Cafe 42

The food was OKAY, ill prefer metro right next to it. The seating area is ridiculously hot. The two cashiers were rude. They had a preference of ppl who they would actually respond to nicely. Mostly males. I guess since i was a female, i was treated like crap althought i was also spending my money. Oh! And from the looks of it these guys dont change their gloves. Whether they go from touching ur sandwich to taking out the trash. Thats disgusting. I thought i was going crazy but another review confirmed it! RUDE PLUS NASTY? Ah no. For that just go to metro right next to it.

fresh food fast friendly service!

The food is moderately priced for NYC delis. Service is quick, location is clean, and owners are super friendly. Try their turkey burgers, salads, and hot foods in the back!

Avoid this dump. Its dirty, the employees are curt and unfriendly and they don’t know how to determine who is next in line when ordering, they will take their friends orders ahead of you in line. I have seen this firsthand.

This is a convenient breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack spot! Breakfast is reasonably price compared to other cafes in the area but lunch is $ 8.49 by the pound so if you’re not careful you could end up spending a fortune and the portions aren’t the best because it’s by pound. Other than that food is always good and hot and there’s a wide variety to choose from all day.

Stumbled upon this place as it’s right around the corner from our hotel.
Had a bagel egg sandwich. It was super good and so reasonably priced!
Check this place out!

Customer Service Goes Out the Window on Black Friday AM!
I was just scoping out the area’s 24 hr. open food places/​groceries after just eating way too much Jewish Deli Food at Sarge’s as I slowly walked my way in a big U toward my room at Hyatt 48 Lex.
I stopped by a few places. checked in, & or took pics of a number of places on my trip back to NYC, but now Unilocal does not «remember’ your last few dozen check-​in for some unknown reason… so I will have to go by my pics or memory.
Anyway, I was not alone in NYC wandering the streets late Thanksgiving night, since the crazy Black Friday shoppers were already wandering about the streets looking around too… or they were the usual late night denizens that are always out & about.
Anyway, I stopped by Café 42 about 3 – 4 AM to see if they something that I was in the mood for to take back to my hotel. They were obviously prepping for the morning, but the staff stood around alot, were lazy, rude, & nasty…
How typical for NY!
I was just about to ask to have a nice fresh bagel toasted with cream cheese to go, when two girls who had already bought their hot coffee’s from the store asked to have a bagel toasted.
This obnoxious lazy guy who was doing nothing behind all those bagels told them no.
WHY?! They do not do it before the morning… say what?
It is a 24 hr. Grocery & you cannot toast a simple bagel, even for a paying customer?
I really felt sorry for the girls as they argued in vain with this lazy dirt-bag…but since I grew up here, we all knew it was in vain.
Sometimes people were kind in NY, usually if they benefited in some way (or hopefully, it was their job), but all to often you got the usual NYC rude, crappy, nasty, hateful, or terrified attitude… that I grew to despise.
That night and many other times during my rather brief revisit to NYC, it occurred over & over again… but I was always pleasantly surprised at the few decent people that I interacted with.
This 24 hr place & many others like it, generally harbored hateful rude people who thought nothing of even yelling at each other as they restored their stores during the late night hours.
Are these places an alternative to the pricey hotels? Yes & No.
I would much rather be treated with
DIGINITY!
You jerks DO NOT deserve to have even a night owl job…
I worked many a night shift at various challenging jobs in NYC when I was younger and almost always provided great customer services…
it is NOT that hard.
I know that NYC sucks, but you help make it so.

While the salads made by the salad guy are the best deal (all you can eat avocados on your salad!) I usually hit up the buffet for the veggie options. The roasted vegetables are by far my favorite as they’re actually marinated in something instead of lightly salted and peppered. Very good food for the price.
While sandwiched between the McDonalds and another deli place next door — this is totally worthwhile. It isn’t crowded during the midtown lunch hour and has really good deals on sandwiches. A veggie burger is ~$ 4.75 — which you don’t find elsewhere.

