Essen Fast Slow Food
“Essen however has a sizable section of healthy options, as well as vegetarian and vegan options.”
“Juices, smoothies, fresh salads are fantastic to have in Hudson Square.”
“For lunch they have the basic sandwich and salad stations plus sushi, udon/noodles, and of course the buffets.”
Essen Fast Slow Food
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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GRAH what a pain to eat here!!! But by some mysterious force, I come back anyway. Why? Because it's fast, convenient, and opened 24/7. And my boyfriend forces me to.
I can't speak for the foods that you order, but the buffet per-pound food is mostly okay. It's either decent to eat or less than decent. I don't think I've ever had my mind blown by any of the food here and I'm pretty confident nobody else will either. My safe goto probably has to be the ham wrap at the salad bar or that vietnamese vegetable wrap with the sauces. Pricey as hell for what its worth though.
Lunch times get CROWDED and it feels overwhelming trying to get food. I literally end up penguin walking trying not to bump into people. Paying for it is not bad though, the lines actually move very fast despite being intimidatingly long.
The only reason to ever go here is if you really can't make up your mind on what to eat for lunch or it's super late at night, you're hungry and you're staying at the hotels nearby.
Urgh every time I get lunch from Essen I mentally curse myself for not having just made myself a PB&J.
Don't get me wrong. Essen seems like a dream when you first walk in. Literally, what feels like endless ailes of hot food, cold food, fruit, snacks, drinks, sandwichs, yadda yadda. Then the panic sets in. What am I going to get? Which line is the shortest? Should I risk it with the shrimp cream soup??
Maybe I just suffer from choice paralysis but this place has slowly become hell to me.
Essen Fast Slow Food
NY Manhattan East Village
1pm Thursday 23rd July 2015
Three Stars
After a two hour workout, we stopped in for a bite to eat. It was surprisingly uncrowded at this lunch hour. I walked around the hot buffet and basically tried everything from the baked ziti with meat sauce, bone in turkey, shrimp in Alfredo, shrimp risotto which was actually orzo pasta, Brussels sprouts, broccolini, etc. It was only $13. The food was decent and plentiful. I think I will try a more simple combination of food next time.
Compared to so many other hot/cold buffets & etc. lunch places in NYC, Essen is just fantastic. Yes, it's overpriced, but you get exactly what you're looking for and are likely to be pleasantly surprised the first time you go. At least, that's definitely how I feel about the by-the-pound buffets — these menu options are legit!
I'm very guilty of spending $5 more on breakfast than I need to on a fairly regular basis on account of the fresh fruit station; there are so many different types of fruit and always good quality. But the real standout for breakfast, if you're into it, is the oatmeal bar. There's something like 6-8 different oatmeal bases (e.g. coconut milk, almond milk, regular milk, water, etc) PLUS unlimited toppings (chopped up fresh fruit, almonds, honey, etc) for a flat rate of about $4 with tax if you're getting a small, which is easily filling enough for me. My one complaint here is they took away the chia seeds last I checked, but I guess I did always think it was awfully generous of them to offer.
For lunch they have the basic sandwich and salad stations plus sushi, udon/noodles, and of course the buffets. They have lots of options at the buffets, including (usually) a single huge fish all cooked up and cut in pieces for you. I usually stick with cold salads for lunch, of which there are plenty of options. Anything in the buffet does tend to be overdressed, though.
And of course there are also snack options galore, and good stuff like peanut butter filled pretzel bites, veggie chips, kettle chips, gluten-free, soy-free, whatever-the-heck-you-need-free-free — you'll definitely find something.
Hudson Square Essen is the worst Essen.
There are Korean and Japanese options than at other locations, and what remains is too close to the Asian food served at suburban supermarkets. Yes, there is soondoobu, but where are the spicy pork bowls and japchae?
Value at the steam table varies considerably, with the high price per ounce meaning that fruit and grains can be a particularly poor deal. The layout is strange, with some important drinks hidden in cooler that blocked by any sort of a line.
It's a bright space with an area to eat on the second floor, but as this very chain proves, there are better ways to do this sort of food.
Of all the non organic or healthy delis in Manhattan, Essen is definitely my favorite. I usually don't go anywhere near deli buffets as they usually consist of the most unhealthy food/ingredients imaginable. Essen however has a sizable section of healthy options, as well as vegetarian and vegan options.
They have various stations consisting of build your own salads, udon noodles, hot food buffets with tons of options, and the vegetarian/vegan section with plenty of healthy options to choose from.
There is a nice sized section on the second floor consisting of seating for those who choose to eat here. If not, then you'll be sure to whiz through the check out line no matter how crowded it may seem.
This is the best lunch option in the area in terms of diversity. Just be careful how much food you're piling into your container or they'll charge you an arm and a leg!
Okay, I hate to jump on the 'Essen-loving bandwagon, but I have to admit that I really love this place.
Hudson Square — despite being a up-and-coming area for hot startups and techies (you're welcome, next hot startup) — lacks food variety, therefore everyone usually flocks to 'Essen. For every 3 people you walk past, one will most likely be toting a white plastic bag with the large, teal-colored "'Essen" stretched across the bag. It's like that one huge Walmart everyone goes to in middle-of-nowhere suburbia.
What I really like about this place is its distinctiveness of making your average cafe buffet food more flavorful. I frequent their cold food bar because everything there is so yummy. Their house salad — which has spinach, almonds, strawberries, feta cheese, and delicious cinnamon apple slices — is among my top favorite. The chicken and roasted cauliflower, and falafel balls are also really good. Get a bit of everything because most of the selection is worth trying. The one thing I really hate about the food bar is how wide and messy the tongs are, but of course they already know that because there's a huge paper towel roll waiting to absorb the gunk off your hands.
The noodle bar is also pretty good. I've made pick-up orders from this place numerous times and there has never been a problem. Staff is great and very thoughtful and accommodating. Prices aren't terrible–it's one of the cheapest options in the area for a quick bite.
Went to 'Essen for lunch today not knowing what to expect.
I got in and was incredibly overwhelmed, there isn't any direction and it isn't clear when you walk in what to do.
I make my way over to the salad counter which was probably one of the most unappetizing salad counters I've seen. The meat looked like it was pre-packaged like the old airport food.
I also tried the shumai.
I threw out my salad half way through because it tasted fake and the shumai was also meh.
There are too many good food options in this area to go to one that doesn't taste or look real or appetizing.