Bonobo's (CLOSED)

this place is really a glorified salad bar. if you like salad bars and don't care which one you go to-- go to town! it's expensive here too. they have soups but of course they are not heated because this is a raw place. they have some specialty items. if you want a safer bet-- stick with the sweeter items and the refrigerated drinks. the atmosphere here is really down scale nothing special here. ultimately a disappointment. if you want to be impressed with some raw food try Pure Food and Wine. there they really do serve dinner, they're snazzy, they have atmosphere, they're expensive and be prepared for possible atittude.

To be sure, many of the offerings at Bonobo's on Madison Square Park are quite wonderful: organic, delicious and the epitome of wholesome. The Napa cabbage sandwich with nut meat patty is perhaps one of the best choices, very fresh and bursting with nutrients. The menu here abides by the credo, recently featured in a popular article in the Times, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The quality of the food makes up for the fact that the staff is often more than a little out of it. However, the prices are generally unjustifiable. For example, I love organic kale but why would I pay $8 for a modest salad of kale and, well, kale? The reason that the prices are so pumped up is, no doubt, to pay the expensive overhead, as the location is in a great big, airy, lofty sunlit space more fitting for a Prada store than for a vegan cafeteria. Bonobo's sorely needs to relocate to a much smaller space, where it's vegan cafe culture could thrive rather than be lost. A much smaller space would make lower prices practical. Great vegan food need not come with steakhouse prices. And customers need not feel insulted by menu prices. Who want to break the bank for kale?

i am not really into the raw food movement or eating entirely organic fat free food but this place is a must try. i wanted to try something new today and i forced myself in there, at first i was skeptical of a vegetarian place. i ordered the patty platter which is a large salad, vegetables of my choice with a homemade dressing topped with a patty (made of nut meat i believe). it was one of the best tasting things i have ever had and made my body feel great. i was satisfied at the end of the meal. the atmosphere is realxing and bright, i sat at one of the long community tables under the skylight and read a magazine. the homemade juices are a little pricey (3.50) but worth a try and my salad was a good size and only $7 which is great in nyc. everyone should try this place, even if health food doesnt really float your boat i still think you will come out happy besides the employees are super friendly.

Okay, I am sitting in their lovely open/skylight dining room, writing this using their free wifi! :) Eating the "Patty on Greens" with soup -- I tasted four things (free) at the counter and liked all. Especially this amazing red bell pepper & coconut soup. In NYC for live raw food of this quality, usually you go in a much fancier, much more pricey place. Here there is not even table service, so you have only to pay for the food and then sit in the very airy (woodfloor and exposed brick) dining room. Wishing so much I could bring this place home with me when I leave USA!

They will let you try out anything and I thought all of it tasted pretty amazing. It's not cheap. But the ingredients are outstanding, flavorful, live, vegan, raw, local, etc. This place is basically across the street from Shake Shack and I can't help but laugh at the half-hour-long SS lines made of people who don't know what they're missing. This is one of those places like Strictly Roots where you walk out with a smile on your face not just from the friendly counter-people but also because you just ate food your body will love.

Just had lunch there today, and wasn't too impressed, mainly with the price compared to portion size. I don't think the counter person could get any slower when he made my nori rolls (it is lunchtime on a work day). Granted, vegan food in NYC is not so popular, but I truly think that they could do better with the pricing. If you are looking to come away still kinda hungry, this is the place for you. Also, the choices are rather limited. A very small bottle of water is $2.30 ( I went without under principle). Basically, the menu is way too limiting, along with the price being alittle over the top. But then that is just mine and my companions opinion whom is already planning his afternoon snack!

Although I've lived nearby for almost a year, I just started going to Bonobo's recently, and I've been there almost every day since. I'm not a vegetarian, so I never saw a reason to stop in, but now I know I've been missing out! There are not a ton of options, and the cases are not well-stocked, but the upside of this is that you know everything is made fresh each day, and they don't waste a lot of food on pretty displays. They have delicious bottled coconut water and fruit juices, organic fruits that vary each day, and yummy vegan ice creams-style puddings. Their nutmeat patties are very good, especially as a platter with a salad and 5 mix-ins. The nut pates are also very good. Staff are friendly and always offer samples, especially if they can tell you're not sure what you're ordering. The salad dressings are the best I've had at any restaurant, and the nori rolls are a great takeaway lunch. The restaurant has a big, bright skylight over the large, plant-filled seating area in the back, and the ambience is clean and pleasant-feeling, and very laid-back. They also have Wi-Fi, and don't mind if you hang out for awhile. Prices aren't cheap compared to most cafes, but you have to remember that organic, vegan, locally-farmed, whole foods aren't cheap anywhere. Considering that, they're reasonable. They also charge according to the price of the foods. The puddings, for example, vary greatly, depending on the fruits that go into them. Overall, an excellent place!