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Cafe Metro
Category: Restaurants Sandwiches Sandwiches [Edit]
466 Lexington Ave(between 45th St & 46th St)
New York, NY 10017
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 697-7200
- Nearest Transit:
-
Grand Central - 42 St (7, 7X)
Grand Central - 42 St (4, 5, 6, 6X)
Grand Central - 42 St (S)
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
27 reviews for Cafe Metro
27 reviews in English
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Review from Jason I.
San Francisco, CA
5/25/2010 1 Check-in Here
My Review is for Breakfast:
Cafe Metro is one of those places you can pop in as you are going to work in the morning for just about whatever you want for morning noshing (or in my case, looking for a place to get some morning grub before I have to head to JFK and fly back to SFO). What was most important to me was to find a place that had fresh bagels - one for my belly and a half dozen or so to bring home in my suitcase. Mission Accomplished!
Actually, they had much more to offer than just bagels. Granted, the bagels are great. Toasted and slabbed with a lot of Cream Cheese (I had to take some of mine off - it was way too much). But they do pancakes cooked with freshly sliced strawberries. Good scrambled eggs and bacon. Fresh Orange Juice. Clean inside which is important. Had I found this place earlier in my trip, I probably would have frequented it a few more times.
Most seats face windows that look out to the street, so great people watching! -
Review from Chisai S.
New York, NY
5/24/2012
I only use them for delivery, so I can't speak to how it is if you actually go to the place.
I used to rely on Cafe Metro for a decent breakfast and their pasta as you like dishes. Not so much anymore. They keep screwing up my orders. Three times in a row they either left of a major portion of what I ordered or gave me a completely different thing than I asked for. Even when you contact them, what the send is STILL missing stuff.
Also, as an aside, they make possibly the worst hamburger I have ever tasted. -
Review from Max S.
Updated - 2/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
They started nickel-and-diming you on the pasta ingredients.
They stopped carrying pumpernickel bagels.
Their prices are infuckingsane.
BUT HOLY SHIT - THEY ARE ON THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE!!!!Listed in: My midtown east eats, We're Not Worthy! We're Not…, La Rosca en Telenovela (Pablo…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/16/2008
For breakfast, bagels are a bit mediocre - not as fluffy as you would find in other places.
For… Read more »
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Review from KL Z.
Manhattan, NY
5/10/2012
The Indian guy that is at the salad bar gives whopping portions of chicken for many customers' salads but only itsy bitsy pieces of shrimp in mine. I'm paying the same kinda money so fork over the shrimps!
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Review from Peter D.
9/22/2011
Have you ever taken a ride on the Hampton Jitney? Nice bus. But it's heading out there on the LIE, which they call the World's Largest Parking Lot for a reason. You never really know how long the ride is going to be, so you better get yourself something to eat before it leaves.
Just don't do it at Cafe Metro. I know it's right around the corner, but find yourself a real deli.
Perhaps it was due to the late hour, and the pre-made sandwiches had been sitting there all day. Perhaps it was because I was in such a rush that I didn't get it heated up. Perhaps it's just that this Cafe Metro stocks rancid, miserable sandwiches. Whatever it was, this turkey club abomination was one of the worst things I've ever eaten.
My girlfriend likened it to a free airport sandwich. I don't know what airports she's been hitting up where they hand out free sandwiches, but I would've thrown this sandwich back in that airport's face.Listed in: so you don't like me., midtown.
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Review from Andrew G.
Providence, RI
12/11/2011
Had a horrible lunch experience (see lex brass review) so we were starving and cafe metro was the first place in sight. All I wanted on a cold afternoon was soup so I ordered the veggie soup. It tasted like it was straight out of a can and way too salty. The worst part is that it did not come with bread and the only bread option available (despite the large dessert bakery tray) was some soggy half roll. If I hadn't had such a bad prior experience down the street this would be 1 star, but in comparison it gets 2.
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Review from Thi L.
Honolulu, HI
9/2/2011
I was starving my first morning in NYC and wanted a big hearty breakfast. I opted for the sausage, egg, & cheese muffin, some fruit salad (already prepared in the grab&go fridges) and a hot coffee. Overall, it was a good place to get a fast meal if you're on the go, but seemed kind of generic. I did notice that they sell individual Fage yogurts, which I might come back for if I'm desperate and in the area.
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Review from Pearl H.
Long Island City, NY
5/27/2009
I used to order from Cafe Metro everyday when I worked up in Midtown. They always have specials online for 20% OFF your order, etc. so it was pretty economical... plus if you're an office monkey like me and can't get out, there is a Cafe Metro in every 3 block radius around Midtown both East and West of Broadway, so it's a win win, and they always deliver in 20mins (at least they did for me).
I mean it's not gourmet, but they have great sandwiches and salads that are usually fresh because of the turnover they have everyday.
The breakfast items are okay, but I did enjoy their parfaits, vanilla with strawberry and blueberries, honey and granola, yum!
