home of the best hot chocolate known to man) is a welcome addition!
Nice open space, great to grab and go for lunch or take one of the prepared spreads for an office party. You have to get the pretzel croissant. TCB is known for it, and it’s amazing. So are the little pizettes on flakey crust, whose toppings change with the season.
I always get the raddichio salad and then have like two bites. It tends to be a bit oily and bitter. This is my personal mental note to stop doing that.
Other than that, the cookies, even the vegan ones (you can’t tell At All) are awesome for a treat.
No where to sit other than some awkward benches by the door, so it’s more of a grab and go kind of place.

Located inside the lobby of 2 Grand Central Tower, with entrances on both 44^th and 45^th, this is a sister chain to City Bakery (of the famous hot chocolate). I’ve been anxiously awaiting Birdbath’s arrival because its veggie burger was on a NY Mag best of list a year or so ago.
The space is small, but very cute and inviting. In addition to some awesome-​looking muffins and pastries (corn muffin with pear & candied ginger; cinnamon toast with chinese cinnamon; baker’s muffin) there’s a salad, soup, and sandwich menu with a good number of vegetarian items. I tried the grilled cheese today; it was almost as good as Murray’s melt.
Sandwiches range from $ 6.50 to $ 9.50 without tax.