On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
28th St-Broadway (R, W)
28th St-Park Ave S (6)
23rd St-6th Ave (F, V)
Mon-Sun. 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m.
Loading...
This is a wonderful store. I haven't quite figured out how to categorise it yet. Is it a cafe? Yes! The selection of foods I've watched being scooped into trays by many a hungry person excites me. The numerous, fresh and tasty looking options that span, savoury, sweet and healthy demand to be eaten, because they look so good. I noted that you fill your tray and then it gets weighed... How bizarre!
Is it a convenience store? Yes it is! You can buy a huge array of drink, both soda and healthy. There is a decent selection of baked goods and groceries too.
Whether you want a snack a meal or a bottle of washing up liquid, you will find it or its like in Cafe 28.
Anyone with ADD tendencies should stay clear of this amazingly huge, clean, delicioso, fanciful mega deli. Apart from the standard aisles of chips and coolers of soft and hard drinks the grill and hot/cold bars will send the unrestrained mind into hyperdrive as you peruse the tantalizing offerings.
I was thoroughly impressed with the taste and the quality of the primarily Asian/Italian dishes at the hot bar, while the massive piles of fresh fruit and salads at the cold bar was a lovely lovely sight. Lastly, the grill area provides amazing sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and so much more...
However, a word to the wise (and the reason for the deducted star). You can easily rack up quite the bill as the food from the bars is charged by the pound. For those inclined to binge, make sure you have the cash to back yo' fat ass up.
Great deli/cafe. Lots of fresh choices to choose from, and tons of made to order deli sandwich/paninis/wood oven baked sandwich options. Its a large place and clean. I ate an oven baked turkey sandwich with pesto, melted provolone and roasted red peppers. It was perfection.
this place is great. their sandwiches are fabulous and very affordable. the hot food at the buffets is very tasty but not warm at all.
the best thing I've had at Cafe 28 were their cream cheese croissants. they were extremely yummy, not too sweet, perfectly fresh.
even their regular coffee was delicious, not burned, very hot, perfect for a new york autumn morning.
Meh. This place is huge, and has a lot of options, but the sandwiches are small and dinky and not worth the price. You can get a better portion for the same price elsewhere.
Cafe 28 is a pretty standard NYC mega-deli; they've got a hot food bar, salad bar, soups, sushi, paninis, grill etc. I'm going to let you in on the secret of these places: it's like investing.
I almost always go for the hot food bar (equities). You need to grab some vegetables first. Those are your blue chips. They aren't that exciting, but you know exactly what you're getting. They are good for you in the long run. I usually go for the greenbeans, broccoli and snowpeas. Sometimes some mushrooms.
Once you move on to the meat, it's a whole new ballgame. There are 15 different kinds of chicken, as well as some sausage, pork and beef...and they are all volatile. Listen to me now: the trick is to never get too much of any one thing. Not just because variety is the spice of life, but also because what was delicious yesterday might not be so great today.
So you need to diversify your portfolio. Sure, risking it all on that sesame chicken might pay off big time, but what if this batch was a bit overcooked? Then you're stuck with a huge plate of dry chicken. Get a little bit of the everything; minimize your risk. I also like the plantains they always have. Very hard to screw up (basically arbitrage).
Don't get the sushi. It is the derivatives market of Cafe 28. It's a gamble, and even the people that made it don't even believe it's going to pay off. In this environment, you're better off avoiding it altogether.
The soups are like bonds. They lack flavor and excitement, and I never worked with them, so I stay away. Likewise, I don't enjoy Cafe 28's breakfast. I don't have a clever market analogy, but my bacon, egg and cheese sucked. How do you screw that up?
Much like all the big investment banks...excuse me...mega-delis out there, Cafe 28 is just A-OK. However, they get an extra star for the INSANELY efficient brokers...er...cashiers. I've been in the Metro Cafes, the Cafe Dukes and the Lehman Brothers' of the city, and never in my life have I seen such speedy change-making.
In less than 12 seconds, I can hand them my food, they weigh it, bag it with a fork, knife and napkins, I hand them my money and they hand me my change. It's uncanny. The place is PACKED at lunchtime, but I have never waited to pay once.
