The Organic Grill

“The Tempeh Bacon was moist and savory, the home fries were some of the best I've had, and they make some delicious Ranch dressing.”

“I ended up ordering the Organic Grill Tofu Scramble, which had seasoned tofu with shiitake mushrooms, onions and fresh veggies.”

“It's so nice to randomly walk into a restaurant and discover SO MANY vegan options on the menu.”

The Organic Grill

Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. Really good food and service and has a sweet atmosphere. Their vegan burger is super delicious and has lots of toppings that make it even better. The only negative is that it is slightly expensive, though I will say that the serving sizes are quite generous.

  2. 40 years ago this store front at 123 1st Avenue housed a pretty decent kosher bakery.  Goings on at this iconic address have certainly changed — in a good way.  Nice to see a joint that serves fresh clean flavors in a foodie neighborhood dedicated mostly to pork, latino, asian anything, pizza, divey saloons and eastern european comfort food for the mods.  Ok.  So their bona fides are questionable and probably hyped and exaggerated for the hipsters.  But that's ok too,  because for my money, their flavors and textures are righteous, so long as you want your vegetarian/vegan fare simple, and order carefully. The OG salad is OMG good — I could drink a gallon of the smoked paprika dressing that goes with!  All their salads are delicious actually – and their dressings are all inventive.  Soups (miso, vegetable) are dynamite and all their sides are honest (e.g. quinoa, brown rice, tempeh, chipotle tofu, dark greens, garden veggies, etc.).  The paradise casserole was interesting and very filling and the vegan pierogi's made with spelt flour and served with a cashew sour cream sauce were surprisingly good.  We also enjoyed the slamcakes (gluten free buckwheat pancakes with tempeh bacon) off the brunch menu. The juice bar is … well .. a pricey juice bar, and they carry a nice assortment of organic loose teas. No quibbles with this place really.  OG is not a macrobiotic temple  to vegan dining of the type that Yoko Ono pioneered in NYC in the 1970's — but for what it is, it will do.

  3. Passed by a few times and have always wondered how the food was. The place looks nicely NYC 80's hippi-fied and like it's been there for years. Decided to go for a weekday dinner while I was in the neighborhood and got the Naked Burger ($11). I can see why the burger was voted on a many Top Ten veggie burger lists, it's thick, dense, but juicy, with lots of mushrooms and other veggies packed into it- without it tasting overpoweringly mushroomy.

    What I was a little scared and disappointed about was that there were alfalfa sprouts in it! I believe they can cause inflammatory disease response!! It would be great if they could have the ingredients of the burger posted somewhere.

    The Naked Burger came with carmelized onions (mine were not, it was sliced raw red onion- the cook also gave me the butt parts of the onion!), and the green peppers were barely sauteed- pretty much raw. The fresh bibb lettuce, sauteed mushrooms, and side of delicious garlicky crunchy greens (kale, collards) made up for it. Overall it was a decent Gluten Free meal (I hope the burger didn't have seitan in it). After finishing I realized that I would save a few bucks if I ordered the burger and the greens a la carte.

    What really dampered my experience, poor girl, was that my waitress was obviously VERY new, or it even seemed like it was her first day on the job- with very little training. There were only 2 girls working, 1 or 2 kitchen staff, and a delivery man. It felt like I was in a college-run cafe. I'm sure the girl was nervous, but after I placed my order, she was so distracted that she cleaned up my table- taking away my newly wrapped utensils, glass, and pitcher of water with mint in it. I heard a commotion while I was in the bathroom and I'm not sure if a customer was giving her a hard time. (there were 4 solo diners there- all weirdly sitting facing the back of the restaurant) When I sat back down, a woman was getting ready to pay (& apparently got a free Sangria, probably from a Yelp Check-In), and made a big commotion with the waitress "Thank you for the Excellent Service! My tip is what you would pay normally for the Sangria- you know? I'm paying more, even though it's discounted. Because you know, I always say! I'm Poor, but I'm not CHEAP!" She then gave her a hug on again on the way out.

    Poor Girl, I was too shy to tell her that my burger may cause health reactions. I was hoping the veggie to sprout ratio was alright. I also was too shy to ask what the exact ingredients were. As I continued to eat- fairly happily; it was very distracting to overhear the worker's conversations about her their personal lives (and no, they are college grads working there), the delivery man running in and out of the place, some type of commotion with locals lingering outside and asking to borrow tools from the sassy take-out order girl. The waitress, although super sweet, didn't know about many of the items on the menu when customers asked her and when people stopped in to ask about their 'famous' sangria pops- sue didn't try to look it up on the menu either. Maybe she was just too new-worker-shocked at that point.  

    The clunky sticky kind of german-beer-hall tables and chairs in a small-medium space made the overall experience uncomfortable. I may go back there- for take-out only.

  4. I came here with a friend for a quick dinner bite to eat. everything is vegan or vegetarian – whatever it really wasn't my kind of spot. I must say though that it really was tasty. They used fresh ingredients to make pretty unique dishes which kept me satisfied as we continued our adventure. I might not be back again but i am glad we tried it out! It's a great spot for those with special dietary needs!

  5. My best friend and I are absolutely in love with this vegan spot. We stumbled here around 9:30pm last night for a quick bite to eat after a long day.

    I ordered the mushroom burger. I must say, this is the absolute best burger (vegan or not) I have ever had in New York City!

    The home fries were incredibly flavorful. Everything was! I like the kick that the chef uses for the food.

    Desserts looked out of this world. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to order due to closing. Can't wait to come back to try a dessert!!!

    Staff was extremely helpful, knew the menu well, down to earth and hospitable. The ambiance was cozy, and provided happy, positive vibes.

  6. Really delicious food! I have been here many times, the food is always good. Good vegan! yay!
    Staff is friendly and attentive for the most part.  The place is not that big, but it has a good vibe to it, very comfortable.  Affordable prices overall.

  7. Went here last night and this will be one of my go-to's! Reasonably priced for decently sized food portions. I got a special, the tempeh powerhouse and had hald for lunch today and i twas just as good! Great smoked tempeh strips atop of a hearty, slightly crispy veg burger filled with beans and tons of other veggies.

    The dink in the star is only because I thought the seed waffles my husband got were tasteless. He was fine with them but if you have to gob your food with syrup to have a taste, there's an issue.

    Waitress was nice though! So I would defo return bc there are lots of appetizing-sounding menu options.

  8. Lemme do you a favor and go straight to the meat substitute of my review.  

    Get the tempeh bacon and chia waffles.  Oddly enuf they sell a lot of their side dishes in a larger bulk size, like for example the tempeh bacon which is smokey and addictive and worth the bulk buy.  Just get it. I don't know anyone who can  just have 2 strips and be satisfied.  I really like them as a side betch to my main betch-real bacon.

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1st Avenue 123
New York 10003 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Tuesday, 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Wednesday, 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Thursday, 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Friday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Saturday, 10:00 am - 11:00 pm
Sunday, 10:00 am - 10:00 pm