Gardenia Deli

After a week of eating nothing but Trader Joes and being cooped up all weekend because of Jonas, I was anxious to get outside and grab some breakfast.
And finally — I found a good deli. When you walk in, its clean, warm and doesn’t smell like yesterday’s leftover funkiness.
Ordered myself a bacon egg and provolone on white toast. The eggs were fluffy and thick, definitely not that cheap watered down synthetic crap. the bacon, ok side rant about bacon, bacon needs to be made by people who actually eat bacon, which isn’t always a guarantee in delis, so i was happy to see that this bacon, upon an initial glance, looked properly cut and cooked.
and it was cheap, only $ 3.50 for a good helping. when i tore the sandwich in half, the provolone cheese pulled down the center in that gooey way, like a pizza hut commercial back in the 90s, «1 pound of cheese for only $ 9.99!!!»
I did go back home and toast it on the pan. That’s because I could tell it was sort of soggy off the bat, and that’s not just because it cooled off in the 3 block walk back to the crib, but because the toast was rather white, and i like my toast like i like my coffee, women and winter coats — brown.
and im just being stricter about what merits 5 stars, because im not exactly sure id go out of my way to come to this place over and over again, which is really the true indication of Unilocal-​greatness. (this is the most over the top review about a 3 dollar breakfast sandwich right lol).

This place is amazing! They were quick and actually had a sense of humor. I think it was one of the best random deli’s I have been to in a long time. I noticed they even had toilet paper!

A solid four stars for this midtown deli.
The food is CHEAP. That’s the number one reason I go here. I’m not always looking to spend $ 12-​$ 15 on lunch at chipotle or the more upscale lunch places. If you’re looking for a cheap and dirty lunch for $ 7 bucks, this is your place. I’m pretty sure drink is included too.
I usually get the paninis. Cuban, Italian, whatever they’re all good. They come with chips too. It comes in this clear container with a side of salsa (which is slightly confusing– I still don’t get the salsa).
I’ve been to other delis in the area that have actually served me cold paninis and sandwiches that are clearly meant to be heated. That won’t happen here.

I ordered from them and it sadly didn’t go through — whether the mess up was on their end or the delivery service’s (and I suspect theirs since they usually screw up their orders in some way), they reacted in the most rude and unhelpful way. They were really dismissive and walked away mid-​conversation. I’ve gotten food from them many times as it’s convenient but that is not enough of a reason to keep going with their attitude problem, frequently inaccurate orders and ever-​increasing prices.

Great place and they have delivery. I usually either build a Salad or get a cheese omelet platter for breakfast. Good quality food!!!

if you get a salad their, make sure you ask them no extra dressing. Three times they drowned it, and it was not edible. If the manager is not there, forget about anything. They don’t want to hear it. Also, they just messed up the order. I ordered a veggie sandwich and got chicken. When I called for them to fix it, the woman on the phone was rude and hung up abruptly without saying goodbye, and didn’t even apologize for the inconvenience. Just click. To top it off, to fix their error, it took them 40 minutes to bring the correct item and they are also down the block! Not easy to get good service from take out these days! However and regardless, these places needed to be called out on, as we should get what we pay for. So many other places to order from. Avoid this one. If you want to go there for just coffee, it tastes like whatever it is brewed in, was not cleaned enough. Go two blocks away at ⁷⁄₁₁ if you want fresh and clean tasting coffee.

Same decent food and service but the prices have gone up over time. In the blink of an eye the breakfast has gone up $ 2 and so have the salads, when I questioned it nobody could explain including Mr. Slow. The $ 3.75 breakfast has gone up. Breakfast, egg whites, home fries toast etc ($ 4.50) + Coffee is now $ 1.50 Chicken cordon blue w/​vegetables & potato.($ 7.95 w/​free soda)(SAME)Salad that I used to pay $ 7 is now $ 9. Sorry Mr. Slow, down a star!
NOTE: 8÷1÷14 — Egg whites up another .50…since May.
Breakfast, egg whites, home fries toast etc ($ 5) + Coffee is now $ 1.50
The $ 3.75 breakfast is now $ 6.50.

Most deli hot food in Manhattan is mediocre at best. Gardenia is an exception among the batch, which is pretty amazing considering you’d think it’d be a Penn Station ‘dive’ deli for tourists.
The hot food has been consistently good there for coming up on 2 years now. For $ 6.95 you can get a main course with two sides. I recommend the stuffed chicken (when they have it) along with brown rice and vegetables. The sandwiches are also solid too.
I’m surprised to read so many comments here about poor service. I’ve never ordered over the phone or Internet from Gardenia, since my office is right around the corner. The service is always great. You just need to look your server in the eye instead of looking aimlessly and expecting them to read your mind.

I live right down the block and I was hopping to make this my daily bodega, but sadly they suck. Every single time I go in to get a bagel they give me a completely different bagel then I asked for and they NEVER toast it! Even when I specifically ask for it. The only saving grace is their coffee is pretty good.

Standard midtown Manhattan deli with the requisite prices.