I work around the block so its convienent for me. Breakfast and lunch are good. I've never had any issues with my food. Its fresh and clean. They take care of you fast. It helps when you have an hour lunch.
Out of all the places to eat lunch I always find myself coming to this place. This place is enormous and so is the variety of food. You name it, they probably make it. If you do not like to be overwhelmed, this is not the place to be. I usually get either a salad, Panini or a brick oven flat bread sandwich. There is plenty of seating upstairs as well as a few tables on the main level.
Perhaps my expectations were a bit high coming here for lunch yesterday. Truth be told, mega-delis like this with everything from a hot food bar to an espresso bar are a dime-a-dozen in NYC, it's really just a matter of finding the one closest to you. And as my other coworkers have stated, this is the closest one to the new Yelp office.
I made myself a little salad and was unimpressed with the quality of the ingredients. Particularly the spinach i used for the base tasted unwashed and weird. The chicken was ok as was the roasted cauliflower, but on the whole what should have been a brilliant salad left me wanting something else. Good thing there's plenty of other options, and I'm sure I'll be back to try them eventually. What's that they say about location again?
It also must be mentioned that it was in this very nondescript deli over two years ago that I first sat down with the original Mayor of Yelp, Mr. Nish N himself to discuss my becoming the NYC Mayor. Ah, the memories.
Whatever you crave for lunch, this place will have it. It might not be the best version of what you want but it will probably be there. I'm not a huge fan of "weighed food" as I always feel like it ends up being overpriced. Spaghetti is heavy but is it really fair to charge $10 for a teensy bowl of carbs? And then fyi there is a $10 min. on credit cards which I just is a huge personal peeve.
That, my friend, is the story of New York. You can get anything you want but you're going to pay too much for what you get.
Oh Cafe 28, if you weren't underneath my office, I'd probably never go to you.
However, you do provide sustenance when I'm sick of the same old kart food and subway. Your Udon, while not particularly tasty, is always good for keeping me together till dinner.
And man, those cashiers? Fastest thing this side of a Ferrari. You can't hate that.
Cafe 28 continues to be our "super close to the office with something for everyone" spot. My only complaint, apart from the $10 credit card minimum, is with the soups. I've tried a few and none have been better than average. They lack seasoning and what's more disappointing than an unsavory soup?
Need a cheesy egg sandwich to soak up last night's excesses?
Craving baked ham, macaroni and cheese…
Read more »
I may be a little biased....because I am from California....but......when it was 4am and my boyfriend and I were just coming home from bars and really wanted some food before we passed out we were expecting a few more options near our hotel and didn't find too many and ended up here...and I guess my craving for grilled cheese or a quesadilla was a little overpowering for me to have really liked this place, but they are open 24/7, they have tables inside to sit and talk at, they have a bathroom you don't need a key for, and if you needed to do a little late/early morning shopping they have a little bit of everything grocery item wise in the store.
We ended up getting a sandwich on pita bread with mozzarella cheese and a selection of meat and it was good, it just wasn't what I really wanted....but the staff person was really nice, considering he was the only person working here at 4am, and there were at least 5 other people here besides us all making the same decision at the same time....
"what should i eat, even though I already drank until 4am, because bars in NYC are open until 4am...."
We found Cafe 28 on our first night on my recent trip to New York. We just wanted some wine and a light snack before we went to bed.
We got a bottle of wine only to realize that we didn't have a corkscrew, so Mena (Mike) opened them for us. He gave us a cheese recommendation, and we carried our snack back to our hotel - happy as clams.
Then we went back the next day for more wine, and they were just as friendly that day. It was a really nice welcome back to the city.
The wine is a little expensive, but so are a lot of things in New York.
This is the default lunch spot for my co-workers and I. When we're not craving anything in particular, this is where we end up. We often refer to it as "Crappy 28." Not that it's "crappy" per se, but it's just kind of eh.
The one highlight is the udon soup... a large vat of noodles, veggies, and a protein (tofu, chicken, beef, or my favorite -- shrimp tempura). The soup-man is surly, but will allow you to customize your order: spicy, not spicy, no mushrooms, etc.