So if you're looking for a quick cheap bite, and especially if you work around there check them out, go online and get a coupon! -
Review from Adam R.
8/21/2008
I've been here a few times, and it always strikes me as a generic "everything under one roof" kind of place. One one hand, I never understood how these places can exist in a crowded lunch marketplace like East Midtown. Wouldn't you rather get salad from a place that specializes in salad? On the other though, maybe you're going to lunch with a few co-workers who all want different things.
They do a few things well though. The open oven makes a good pizza and quesadilla. I used to be a fan of the sandwiches, but they've decreased the size of them, which kind of sucks. I don't like the pre-cooked pasta, but I guess there are plenty who do. The salads are decidedly sub-part though. There are fresher options around. And that all being said, it's a bit over-priced for the neighborhood. I paid slightly over $10 for my lunch, which seems a little crazy.
Don't be *too* disappointed if you're being dragged here. But when it's your turn to pick where you're going, pick somewhere better.Listed in: Cheap East Midtown Lunch
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Review from Galvin C.
7/7/2010
Cafe Metro is my poster child for the generic white-collar-peon lunch chains all over NYC where you can get a serviceable lunch for a slightly inflated, well-where-else-you-gonna-eat-tubby price. There's nothing wrong with the food really, other than somehow seeming the absolute most generic among its Pax/Au Bon Pain/Pret brethren, maybe even reveling in it. The whole operation seems to scream to me, Yeah, you work in Midtown and you need to eat; well we're all you got, so suck it. Basically they're an unaffiliated third-party cafeteria for your office building, albeit of somewhat higher quality; putting "Cafe" in their name is about the extent of the effort they go to to make an impression on you.
Also, once there was a guy on the sidewalk handing out menus for this particular location, and--you may not know this about me--I make a point of always taking menus/coupons from people like this, even if I don't particularly like the place, because the way I figure it, the sooner they unload their menu/coupon supply, the sooner they can go inside and do a slightly less dehumanizing task. But when I went to take a menu from this guy, he actually pulled it away from my hand, up and out of my reach, like an immature friend initiating and then faking out of a low-five. I'm sorry, I'm not good enough for Cafe Metro or something? That's like a dog humping everyone's leg but yours. -
Review from Shaun V.
New York, NY
9/1/2011
Good if you get some sort of internet promotion for the salads. Otherwise food is overpriced & underwhelming, staff is ambivalent. This is why people hate Midtown.
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Review from Sharon T.
12/23/2009
Nice place and great views and may I mention, seats. The sandwiches are a little pricey than average though. I had a Ham & Swiss sandwich which had whole grain mustard. Now, I'm not a mustard person..I don't like mustard on my hot dogs, but taking a bit of the sandwich was like eating it with wasabi..I'm not even kidding. I knew I should have gotten pasta instead! The sandwich was pretty small and not really tasty.
Their staff is actually nice though, the cashier even said 'Happy Holidays!' -
Review from Christina T.
Spring, TX
5/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
I always stop here for breakfast on my way to the office - fantastic customer service to start your morning. Good size breakfast sandwiches and good yogurt parafit.
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Review from Job E.
Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA
3/4/2008
Really only reviewing this to have a better sense of completeness on my Lunch List.
I sometimes come here, but really only when my co-workers make me. Its a generic cafe metro. The pizzas and pasta made to order are pretty decent. -
Review from S P.
Great Neck, NY
8/4/2011
The food deserves 2 stars but you can gather that from the other reviews that it's high prices for "not-fresh-but-still-edible" food. I've had better at other Cafe Metro locations...
Yelp won't let me rate a zero star review, but Cafe Metro on 46th and Lex really deserves ZERO stars for their shady staff! Dishonesty breeds here, especially the cashiers who are stealing small amounts at a time from the registers. I am never going back there and giving them my honest and hard earned money to them. And neither should anyone else.
Me and my husband's offices are very close and we ended up taking a very late lunch there today because we were so hungry we just wanted to eat some place close by.
Our fault to assume that the other got the change from the cashier but when we approached the cashier, she directly lies straight to our faces that it never happened!!!! I'm laid back about everything except dishonesty. I will cut off friends, family, work-relationships, etc. if they are dishonest to me. If it wasn't for Luis, one of the managers, it might have started with a war from the get-go. But Luis is a real good guy and took all the right steps to try to get us our money but it turns out that after they counted the registers they were actually under and not over the day's receipts. And not just our cashier's register, it was ALLL the registers.
Luis' supervisor had a nasty attitude in his voice that made our mood even angrier and more frustrated. He just went on and on about how he's not going to pay us back by giving us the money out of his own pocket. First, we never said we wanted his money. We wanted OUR money. And c'mon... We're not assholes like his cashiers and would never even ask him to take it out of his own pocket!!! But the fact that he didn't try and was basically fighting with us is what made us so angry. I ended up just yelling at him that not only were my husband and I victims, but so is he and the owners because of his shady cashiers and there is a lot of trouble going on there in his store. If they check the damn cameras right over her register, you'll see the truth and then walked out. She's a damn liar, and so are all the cashiers there apparently.
