53rd Gourmet Deli

This place reopened after renovation and food is so much better. Added a Korean section and spicy pork is to die for! Café Duke was my spot but I have been converted! I will definitely be one of the regulars.

Clean, «new» (as in, recently renovated) deli/​restaurant. They have a smoothie bar, a salad bar, a pasta section and a grill. They also carny snacks, incl healthy packaged snacks like dried peas and fresh fruit. Place is very organized and they move the line quickly. Ample seating for dine-​in customers.
I had their pasta and it was pretty good — the sauce wasn’t too filling and the ingredients were fresh. The only issue I had with the taste was that the sauce tasted a little bland, as if there was no salt in it but I guess that’s to keep it healthy? The food portion was good for the price — only $ 9 for a large dish of fresh-​cooked pasta.
Will be going back to try other items.

Ok average food. Desserts look good… Did the hot food buffet bar… Mac n cheese tastes like marshmallows or sweet potatoes w marshmallows… Chicken tastes like wine… A bit bizarre…
Poor seating as well. we got lucky as someone was just getting up.
It could be better but I wouldn’t cal gourmet … Also wasn’t sure about our bill … I think at 8.99 their scales are rigged lol

So, it touts being open 24 hours, right? Well, I guess that’s true, but not for the grill in the sandwich area. I went by at Midnight on Tuesday evening after a long flight. I intentionally chose this option vs. room service because of their ratings and nearby location. The restaurant was open but when I asked for a hot sandwich, I was informed the grill was shut down! So, what does 24 hours mean? Everything but hot items?

We visited the Museum of Modern Art back in July and then came here for lunch. The selection is overwhelming. They have a buffet (hot and cold), deli, etc. etc. Everything looked so good. I ordered a pastrami sandwich which I order about once every year or two. The server was a bit rude. The sandwich was just okay. The other two people who were with me thought their food was just okay as well. I’m sure some of their food is excellent. It just wasn’t for us on that day.

Since my office moves from midtown to uptown I have been frequenting this deli quite often. I must say that I have had all pleasant experiences.
It is ALWAYS busy but the service is pretty fast so you’re in and out depending on how you move. I haven’t ordered any sandwiches or wraps just yet I usually just get something from the buffet table. I believe it’s $ 8.00 a pound and I always manage to get enough food and it’s always under a pound.
Usually, I get fruit, lowein, rice, salad and chicken. It has always been very well. My food is always cooked just right and tastes amazing. They also sell sushi and it is FRESH. Usually, I never get sushi from any small places because you just never know what you’re eating and he to be careful with fish. However, my experience here has been good.
I’m not the only person that likes this place. Almost all of my colleagues frequent this business for lunch every day. It’s definitely worth it. Unless you want to eat from a cart then there aren’t many other great options nearby.
They do accept credit card but there’s a $ 8 minimum & there is seating but if you’re going to take a seat then eat fast and leave because there’s always a lot of people waiting to grab a chair.

One the way to MOMA from hotel this place caught my eye — selection was huge, with a long cold salad and a hot items buffet. Grabbed a giant shrimp wrapped with bacon, a rib and a couple of bites of fish, then loaded up with veggies, five noodles of lo mien and 2 fried plantain bites. With a bottle of water the bill comes around $ 14. Guess those veggies are really heavy! The worst part is the shrimp is artificially compressed and taste like msg. I should have known better! Picasso’s sculptures really got mind off the track…

Extortion when it comes to the food on the weigh-​in plates.
Almost $ 20 for a few mouthfuls of chicken! Decent food just prices are nuts.

What an awesome deli! Their salads are super fresh with great quality produce, their fruit is always ripe and sweet, and their hot foods are really good! I love the variety and their sandwiches, breakfasts, and even their sushi is great! The soups are always hot and full of flavor and their dessert options are wonderful! I wish there were more delis like this around!