[It's probably worth mentioning that the udon station is near the sushi and NOT near the other soups.]
Prices are moderate... Fairly on par with this type of pay/weigh mega-deli. Although you definitely get a better deal picking up beverages and chips at the Duane Reade on Sixth Ave and 27th.
This place is insanely convenient. They are open 24/7, which came in handy a few times on the way back to the hotel after a looong day. I bought more bottles of water in that place than I have at my local gas station in the past year. The snacks are plentiful. The fruit is amazingly fresh and always looked delicious. I had a panini one night that really hit the spot. And a bacon/cheese omelet one morning that was good - not great.
Just overall, a great, convenient location. Friendly staff, plenty to choose from, tables to sit at, coffee, tea, juice, every drink imaginable. It was always clean and well kept. Thank you, Cafe 28 for making our vacation a little easier!
This fast-paced, high-ceiling, super-cafe is sure to please anyone looking for variety in their appetite. You'll find mostly the working stiffs here around lunchtime and it gets crowded FAST. Large groups of hungry young men and women in office casual dress occupy this 28th street corner foodery. (Yeah, I'm making up words now.)
I call it a super cafe because it goes above and beyond the typical "cafe" you'll find in the area. It's a cafe. It's a deli / grocery. It's a soup stop. It's a panini, sandwich, and burger joint. A sushi bar. It's a hot and cold buffet place. Fresh coffee, breakfast, pastries, candy, cigarettes, it has a freakin' brick oven for pizza, folks. You'd have to be insane if you can't find something you like. American-style Chinese food? Yeah, they got that too.
I tend to stick with the buffet because their pasta is great and where else could I be so perverse as to mix macaroni and cheese with lasagna, mashed potatoes, lo-mein and onion rings? If you think that's sick, you should see the guy who sits across from me at the office. He grabs them small plastic containers and mixes food so bad it's actually illegal in 4 states. The burgers are a bit dry and their panini's, wraps and pre-made sandwiches are a real tragedy. They flash it in the microwave and again on a grill. The taste is OK but the texture doesn't sit right with my tongue. Salads are fresh and awesome; Prepared right in front of you. I've never tried the sushi, but my coworkers seem to love it.
The staff is incredibly pro and work at mach speeds. You'll see long lines at Cafe 28, but I can assure you that you wont be on line for longer than 5 minutes. Those cashiers have hands that work in ways most people find themselves uncomfortable to be around. Not me, though.
I know these types of deli's are on damn near every corner of NYC, but this was the only one I tried while in NY and it was more than I expected. You don't see places like this on the west coast, so it was a nice treat to walk into a place that had so much to offer. I did wait quite some time until someone helped me, but the panini I ordered was a tasty treat. If you want some peace and quite, just walk upstairs. There is plenty of seating, it's generally quite for NYC and you can people watch if you're the voyeuristic type.
I really like this place...because it's open 24 hours in a 24-hour town.
Whenever I come to Manhattan from San Francisco, I stay at the funky Gershwin Hotel on 27th Street. And right around the corner on 5th Avenue is a great deli/mini-market for anything and everything you need during your stay.
It's actually a pretty big space with a huge central area where they serve up pizza, sandwiches (the paninis are really good), all sorts of hot dishes and pastries. In the back is a huge refrigerated area for drinks and such. And there is a huge buffet area of hot food that they keep well stocked until about midnight. It's usually overcooked...but hey, did I mention it's open at all hours.
There has been many a night when I was so wired and hungry that this was my salvation. They even have drug store items like cold tablets...and lots of bags of chips. And the guys who own the place are always nice..even to the panhandlers.
I was on my way to Dano's with a friend, and decided to check out this place instead. Wow, what an interior. Not decor-wise, but product-wise. They're a grocery store, a deli, a sushi bar, AND a cafe, all in one. They're stocked with everything you could think of, and the staff and cashiers are remarkably nice and efficient. There are two floors, with the upper reserved for cafe-like seating (though it's pretty hot up there since its directly over the center oven/chimney). The tables are small and the seats aren't too comfortable, but if you're just there for a quick bite that shouldn't be an issue.
