Freshbites

I have been to this place more than a coupla times now. Some people told me it’s like Dig Inn and since I really like the new American style of eating, I surely was excited to try this place out. The food spread is good, don’t miss out the meatball or the falafel for your daily dose of protein. And my does it fill u up, even the small portion of their food plate. For the sides too, they have a bunch of options, brussel sprouts and brocolli being my faves. Can’t wait to visit soon next!

Fresh and delicious food. The salmon is great as well as the sides. Very reasonably priced and very good ambiance. Never very crowded which is good. Getting food takes around a minute maybe less. Great place for lunch, i just heard they have breakfast too.

My order wasn’t the tastiest today. I ordered the meatballs over barley with sides of corn salad and green beans. The green beans were over seasoned and very sour from lemons. The corn was chewy like it was over cooked.
The meatballs unfortunately were equally as bad.

Great spot if you want to grab a quick lunch. The food is surprising flavorful and affordable. In addition, this spot is well suited for the lunch rush because of the well organized staff. What would seem like forever and a day at most establishments in the area was smooth hassle free experience from the time I got on the line until I sat for my lunch.

I was in the neighborhood and wanting to grab something healthy, Unilocal directed me to freshbites.
I was not disappointed. The meat seemed to retain moisture and had good flavor. The rice was cooked just right, not too soft, not too tough. Wicket beans were tasty and the Mac & cheese was the best thing of all. Crunchy top, smooth, melty bottom.
The staff was kind and helpful, giving me suggestions of what would be the freshest, best choices.

This place is definitely a knockoff of Dig Inn. I don’t think the ingredients are as fresh, but it’s a decent substitute, and decently priced. The protein choices are excellent. I’ve tried both the salmon and the BBQ pulled pork and both were delicious and good portion and value.
The sides, however, have been awful and often inedible. The «charred sweet potato» was well… basically burt and so dry. I’ve had roasted sweet potatoes before, which were delicious, and these definitely weren’t it. I’m not sure why charring an already dry vegetable is a good idea, but maybe they should rethink it… especially if they are just coming out burnt. I most recently got the green beans which were way too salty and had such a strong vinegar taste that I couldn’t eat them. Again, how hard is it to throw a little butter, salt, and almonds into green beens? They don’t need much! Lastly, the mac and cheese is alright. A bit bland and dry, but out of all the sides it was the best.
I’m hoping they can fix their vegetable game because I do like this place. Just wish I could eat a bit healthier and actually enjoy their vegetable dishes.

1^st time I went:
The kale/​spinach mix with corn, peppers, olives, pita chips & feta with sesame ginger dressing was what I expected.
Like most other places you get a limit of how many fillings for the salad until they charge you for extra. (The feta was $ 1 more which seems pricey along with some other major salad toppings but hey, you live/​work/​walk/​breathe in ny? Expect to pay). The olives are a bit on the salty side. They give you an option if you’d like a piece of bread when you pay. Unfortunately mine was mostly burnt on the crust.
Regardless I would definitely return and try one of their dishes.
2^nd time I went: since I saw so many pics/​reviews of the pulled pork and it looked good I got that over barley, charred string beans and Asian slaw. The size portion was really good for the price of $ 7.95.
Pulled pork was pretty good for a place that doesn’t specialize in bbq. The string beans and Asian slaw was good but my only gripe with both the slaw and string beans was that it’s too salty. (I see that’s a trend, being that the olives from my first visit were salty). The string beans were sitting/​drenched in oil. Ok fine a little oil is needed but weren’t we staying on the healthy/​fresh side? Like other reviews I read, it wasn’t steaming hot. More on the warm side. Ok given I walked 5 minutes with it in the cold, but still.
All in all, I’ll possibly return given the price is right, but order a salad with no salt included in any of the ingredients.

I wanted to eat something healthy for lunch so I decided to try out Freshbites. They have a variety of food to choose from. You can make yourself a salad or make a meal with meet, rice, vegatables and/​or mac and cheese. I was excited to try the mac and cheese but it wasn’t great. It had more butter on it then cheese. The sweet potatos were also not great-​pretty burned and either empty or not cooked all the way. Overall I feel my meal was satisfying but not amazing. The meal ran for about 10 bucks. I may come back here but I won’t be running.