This place is pretty much awesome most times of the day except in the morning when the fat mexican with the big nose is working. He always has an attitude and changes the prices on the sandwiches all the time. He needs to get off his high horse and do his job. If you dont like it… quit!

crowded deli near penn station, but the employees are very friendly and helpful. I had a bagel which was ok, nothing special. I also got their «NY Knicks» sandwich, which was delicious. They have a variety of sandiwches that are not on the online menu but are added to the board, and those all sounded very enticing.
Go to this place for a good, filling sandwich at a good price and FAST service, in a crazily busy area.

I made the decision to patronize this establishment only if it’s an ‘emergency’ i.e. I need milk for coffee or something late night. they still consistently get phone orders wrong and even orders when placed in the store. Place your order with Alex if you want it right! Additionally, their prices for some items seem to change daily, a quart of milk may cost $ 2.50 or $ 3 depending on who’s ringing you up. Once, I picked up a package of mini donuts that had a split in the seam of the wrapper and it happened that they all had broken wrappers. When I bought it to the owner, Hassan’s, attention, he said «maybe they’re supposed to be like that» and was ready to take $ 1.25 for a busted bag o’ donuts. Unfortunately, the other two deli’s that were close have closed inside of the last year but the silver lining is a new place opened up across the street from Gardenia that will give it a run for the money. Jessie’s Express Café may not have the selection, make sandwiches as quickly or be 24 hour, but the quality and service is a giant leap ahead of what Gardenia offers. Good bye Gardenia, hello Jessie!

This became my local go-​to lunch deli on a tip from a coworker. Gardenia has by far the best salad bar in terms of price/​quality/​selection. You’d think more delis would catch on to not charging $ 10+ for a bowl of [mostly] plants is a crime. But Gardenia, and a handful of other delis around the city, are content to provide folks with an affordable healthy alternative without ripping them off.
For $ 6 flat you get a «small» salad that includes 6 toppings on a bed of your favorite greens. The choices are extensive, running the gamut from curried, pesto, and barbecue chicken to sauteed mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, roasted eggplant, various types of beans, artichokes, etc. The guy behind the counter (referred to as Fernando in other reviews) is very friendly and has a good sense of humor. Despite the somewhat seedy Penn Station location, Gardenia is quite a find!

Do NOT order from this place. Or if you must do it by phone or with cash so you can withhold tip if necessary. And believe me, it more than likely will be necessary.
I ordered one salad through Seamless and after waiting an hour I called them to find out the deal. They hadn’t even made the damn thing yet. Half an hour later my food still hadn’t arrived so I called again only to be told it had come back. Um, unlikely I didn’t leave the room the entire time I was waiting so it’s not like I could have missed the guy. Twenty minutes later when it finally did arrive, there was no shrimp in my salad. Normally I would call and send it back but I didn’t want to risk waiting another 2 hours for some $.50 shrimp.
From the reviews I’ve read on Unilocal and Seamless mine was not an uncommon experience. Unfortunately for me I didn’t read the reviews til it was already too late.
The food’s actually pretty good, but not worth waiting 2 hours for.

Pros — Good food. I never had a bad sandwich or salad from Gardenia. One of the girls behind the counter is very pleasant and friendly.
Cons — The staff is quite fond of carelessly dumping slippery hot dog grease on the sidewalk outside, and the only time they seem concerned about cleaning up out front is when they spray down the sidewalk with water in the middle of February and it turns into a sheet of black ice. One of the other girls behind the counter has a real attitude, like she’s doing you a favor by taking your money and making you change.

Alright, so here is the deal. I used to frequent this place a lot, because they have a good selection of foods, snacks and beverages, but recently I have been realizing how F-​ing terrible there service. Sometimes they don’t listen to my order and F up my sandwich and the señorita at the counter is always rude. Additionally, there are always smelly homeless people in there, but I’d say that is probably common for the area.
Today, they wanted to shoot the s*#* instead of making my sandwich– last straw, I’m not going back. I’ll let there client base stay tourists and transients.

I used to go here every day for lunch. It’s cheap and they have a great made-​to-​order salad area. The guy who makes them is super nice too! It’s $ 7 for 7 toppings, and they have good stuff! Many kinds of chicken. nuts, cooked veggies, cheeses… the works!
They have a $ 6 meal deal and a huge array of sandwiches too… some are pre-​made or you can order. Their chocolate chip cookies are HUGE and good.
The high rating is because of the insanely friendly people who own this place and work here! Otherwise, generic Midtown deli.
Try their homemade bread, it’s delicious.

This is a fantastic deli. Open whenever I come by (which is every Friday at 1 AM)… it’s just got everything you need for a late night snack. It’s all arranged nice and it’s a very bright place. I tend to go for the paninis, watch out though, the Mexican-​ish ones have cilantro.
The guy who runs the place is awesome. He’s by the cash register. You’ll know who I’m talking about.

Fast & friendly service.
IT can get really busy just before 9AM and at lunch time, so make sure to articulate your order to avoid confusion.
Try the Ancho Chipotle Panini. It’s my lunch fav.