Eat on 8

NOPE!

AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! I would rate this zero stars if I can.
This place is the worst place in Starret-​Lehigh /​Chelsea area. The staff is rude, the food is less than average, the prices are ALWAYS fluctuating .This is the 3^rd time I have gone to them and have had a bad experience. Either with their food, the fact that charged me differently than yesterday (when I got the same exact sandwich), and then their unwillingness or knowledge to explain to me why it’s different. THEY DO NOT WANT TO HELP YOU. Today, I asked why my sandwich was priced differently than yesterday (again, I’ve had this conversation with them before so you would think they would have a formal professional answer and the girl said to me:
«Honestly, I would hate to tell you this way but I don’t know what you got in the sandwich so you have to deal with them (pointing at someone in the kitchen).»
But i got the same exact thing as I did yesterday, the person you just asked about how much it should be gave it to be for a different price yesterday. I don’t understand? When you ask them, they speak to each other in Spanish and smile to each other.
Oh its because I noticed you’re conning me? Right.
PS the staff is super rude, literally staring at women’s butts without shame. DISGUSTING. Have respect, there are other people around.

I too eat here out of necessity and even then I try not too to often. Their EVERYTHING is way overpriced — juice, coffee, sandwiches.
The food is alright but for the price I would rather go to Witchcraft located in the lobby of this buidling

Today was the last time I will purchase anything at Eat on 8.
Picked up a sandwich on a Monday that was clearly made on Friday. Just too disgusting.
The place is dirty. The food is lousy. It is too expensive for what they sell.
The new building owners have to find a way to get some competition going — and the food trucks aren’t going to cut it.

I eat here because I have to…
I really can’t say much more than the other reviewers. The place is overpriced, dirty, and the food does not even taste that good. Eat on 8 has made me realize how convenient
is!

If I could give this place a Negative Star Rating I would! The staff is rude, the food mediocre and the product overpriced.
To start off with, I often purchase both breakfast and lunch here and can easily drop $ 20 or more a day. You’d think with that being said, that they could at least muster up a «Good Morning», «How are you», or, at minimum, exchange a smile, but THEY DON’T! Or won’t. Or could care less who you are or how much money they make off of you because you have nowhere else to go and they’ll see you tomorrow anyway.
The checkout people don’t look you in the eye, behave like you’re a bother, snatch your money from your hand before you’ve offered, yell «NEXT!» and are ringing up the next customer before you’ve even received your change and receipt.
Beware also that they don’t put prices on most items on the shelves (I would have never bought a $ 3.50 cottage cheese. If you’re buying a snack item, you’re better off going to the newsstand downstairs) and anything purchased over the counter, like sandwiches and salads, are inconsistent and based on who is serving you and what mood they are in today.
Because they are cafeteria style, they do have a lot of food choices, but NOTHING on the menu tastes delicious and nothing is made with care. The food is merely good enough to fill you up and get you through the workday.
The only reason it’s still in business is because there is literally no other food joint within walking distance, with the exception of WitchCraft and a Food Cart Guy.

No way to give 0 stars? Too bad; this place is terrible.

Here’s a few reasons why I don’t like Eat on 8:
— They’re WAY too expensive for the quality of food they’re serving.
— I’ve seen roaches scurrying around in the eating area, which leads me to believe there’s probably a bunch more where they came from in the kitchen.
— I once ordered a turkey wrap and witnessed the worker cut it in half with a dirty knife full of mayonnaise from someone else’s sandwich.
— The staff is rude.
— I’ve been ignored while trying to order.
— I’ve stood patiently while the guys behind the hot counter cracked jokes.
— I’ve been yelled at for not ordering quick enough (NEXT!!).
— I’ve waited for the cashier to finish texting before checking out.
— I’ve had my credit card refused because of their $ 5 minimum credit card limit.
These people don’t know the meaning of customer service. Also, I don’t think they know how much to charge people for food. I’ve gotten the same turkey wrap several times and been charged different amounts each time.
— They have a $ 5 minimum on credit cards.
Just about the only thing that’s okay to get are the chips and gum, but they’ll probably still find some way to mess those up too.