They also seemed perfectly fine with us sitting upstairs BSing for hours on end over sandwiches, and didn't bother us. I was only there on a Sunday evening, so the place was refreshingly and ridiculously empty (i.e. I didn't bump into the overcrowding that some other posters mentioned). But they're open 24 hours, which is a huge bonus for a place like that. I'll update this if I happen to visit the place during the weekday lunch rush, but otherwise it's a cool place to grab a bite on the weekend.
I effing love this place!
You can eat here every day and never eat the same thing. And the adorable Korean girls that work the registers are so fast and efficient.
I even once saw Chloe Sevigny getting her salad tossed here!
A new office for Yelp NY means our stand by lunchie staples like Out of the Kitchen and Pinto are no longer a close and easy option (sob!). So thank golly for Cafe 28! A HUGE deli with any and everything your tummy could possibly desire: a huge soup selection; a deli for made to order sammies; sushi bar and my ultimate fave... HOT AND COLD SALAD BAR! Oh my god the selection is dyno-mite! From chicky fingers, broccoli beef, kielbasa, mac & cheese to fresh veggies, tofu, nuts, pasta salads, berries and much, much more of very good quality food, I guarantee you're gonna find sumpin that takes care of your craving and starting at $6/lb it's also not going to break the bank (unless you're a piggy). Upstairs seating also means you can enjoy it there or take it to-go and sit in the park.
This place has a pretty tasty buffet with lots of assortment. Although, watch yourself, that little plastic container will be $25 before you know it!. Other than the overpriced buffet, the pizza is probably the best deal in the house, I believe a large personal sized pizza is $7, and they have good breakfast and just about any item you could want. They even had microwave popcorn when I was looking for a little flare for an office movie party. Since there are few options for a good lunch in the area, this place ranks in the top 5.
My recent trip to NYC had me training at our corporate office for very long hours. Needless to say, Cafe 28 was very close to the office so I ate there almost everyday.
The great thing about this place is that if you crave it, you bet your a$$ they have it. Hot Chinese dishes, comfort food, panini sandwiches, make your own salads, every non-alcoholic and alcoholic drink under the sun you could think of, desserts, chips, sushi...etc etc.
The only downside is that it's a little pricey for what it really was.
This place has everything you need for a decent and quick meal.
Went in for breakfast and they were slammed with a line full of
tourists asking questions. I ordered up a toasted bagel with "light"
cream cheese & the dude behind the counter was smart enough
to ask if I meant "lowfat or little bit of..." how awesome is that???
Love it ....
Had a great fruit salad bar with everything you could want sliced and
diced for your healthy morning fruit fix.
Lunch was also a good variety of salad bar, ready made food and
a friend I was with got a little personal pizza - looked great.
Good spot to grab stuff and go, and like others have said - they have
an upstairs area to sit and munch if you want. Reliable and clean...
but not the best "bargain" meal. $8 dollar minimum on your credit card
My parents are visiting me for a few days and theyre staying just around the corner. We stopped in for a late breakfast this morning and everything looked and smelled awesome in the buffet line. I just ordered 2 eggs with cheese on a roll (I wasnt terribly hungry) but if I was in the area and was looking for a quick take out, Cafe 28 is probably a safe bet. Nice upstairs seating area, no AC though and a little uncomfortable on a humid august day. Im probably going to go back tomorrow morning and brave the buffet.
Nearly everyone at studio comes for lunch here. Apparently the sushi and salads aren't too shabby. I'm in the habit of getting the beef udon, which is mondo good. The line can get kinda annoying, but the guy breezes through the orders much faster than I could ever attempt.
Also, the cashier ladies are crazy fast. The upstairs sitting area is rather nice.
Cafe 28 has provided my entry meal to New York for the past 4 years. We take the redeye from California to bring a group of high school kids to a trade fair. We arrive bleary eyed, sleep deprived and hungry after the cross-country flight. Our rooms aren't ready for check-in at 8:00 am, so we park our luggage at the Broadway Plaza and head to Cafe 28 for breakfast. We warn our kids to study the menu, place their order clearly and keep the line moving! We don't want the NY attitude to scare them so early in the morning! Actually, the people there are fairly nice.
