59th and Lex Cafe

No wait. That might be the only pro. Maybe this is a better lunch than dinner place. The ambiance is awful, I think some music and dimming the lights at dinnertime could make all the difference. Most of the other patrons were employees so it felt like we had joined them in their break room. The chicken from the kids menu was so salty even my two year old wouldn’t eat it, although I appreciate a lot of options on the kids menu. The rest of the food (sandwich, soup, steak salad) was mediocre for the price. The steak was the best item there but cooked well, when asked to be cooked medium. Also watch when paying with a card, you have write the tip in before you send them your card. We missed that and did a separate transaction for the tip.

I haven’t been in this store for 7 months due to poor customer service but i guess they still haven’t figured it out their customer service is the worse ever no matter what department you go to it’s still poor!!! When we walked up no one was there to seat us so we just sat ourselves finally someone decided to walk up to give us a menu then when we asked for the bill we not only had to ask one but two and we still did not get it until we walked up to the counter!!! It is painfully obvious whoever is managing this store has no clue how their customer service is affecting their sales…

Well it was amateur night. The food was way overpriced and the quality was just not there. For it being Bloomingdale’s you would think they would take time in preparing dishes that would represent the first class atmosphere of the store alas, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Cheap quality products to make a third class meal, but the prices were way up there. Not to mention the service is absolutely horrible they take way too long and they even forgot my order after I told them twice. Never again…

Ok I’m giving a 6 because the food, service, and wait time is amazing.
This is the perfect quick bite place when getting your shop on! I’m not a fan of food courts by choice (it can get nasty at times) and yes I love the restaurants in the area but I hate waiting. This is the perfect perfect jem! And did I mention the coffee in here!!! Turbocharged!!! No I can deal with wifie shopping. Lol
PS the Wonton Cajon Chicken taco… boom in your mouth lol. ;^)

I didn’t realize that I haven’t eaten here in nearly six years since the bad experience there, but gave 59^th & Lex Café another shot today for lunch since I was in the area and didn’t feel like eating at any of the other dining options at the mall.
They’ve redeemed themselves since my last visit. Attentive service, decent food & an appropriately priced menu made for a good lunch here. I’d go back, but will certainly avoid going to this mall entirely once the holiday madness begins.
My chicken salad sandwich could have used more flavor since it was bland, but I like how they offer fries, onion rings or sweet potato fries to accompany your sandwich here (versus a boring soup or salad).
I have yet to try this frozen yogurt that they seem to be known for, I should have tried it out today since it was in the low 90’s in the middle of our un-​Fall like weather, lol!

Consistently good food at a good price with good service. Salads and sandwiches are excellent.

The food here is amazing this service is awesome and a smoothies are die for. I got the incredible detox smoothie and shrimp wrap. And they are amazing healthy eating reasonably priced and a very clean atmosphere. I would hight recommend this hidden treasure.

Amazing food and even better service – the kitchen has definitely had a dramatic overhaul since when it first opened.
The selection of daily specials has incredible variation, particularly the soups (which is rare to find). I come here very frequently and the quality has been consistently excellent.
Additionally, make sure you finish your meal with the frozen yogurt which is preeeeetty effing good

My friend and I go to 59^th & Lex regularly and each staff knows us my name. We get vIP treatment every time. I can always trust Stephen and Hector to take care of us! I strongly recommend asking for them by name upon arrival! And go see Karla she’s great too!

I am in love with the tuna salad. Place is tiny but good service and good. I would give this place 4 stars except the placemats on our table were dirty. Not just a crumb here and a crumb there but smeared with yuck dirty. Even the hostess was appalled.

In the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping at Fashion Valley, 59^th and Lex is an oasis, a piece of zen, a calming respite.
After pacing the mall back and forth, my sister and I needed a drink. The caffeinated kind, that is. The line at Starbucks was out the door so I thought fast of an alternative. Aha! I remember Bloomingdale’s had a café! Let’s go there and check it out!
So up to Bloomie’s third floor we went. Behind the Christmas candy display was a sign that says «Restaurant». The café was much smaller than I thought. But more intimate. There was a bunch of other diners — older couples, daughters taking their moms out shopping… the whole room was pretty quiet and chill.
We walked up to the counter and were greeted by the lone female server/​barista. We ordered our coffees and sat at one of the tables. The atmosphere was so inviting for having a good meal but we just settled on trying their lemon chicken soup to warm our tummies up. My sister and I wanted to split the bowl of soup (it wasn’t much, actually) and as one of the servers (older guy with glasses — I think he’s been mentioned in one of the reviews here) watched my attempt to split the soup into two bowls, he stepped in and told me that he’d gladly do it for us. When he came back from the kitchen, we ended up having two orders of soup! And being charged for just one. So thank you, sir!
Our soup was accompanied by some slices of French baguette and yummy whipped butter. Mmmmm-​mmm-​mmm!
Oh, and the coffee! The main reason why we came here was to get drinks. My coffee mocha was good — could use a little more creaminess but I’m guessing they either used 2% or nonfat milk. My sister’s caramel cappuccino was lovely! (see photo). It was delicious as well. We simply had to compliment the barista for a job well done.
Prices were quite reasonable, I thought. I’m looking forward to trying their yogurt and other desserts next.

