Essen Fast Slow Food

I would rather have lunch in Fallujah than go back to this place. The food is garbage, they treat their customers like cattle, the staff are completely inept and the management will squeeze every penny they can out of you. I have had consistently bad experiences with these guys.
Here’s an example, I ordered a smoothie at the juice bar. With all the extras I asked for it came to around 10 bucks; fine, I can live with that, its NY. When he was finished there was enough left over in the blender for about half another cup. I asked the guy if I could have the extra (this is standard practice for every other place in the area — Juice Generation for example proactively asks you if you want the extra). He says management told him he has to charge me for a small smoothie if I want the runoff and proceeds to dump it in the sink. This is not only deliberately wasteful, it’s obnoxious and offensive to the customer.
After spending nearly a year as a regular customer for breakfast and lunch I realized I really hate these guys and I can’t go back.

Essen has a large selection to choose from… a large selection!!! the food is good but the thicker container above buffet seems to add an extra pound when its weighed. the salads are pretty good as well. Try to avoid the lunch hours or try to get there early to avoid the long lines. The check out is pretty quick. Just the place for a quick lunch if undecided on what to eat. stop in.i’m sure you will find something.

Quantity over quality over here. Quantity as in there a soooo much variety of different foods in one place but the food itself is average and bit pricey in my book.
During peak lunch hours, the lines get very long but do move at a decent speed. $ 5 credit card minimum is something I can also live with.
In the few times I’ve come here since my coworkers wanted something conveniently close to my office, I’ve tried their spicy pork rice, salads, and omelettes. Eh, like I said. Average.
I rather walk a little farther more to get to Delmonico on 41^st and Lexington.

This store used to be my favorite and I used to order the bibimbap twice every week. Everything changes since 2015. Their bibimbap got cold and tastes not fresh. And I am very disappointed with their rude fucking staff, especially the Asian guy with glass and a Mexican staff at bibimbap and udon bar.
The Vietnam sandwich and other salad bar does taste/​look good though, so I give two stars instead of one!

Casual but nice vegan options, curry lentil soup was a bit salty but the three bean and split pea soups were good, it’s convenient and the upstairs seating area is heated well in the winter:)

Been to the other Essen which is closer to me BUT I like this one so much more I make the trek. I LOVE the fruit salad/​yogurt bar. It always is the freshest, sweetest fruit and I like that I can pick what I want, and how much of it. Their hot buffet bar is always full of good tasty dishes. I haven’t tried the salad they seem to look closed whenever I get there. The only problem is it is $$ but it’s worth it for some fresh, tasty food!

Good lunch choice if you time it right.
I work down the street and come here every so often to mix up my lunch routine. There’s plenty of options for whatever your heart (and stomach) desires — similar to other deli style shops in the surrounding area. The buffet and sandwich stands get a lot of attention based on my experiences. I prefer the brick oven sandwiches, which are made in the back right corner. Overall, the food quality is pretty good. There’s also seating upstairs, which is always convenient.
I say «time it right» because this place is a mad house during the week at peak lunch hours. The layout of the restaurant doesn’t do any favors during this time, as the area between the buffet and sandwich counters gets congested to a point that you would think you were on the ⁴⁄₅ at rush hour. I’ve also noticed that some buffet items run out pretty quickly.
The food tastes good, the options are plentiful, but I recommend coming here when you’re in the mood for an earlier lunch (i.e. 11:30).

I routinely come here during my lunch break. There are so many selections that it can be a bit overwhelming. My go-​to (especially when the salad line is long) is the «fast slow food» buffets in the middle of their store. You chose from 2 size containers (small and large) which are located above the food trays. In the first area they have the cold food: caesar salad, pasta salad, caprese salad, potato salad, quinoa, couscous, guacamole, hummus, etc. The next area is the hot food: penne alla vodka, chicken cordon bleu, lemon chicken, salmon, lobster, pork, shrimp, etc. Better hope you wear your stretchy pants.
When you check out, your food is priced based on its weight. It can get expensive so be cautious of how much food you put into your container.
Essen is a short walk away from Bryant Park so typically when it’s nice out, a group of us will find a table and enjoy our food outdoors.

