Naya Express

Not bad by any means, but the flavors are just ok and the value could be a little better. Nearby, there’s a restaurant called Roti that has what I consider a better take on Mediterranean food and costs a couple of bucks less. Naya is a little pricey for lunch.

I order lunch from here so often that I’m frankly kind of embarrassed about it. I think I might have a problem. But it’s sooooooooooooooooooooooo good. And very reasonably priced!
Only drawbacks are:
1. It’s an absolute mad house at lunch time. Super popular.
2. If you order from Seamless there is only a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance they’ll get your order right. As often as not something is missing (like I asked for jalapenos and they forgot).
But given how busy they get and how tasty and cheap they are, I can forgive them. I mean they should probably work on it, but they’ve already got me hooked. Even when they get it not entirely right it’s delicious.

I grab lunch from here several times a week when I am working in my NYC office that is close to this Naya location. Sometimes the lunch line can be long but it is a nice break from the daily grind and the line moves fast. The food is great quality at a great price and the portions are large. I highly recommend Naya Express.

Great lunch option. I got a chicken shawarma salad with pretty much all the toppings plus feta and cucumber yogurt… it was bomb. Agreed with other reviewers that it’s like chipotle for Mediterranean food, but more flavorful and exciting. Wish they put feta on the salad bar and the option for a mini lunch version of their standard size would be perfect. 4.5 stars, no complaints.

Fast & Delicious Middle Eastern food! LOVED IT! I got the rice bowl with chicken shawarma and all the toppings. Their baba ganouch was amazing. Next time I will try their falafel, a couple of coworkers got it and they raved how it was the best falafel in town. Their hit sauce is spicy snd just right. Definitely a great lunch place and I will be back.

There’s always a huge line for a reason. They give you so much and its so good.

I am Lebanese and have been eating here and ordering food in quantity since Naya opened. Have always loved the food here, especially the fried kibbee balls.
Ordered meat and spinach fataha for Xmas eve and they were practically inedible. Since when do you fry the fataha in deep oil? Meat pies now resemble arepas, not a Lebanese meat pie. Both were soaked in oil. So disappointing. Please change your recipe back the way it was a few years ago.

OMG! Love this place, my favorite Mediterranean hands down. Depending on what time you go at lunch, there will be a line out the door but it’s definitely worth it since the line goes by relatively quickly. Great price with so much food and the sauces and spices are all delicious! I usually eat chicken or falafel and I love them both!!! Enjoy

Literally my favorite place in the neighborhood. I have been living in Murray Hill for close to two years now and haven’t found anything as reliable as Naya. My mouth is watering as I type this thinking about the pickled turnips and spicy green sauce. Get the chicken shish taouk or the lamb kofta as your protein option. If you want something with a fancy sit down atmosphere, try Naya Mezze & Grill (also a great choice).

Food was extremely salty, not a fan. A friend recommended it so I tried it but wouldn’t go there again. Also a bit pricy

So fresh and so clean clean
Always consistent and great. Feels somewhat healthy/​less oily than competitors. My go to spot for lunch or seamless order.
Repeat customer

Soo delicious! Came here for lunch today. You get so much food for your money. I had the bowl with the chicken shwarma. So good and so fresh– I saw the chicken being cut off the spit right in front of me. Hummus is fire flame

One of my go-​to spots for lunch in Midtown. The food is always fresh and delicious. The options in midtown are pretty standard, but Naya stands out as something different.
My order is always a Chicken Shawarma Bowl served with rice pilaf, lettuce, tomato, red onions, jalapeños and various sauces. They also have beef Shawarma, sausage, falafel, chicken kebab and beef kebab.
Don’t let the long line scare you off. They move quick and it’s worth the short wait!

This is the best lunch spot in my work neighborhood. The food here is excellent!
I first tried Naya at a work meeting where we had it catered in. The selection was awesome. I loved the falafel and beef kebob. The humus was some of the best I’ve had in awhile. Since that work lunch, I had been craving Naya and finally had the chance to go this past week. The line there is normally super long, but I went a little later this time around 1:30 and it wasn’t too bad. I ordered a salad bowl with beef kebob & falafel. Also, I added the garlic whip and humus.
Everything here is excellent and I’m already thinking about the next time I will visit Naya for lunch!!! Highly recommend trying it out… You won’t be disappointed.

If you are looking for a Lebanese version of Chipotle, look to further than Naya’s quest to feed the midtown working lunch crowd! I came here on a weekday around 1:30 for lunch with a friend. The line was out the door but it moved very quickly. The food looked and tasted fresh and the prices were reasonable for a to-​go lunch in Manhattan. I got the Naya bowl with vermicelli rice, shawarma chicken, picked beets, and a few other toppings. For just under $ 11, I thought it was a relatively good meal!