Eat on 8 is about to change my life.
I have never cooked and didn’t plan to, but because Eat on 8 is SO bad, I think I might have to.
Hate that this is the only option here in the building where I work (surprised with big names like Martha Stewart, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss that the building’s standards could be so low).
Eat on 8 is REALLY lucky that the people in this building only have one other choice: Wichcraft — and the wait is typically so long there that most people resort to Eat on 8. The other option would be to starve, which might not be such a bad idea after reading their most recent health violations (and this is not the first, nor will it be their last):
Sanitary Violations
1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/​or non-​food areas.
4) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
5) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/​or allowing vermin to exist.
6) Other general violation.
The restaurant never looks clean. Their sushi and hot food look the most questionable. And the food is mediocre at best in terms of taste. They are also charging prices that are more than let’s say what your local Europa would charge you.
Just say no.

They were closed down («until further notice») by the Health Dept. today. They’re truly vile.
EDIT 11÷18÷11: Here’s a list of the violations that led to Eat On 8’s failing grade:
Violation points: 55
Sanitary Violations
1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/​or non-​food areas.
4) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
5) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/​or allowing vermin to exist.
6) Other general violation.

Reason for a 3 rating:
1– Too pricey for the quality of food
2– Food is decent, not horrible.
3– Dollar: Quality = 3

WARNING!!! Do not go to this extremely filthy, disgusting place! The management SHOULD be ashamed of themselves but they are clearly not ashamed!
I gave this place 3 tries ONLY because (as everyone knows in this building) there is really no where else to go to eat up here on 12^th Ave and 26^th street. Please allow me to share with you all my 3 strikes so that you can be informed about how filthy and repugnant this disgusting establishment and management is.
STRIKE 1 — I bought a plain bagel with butter one morning. I ate the first half of the bagel and then took the second half out of the paper and discovered that a portion was eaten out! It was obviously eaten out by a mouse as it had all the signs of it! I was so grossed out and took the half back down to them and demanded my money back. They tried to give me a hard time but as I got louder they began to see the light and gave it back to me.
STRIKE 2 — I decided to not buy any cooked food from them after strike 1. I began buying their yogurt bowl prepared by them. It includes crunchy granola and fresh fruit. One day I bought one but discovered from the first spoon full that the granola was super wet and soggy. I figured it was left overnight so I took it back and explained to them that the granola is soggy and requested another one. They granted my request. The new one was perfect and I was happy. The next day I went to get another yogurt. Guess what I found in the ice basin! YES! The yogurt I returned the day before! How did I know? I recognized through the clear plastic, the imprint in the yogurt of the spoonful I ate! Needless to say I didn’t buy a yogurt that morning and never bought yogurt from there again!
STRIKE 3 — So, I decided the only thing I would buy from Eat On 8 is the fruit bowls, because I reasoned: «How can they mess up fruit??» Well today (8÷29÷2011) they messed up fruit! I bought my fruit bowl and happily ate it as I worked until I was ¾th done and discovered A DEAD ROACH ON A HONEYDEW SQUARE! I took photos of it and I wish there was a way I could upload it to show you all! I took the mostly eaten bowl back to them and demanded my money back. I got it back with no argument! Today is the very last day that place will see me and my money.
Let me also mention that they are EXTREMELY overpriced! They are clearly taking advantage of the fact that people have very few options for food in this area. I urge everyone in 601 to NOT patronize this DISGUSTING place. They clearly have ZERO ethics or sense of humanity. Buying from them is absolutely a health risk!
One more thing — someone told me recently that they got an A rating from NYC Board of Health. If this is true, it is enough to get paranoia to set in!

The quickest and most expensive way to dysentery in NYC.

This place sucks. I only get chips or bottled drinks from here since the entire place is semi-​infested with critters. Go elsewehere please. Sorry to the owners because they seem nice but it just plain sucks.

