Cafe Zaiya

06/03/08

Fun, fresh, and fast.

by daviderya at Citysearch

Just bought a spicy chicken sandwich from Cafe Ziya, got it back to my desk, and the chicken is still warm! And the bun it was on was fantastic. The turnover there must keep everything fresh and hot. Not to mention delicious. They have a greeat selection of sushi, baked goods, onigiri, etc, so if the chicken sandwich is any indication, I'll be back to work my way through their offerings. The bento boxes looked particularly good. But Beard Papa is going to become harder and harder to resist if I keep going back!

• Pros: Easy, quick, affordable
• Cons: Crowded, chaotic

02/12/08

quick, tasty, fresh -Just Great.

by miho82 at Citysearch

I love this place-quick, tasty but budget, fresh food. Service is nothing fancy but gets the job done kindly. The sushi man, Masa, who is making beautiful, tasty, and fresh sushi. His sushi and zirashi are my one of favorites. (green tea dessert, as well) Do not miss this great midtown's gem casual place.

11/09/07

Pretty awesome for a quick lunch

by wisebrain at Citysearch

This place is moderately priced and has a lot of good take out food. Great for lunch!

Editorial Review by Marcella Veneziale

by Contributor at Citysearch

This Japanese lunch spot serves bento boxes and onigiri, with choices from cream puffs to red bean doughnuts for dessert.

05/12/07

Green Tea heaven!

by payton80 at Citysearch

If you're a fan of Green Tea as much as I am, you will absolutely love the greentea frap here, order it at Bread Pan. Though I don't know what the fuss is about for the puffs, They're ok, and kinda messy, but taste sort of like home made pudding stuffed dough. The Curry Pan at the bakery is to die for, the sandwiches are a value at $2.00-$3:50. The spicy tuna rolls here are cooked tuna. I haven't tried the sushi but it looks harmless enough. My favorites here so far though definitely the Curry Pan, the Sandwiches, and best of all the green tea frap, the prices ofcourse are unbeatable for midtown.

01/14/07

great midtown lunch place!

by suebeelin at Citysearch

Love this place-- you can get cheap good quality lunch. Ham and cheese sandwich under $3, onigiri for $1.50-$2. The cooked food is not as tasty, but for some reason the joint is always crowded, especially at lunch. Do yourself a favor, take everything to go, b/c you likely won't find a seat. Many japanese people come here, so it's gotta be reasonably authentic and tasty. I like their pastries and bakery selection.

11/17/06

One-of-a-kind!

by bettyo70 at Citysearch

I was so happy to discover this place. Lunch in midtown can be tough... a lot of overpriced mediocrity. But this place has a lot of variety.

What I like the best are their Japanese pastries and --believe it or not-- their cooked items like spaghetti bolognese and spaghetti carbonara! Can you believe it? The pasta in this mostly Japanese place is great! Atleast in my opinion. Only in New York...

• Pros: Japanese pastries, pasta dishes, sandwiches, variety, not expensive
• Cons: crowded at lunch

10/30/06

Fast lunch place

by irvinsha at Citysearch

I have friends that get food here on a daily basis. The food is fine, but more to the point, it's cheap. You can feed yourself on about $5 if you are so inclined. And it's really, really crowded.

The place is entirely oriented around turn-around. You go in, pick up food, and get out. If you want to stay, be prepared to be smooshed. Heck, you'll be smooshed just standing in line. But if you really have the yen for some cheap Japanese/asian food on-the-go, this is your place.

• Pros: Fast, cheap lunch
• Cons: Mediocre food (as expected), really crowded

09/15/06

Cheap, that's about it

by ontherock at Citysearch

My friend recommended this spot for its sandwich selection. There were plenty of options but not for vegetarians (like me). There weren't any veg bento either so I was stuck with the one and only vegetarian food I could find: egg salad sandwich (which had few egg shells in the mixture) and the bakery goodies - nothing special there.

• Pros: Cheap
• Cons: Few vegetarian selection, crowded

02/14/06

Amazingly Little Cafe

by qtgurljny at Citysearch

Cafe Zaiya, hidden amongst the side streets is one of my favorite bakeries/cafes. The pastries are to die for with amazing strawberry shortcake. They offer cakes by the slice or whole and all are heavenly. Zaiya offers up a selection of food as well with hot plates such as the Spicy beef bowl, or chicken carbonara that are delicious. When the kitchen closes, Zaiya also offers it's usualy selection of bread, premade sandwiches (my favorite is the BLT) and pre-cooked mini-meals in bento boxes. Everything is decently priced at about $8 or under, excluding the cakes. A great alternative to fast food when the last thing you want to do is cook and going out to a restaurant feels too exhausting. One of my neighborhood favorites, I keep going back.