Essen Fast Slow Food

Rude employees and food that makes you sick

If you want your order consistently missing something, this is your go to spot (especially through GrubHub!). Rude employees and stale food are also highlights of this wonderfully mediocre establishment.
Some other Essen highlights include, but are not limited to:
— soggy tater tots
— runny eggs
— wilted salads
— greasy everything
— poor life decisions
— regret
— overcrowding & lines
If food quality and service isn’t a priority, I also suggest checking out The Mill only a few blocks away!

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 café 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.

The problem with the Varick St. Essen is not the taste of the food, nor the service, which, while not particularly friendly, is very fast & efficient. It’s the dangerous lack of safe food handling practices on the hot food bar. Three times in a row I’ve experienced cold or luke-​warm food that’s supposed to be hot. This is not only unappetizing, but it’s a health hazard, and a breeding ground for bacteria and food borne illnesses. I contacted Essen directly to alert them but got no response back. So I don’t think they particularly care, since it keeps happening, and unfortunately, I suspect it will take a visit from the health department or a customer (s) getting sick to change the culture there. So proceed with caution.

2 stars because the food is good but over priced to the point you feel like you are being ripped off… there is tons of food here and an upstairs eating area, it’s nice and clean but you know find places that are more affordable.

Mediocre food at high prices. Seriously, this place is so oooook overpriced. Mediocre udon soup is 8 bucks. Literally 80 cents of food.

I love this place! The food is so good and fresh. Maybe a bit pricey, but I love going at lunchtime and just filling my plate with a variety of foods from their buffet.

Wow these Essen fast slow foods are popping up in the city. The variety is amazing. Great baked goods. Fresh salads. Sushi an ramen area. Lots of choices. Excellent prices. Check this place out.

It’s so hard to give this place anything above a star. I routinely stop here because of its convenience to my workplace and the offerings, but I find I am being more disappointed as time goes on. For example, the first time I went with a coworker we both got soup and were amazed at the different varieties. After purchasing and heading to eat it, my coworker noticed there was a small rock in her soup. YES. YOU HEARD ME. A ROCK. When she went back to the cashier to explain what happened, the cashier just told her she could get another soup and they didn’t even replace the pot of soup that it came from. (So people continued to buy that soup throughout the day!!!) About two weeks later, another coworker of mine found a small rock in his soup. WHAT ON EARTH? The same thing happened. The workers of Essen did not care. I’m not sure if rocks are part of their seasonings, but I know for a fact customer satisfaction is not part of their repertoire. They do everything in haste and do not care for the chaos that can ensue.
I have tried other items to try to have a better image of them. I must admit the salad with the unlimited toppings sounded like a great thing and I wanted to believe in them. However, you must know that only the veggie toppings are unlimited. If you want more cheese or meat, that brings the price considerably higher. However, I must say the portion size is fantastic. I was more disturbed with however, the way in which the man taking my salad order handled it when I was asking for toppings. Also, as he was chopping the salad, all of my items were flying into other toppings nearby. I only worry that this may be hazardous if someone is allergic to something and accidentally finds it in their salad. As such, in my own salad, I found a couple of pine nuts and tiny bits of feta cheese that must have flown in there by accident.
Today was my last attempt at giving them a chance. I decided to go with a grilled cheese with ham and thought it would be quick and inexpensive. The man at the station took my order and then basically forgot about it. When he noticed me still standing there waiting after five customers already got there more complicated orders, he said «oh» and then threw together a quick grilled cheese. Without ham. I kindly mentioned to him if he was going to add the ham as he was preparing to wrap it and he threw the sandwich down and then took out ham from under a drawer and threw it on the grill. After five minutes of this, he wrapped up my sandwich and wrote 6 dollars on it. Now, I understand New York City prices can be expensive and I am more than ready to pay for what I need to, but how the heck am I going to be okay with waiting close to twenty minutes and paying six dollars for a sandwich that was thrown together?
As I said, I am over giving this deli more chances. I would recommend all NYC consumers to stay away if you value reasonable prices and just nice service. The workers of Essen do not see customers, just wallets and could care less if you’re satisfied or not.

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 23^rd 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.

The food here is decent. The place is pretty big & clean. Great food selection. It’s worth stopping by if you are nearby & just want to have a quick meal.

