Jivamuktea Café

I’ve been twice and each time was appalled at the lack of flavor. Also, it’s twice the price it should be. Even after voicing concern, the staff could not care less. I think the mark-​up is making up for lack of business which is really not cool. A definite skip.

The kitchari was bland and unsatisfying. No use of ginger or spices. I was excited for some tasty Ayurvedic food but this disappointed me. $ 7 not well spent

Convenient and healthy post yoga vegan (?) food located in the Jivamukti studio past the gift shop. They serve smoothies, salad, sandwiches, coffee/​tea. It’s a bit on the expensive side. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here. I only come here sometimes after taking a yoga class.

First enjoy an amazing yoga class and then having delicious vegan food. You can’t top that.

Don’t ever go here ! The coffee was the worst I’ve ever had and probably the most expensive. The service was terrible with a super rude lady server. The latte was so bad that I threw it out. To be making such expensive pieces of trash when surrounded by greatness is miserable and guarantees no future for this caffe.

Simple but amazing vegan food. QUITE pricey for what it is but oh so good.
Had tavo toast — their version of avocado toast, and Jivamukti chai.
Toast was really simple — chopped avocado and tomatoes on top of pieces of toast with margarine and drizzled with flax oil. Definitely a pretty big markup. But so tasty. Vegan food done right! I decided to add a little of their delicious homemade hot sauce. Went really well together.
Jivamukti chai is spiced black tea with masala spices and your choice of almond or soy milk. Very delicious.
It feels like a peaceful oasis in the middle of one of the busiest parts of NY. Would love to just sit in the café and read all day. Being upstairs and inside a yoga studio does wonders to filter out noise (and noisy people). Every yoga studio needs a café like this!
Free orange infused water.
Bottom line: expensive but delicious vegan food, super relaxing ambiance, small price to pay for inner peace in NY!

I worked by USQ in 2009 and frequented this place often for food and shakes. While it was always pricey, it always offered really high quality vegan food, which was not the easiest to come by even in downtown New York.
Fast forward 6 years later and I’m working in the neighborhood again. Feeling nostalgic, I went to Jivamuktea to get something delicious. The blackboard menu described something called a Yogi’s choice with a plate of 3 selections for $ 15 — which I went for. With that price, I assumed that it would be 3 core menu items (which were all relatively humble — like rice, beans, and avocado) with an added salad or something on the side. Nope. The Yogi’s Choice was apparently just a pile of unflavored rice, beans, and an avocado. What didn’t help was the sour, uninterested front desk girl who clearly did not walk to talk or explain the options further in any way.
Well, a picture speaks a thousand words — and I’d like my fellow Unilocalers to refer to my uploaded picture of my $ 15 beans, rice, and one avocado. If I made the meal at home it would have cost me approximately $ 2 — or a 650% markup. And, that’s without the 20 minutes they spent «preparing» the food even though the café was largely empty — and time is money, baby.
Maybe it’s secretly a brilliant marketing plan where patrons of the café become angered by their unreasonable price and services and then feel the need to do some spiritual cleansing at the adjoining yoga studio. Either way, I won’t be back.

This place may not have an extensive menu but all the food I have tried from it is flawless. I don’t know what kind of olive oil they use but the one drizzled over the caprese tartine is ridiculously good. I tried my sister’s quesadilla with tempeh bacon and I was surprised at how well the vegan cheese was melted. I enjoyed the yogi’s choice, which was a huge bowl of whatever three items I wanted: black eyed peas, grilled tempeh, and quinoa with a turmeric tahini dressing on the side. So good!
The café has plenty of seating with windows all around. It is odd getting to the place, though, since it is on the second floor of the building and connected to their yoga studio. They have all cloth napkins and real silverware, so everything is washed and reused again. I absolutely love this but did wish the utensils were a bit cleaner. The workers are kind. Another small con was that they only had one slice of cake left for their dessert options when I went in the late afternoon.

I would go vegan for this place. It was so so good — I had pick 3 for $ 13 which game with generous portion of tofu, kale and avocado topped with a decadent (but guilt-​free) carrot ginger sauce. Only complaint was that it’s a bit pricey, but worth it when I want to spoil myself.
It’s definitely a gem in my neighborhood and a bit hard to find, which makes it perfectly uncrowded and cozy!

The best tuna wrap I’ve ever had! The place was quaint and cute and the price was only $ 9 so it was very solid. The side salad was good too and all vegan!

I used to live right around the corner from this establishment, and was a regular. I came for homework, meeting a friend for coffee, or a lively meal with family. Now, almost four years later, I came back on my trip to NYC. This place, while it may look the same, is very much different.
That simple, vegan quesadilla I used to get, was raised over $ 4. which is a LOT for a simple quesadilla.
Everything is more expensive, and I could barely afford lunch here. So sad to see my old place turn into a space I can barely afford to be in. Best wishes to this establishment

Omg! So beautiful, inviting and warm.
Each and every staff member was courteous to me.
So much to choose from.
Vegan paradise. The best I’ve had so far.
I had a cesar salad and a Jivamukti chai.
It is quite quant and cozy.
It’s great to go alone, small group or large one.
The set up reminds me of camp back in the day. Where you dropped off your bowl in a bin to be washed.
It very much feels like a community here. I remember looking at the purpley-​pink walls then thinking why doesn’t my home look like this.
Pure comfort and bliss.