Quick tip save your time and money and go somewhere else… food mediocre price average for the city but where is the flavor?! Got pulled pork and Mac and cheese… just bland and food was lukewarm… why am I paying $ 10 for bland and lukewarm food –NEXT

I am so sad to write this review, but…
I recently discovered Fresh Bites as my office just moved down the block and I needed a new lunch spot. I ate the same thing for 3 days in a row — kale base, grilled chicken, Brussels sprouts, string beans. On the 4^th day, a staff member suggested I try the meatballs. I asked if they are gluten free. She said yes. That was Friday.
Fast forward to today, Monday. I went about my usual way and decided to stop by because the meatballs were so good and I wanted them again. They’re gluten free, after all. This time, however, a man who seemed like a manager of sorts or someone of higher authority, told me the meatballs are NOT gluten free. They’re made with panko breadcrumbs as a binding agent.
I had awful digestive troubles this weekend and now I know why.
There are tons of people with food sensitives, many with severe symptoms. Mine aren’t severe but my doctor has prescribed that I follow a very specific nutrition plan. No one is perfect, though, and I was excited at the idea that Fresh Bites could be my «lesser evil» during work busy season when I do not have time to meal prep at home. I’m sad to be wrong and also sad that I experienced a weekend with a sad tummy.
Y’all should consider listing all ingredients to avoid inaccurate detail or confusion from your staff.

I’ve been here three times & I love it. Food is very fresh. First time I had the market plate of falafel, curried faro, & greens. Tasty. Though, by far my favorite is the soBe salad (mesclun & Romaine, apples, walnuts, cranberries, blue cheese, roast chicken with honey balsamic dressing). The roast chicken is unbelievable. Juicy, savory everything that you want roast chicken to be but usually isn’t. The sweetness of the apples & cranberries is balanced nicely with the acidity of the dressing. It’s large & hearty. It will power you through the rest of your day.
Plenty of seating. Though, I’ve only been here after the lunch rush so I cannot comment on the seating availability then.
Staff is wonderful & friendly. They seem to be content being there which is such a joyous experience when you are hungry.
They are heavier on the dressing & they don’t yet offer nutrition info, which is either a plus or minus depending on your preference.
The decadent desserts are also a must try. American classics with a healthy twist like chocolate chia pudding & peanut butter chocolate bar. The later especially is a creamy, fudgy indulgence on your tongue. If you want something gooey wonderfulness, get it now.

Great salads and great plates.
The service is fast and the prices are reasonable (for the city).
Only reasons it is 4 stars and not 5 is that the variety isn’t too impressive, but that isn’t necessarily a negative for some people (I’ve seen people stare at big menus for over 20 minutes), so if you don’t care about a huge variety, this is definitely the place for your midday meal.

I was curious about this place after I had tried digg inn before so I came for lunch today and got a large pulled pork with brown rice, mac and cheese and roasted Brussels sprouts.
The pulled pork was amazing and they were not stingy with my Large order unlike digg inn. The Mac and cheese was a bit watery and the roasted Brussels sprouts needed some seasoning like a little more salt and pepper? maybe even more garlic?
All in all I enjoyed my food and was super full. The lines were fast and short. They have a separate line for salads and wraps. I would come back here again. I also tried their tea and it was yummy. They also have blue agave by the utensils to add to your drinks.
I saw that they had breakfast options and I might come back to try that and wrote another review.

The pulled pork and mac n cheese at Freshbites have become two of my favorite quick lunch foods. The market plates here are a better value compared to the sandwiches and salads, and one was more than enough to leave me full for the rest of the day. I also thought their plate options sounded more compelling than those at Dig Inn. I got the BBQ pulled pork over barley, roasted Brussels sprouts with cranberries and onions, and mac n cheese. The Brussels sprouts could have been softer and had more cranberries, but I’ll just try a different side next time. The pulled pork was super tender and contrasted nicely with the firmer barley grains. I don’t know what cheese they used in the mac n cheese, which had a sharp flavor, but I really liked it. Extra thumbs up to Freshbites for including a pickup option on their Unilocal page — I just ordered ahead and was in and out of the restaurant in minutes.
A very solid four star lunch place that I will be returning to again and again.

Good lunch! The menu is not extensive but the ability to customize creates many possibilities. There are both healthy (vegetarian and gluten free) options as well as fatty stuff like pork or Mac & cheese.
The Farro with apple (and pomegranate) salad was excellent. I also enjoyed the falafel with turmeric. The quinoa and pineapple salad looked good, I’ll try it next time. There are seats and it’s clean but I would consider this more of a take out or delivery place. There was no long lines and service was quick and friendly. If you’re not sure about something they will let you taste a little, very nice.