To whom it may concern:
I’m sure misunderstandings happen all the time, and I’m sure the sign on your lavatory/​bathroom/​washroom is true to however the sign says it is.
The story goes like this, we (7 of us) eat at Halal Guys, we eat the food by the public seats that are located right next to the halal guys. After eating out meal, i tell my cousin, i know of a spot where we can buy drinks and share it in the deli.
So we proceed to enter your establishment, i make a bee line for the beer selection, i pick a big giant can of Asahi beer and he takes two long cans of Guinness for us to share. We approach the cashier which seems to be of asian decent, judging by the accent the features. We pay for the drinks and my cousin beats me to the laying down the credit card game. While this is all happening, the others were busy buying ice cream at the gelateria in the same premise. So we all sit, make a toast for the great vacation we’ve had here filled with sight seeing and shopping in NYC.
Before we go back out to Time Square to get one last soak in on the atmosphere, we decide to use the «Customers Only» bathroom which was just used by my cousin who beat me to the lay down the credit card game. My boyfriend was the first to ask, and I approached him, «I asked the cashier and he just giggled and walked away.» So I try asking him since CLEARLY we were just in front of him purchasing beverages for the group. His response was, «The bathroom is out of order.»
Ok, I get it, I guess we have clearly overstayed our welcome. We clean the tables, throw away our trash and leave to enjoy the rest of the night in time square.
Sincerely,
Rodrigo Torres
P.S.
This letter is not by no means defame or demolish your fine establishment, this is to clearly show that «MISUNDERSTANDINGS DO HAPPEN»
Thank you for taking time to read my letter.

Rude!!! I feel sorry for the nasty lady who works the cash register. She must be so unhappy.

Walked over from the Hilton and had a bagel and lox. Very busy place with lots of blue collar patrons. Very good sign. Great food, great prices. Highly recommend.

The lunch buffet wasn’t great– stuff had been left ouf for a long time– but if you’re just looking to fill up this place is fine. Also sells paper towels/​kitchen supplies, snacks, sushi, juices, etc. Seems to be for the working crowd. Sushi is made on the spot. Run by a Korean couple. Has a decent amount of seating.

UDON UDON UDON.
I have tried a bunch of places in this area for Udon for lunch. By far the cheapest and nicest. Chicken can be a bit dry but overall great value.

I tried this place b/​c some guys at my office eat from here at least once a week, and they recommended it.
The quality isn’t the best, but the (cheap) prices make up for it. They also have a huge selection, and a pretty giant self-​serve buffet. I really wanted to like this place.
My major gripe is in the service and layout. The way they have ordering set up is unnecessarily confusing. They have 2 pieces of paper taped to the deli counter, telling you where to order deli sandwiches and where to order hot food. To top it off, the items on the menu above the different areas do not coincide with where you should order it. For example, hot items might be mixed over on the left menu, but you order on the right. Ok so what about something like corned beef? Technically it’s hot, but it’s also a sandwich. Ambiguous.
Well, I guess deli item and I guess wrong. Waited in one «line» for 10 minutes (not really a line, just a bunch of people standing around and you have to guess where the line starts/​ends), only to get up to order and have the guy point to the other line. You order that over there. No apology, no offer to get the order for me, nothing.
After waiting another 10 minutes, they forgot the fries. Those took another 5.
All in all I spent about 20 – 25 minutes getting a sandwich and french fries. It was a terrible experience, even for someone who is used to Midtown lunchtime madness.
Note to owners: Put some ropes or something. Not even ropes. Just one single rope. Ordering a sandwich and fries shouldn’t be this difficult.

This place is a breath of fresh air in the hectic overpriced places that surroundings. We stayed at the hilton and when hungry and couldn’t leave or wanted a snack we had to get the incredibly overpriced herb n’ kitchen or the gift shop. Or we would be hungry late and want real food.
This place is open ²⁴⁄₇ for your snacking enjoyment. We had breakfast and snacks here.
Let’s start with breakfast. Can I say NY bagels are not exaggerated. These are the most amazing chewy, soft and flavorful and with multiple flavors and flavored cream cheese you could have a new one each morning of your stay. I got an omelet it came with toast and home fries for only $ 4.50 and no that’s not a typo. The food was good but the toast was soft and soggy. There are so many options. The line is a bit long but worth it. There is some seating available.
The deli Sammie’s, called heros in NYC, looked so good and rye had paninis and wraps as well.
The store is full of options for snacking and meals including full salad bar, hot food bar, drinks, gelato and coffee.
It’s a must go if your in the neighborhood