Agree with the many comments below, its pricey, but it’s too darn amazing to pass. The salads are A M A Z I N G. Id never seen anything like the incredible «Supergreen» salad with spirulina millet and coleslaw. And the phenomenal dressing. Blew me away.

*** Huge menu selection, Cozy atmosphere, Friendly staff ***
If you’re in search for a healthy meal with a wide selection of menu items to choose from, this is the place for you. The staff was very accommodating with my order since they were out of olives (for the salad); I replaced it with avocados with no charge! In addition, their desserts are really delicious and gluten free. You can come here just to hang out with friends or get work done. Overall great experience.

Awesome little café tucked right in the heart of Union Square! Because it’s on the 2^nd floor connected to a yoga studio, it was empty! Their menu looked great, but I wasn’t hungry so just opted for a coffee. Their tea menu also looked great!
Will definitely come back to try out more of their menu in the future, and it will now be my go to place for studying since it seems like they always have empty tables to set up camp.
Highly recommend, and will definitely be coming back when in the area!

This place was sooo hard to find. Unilocal map kept taking me to 5^th and 16^th. Tricky Tricky. They I finally looked at address that said 2^nd floor between union and 13^th. Thank goodness they had those two streets on the address. or I would have never found it.
Anyway found it. Picked up my to go order. Burrito Diablo sauce on side.
Glad I got the sauce on side. Not a fan. But the burrito was good. Black beans were good. Not over cooked. Not salted. Veggies were good. Seitan was good. Pricy for a burrito. $ 14. But nice and healthy. And kind of a neat location. Right behind union station and inside a yoga studio.

I had to come here after learning the unfortunate news that One Lucky Duck and Pure Food and Wine were closed. I wanted a raw vegan meal and I was in the neighborhood.
Full disclosure: I used to work at Jivamukti and I used to like the café but it was always incredibly slow so I haven’t come often. Now they are slow and the food doesn’t taste good. I had the Love smoothie and the Caesar salad – $ 27. Both I had to choke down because I was hungry and didn’t have the patience to wait for them to make me something else. How do you ruin a Caesar salad? Put big pieces of bread and hot tempeh in it. How do you ruin a smoothie? I’m not sure but it was horrible.
One Lucky Duck please come back!!!

I’ve always been curious about veganism, so I decided to go try the diet for one week. Nothing crazy, just 7 days of no meat, dairy, or dairy products. Should be easy enough, right? I figured it would be a good excuse to try vegan restaurants I normally overlook.
And while NYC has plenty of noteworthy vegan joints, Jivamuktea Café has been one of my favorite discoveries so far. I’ve never been to the adjacent yoga studio (I’ve heard polarizing opinions), but the café is great — lots of vegan and Ayurvedic foods, plus a great, relaxing space that is tucked away from the chaos of Union Square. The crowd obviously skews toward yogis/​hippies/​vegans but I didn’t feel too out of place.
Their menu is expansive, offering salads, sandwiches, open-​faced sandwiches, soups, an array of smoothies and juices and teas, burritos, etc. Impressively all vegan. It’s on the pricier side as you’d expect for an exclusively organic and vegan menu, so expect to spend $ 15 – 20 for lunch.
I went with the taco toast (a smattering of avocado, beans, vegan sour cream, and tomatoes) and a bowl of kitchery soup (an Ayurvedic soup with lentils). I really enjoyed the meal. The toast kind of fell apart when I tried to pick it up, but it was still tasty. And I actually liked kitchery! It was my first time trying it, and although it looks bland (you’re supposed to add seasoning to suit your tastes), I thought it was filling and nourishing on a freezing day. The portions are pretty big.
I would definitely come back, and next time I’ll probably order Yogi’s choice (your choice of 3 items). Their desserts look amazing too!

I have mixed feelings for Jivamuktea. It’s so stinkin’ expensive, but I keep going back because THOSE SALADS ARE EVERYTHING.
Pros:
+ VEGAN.
+ Incredible salads.
+ The salad dressings are out of this world.
+ The entire menu looks fantastic, but I’ve only tried the salads. haha
+ Wifi
Cons:
— Espresso is not great.
— The juices are too sweet. Even the green juice is too sweet.
— It is boiling hot in there… I assume they keep the building warm for the yoga classes?
— SO. EXPENSIVE. I usually spend over $ 20 here each time, which is pretty steep for a lunch salad, organic or not!
Despite all of that, I’m going to keep coming back here… because those salads…

I wrote a 5-​star review for this place last June and within a few months I now have to change it to 3-​stars at the most.
Whoever decided to get rid of most of the menu and raise the prices on a lot of the remaining items should be fired. They only offer a fraction of what they used to and you end up paying more for less food. The iced teas are no longer fresh; instead you get them pre-​packaged in the fridge (where the cups aren’t even completely full). The food doesn’t taste the same either. The only reason I’ve come here a couple of times in the last few months is because it’s 100% vegan and right around the corner from Whole Foods; but I’ve really had enough. I’d rather walk the extra 3 blocks to Peacefood Café.