a nice place for simple food.
i took my beautiful ger-​ger here for his birthday. we are both avid wanna-​be new yorkers and have been missing our real home…
ok, there’s nothing in there that looks like new york. in addition, the bloomingdales in new york (on 59^th and Lex) has no such restaurant with the same name.
we ordered sandwiches. he got a chicken salad sandwich which tasted really fresh. it was good. i had the reuben which was also good. and ger-​ger who has very high standards for jewish deli food, approved of it.
i had sweet potato fries and they were yummy, crispy salty and sweet.
a very nice lunch. a little overpriced but the atmosphere is nice and food good, didn’t mind paying a few extra bucks.

We decided to give this place a try since the nearby eatery we frequent was so busy. The air conditioning was nice and cold. Only a few people were there but sure enough, right after we were seated, another twosome was seated right next to us. I’ve never cared for places that seat people so closely, you’re forced to almost whisper.
I managed to find one meatless sandwich on the menu and in fact, a portobello burger is a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, this was the worst one I’ve had anywhere. How a chef can cook all the flavor right out of a portobello mushroom is beyond me.
The service was pleasant and fast enough for us since we were in no hurry. The potato salad was dilled and pretty good. The sourdough they provided was warm and very tangy.
The chocolate cake was fair to good.
For two sandwiches and one dessert it ran about $ 36. A little pricey for a somewhat disappointing experience.

As many times I’ve been to the Bloomingdales at Fashion Valley, I had no idea that a little piece of heaven resided on its third floor. Yes, in my opinion, the 59^th and Lex Café is maybe one of the best kept secrets of the entire mall.
As a surprise for my birthday, I was recently brought to this café for lunch. Why this place? Well, I practically love anything and everything about NYC, and 59^th and Lex was sure to bring a smile to my face. Indeed, it managed to warm the cockles of a heart that has been immensely missing its home away from home.
The café offers a vast variety of menu items, ranging from soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, and a few specialty dishes. The nostalgia that we were experiencing caused us to order some classics: The Chicken Salad Sandwich and the Reuben. My chicken salad sammie was huge and well-​balanced. The quality of the chicken was superb, and it didn’t lose any of its flavor or personality by being overpowered by an obscene amount of mayo, something that tends to happen a lot with poorly executed chicken salad. I grabbed a bite of the Reuben, and it, too, was very tasty.
In addition to a fabulous lunch, the staff were also thoughtful by bringing me a complimentary cup of birthday frozen yogurt that we both shared.
Each sandwich was around $ 11 or so. I thought they were worth every penny, but my lunch companion thought it was a little too much. Nevertheless, I loved it, and it totally made my afternoon.
So, I now know where to go when I’m homesick for NY.

I usually enjoy department store cafes but am only giving3 stars to this one because it was slow. It seemed like there was one waitress for the entire café and she was doing the best she could. I really liked the tartufo but was surprised that it was $ 6.50 even though it was smaller than the size of my palm. I ordered a pasta dish, a tartufo, and a chocolate frozen yogurt and it came out to be $ 30 (including tip).
My suggestion is that you ask for bread– it was delicious (and this is really something coming from a girl who doesn’t usually like sourdough)!
I will come back again if the Cheesecake Factory is super busy.

Cool little restaurant.