Prices are good and there is good variety. There is a deli station, salads, Japanese station, groceries, and ice cream. There is also a buffet to top it all. The place is not cheap, but reasonably priced for NYC.
Breakfast — I got a vegetable omelette for breakfast here this morning. It came with potatoes and toast. While I liked the price, the food itself was not great. Breakfast potatoes were mushy and sloppy. The eggs were tasteless and I couldn’t find the mushrooms though they were supposed to be a main ingredient.
It was not the best quality breakfast I had. There was also a long line to order and I waited close to 30 minutes for my breakfast to come. On usual days, I don’t have this much time.
I do have a lot of food restrictions and this place has options for me — which is nice and not always the case. Freshness could be improved. It is hectic in the AM but I didn’t walk out hungry and I didn’t break the bank buying food. I will probably be back because I work in the building but wouldn’t travel far to get here…

Beaucoup de clients à l’intérieur de ce deli, ce qui nous a donné envie d’y entrer. Large choix de fruits salades et plats chauds en libre service dans des présentoirs et facturés au poids. Large choix de boissons fraîches en libre service. Smoothies et jus de fruits frais préparés à la demande. Par contre c’est assez long pour commander les sandwiches et autres paninis et wraps et les employés qui vous servent né sont pas la pour vous attendre: si vous prenez trop de temps vous entendez «next» et vous vous faites engueuler. Bref bonjour l’accueil.
Au niveau gustatif rien d’extraordinaire mais ce n’est pas non plus immangeable. Bref plutôt moyen pour un prix raisonnable vu la situation (midtown).
Enfin personne n’a été malade (ce qui est déjà arrivé à d’autres d’après ce que j’ai lu).

Came in here yesterday for a breakfast sandwich and friends, the wait was LONG. This seems to be mostly due to the construction worker ahead of me in line who ordered about 10 sandwiches, so I can’t really fault the deli for that. They made my bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel relatively quickly and it was a warm, cheesy delicious sandwich experience! And at $ 3.50, pretty reasonably priced.
I went back today for lunch because I noticed the plethora of choices while I was there yesterday. They have freshly made sandwiches, wraps, quesadillas, panini, etc, etc, etc in the deli counter and if you can’t find something there they will make whatever you want to order. They have hot and cold food buffets, sushi, gelato, tea, coffee, I believe I saw smoothies, and all the snacks and drinks you’d hope to find in a store. The options are really endless. Prices on some things seem a bit high ($ 2 for a 20 oz bottle of coke… oof) but it is midtown, and nothing was outrageous.
I went with the buffet and got Greek salad, chicken, and mashed potatoes for a little over $ 8 (buffet is $ 7.99/lb) and I wasn’t disappointed. There are chunks of feta on the salad, and being a feta fanatic, I was in heaven. I’d imagine this place gets quite busy during the week, so keep that in mind. But if you have time and want a crazy amount of things to choose from, this is a good bet.

Best place in midtown New York.
Resonable price and taste good.
Panini.sanswich.sushi.buffet table.
toss saad.smoothie.wine.

Large selection
Not terribly filthy
Prices for midtown not ball-​achingly expensive

No Sandwich for you! said the deli Nazi.
My first deli spot in NYC and this one was right across from the hotel. I’ve never seen such rude customer service in my life! I thought Seinfeld was just a show?!
While standing in line looking at their menu. I can hear the main chef yelling at customers to call out the order and arguing with other patrons. I’m not sure if that’s the way it goes around here, but if you asked me it’s unfortunate.
Needless to say, I ordered the pastrami, egg and cheese sandwich, while scurrying away like a child hoping not to feel the wrath of the deli Nazi. Yeah he was eyeballing me for ordering slow! The sandwich was actually very good. On a warm toasted bun oozing cheese, while the saltiness of the pastrami added kick to the egg balancing each other out.
In the end, the poor attitude of the sandwich chef really bothered me. Maybe I’m being bias about this since I’m not from around NYC, but treating other’s with respect is important to me. Eating out is an experience and I rather get treated right than eating well for a day. Sorry gang only 1 star even though food was good. — Enjoy!