Smilers Delicatessan

I was going to type a long, detailed review of how awful this place is but everyone below seemed to beat me to it … Take your pick from food poisoning, arrogance behind the counter, or overpriced mediocre food. Go elsewhere. Anywhere else. Seriously.

WARNING: Do NOT get the Chinese food buffet at the back of the store. You might be thinking — how bad could it be? It’s bad! It is literally disgusting, and I’m not very picky. The fried plantains look delicious but taste like utter garbage (Cold, hard, tastes like a raw potato.) In fact, everything is cold and hard!
Chinese food should be cheap, but this costs a fortune and is entirely inedible. Not to mention that its tepid temperature is not up to code and a perfect breeding ground for dangerous bacteria.
Do not expect your modest portion to cost less than $ 20. It’s about a dollar per forkful.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Rip Off City. (Worse than usual high NY prices)
And gross.

I came here a lot when I worked in NYC many years ago and I think I went there recently; I thought it was a decent place if not anything exceptional.
I just decided to write this review because I noticed everyone was complaining about how expensive this place was. I don’t remember it being that expensive by Manhattan standards. I mean, everything’s more expensive on that silly island.

I will never go to this sloppy, un-​fresh, and arrogantly over-​charged site that thinks itself a worthy establishment.
They are over-​priced in comparison to the average Manhattan deli and their soup is disgusting. It’s $ 4 for a small cup which you ladle out yourself in a corner with a bunch of heated vats of mysterious-​looking liquids. (That’s the soup.)
The soup’s not even hot, not even warm, it’s hovering on lukewarm and if you have a two minute walk outside it becomes cold before you can even consume it.
The worst part is that the soup is slightly sour from being so old.
Cafeteria food issued from public elementary schools are five times more appetizing.
The self-​serve food bar is okay, except that I’m surprised anyone in this world will charge $ 10 a pound. It’s obscene.
I bought a small soup with a box of some fruits and a piece of chicken in a box and was charged $ 13 for it.
I heavily doubt my box weighed one pound and I will never pay that amount of money for that trash again.
The treatment by the cashier and staff only worsens my vexation, who is rude, and so obviously showed disdain and uttered words of dismay and annoyance towards the Russian immigrants that put their fruit on a lid instead of a box to purchase.
No help to anyone, it’s almost like they don’t want customers.
It’s no wonder that only ignorant first-​comers (like me) and non-​English-​speaking tourists come in, otherwise, it would be empty — they are the only people that can fall pray to this trap.
I am highly survive-​able off of delis so it is not typical Manhattan deli problems, it’s worse and they make it rotten.

The buffet food looked good, but tasted really bad. Pricey as well!
Also, the customer service here is horrible — rushed and rude!

Walking back from Newsies at Nederlander we pasted all the little carts selling candy chatting about the play and really wanted bottled water and candy for the hotel we happened on this place. Waters right up front, large bags of M&M’s and $ 6 later we were set. I have gone back a few times over and noticed the deli with hot and cold items, desserts, pastries, cheese cakes, etc for great prices. It’s a great find and wished I knew it was so close my first day, I’d have saved a ton on eating out!
Bottle of soda or water will run about $ 2.18 (tax incl.)

We were passing this place late yesterday afternoon after seeing a matinée at a theater on that block and we hadn’t eaten lunch, so we were starved and not in the mood for a long sit-​down meal. We decided to get something from their salad and hot food bars, which we then ate upstairs. The former was o.k., but the latter had a lot of choices and everything looked/​tasted very fresh. The price was the usual exorbitant $ 7.99/pound — and normally I refuse to eat at those places if they won’t supply tap water instead of forcing me to buy bottled water, but we were too hungry to go elsewhere. The two guys working there were a little gruff, but not what I’d call unfriendly. The upstairs eating area is quite large and was fairly deserted at that time, but it was also freezing and rather dark. The restroom wasn’t exactly the cleanest, although not the worst we’ve seen.

Ok (blank) + Times Sq = awful. So it’ll come as no surprise when you pay $ 3 for a can of coke here.
That aside I had one of those annoying experiences. I left work at 10. I wanted a sandwich. «Roast beef on an everything bagel.» «We dont have roast beef. Just turkey and ham.» «Ok how about chicken salad on a bagel.» «No chicken salad.» «Well you have it on the salad bar.» «Uh yah but I cant make a sandwich with that.» OK buddy give me a bagel, and I’ll buy my chicken salad by the pound and be forced to try to make a sandwich at the 49^th stop and have it drop all over my tie and pants. Why do the most simple things have to be annoying?

As I work in the Rockefeller Center area, there is one thing I have come to cherish, and that is cheap food ($ 10 a day on lunch is pretty hurtful). Enter Smilers lunch specials, for $ 4.99 they have an eclectic blend of sandwiches on the menu (tuna and cheddar, honey turkey and mozzarella, etc.) which rotate every day.
The guy behind the deli counter operates with ninja like precision and has the sandwich prepared for you in seconds, chips and all! I must warn you though, any attempt to deviate from the ingredients listed on the menu before you results in a «soup nazi-​esque» response. Smilers gets the job done, plain and simple.

They make decent deli sandwiches. They also have a typical NYC hot food bar which is fascinating/​gross/​delicious-​looking. They have a really creepy upstairs eating area which is more like an upstairs «sleeping area» for homeless schizophrenics. If you’re in the Times Square area (may the Lord have mercy on your soul) and you want a decent turkey sandwich while talking to a despondent, half-​asleep homeless man head on down to Smilers!