Much as the Zodiac over at NM, I had no idea this place even existed until a recent browse-​through of the least-​interesting third floor of Bloomingdale’s. Unlike Zodiac, it’s open past lunch (they have happy hour specials, which implies that yes, they have beer and wine) and caters to those not yet over fifty.
Like other parts of Bloomingdale’s, it’s black and white and relatively spartan in décor save the Bloomingdale’s-mentioning cartoon on each section of the wall. While sitting with one’s back to potential attackers is never recommended in a restaurant, the bench seating at 59^th & Lex is where it’s at; you’ll sink comfortably in.
59&L’s menu is the middle-​sized of the three department store cafes. It’s not quite as expensive or as small as Zodiac, but neither as cheap nor varied as Nordstrom’s. It centers on the three-​S shopping lunch of sandwiches, salads, and soups, with a few entrees and fried appetizers for happy hour.
For an opener, they won’t bring you consommé or a popover, but you do get what’s either a skinny demi-​loaf of rosemary sourdough or an enormous breadstick. Mine was hot and fresh, with butter that was chilled but happily not solid. Sandwiches come with a choice of sides: green salad, caesar, potato, or fries. I had the green salad whose mix of produce was better than expected, but the lemon-​shallot dressing wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped.
For my entrée I went with the Tuscan Wrap, which as described on the menu was the most ambitious item: chicken, pecans, avocado, fontina, truffle aioli, figs! Ambition on the menu became a jumbled mess on the plate; the figs and the cubes of fontina pretty much overpowered everything else both in flavor and texture. If it was served hot enough to melt the cheese it might have improved; I saved half of it in the fridge for a few hours hoping it’d congeal into something better. That did not occur.
I’d put the wrap aside to try the exclusive frogurt. Since they’ve been serving this yogurt for 35 years, I’m guessing Pinkberry stole the presentation of fruit arranged artfully around edges of the small dish.
The frogurt itself was a pleasant surprise, especially considering its long lifespan: while nowhere as tart as the new wave of tart frogurt, it had a pleasantly tart undercurrent to its flavor and some of the best ice-​cream like mouth feel of any frogurt. This was good stuff; for plain frogurt it’s one of the best you’ll find in a mall.

Had lunch on Saturday with my man… We are typically Nordstrom Café users, but thought we would give this a try. I had the club and he had the chicken salad sandwich.
The food was very good and the general ambiance of the restaurant was very nice. We also finished off the meal with some of their frozen yogurt… that was GREAT!!! I like frozen yogurt that you can actually taste the yogurt in and not just like ice cream.
I dinged them one star because of the slow service. I guess it is a seat yourself situation, but there is no sign indicating this so we just kinda stood there at first. At first they were very attentive, but after we received our food it was like they were done. We had to flag down the waitress to get refills and the check. It wasn’t horrible or anything. Just a little less than 4 star service. We will likely return… maybe it was just a bad day.

Okay, I realize that the 59^th and Lex Café located atop the über-​posh Bloomingdale’s in Fashion Valley may seem a little intimidating at first, but it’s just a café with soup, salad, sandwiches and your average café fair. It’s a little pricey, for example, today I had the special which was pasta with salmon, artichokes and asparagus for $ 15. But if you’ve been to the mall during the holidays, then surely you know that sometimes getting away from the throngs of screaming children and teenagers on sidekicks by escaping to a little-​known establishment frequented by an older crowd is worth a few extra dollars.
BTW, they have a super-​famous frozen yogurt with yummy toppings. And they have booze. Nuff said.

59^th and Lex Café is located in Bloomingdale’s. Bloomingdale’s — you wouldn’t typically catch me anywhere near this store. It shouts expensive, from 5 miles away. The only way I would step into this store would be kicking and screaming. Or, if someone offered to buy me food. It’s the bargain hunter, in me. But, food inside Bloomies? That peaked my interest.
Armed with a gal pal who had a BOGO (buy one, get one) free lunch coupon, I bravely walked into the trendy (and very expenisve) store, hoping that good food neutralizes my opinion of the place. 59^th and Lex Café sits on the 3^rd floor, nestled amongst the home décor. If you don’t look carefully enough you might miss it. This place is actually a hidden gem.
I’ve actually eaten here several times and still LOVE it! The average plate will run you about $ 10-​$ 15, but it’s worth it. I typically get the Greek Turkey Burger with tzatziki sauce and a side of fries ($ 9.95). Not a tiny serving by any means, but large enough to split with a gal pal and still be satisfied. Our waitress was awesome for having already split the burger and fries on two separate plates! For dessert, I love their Tartufo chocolate gelato ($ 6), covered in cocoa powder. *sigh* When I get that, I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven!
Service staff is always excellent, friendly and on top of their «making sure the drinks are full» game. Food is flavorful and delicious! The best part? I almost always show up at peak lunch period and it’s never full!