Naya Express sells customizable Mediterranean wraps, rice bowls, and salads with speedy service. The location on 3^rd Ave and 44^th St is dim and narrow — not the friendliest or most welcoming of spaces. Eating in maxes out at 20 seats, which are bench style and are usually occupied. Plan on grab and go. Lines at 12:30 pm tends to take about 15 minutes and easily spill out onto the sidewalk.
Service is fast, but not personable. Prices are on par with similar options in the neighborhood, usually $ 8 – 12.
There are several protein options, such as falafel, chicken shawarma, lamb kebab, beef/​lamb sujuk, and beef shawarma. You can have this in a pita wrap, vermicelli rice bowl, or over chopped romaine salad (which will come with pita on the side). The pita gets you the least food, and the pita, while large, is very very thin. Like tortilla thin. So wraps are subject to seepage. The rice bowls and salad allow you to get more food, but cost more. I wish they offered more than romaine lettuce in their salad bowls as I would order more frequently to have the option. Once you add the protein, you have several add on items, such as hummus, garlic whip (dangerously delicious), baba ghanoush, cucumber pickles, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, tahini sauce, green hot sauce, and a milder orange hot sauce.
The food is tasty, once you find the options that work for you. I’m a fan of the sujuk, hummus, garlic whip, tomatoes, over a salad. It may take some trial and error — I think their pickles are too pickly, for example, and that green hot sauce is potent!
Food rates a 4, Seating and line feng shui rates a 2. Averaging to a 3 star, but 3.5 stars if you come on sunny days!

This place always has a long line out the door, and the guy who sits by me at work is always talking about it, so I thought I’d finally give it a try. The line is long, but it moves pretty fast, and once you’re at the front the people working there are moving at lightening speed. It’s chipotle-​esq where you pick your base, protein and toppings. I went with a salad with falafel. I got hummus, the garlic whip, tomatoes, pickles, and the green spicy sauce. The garlic whip is amazing! I was reading some reviews while I was waiting in line and no one was wrong about this. The hummus was good too, light and creamy. The falafel were ok. I don’t know why, but I yet to find really good falafel in the city. except for Taim. I asked if the green spicy sauce was really spice and the person working there said it’s not too bad. Well we have different interpretations of spicy cause my mouth was on fire! Fortunately she just gave me a little. I also grabbed some watermelon juice that was really good. I usually get some at num pang, when it’s in season, and it’s a little less pulpy here.
The place isn’t huge, but there are a few (3 maybe) communal tables where you can sit and eat at. But it seemed to be mostly a take out place.
Overall I really liked it and would go back. The intimidating lines move really quickly, and the food was good and everything seemed really fresh. My total with the juice was ~$ 12 so nothing crazy, espcially in midtown.

Excellent food, friendly staff.
Food is such a wonderful way to explore new cultures, I had my first Middle Eastern cuisine experience here last night. Naya Express — is a jewel and I can’t wait to go back! Yummy Mediterranean food! Excellent, fresh food at reasonable prices. I think it’s pretty great. The location is also pretty fun to hangout after dinner too. I ordered Chicken shawarma and fattoush salad and it was great. Also had the Lamb Roll… It was amazing! Unique flavor combinations. Everything that I have tried has been pretty flavorful.
The staff was great. They are super friendly and energetic and gave us top notch service throughout the night! I would say the customer service was excellent. The staff were very very friendly, helpful, and very easy to talk to. Overall, service was great, food was good. 5 stars, hands down. I highly recommend. I would definitely go back.

Great place for take out! Ordered for dinner via Seamless and it came quickly /​on time. Big portions.
I got the chicken shawarma with rice, and added turnips, lettuce, tomatoes, hummus (big fan of the whipped texture), spicy green sauce (spicier than I expected, and usually I’m fine with spicy foods). No complaints other than the chicken was slightly dry — would order again!

Today was my third visit to Naya to pick up some lunch during work. It’s a couple blocks away and I’ve seen the lines come out the door, so I always try to get in before the lunch rush hits. I went at around 11:40 and there was only one person in line, but by the time we left, a line was starting to form.
I always get the chicken shawarma but I’ve tried a colleague’s falafel and that was just as fantastic. i don’t eat meat other than chicken so I can’t comment on the other dishes. The salad is super filling and there’s a number of different sauces but I always get so disoriented and distracted while there that I end up just getting the mild orange sauce. I have to write it down on my hand next time I go — GET GARLIC WHIP GET GARLIC WHIP!
The pickles, lettuce, and hummus were fresh and delicious. Great lunch spot but I think i can only really go once in a while — definitely not an everyday lunch for me. Plus, the onions aren’t that cooked so I probably will have to chew half the pack of gum I just got.