Food World
“Pretty damn fabulous mongolian grill, the only fro yo I could find within blocks of my office, fresh veggies, and fast, friendly service.”
“I come here amost everyday now and get the bento box or salad, both competitively priced for midtown.”
“Nice large seating area downstairs.”
Food World
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Food World resembles most of the lunch places Midtowners are familiar with (Deli's 48, Essen, etc.). It's a quick way to grab food like salads, hot buffet, sandwiches, noodles, even sushi and line up and pay. This concept makes for quick lunches – getting in and out, or staying as most of these places usually have a dining area either above or below.
Here, they also have a Mongolian grill (basically meaning you grab a metal bowl and throw in raw meats, noodles, veggies, etc. from the buffet and they cook it for you on a very large circular grill). It's not bad, although the salmon and shrimp go quickly and I'm not sure of how fresh they are or how long hey've been left out.
They also have a station for bento boxes, sushi and udon. I opted for udon – shrimp tempura udon is about $8. I would definitely go for udon if you're not feelin' Mongolian grill. There's mushrooms, veggies, carrots, etc. in this!! Plus the shrimp tempura was super large but it gets soggy if you don't eat it in time.
There's a large seating area downstairs, although it is dimly lit and a little shady. I would eat upstairs if there are tables.
Decent place to grab lunch. It's cheaper than Dishes, but the food isn't as good. They do have a HUGE selection, which is nice, but I think the quality is lacking a bit for the price I pay. Plus, huge selection doesn't always mean good selection either. It's a hit or miss depending on the day. My usual favorites are the farfalle pasta with pesto and the mac & cheese. They have some pretty good herb chicken too. Overall, it's convenient for me to walk to and the food is pretty decent.
Very big selection for $8 a lb which is below the average price in midtown.
All the pre-made meats were tender.
The Mongolian BBQ at the same price is a huge win – any raw meats cooked to order for hot buffet prices
Also, plenty of seating
I go to Foodworld almost every day. That is because it has good quality food, a lot of choices, reasonable prices, and fast service.
I like that there are many different stations and things to get here.
-Coffee/Muffins
-Grill
-Deli
-Pasta bar/ Burrito Bar
-Mongolian Grill
-Noodles/soups section
-hot and cold buffet
-salad station
This place has it all.
The Udon is surprisingly good, they put a lot of stuff in there, not just noodles, but veggies asn tofu too, it's a soup, that eats like a meal.
The burrito bar is an oft overlooked favorite here. They take your burrito ingredients and fry them in a pan so they get nice and hot and put some color on the veggies.
I think the salad bar is a good value for the amount of stuff they put in the salad.
The one let down is the hot and cold buffet.
The grill guys can be a bit gruff, order like you know what you're doing and it won't be a problem.
Nice large seating area downstairs.
Good choice for a casual lunch in Midtown East.
I work nearby so this is a convenient option for grabbing lunch during the week. The service is relatively quick in case you are in a rush. However, this store is large with plenty of seating downstairs if you need a break from the office cubicle.
The main floor has a variety of food and drink options similar to competitors and includes the following: hot and cold buffets, juices and smoothies, breakfast items, soups, salads, pastas, sushi, noodle soups, sandwiches/wraps/paninis, burritos and quesadillas, etc. They also have a Mongolian grill, which is pretty cool. Normally, I order a hot specialty sandwich or wrap. Some of my favorites include the cordon bleu specialty sandwich, chicken parmesan panini, and the "Honey Moon" wrap (grilled turkey, melted cheddar, and honey mustard dressing). I have not ordered breakfast here so I cannot speak to the quality of those menu items. Portions and pricing are comparable to similar stores in the surrounding area.
I recommend checking it out if you find yourself in the neighborhood and need a place with a large menu to satisfy any lunchtime cravings. I am sure I will be back again soon.
Torn between one star or 3 stars.
I go to this deli because it's next door to my office but if it wasn't, I probably wouldn't go at all.
PROS
– very wide selection
– nice asian twist
– large and spacious deli with eating area both upstairs and downstairs
– plenty of cash registers so there's never really a line
– nice selection of hard to find/international treats
– the Mongolian Grill : a create your own grill with a huge selection of food
– the noodle soups and sushi, made in front of you and taste great
– macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes are great
– nice create your own pasta bar
– friendly staff
CONS
-a bit pricey
-food is left out all day, got food poisoning from crab meat salad once (don't go after 2pm at latest)
– Mongolian grill food is left out and defrosts under the hot lights, this can't be healthy
– no reception in downstairs eatery
-EXTREMELY slow deli counter. Takes about 15 min to get a grilled cheese, but the chef is a nice person
So yea, I give it one star because of the food poisoning and because the deli is so slow, especially in the morning. But then I tacked on two because the staff is so nice and the mongolian grill, noodle soups and pasta bar are original and add variety which is a little hard to find in a monotonous NYC lunch world. Though a bit pricey, it's still cheaper then surrounding midtown eateries.
Just to sum this up, I was going to give this place two stars until my pros outweighed my cons….I guess it's a love-hate relationship.
I like their chicken cutlet with honey mustard on a wrap. pretty consistent. meatballs aren't that good though. But the grill station in general is pretty good. Mongolian grill station is ok. the value is that you can custom make your noodles. but the sauce station was a mess the last time I saw it. They need one scooper for each sauce bin to avoid the mixing of the sauces.
Even though they promise the food to be fresh and delicious, my experience tells me otherwise. I had the Mongolian Grill delivery, and it was one of the worst lunches I have ever had.
I got the Mongolian Grill with spinach noodles, lots of veggies, and dry. Unfortunately, what I received in a bowl of silver plate were extremely dry chicken that had dark grey hue, sour tasting veggies, and overcooked noodles. The food was so bad that I couldn't eat it after the first bite.
Another person got sushi rolls, and said it tasted similarly stale/off.