14 Carrots

This place is closed now. Don’t even bother dropping by. The restaurant that replaced it is not very vegetarian/​vegan friendly.

I’ve lived in NYC for about 6 years now. The very first vegetarian restaurant I went to when I got here was Curly’s. I had never been before and instantly fell in love. Ever since then whenever I was asked my favorite vegetarian restaurant in NYC, instantly Curly’s was the answer.
It’s the place I’d try to take everyone that came in from out of town, including my parents and like many others my go to brunch spot. The staff were always fantastic as were the owners, I’m happy to say I got to know them decently well over the years. Just everything about the place was fantastic; food, people, price, atmosphere, décor. I dated one of the servers and even she was always down to get food from there when she wasn’t working. It was that good.
Then one day, I stopped in to get lunch before an appointment. And the place just felt wrong. And I didn’t recognize anyone working. I had a very strange experience and ended up canceling my order and walking down the street to Hotel Tortuga. Which in case people don’t know is owned by the people that used to own Curly’s. It wasn’t what I wanted to eat, but I’d sooner give them money than the 14 Carrots owners.
I tried going there one more time since then. Service was slow, orders were wrong, place was dead and these things still happened. And if they keep this up it won’t be long before 14 Carrots is dead too. In the interim there is a hole in my heart where Curly’s once was. I miss you Curly’s!!!

I was a regular at Curly’s for like the past 4 years. Saturday morning brunch nearly every weekend with the girlfriend. Super bummed that they’ve been taken over by new management. It kind of breaks my heart. This place was tied with Wild Ginger for my favorite veggie spot. It’s a culmination of things that made Curly’s so great. Their friendly, but cool staff, seeing the two owners still lending a hand, the crayons and place mats, the customer art on the walls, the kitschy salt & pepper shakers, the best tofu scramble in New York, not to mention the rest of their delicious food. The place had this fun, warm, colorful, cozy, home vibe that over the past few months has slowly dissipated. The new staff, although friendly, just doesn’t get it. I’m not even sure any of them are even vegan or vegetarian. The place mats are different and feel cheaper, they took down all the old art off the walls, the food doesn’t taste as good, they changed the curly fries, they’re cash only. It feels like a real business, about making money now. I feel like a customer at an establishment instead of a guest at a home, like i used to feel. Really bummed that it’s gone. RIP Curly’s Vegetarian. You will be missed, but remembered.

All I have to say is… I WANT MY BELOVED CURLY’S BACK!!! The only thing Carrots has going for them now that is exceptional is the sweet potato fries! They are the best I’ve ever had. But, proces have gone up tremendously, and the portion size slightly smaller. Took my mom and brother here for dinner and my mom was not happy after because the owner was trying to put my 15 year old brother out because he bough in pizza from next door! Serves him right, Carrots officially sucks and I will not return!!! I’m sad…

Let’s be honest, it’s no Curly’s. The menu is somewhat the same, but the service is an absolute joke. And no liquor license? Count me out.

**Update: 14 Carrots is no longer in business.**
Let me start this off by saying that I absolutely adored «Curly’s Vegetarian Lunch». I live in NJ and would purposely travel into the city just to get their vegan mac & cheese and Peanut Butter Bomb Pie (from Vegan Treats) — it was the best in the area.
Back a few months ago, I heard that Curly’s was bought out by new owners but that they were keeping the same exact menu. I must have missed the memo that they also changed the name because when my friend and I went there this weekend, we were shocked that the location was now called «14 Carrots».
The menu is exactly the same but the prices are definitely higher. We got the Crabfakes — which didn’t seem as flavorful as they had been in the past, my friend got the Sloppy Joe — which was WAY too sweet and I got the Soy Cheese Steak — which tasted okay, though I wish the cheese had been melted more.
The thing that shocked me the most was the cake.
I was used to getting a gigantic piece of cake for about $ 5. This time around, the cake was less than half the size I was used to and was $ 6! Not cool.
It’s also «Cash Only» now, which isn’t very smart. Luckily, there was an ATM in the area because my friend and I didn’t realize the change in policy until we went to pay for the bill.
As much as it pains me to say it, the new owners would have been better off just taking the location and starting over fresh instead of just modifying what already existed to try to keep the spirit of Curly’s alive.
Yes, it was the same menu and the same location, but the spirit of Curly’s had definitely left the building :(

I went there to order my special dessert that I use to get. I thought I would receive the usual of 2 slices of vegan carrot cake. I noted that the price was def. much more than usual. I didn’t know they had change names/​management.
When I arrived home the carrot cakes slices were very very very small compared to the usual slices that Curlys use to give. I was very disappointed to only get a quarter of a piece of a cake than usual for 6 dollars, and the cake tasted like it was stored in the fridge.
Very disappointed in the new taste, amount of cake, and price.
I hope they get their act together.

