Red Olive
“I only come here for their ramen or udon/soba noodle soup — the noodle station is located all the way at the back of the cafe.”
“(Side note to Café Manhattan: it is possible to run a midtown buffet and be friendly too.)”
“I'd say Red Olive is a pretty solid spot for breakfast or lunch.”
Red Olive
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Four stars as a lunch option in Midtown. I come here solely for the vegetarian ramen and I've never been disappointed.
Red Olive has better ingredient add ons than other places in the area, such as 'Essen. Usually I opt for veggie ramen with all of the vegetables (and soft tofu) added. Oh! And make sure you add an egg! It adds a wonderful, rich texture to your soup. You can also substitute udon instead of the ramen noodles, but frankly, I find udon harder to eat at my desk. I would also recommend 1-2 generous spoonfuls of their chili powder if you like your ramen/udon remotely spicy since the flavoring they have is extremely mild.
At around $8 for an incredibly filling bowl of soup, you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal!
Had a super late lunch at Red Olive today, here are my thoughts:
— The buffet is priced quite reasonably at $7.29 / lb. It's rare to find anything less than $8 so this was a nice surprise.
— Restaurant is clean and efficient.
— Everyone is very friendly! (Side note to Café Manhattan: it is possible to run a midtown buffet and be friendly too.)
— Food was fresh and while not super elaborate, there were more than enough choices. I had container of avocado, rice, veggies, and Greek salad. Nothing was extraordinary but everything was good.
The bottom line: Red Olive isn't making any waves, but if I was in the area again I'd definitely return.
I'm trying out new lunch places these days around this neighborhood and once in a while things turn out to surprise me. Today is one of those instances.
Red Olive was clean and not packed, not saying that they have few customers, just that the way they decorated the room made it look so spacious. Salad bar, buffet, soup or even Japanese ramen/udon, amazing.
In order to make a comparison with Essen, I tried the noodle. Pros: cheaper, more varieties of toppings, better taste. Cons: no soba option. This is the best take-away noodle I have had in the city.
I was walking on Lexington Ave and notice this place that looked the one of those typical open food trays select you own meal by the pound places.
It was around 2:00 PM but the place was crowed and I was curious . It was clean and they also had in addition to the food trays section, were other sections, one were they prepare customized salads and another one that make hot and cold sandwiches and other dishes. I must have look confused while looking around and at the menus since the manager walked up to me and offers to help.
I left without getting anything this time because I was not hungry but I will return again to try out something to eat.
I yelped and found this place listed as "Mexican", with a single $ sign. I thought "oh nice, somewhere where I could possibly find most items under $7 with a drink".
NOPE. It looked very much like every other corp lunch area. I wonder if it's just because they can wrap something up with rice and beans to deem it Mexican. How you going to sell me authenticity when you're also selling ramen/udon/tempura/italian sandwiches on the side?
The price was a teeny bit lower and the food looked pretty clean. So normal here.
They have a pretty good variety of options and the food tastes decent. But it would be nice if their hot lunch buffet included hot food. A lot of items can be merely lukewarm. Just sayin.
I come here regularly for the salad bar (2016 new price: $8/pound) and the Create your own small salad for $8 (incl tax).
Salad Bar recs: summer rolls, seaweed salad, fried chicken wings, korean pork, portabello mushroom, quinoa salad
Create your own salad: 1 protein, 1 cheese, 4 toppings (incl avocado)
-liberal with toppings, I've had a salad weigh as much as 1.5 pounds once
Good bang for your buck in midtown.
I had walked by Red Olive a bunch of times before finally deciding to try it out. The space is small but you're there to grab and go. The buffet is full of healthy options ranging from various salads to sushi to fish to grilled chicken. The baked salmon cakes I tried were delicious and the strawberry spinach salad was fantastic (paired with a nice strawberry dressing). With a drink, the total was $7 (which is a steal in midtown east). The staff is friendly and there is a salad bar in the back if you want someone to chop things up for you. I'll definitely be back.