Food is slightly below average, uninventive and over priced. The ramen noodles is among the best items. But, no kidding, the Italian sub is not bad.
Service is so bad, I would personally enjoy firing all but one person that faces customers.
The men behind the hot counter are exceptionally terrible. They scream «NEXT»! at the top of their lungs, then immediately turn their back to you. Heaven forbid you don’t yell your order back to the back of their heads. Even when you do yell back your order to the back of their heads, they can’t seem to get egg and cheddar right. They leave off the cheddar or add bacon. Getting two ingredients of two correct must be more complicated than it seems to an average customer.
And there are up to three men there doing the job of one. One picks up the hash browns, the other picks up the environment killing container and receives the hash brown, then the third laboriously marks the container with the $ 5 or so they charge for the one greasy slightly undercooked brown.
The cashiers are efficient, but prefer to make eye contact with each other than the customers. No need to be thankful and courteous to them, they’re too busy making jokes and gossiping with each other about the hot counter men.
I leave there perturbed every time that it is my only real choice as lunch needs to be quick for me.
I’m captive to this pit of hyper in-​bred NYC mediocrity

They have decent snacks, but I saw a roach crawling on the steam table… Some people swear by the udon.

Yes, I am currently working at a client in this building and I find that this cafeteria is particularly pricey. They have a larger selection than I am accustomed to however.
Where do you make requests? For the types of food that they carry, it is clear that they are getting input from customers.
They should have miso soup in the morning, in my opinion. 4 eggwhites shouldn’t cost me 3.75. Not all salad item prices are listed, but the salad guys are pros and always get the price right when I’ve just gotten listed items. The breakdown is pretty silly as some vegetables or legumes are more expensive than others. Give me a break, are you serious?
Best salad selection to date = small spinach bowl ($ 3), roasted pepper (.50), cucumber (.50), feta (1), grilled chicken (2), black olive (??), salt, pepper, oil, red vinegar.
Sushi is good. However, its got nothing on gourmet places.
Ito En Hoji tea FTW.
Squeezed juice is super expensive, but cool that they have it.
And yes, I hear the blasts from the subway construction. The first time I heard them I almost pissed my pants.

It’s not bad.
It might be cool to some that you can see the Hugo Boss doors or the Club Monaco office lobby. Its also the best decorated deli 4 blocks around.
The guy that works the salad bar is all about the ladies that line up. So much that you’re almost compelled to throw him a quick sorry I’m not a chick look when its your turn.
The fact that there’s a big wall between you and your sandwich being made makes me uneasy.
In addition to Martha Stewart offices, you’d think that Hugo Boss or Club Monaco designers need better food to get their inspiration juices flowing.
Hey, and after you finish eating here, you go back up to your office, and you get to see the dynamites exploding for the 7 extension from the nearest windows. Does anybody else in this building run to see that when the warning whistle blows btw?
Nevertheless, I eat there. I work in the building. I should be somewhat loyal to it. So here, I give it 3 stars.

The only reason anyone would eat here is because they work in the building.
Various selections of sushi, udon, and general cafeteria steam-​plate food are available, as well as breakfast staples like egg sandwiches and bagels. Nothing outstanding, but nothing awful, either. They get points for having a large variety of food, but lose them when you look at the prices, and I’m convinced that they never charge you the same price twice.
You’d think an office building that housed Martha Stewart’s offices would have better food. I wish Martha Stewart had bake sales in the lobby — that would rule.

Ok I am being favorable because this is the cafeteria esque place I go to for occasional breakfasts and a mandatory afternoon coffee.
They do the food right but it is a bit expensive.
Why would you travel to 12^th street for a cafeteria in an office building?
because you work there.
Never the less they have a wide selection of drinks including fresh juices in the morning, sushi, snacks, healthy snacks and a deli that serves hot food for both breakfast and lunch.
Plus I think the asian girls who work the cash registers like me.