I worry the Unilocal rating for Freshbites is inflated — the food was good and reasonably priced, but I don’t think it deserves the raving 5 star reviews that a lot of people have given.
Freshbites serves healthy «fast» food cuisine similar to other lunch eateries in Midtown like Dig Inn, Bushwick, and Authentic. In addition to salad and sandwiches, it offers protein plates (chicken, salmon, pulled pork, etc.) with market vegetable sides. I’ve tried the meatball plate, which I loved, and the falafel plate, which I wouldn’t order again.
The first time I had Freshbites, I got the Chipotle Spiced Meatballs Plate, which comes with a choice of base (rice, barley, or greens) and two sides. My plate had two big meatballs with tomato sauce over greens, and a side of Farro Curried Apple Salad and Charred Broccoli.
The meatballs were delicious! I couldn’t really taste the chipotle spices, but the ground beef/​pork/​whatever meat they were made from was so tender and juicy. The farro salad had scallions, raisins, and pomegranate seeds to add to the texture and the flavors of the side dish. The Charred Broccoli was slightly burnt — just the way it should be for charred vegetable.
The second time, I got the Turmeric Falafel over barley with two different sides — Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Smoked Paprika Pineapple Quinoa. Maybe my expectations were a bit high, but the two pieces of falafel (I think they are baked) were extremely dry. A dollop of hummus would have added a nice touch to the meal. The barley base was super bland, and the brussels sprouts with red onions and dried cranberries were oily. Finally, the quinoa with cucumbers, scallions, dried cranberries, and spicy seed mix tasted fine but I’d choose some other side over this one.

Took a 15 minute stroll during my precious lunch hour to check out this place with so many glowing reviews.
To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about the legitimacy of said reviews, but I was definitely not disappointed.
The establishment is clean and has an efficient setup that barrels customers quickly through picking out your food to paying for it.
I got the market plate with pulled pork over barley, and two sides of roasted brussel sprouts and curried apple farro salad. The pulled pork was delicious and I was given a very generous put-​you-​in-​a-​food-​coma serving. Ugh do I really have to go back to work now? Oh and it was $ 8.71? Pinch me, I’m dreaming.
I can’t wait to come back here and try the other offerings at FRESHBITES.

I love this place. It’s practically next door to my office which is clutch for me when I want to run out and grab a quick lunch.
The food here is really good and the prices are super reasonable! I pretty much go in once a week to get the same thing:
Meatballs over Wild Rice
Brussels Sprouts
Mac and Cheese
You seriously can’t go wrong with this.
I’ve tried the pulled pork, the string beans, their other side salads but by far, this combo is my favorite. It feels like a hug in your tummy!
Aside from the food, the people who work here are great — super friendly and willing to explain things to you. Seating is available and a bit dark but I’ve never actually stayed.
If I could change anything, I would just ask that they go a little lighter on the vinegar on some of their dishes but otherwise, this place will continue to be in heavy rotation on the lunch schedule.

Stopped by Fresh Bites today to get some lunch take out… here are my thoughts:
Ambiance: Restaurant is casual but nicely decorated and clean.
Service: Everyone is super friendly and helpful.
Food: Expensive for sure. I had an arugula salad with beets, carrots, broccoli, and shrimp, and my total was almost $ 12. The salad was large but mostly comprised of arugula… needless to say I left a lot of arugula behind!
Overall: I love that Fresh Bites is about sustainability and has organic ingredients, for which I’m willing to pay a premium. I’ll be returning to try out their salmon and market sides. Great addition to 34^th Street!

Add me to the list of people who love this new fast casual eatery in lower Midtown.
Thanks to Chipotle you can now get a wide range of high quality food without waiting for a server to take your order. From burritos to Mediterranean food to the New American stylings of FRESHBITES, we’re in a transformative culinary era. It’s fun to be a part of.
I had the pleasure of nibbling on a few of their early crowd favorites:
— Whiskey beans. So good. Apparently the chef loves whiskey (who doesn’t?) and wanted to incorporate it into a side dish. You have to try these.
— Mac ‘n’ cheese. Given I can be a bit critical of «artisan» mac ‘n’ cheese, I’m stoked to give this my totally unqualified seal of approval. Don’t miss it.
— Pulled pork. It’s tangy and delicious. You can top it over a variety of different grains including wild rice and barley. Adds a hearty texture to the protein.
There are so many more options yet to hit my palate. Rest assured that will change soon.
Word on the street is they’re starting up a breakfast and brunch program soon. They’ll be doing elevated bacon, egg, and cheeses without the elevated price tag. Being the unofficial breakfast of New York, I’m excited to see their interpretation. I can’t say I don’t love the no-​name bodega version of the BEC, but something tells me FRESHBITES will make them proud.