Cafe 28 is an all around deli with buffet per pound, a cold buffet with salads and the freshest fruits as well as a hot buffer with choices for everyone. The lighting really pops the colors, the staff is very friendly and there is a lot of seating upstairs. Went there for breakfast, and then lunch and I made it my one stop of hotel supplies and beverages close to my hotel.
They have problems with Rodents!
As Teddy said, this is a great lunch spot. I like to go here around 12, right before the lunch rush really starts. The cashiers are also very fast and efficient and have the whole system down pat (one to ring up, one to bag, one to swipe cards). Great variety and large selection of foods. The shrimp udon is decent and the sushi looks pretty fresh, although I haven't tried it yet. I generally stay away from deli salad bars, but since I get here when the first batch is brought out, the food's fresh and actually looks appetizing. The large dining area upstairs is also a major plus.
This is a pretty place to grab lunch. I came here recently and I was surprised by the wide variety of options. And there are plenty of tables upstairs if you want to sit down.
We found this place when walking from the The Carlton on Madison to the metro stop. It's open 24/7 and they have decent food for a deli/cafe. They have Boar's Head meats, so the sandwiches and paninis are really good. It's huge and they have plenty of options. Prices are very fair for NYC. They have a decent pain au chocolat in the morning.
A pretty stylish and well-stocked gourmet deli, their coffee was savior this morning! They have some decent seating too, very quiet, on the second floor.
It's my absolute favorite "to-go" lunch place. Sushi, deli, paninis, A GREAT SNEEZE BAR, good soup, salads, everything..... and they do have seating if you dont want to run back to the office!
Cafe 28 is probably one of the busiest places on the block between Noon and 2PM as it features a variety of great food both hot and cold. Namely, their sandwiches, salads, and even their sushi has been some of the best among all the deli's I've sampled in NYC. Their healthy shakes/mixes taste terrible, which to some folks might mean they're really good for you. Service has always been quick and prompt as the people who operate the cash registers handle multiple patrons at a time. Even the upstairs seating area allows folks to enjoy their food in a pleasant, yet busy environment. They are literally a cafe with a plethora of just about everything, which essentially means they're a big cash cow.
yum! fresh sushi, colorful hot /cold salad bar, endless bags of chips and snack bars, crammed during lunch hour, but wow, thank goodness for ever so efficient cashiers!
missed the fifth star b/c it is so darn crowded during lunch...i don't necessarily enjoy people bumping into me.
decent desk jockey, lunch time cafeteria type of place.
top picks:
(1) cafe 28 - flatbread sandwhich
(2) beef udon
(3) the hot plate chow mein and chicken teriyaki
of course everything ends up $3 more than you ever expect it to, but its still a keeper when you can't decide what to eat
If you need allergy medicine, soup, iced coffee, and uncooked pasta all at once this is the place to go. Caf 28 has everything you might need for a quick meal cooked at home, or a quick meal to eat on the go. They have a wide selection of dried and cooked goods and pain and allergy medicine behind the counter for those in need. It's more like a gourmet gas station. While all their food is mediocre at best, this place thrives because it does in fact have everything, including free Internet.
this place is pretty much my company's cafeteria. they may spend more money on the lighting in this two story cafe than on some of the food, but its a good place to get something quick. they have soup, make your own salad, udon, sushi, a grill, a pizza oven, and maybe 40 items in their buffet bar. we get breakfast delivery everyday from these guys too and they're always nice except when they forget our coffee orders.
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Coffee & Tea
If you are in NYC, you may pass years without…
there's more than just shake shack. and yet i keep…
When the Yelp offices move from WV to Gramercy,…
Not quite restaurants, but good enough to keep…
No Big Apple native am I, but I'm eating my way…
What's NoMad? North of Madison Square Park, of…
I love coffee and these are some of the places…
We all gotta make a living, right? So here's…