Good selection without having to pay a lot for a meal whether it be breakfast or lunch. The service is fast and efficient. There is usually room upstairs to sit.

This place is near to my office. It has quite a good selection for lunch– buffet, made to order.
They have hot bar, cold bar, salad bar, pasta bar .I guess the buffet was aroung $ 8 per pound.
It is usually bustling with people for lunch but the line moved quite fast. They have a seating place but not enough for the number of people.
Good place for a quick lunch.

Solid lunch option — got a mix of hot and cold food from the lunch bar. Other options included sandwiches, wraps, a smoothie bar, etc.
There were a ton of people — but the line moved very fast.
Prices were a bit on the high side — but standard for the location. I would consider coming back again after trying out other food options in the area.

I have to subtract a star after both me and my coworker got sick after eating here on separate occasions. Not sure if it was from the food sitting out too long or the cream in the sauce having gone bad.

My company receives a lunch deal with Essen and I’ve also been to their Flatiron location. I have been multiple times for lunch and am impressed with the amount of options they have! I would avoid Essen during prime lunch times (12:30−1:30) if you do not want to deal with the crowd and long lines — although the check out is quite efficient.
Juice Bar: Grab the cold pressed bottled ones over the freshly made ones, the fresh ones are never cold so you have to stick them in the fridge if you take them back to the office anyways. I like the beet one better than the green one.
Ramen: ++ that they offer gluten free noodles, but this definitely gave me a headache for the rest of the day! The portion is also really large so it’s enough to take home with you for dinner or store in the fridge
Bimbimbap: I personally love bimbimbap and I’ve had their veggie one here which is pretty good! Load up on the sauces while you’re at Essen though because apparently they charge 60 cents for those little containers if you want to bring back extra sriracha.
Cold bar: great selection of premixed salads and veggies, note: the dressing is already on most of the salads so no need to add more. I wish they had more options for plain salads like without fruit but hey, I guess that’s what the neverending salad line is for.
Hot bar: I’ve had their salmon (pretty good if you don’t mind a little bit of dryness), the lemon herb chicken, and then italian herb chicken. The italian herb chicken was almost inedible it was incredibly dry and super salty, not recommended. The other stuff seems to be pretty good and I like their sauteed greens and mushrooms.
DELIVERY:
— I’ve ordered delivery twice so far from Essen
1) Santa Fe salad: I quite liked the salad, but am disappointed they don’t give you an option to select your dressing on these pre-​designed salads. The dressing I got was good, but definitely not a healthy options. Also they go quite heavy on the onions on this one, forgot to tell them to omit them from my order. **they did listen to my exclusions though in the instructions
2) Stir Fry: This was beyond gross! I ended up throwing half of mine out. I ordered shrimp with thai basil, mushrooms, zucchini and brown rice topped with a coconut curry sauce. I explicitly wrote to put the sauce on the side but of course it was not. It was a large goopy mess. I will not be ordering this again.

There’s a lot of places like Essen where midtowners flock for lunch. Like many of them, Essen has a hot buffet, sandwiches, udon bar, sushi, and of course salads.
The whole menu is available online at
, so I don’t have to tell you how many options they have. But trust me, they have a lot. I was craving a salad, but the salad line is always … so long. It’s this health craze, I’m tellin’ ya. Small salads are $ 7.95 for 1 meat, 2 protein, and unlimited veggies. A large is $ 9.95, although I never find myself able to finish large salads. I also prefer set menu salads over anything, which are made on the spot, fresh for you. Now, the Cobb salad was delicious (they allow switches btw! Spinach over lettuce any day!). All the ingredients were super fresh and delicious, you could tell they hadn’t been out for that long (likely because the salad line is always in a rush).
I’ve also gotten a smoothie here — the Berry smoothie and it was delicious, especially for $ 5, which is pretty standard in the area. They also have a make your own smoothie, although I haven’t quite tried that yet.
After getting your food, you line up in one of the cashier lines. Looks long, but trust me they go by so quickly. Then, opt for sitting upstairs (super clean, lights and plants included for the atmosphere) or sit by the New York Public Library/​Bryant Park, as it is only located a few blocks away.