Ate here after stopping by the library on recent vacation. Sandwiches were fabulous and everything else looked good also. One of the best chlcken salad wraps I’ve ever had, full of flavor, not flat and dull or loaded w/​too much mayo as many are. Service was friendly. Was exactly what we were looking for in a NY deli and I could not believe our family of four ate heartily in this area for 40 bucks. Would return if I lived in NYC.

Came based on the raving reviews and left thinking there must be something wrong with the way Unilocal works — as high rates certainly don’t ensure quality!
Food looked dehydrated (a problem in many open buffets in NYC), the place was dirty everywhere (I rather not have seen the open door to the kitchen), and the many stations looked out of service.
Nothing close to any concept of Jewish deli, Baruch HaShem!

Cheeseburger deluxe is awesome but don’t expect to get it in a hurry. They make everything to order and make it on a grill in front of you. It takes about 6 minutes (if you’re lucky). If you’re on a 30 minute lunch, be a smart cookie and order a cold cut instead. This place is about 30% cheaper than the chain deli 2 doors down and that’s the only reason I come here. The shorter, heavier cook is terribly rude and seems completely miserable. However, the younger cooks are always pleasant, if not cordial.
There is a fresh salad, soup and hot food bar that looks nice, but I don’t like self serve food. A narrow set of stairs leads up to a seating area that overlooks the entire store. It is dark and need renovating, but makes a great retreat during winter months. However, I absolutely must recommend eating in nearby Bryant Park during spring/​summer, as there is no wifi at this café.

Another solid lunch spot right around the corner from work. I usually order a Burger Deluxe, which comes with fries, coleslaw, and a pickle, and it’s probably one of the more filling lunches you can find in the area for $ 6.50 (not including McDonald’s). If you’re not in the mood for a burger or the many other sandwiches they make fresh to order, they also have a salad bar and hot food bar, which is also another delicious option.

This place has become a regular lunch-​time stop for me! They are right by my office, and we have ordered take out and delivery many times. They are always extremely friendly, and fast! They make delicious wraps & deli sandwiches. They also will make you an egg sandwich or omelet on the grill in the morning for an extremely reasonable price.

Located on 42^nd Street next to Bryant Park this place is like a Clowns Pocket of eateries! Everything is super fresh, the Grill is awesome and made in front of you by the dedicated guys who I’m sure have been there for years.
Absolutely don’t pay extortionate Room Service in the local hotels, we were staying down the street at the Hilton. Its not that I never pay for room service but WHY do that when for less than half the price you get more than double the food and ten times the choice.
They have a great fruit and salad bar in the middle, including every choice in fresh sushi and buffet style hot meals to go. The guys on the grill will know up everything from an omelet of your choice, to sausage, bacon and egg rolls. Hash brown, all types of eggs, and everything in between. There is a full choice of drinks and general groceries, tobacco products and candy. Everything you need in a 24 hour joint that NYC is so famous for.
There is a small seating area upstairs or take it back to you room, or better if its not the depths of winter jump over to a seat at Bryant Park and watch the work go buy.
We went with the in laws, 2 kids and me and Mrs O. All had sausage and egg bread rolls, fruit and yoghurt, with coffee and sodas and we had change out of $ 40.00… win!
This place is great, if you’re in mid town around 42^nd then you wont go wrong! A gem of a place!

Café 42 is a great option in the Grand Central area for quick in-​and-​out breakfast and lunch with a few qualifications.
1. Best is anything from the grill. It’s freshly made there in front of you and there’s a good selection whatever tone of day.
2. The salad/​hot bar items are mostly okay, but take care to realize that they have often been out there for hours. If you are in for breakfast at 8am, you’ll see the lunch items, broiled fish, fried chicken, pastas, etc., already out. Yes, they are available then, but if you’re on for lunch day at 1130, know they were not just placed there.
3. If you’re in for dinner, the above proviso applies even more. Here and elsewhere with these common venues here in the city, to stick to the grill unless you see them putting new stuff out on the bar.