In my experience, if the people at the top of management are acting shady, the employees follow and start acting shady themselves and the fact that all the registers don't match up the total sales of the day shows me that there are a lot of problems and dishonesty there.
I can't go back there now knowing what I know... I will wish Luis the best though because he really seemed like a good hard working man. -
Review from Stephen B.
New York, NY
4/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
I usually went to Cafe Metro once a week when I worked in Midtown East. My dish was the pasta. I killed the past bar. The pasta bar gives you a choice of pasta, sauce, protein, veggies, and cheese. They usually do a good job making the pasta and I'm satisfied every time. If you're looking for a good lunch spot, Cafe Metro is the place.
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Review from Joe S.
12/20/2010
The coffee tastes like muddy cat pee, but the food is outstanding. They don't have all you can get salad toppings ( for that I recommend bistro down the street) but the salads, soups and paninis are great. I highly recommend the roasted red pepper with pesto chicken.
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Review from Yosuke M.
New York, NY
A variety of foods available for a quick lunch. I've stuck to the soups and sandwiches. Their panini sandwiches are very good and come with some sort of chipotle mayonnaise deliciousness. The only downside is that it's a bit pricey for what you get.
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Review from Lita J.
New York, NY
5/17/2011
I can only comment on the frozen hot chocolate I tried. I really enjoy hot chocolate so figured I'd like this too, but I wasn't too fond of it. I guess it's new on the menu and the "barista" didn't seem like she had made many (or any) before. It was very rich and very powdery tasting so I probably could have gone without that second scoop of cocoa mix. And it was really "frozen", like the kind you have to wait 30 mins to thaw so you actually use the straw. Maybe I just had a different idea of how this would be. If I'm in the area again, I'd be ok with trying something else but no more frozen hot cocoa's for a while.
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Review from David C.
Fort Worth, TX
5/15/2011
Ate here the third morning in NYC. Big disappointment after eating at a different location. Service bad - staff could not communicate effectively with customers. Ex. I expected a fountain drink however this location did not have one. They expected me to mindread and know that I need to get a bottle of coke from the cooler. Price seemed higher. Food was plated with little to no care. Only reason I didn't give this place one star is that I know from experience that some of their locations are great. Check Yelp! for location before you go.
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Review from Hal J.
Sunnyside, NY
2/13/2009
This Metro was a little more congested than the others but they were HOPING when I got there. I had their pasta bar here and the pasta was a tad soft for my palate but the sauce was KICKIN'! I had the Pesto with penne and grilled chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and caramelized onions. Nice!
I meandered around though just to feel out the place. The staff was extraordinary! I heard them using peoples first names, especialy this one girl Niarobi who seemed like she was the "gal" in charge though not a manager. The cashiers were like clockwork but took a moment with each person rather than processing them.
My only complaint is I had to wait about 5 minutes to get one of the tables. Oh well. If that's the worst of it....
When I did see the manager, he seemed very involved and engaging.
Great experience at this one! -
Review from Ace A.
Brooklyn, NY
9/26/2010
Although they make their food semi-fresh it comes out just slightly above cafeteria quality. Had a marinara pasta with chicken and sundried tomatoes..just ok. Bertolli pasta sauce with a little bit of seasoning is better. Had their philly cheesesteak sandwich which was dripping with oil. Kind of unsatisfying. Cheesesteaks from the street vendors nearby are a lot better.
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Review from J J.
New York, NY
10/18/2011
Horrible place. They rush through everything and it just looks like a mess in there. I ordered a cappuccino, but instead got a disgusting cup of latte. The cashier even insisted it was a cappuccino. Don't come here if you want quality food and drinks.
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Review from David P.
5/14/2009
Bagels and coffee are just okay. Nice selection at lunch, but it gets so crowded that I often just go somewhere else. There's always a long wait at the pasta station. Stuff is cheaper at the Bistro Café place down the street.
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Review from Ian C.
3/13/2009
Expensive and service is bad. When my group orders in, we order from here. If it were up to me, we'd order somewhere else, but we have a corporate account with them. Any way, they must get a bunch of delivery orders every day from companies, so you'd think they'd be good at getting things right. But every time we order from them, somebody's order is missing or it's not the right thing. And they also set-up coffee for morning meetings, but they come like an hour before the meeting starts. That's cool- at least they were early. But it's coffee and it's sitting there for an hour... it's going to get cold. If you have to order from Metro, do it in person. The burgers are terrible. Everything else is ok.
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Review from May M.
8/14/2009
a simple food to eat just simply because it's lunch time and it's nearby, otherwise, i want to pass it.
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Review from William C.
Flushing, NY
6/16/2010
Don't try to use a Cafe Metro gift card to purchase an online lunch special. They won't let you present it at checkout. I always thought gift cards could be used like cash but not here. You are actually penalized for helping them out (ordering online ahead of time) and then you have to pay cash anyway. This policy is hidden away in their "disclaimer" section on their web site.