Love this place. When you get in, head to the back and sample the bread of the brick oven sandwiches. Realize that you’ve eaten a small piece of heaven and order one.
They have a lot of options! Literally everything. Great seating upstairs. Fresh, fast, clean. Unfortunately, it’s not open on weekends — but great weekday lunch place

It’s a couple blocks from our office, but colleague/​buddy and fellow Unilocaler, Tina M., had a good point — you can add an unlimited number of different types of veggies here to your salad. It comes in 2 sizes, and I opted for the small today. This is our second time going here for salad. It gets REALLY packed — we got there at11:30am today, and the salad line was already wiggling down an S shape towards the hot food area. The hot food looks even better than the salad actually, so I think I might try that out next time. I didn’t really love my salad on either occasion but it’s also probably because I usually blank out and don’t add everything I want. BUT, more likely, it’s because I can’t stop comparing the taste to Just Salad’s turkey cobb — and Just Salad is around the corner to our building, so, for taste and convenience, I’d choose Just Salad over Essen when it comes to salad. If, however, we were working next to Essen, I’d probably go there a couple times a week since it’s clean, lots of variety in hot food and soup, and much better than Delmonico’s deli in our office building. The food stations are nicely organized too — they’re all up against the wall and located towards the back end of the store. The sheer volume of people speaks for itself — the amount of traffic in/​out of this place is insane!

I come here for lunch almost every day because my office is right around the corner. They run an efficient operation. It gets really crowded between 12 – 1:30 but the lines move surprisingly quickly. That being said, if large pushing crowds make you anxious try to go around 11:30 or so when they start serving lunch. Definitely a more peaceful experience. The small salad option is my go to-it’s not small at all and includes as many vegetable toppings as you’d like, which is a great deal. I always go for the roasted Brussels sprouts and roasted eggplant. You can also choose between a variety of salad bases, included kale, romaine, spinach, etc.
They have free wi-​fi as well as an upstairs seating area that they keep really clean. Nice place for a quick lunch to go in Midtown!

My only thought when I enter the place: so many choices and so many people! It is always packed during lunch time but the lines move extremely fast. There’s different stations and each station serves something different. There are salads, sandwiches, noodles, sushi, Korean food, pasta, pizza, also a buffet station with all types of foods. You can also get a healthy juice, buy fruits, snacks, soups. The choices are phenomenal and the prices are fair. If I don’t know what to get for lunch, I usually just walk in there and play eenie meenie miney mo. I wish they open more branches around the city!

Right next to my work. Good to stop in and grab something quick. Lots of variety.
The pre-​made veggie sandwich is amazing. I love the bread.
Good soups.
The hot food bar is okay. but really greasy. And not too much heathy, vegetarian in the wells.
But pre made sandwich and soup… Good =)
Mostly this place is just reasonable price and gives good variety.

I’m so glad I popped into this little spot. I needed something fast that I could grab on the run between run errands. Essen has a huge variety of Asian cuisine, Salads, Sanwiches, soups, and lots more.
I ordered the Korean BBQ rice bowl. It was very large for the price, more than I really needed. It tasted like it was freshly prepared. They can get very busy, which is a plus because it means that the food turns over very quickly.
However, I had to take away a star because the ordering process is quite chaotic. It is hard to tell which line you should be in at some of the counters, or there is no line at all and people are fighting for the attention of the cooks. For me this was a slight annoyance, and not a major problem, so I still give them 4 stars.
Great for a quick, fresh, tasty, healthy, «relatively» inexpensive meal.