This place is great! It’s right next to Bryant Park so you can take your food to go and soak up some rays if you’re so inclined. They had a little bit of everything which was pretty kewl. Paninis, hot sandwiches, grilled food, tossed salad (that you pick the ingredients for), sushi, Chinese food, literally everything a deli/​café should have! There’s seating upstairs, but not a lot of it. The only reason it got 4 stars is that they didn’t have a bathroom so my sister and I walked down to Bryant Park after and used theirs.
Also, they were very reasonable priced. My sister got a chicken, tomato, onion, munster panini for $ 7.45 and I got a turkey, bacon, cheese sandwich off of the grill for $ 6.99.

Here’s a secret about me: I LOVE room service. LOVE, love, love it. So opulent and absolutely ridiculous and if you are stuck in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, sometimes your only option for a meal when you need it.
HOWEVER — let’s be real, this is NOT the case if you are staying in Midtown NYC. New York City is a land built on total and absolutely convenience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There is little need for extremely overpriced room service — no matter HOW much I like those little mini glass jar of ketchup or peeling back the delicate plastic film from my chalice of ice water. It’s just not real life, folks.
Café 42 is real life, and was our life this morning. I popped in to grab breakfast for my husband and I to eat in our room, and it was a very solid choice. It’s literally 1 block from our hotel — we have no excuse when a Western Omelette with toast and potatoes is $ 3.99 (made with love by these guys!) and an order of chicken wings at the Andaz is $ 22, excluding tax/​tip/​gratuity and service charge. Shit gets real when you start adding that up.
So for the grand total of $ 22 (one order of wings, remember!) I retrieved:
*2 Western omelettes with taters and toast (buttered!)
*Great fresh fruit bar (self-​serve): watermelon, blueberries, pineapple chunks
*Greek yogurt (single serve)
*Coconut water
So even though I love me some room service, I do love this style of NYC food service even more. Hot, fresh and surely much more bang for the buck. We were filled, satisfied and aforementioned husband won’t pop a vein when he sees the hotel bill upon checkout…
*Café 42 — great for a pick-​up breakfast to go! (they also have in-​house seating)
*Accept cards for purchases over $ 5.

This place hs the best tossed salads, ingredients are not frozen like a chain Café that sits just a few doors down.
You can also get burgers and sandwiches for a reasonable price and at generous portions.
I always get a tossed salad, which consists of your choice of spinach, lettuce or mixed greens. You get one protein and unlimited toppings for less than 8 dollars including tax for the small.
The staff are very nice, especially the cashiers!

Ok. So I worked in this area for 5 years and was a regular here. They know my name, my special order wrap (grilled chicken, lett, tom, shredded cheddar from the salad section and ranch– so good) and have my iced tea ready even if I didn’t think I really wanted one.
Through the years the prices would rise and then rise again and I swore I was going to stop going there because it was getting too ridiculous and I did stop myself from daily trips and brought myself down to once a week (my wallet and waist thanked me for this) but couldn’t bring myself to give it up due to the service and attachment to the workers.
On my last day at my job in the area they gave me my breakfast for free and said thanks for being a loyal customer and all the ladies in front gave me hugs as they said goodbye.
The food was always good here but what made it even better was the smile I would get from the workers, especially at lunchtime during a really bad day. I’ll miss you Café 42 ladies (and the guy who made my iced tea every morning)!

Never again.
The guys that work here are a bunch of jackasses. Don’t bark at me when I’m ordering a simple salad. If you *listened* to what I was saying, you’d know what toppings I’m asking for. And don’t say «What else, WHAT ELSE» if you’re not going to put the toppings I asked for in the first place in the salad. Don’t say «Yeah I put it» when it’s not there.
Non-​existent portions of meat. Salad with spoiled leaves.
And then as I’m leaving to pay and offer my thank you, another jackass behind the counter smirks, «GRACIAS.» I go «What?» He tells me, «Say thank you.»
Are you serious? You didn’t even deserve the thank-​you I gave you the first time.
I’d rather go to Café Metro and pay more for my salad rather than be treated like this. Fuck you Café 42.