When I learned that Curly’s had been sold to new management I was bummed but hopeful that the food and service would continue in the awesome Curly’s tradition. While I am glad that the restaurant is still around (I’m addicted to their burritos), I’m dismayed by the incompetence of the new staff and management.
I’ll start off by saying that the kitchen staff is still the same so for the most part, the food is still quite good. Yet, I’ve been to the restaurant several times since the new management took over and every time there has been a major issue with my order.
The first time I went since the shift, I placed an order for pick up over the phone and was told to pick it up in 10 minutes. When I showed up at the correct time they had me wait for over 15 minutes. While I waited, I had a hunch that a bag of food by the pick up area might be mine and yup, sure enough, i waited for nothing because my food had been waiting for me all along. When the server confirmed it indeed was my food, they had me wait another five minutes until the processed my bill! Unbelievable!
The next time I went with some friends, the waitress completely forgot to put in one of our orders and brought out only two of the three meals. When we realized our third meal wasn’t being brought out, we brought the error to her attention, but by that time two of us had almost finished our meals.
Long story short: I’m grateful that I can still get my breakfast burrito fix, but whenever I go to «Carrots» I have to prepare myself for some kind of disaster.

Curly’s was my favorite, and this place is not.
The prices have gone up since the ownership change, in the range of 15%, for no apparent reason.
The service is pretty terrible. Getting on the list for a table was painful (I stood there in the middle of the crowded (it was about 8 on a weekend evening) dining room while they made eye contact and ignored me until I spoke up), coffee refills were promised and never arrived, my no-​olives request was deemed impossible but I wasn’t informed until my friends’ food was ready to come out.
I understand that they’re (sort of) a new restaurant, but I used to come to Curly’s because it was Curly’s. The service at Curly’s was quick and polite, the food was reliably the same on every visit (and the prices were pretty good valuations of food+service), and they took credit cards and would even split the bill without complaining. It’s just awful there now. just awful!
And the name is beyond terrible. If they’re going to be a dinery place, «carrots» is not the food word that belongs in the name.

We were huge Curlys fans and used to eat there often.
When the restaurant was taken over by a new owner, we wanted to approach our dining experience with no expectations or comparisons to Curly’s, but we couldn’t help but be hugely disappointed with our dinner.
Here were our issues:
1. The prices have been raised. Not only that, an employee informed us that the menu was the same but that prices had shifted up and down. However, upon looking at the menu (which is exactly the same as Curlys was) prices had only gone up. The dragon ball q was $ 11.95 before and now it’s $ 13.95. $ 2 might not seem like a lot, but when you consider all the menu items have had their prices hiked, it adds up quickly — and you’re not receiving any additional compensation for the price increase (no extra service, no extra ambiance, no extra food items/​garnishes/​etc).
2. Service. We must note that at 10:00 o’clock on a Saturday night — a normally busy time in NYC for dining — the dining room was nearly empty and there was only one other party eating. This probably should have been a warning sign. Our waitress, while pleasant, was unable to correctly take down our order despite the fact that she had to write everything down. Many, many of our items came out wrong and came out in incorrect order. Our dessert came before our appetizer, a sandwich came without the correct type of cheese (which should be a concern for a restaurant that prides itself on catering to vegan diners who are particularly attentive to those issues) and our chili cheese fries came out without chili. We had specifically asked for the fries with chili and she had repeated it back to us and written it down. At that point, we had had to ask for so many fixes on our other items, that we even debated whether or not it was worth it to inquire about our missing chili — even though as we already noted, the restaurant was not busy and there was no reason for such a lack of attention to the details of our order.
And we should also note that we are incredibly laid back diners — not the type to stress or worry about the occasional mix up/​mishap — but there was seriously so much going wrong that we couldn’t help but be disappointed.
We ended up voicing our concerns because we knew that 14 Carrots was a new restaurant and we wanted to set a precedent for other diners whom we hoped wouldn’t face the same kind of service and mix ups with their orders.
We loved the old staff at Curly — they were all really sweet and attentive without being overwhelming. And while the new staff wasn’t cold or unfriendly, they were somewhat awkward and uncomfortable to deal with. In fact, one employee was sitting in a chair in the dining room sleeping while we finished our dessert (we should also note that the restaurant is open until 4 am – so it’s not like we were the latest diners in the place or that it would be closing anytime soon).
3. The ambiance. One of the things that we loved about Curlys was how homey it felt. Granted, 14 Carrots is a new restaurant and may still be getting their footing, they removed the homey aspects of Curly and now it feels fairly sterile. We’re hoping this is going to change in the new future (even though we probably won’t be back to see it).
4. The food. The mac and cheese came without the breadcrumb topping (again — this might seem like nitpicking but it’s one more detail that adds up to a disappointing dining experience). The chili cheese fries (once we got our chili) had really dry, hard cheese and didn’t look appetizing. The sandwich was $ 12 — more expensive than it was when Curlys owned the restaurant — came without fries or a salad and dry, brick-​hard bread that we left mostly uneaten. We were able to amuse ourselves and pass this off as though we were suddenly on the Atkins diet.
We will say the dessert chimichunga was delicious (even though it came out before any of the other items).
5. Odds and ends. The restaurant is now cash only — something we don’t love, especially if menu items are going to cost more money. There’s no liquor — which we’re also hoping will change at some point (perhaps they just haven’t been approved for their license yet — but still — we’re New Yokers — we like to drink!)
In summation, we were totally bummed out by eating at 14 Carrots — which really sucks because Curlys was one of our go-​to dining destinations and it’s hard to find a huge menu that caters to vegans and is delicious, affordable, and is featured in a central, convenient location. We aren’t planning on going back anytime soon — but if and when we do, we hope that they can get their act together and win us back.