Essen gets a bad rap among everyone I’ve talked to, for three reasons (wait, quality, cleanliness). But I’ve gotten over it.
1) Wait
I was initially overwhelmed by the long lines (and yes, they are as long as you can imagine). But especially during the lunches I’ve been here for around 1 – 2 PM, the Essen cashiers do an admirable job working their way through it. I don’t think I’ve waited longer than 5 minutes ever to pay for my food. Also an upside on this is the immediacy of the food. Compared to many delis/​restaurants where you wait to order + wait to pay, Essen cuts the food prep wait to almost nothing even at their counter foods (rice bowls, sandwiches, etc.).
2) Quality
Not everything is good here. Most of the buffet options are not great here. But what keeps me coming back is the rice bowl from the counter just to the left of the entrance. Fresh and fluffy white rice, quality cuts of chicken, a light and flavorful sauce, and lots of steamed and delicious veggies thrown in (peppers, bok choy, and some other leafy greens). It’s a little addicting, and I’m currently hooked deep.
3) Cleanliness
The buffets get a little gross and messy looking by the time I swing down here at 1 PM. But at the counters this is definitely not an issue. I have no complaints.
tldr: unless you’re coming here for the height of the rush, get the rice bowl and enjoy it!

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!

I absolutely love this place! It’s a great spot to grab lunch if you’re in a rush. They have a large variety of items from salads, soups, sandwiches, hot plates to even sushi and some Asian food. The lines are long, but they move super fast.
I even order delivery from here every once in awhile and it always arrives within half an hour! Their salads are pretty large and filling, but my favorite dish is definitely the udon.

Yes, it is unfortunate that we sometimes only write reviews online when we experience something truly awful, and I need to make a point of writing in to all the wonderful businesses that I appreciate. It’s just too bad that today I just had that horrible experience at Essen.
Since they opened, I often went to Essen for lunch because it’s a block away from my office and I appreciate that you can order exactly what you want at the salad counter. I’ve often overlooked the dirty glove hands reaching into the salad base, or the cross contamination from the standard deli counter dirty rag. In general most of the food is mediocre and it has only been a go to because of how convenient it is.
Today I was charged for something that in the past I had been told was not an extra charge. OK, no big deal, but I wanted clarification and to urge consistency. But when I brought it up at the counter with the manager, his disrespectful attitude was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced in a retail setting. He wouldn’t even look at me or listen to what I was saying.
Yes, it was busy, but before I could finish my sentence, he began rolling his eyes, looking away and snickering, just pay for it. When I tried again to explain that there was an inconsistency from what I was told last time and I wanted to make sure it was clear, he rudely exclaimed «oh my god, just go.» I told him that I eat here almost several times a week and don’t appreciate being spoken to like this, he very aggressively told me that next time he’ll go with me to order my salad. Obviously he missed the point, but more importantly I am sure that there will be no next time. I refuse to spend money at a business where they treat their customers like dumb sheep.

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.

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.

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.

There are a lot of things you could say about Essen. It’s palatial. It feels like a crowded airport terminal between the hours of 11:30 and 1:30, with a labyrinth of zigzagging lines cutting across the store and intersecting with each other. There are busy and occasionally curmudgeonly workers buzzing around with platters of food, removing empty ones and replenishing with new ones, while patrons are eagerly bobbing and weaving, trying to avoid losing an eye or getting a mountain of arugula salad poured down their back.
They have about 8 different kinds of oatmeal in the morning. There is a salad bar, a juice bar, a smoothie bar, an espresso bar, a pasta station, a panini station, a hot sandwich station, a cold sandwich station, a rice bowl station, a ramen station, a sushi station and a dessert bin. There is a hot buffet and a cold buffet, both of which are substantial. That doesn’t even cover everything available here, and I’ve got to tell you, I’m overwhelmed and exhausted just thinking about it.
If you are the type of person who never really knows what they want for lunch until it’s staring you in the face, Essen is probably worth a visit. Conversely, if you are indecisive, you may want to avoid Essen for fear of sensory and culinary overload. It’s a veritable smörgåsbord in there. Crowded and on the pricey side, but recommended for midweek breakfast or lunch. The convenience factor is off the charts.