Fresh&Co

Not really sure why the reviews are abnormally low for this place; it’s decent and not horrible. My friend and I stopped by here for a quick breakfast before heading to a morning meeting, and they had quick grab and go options.
I got a hardboiled egg, a matcha chia seed pudding, and a coffee. The service definitely leaves something to be desired, and was a little confusing, but nothing to complain about. The egg was fine; the coffee was also decent; the matcha pudding was actually really good.
My friend got a bagel sandwich, and they messed up her order, which was a little annoying.
On the other hand, their other options all looked decent; this is a good place to get healthy morning options if you’re in a rush. It wasn’t crazy expensive either.

This review mainly has to do with the operation and management of the company, and not the food product itself. We ordered the classic breakfast sandwich which consisted of two fried eggs, avocado and (potentially?!) tomatoes.
This weekend is the TD 5 borough bike tour, and a friend and I both happened to volunteer at the start location near Bowling Green. Afterwards, we decided to go get breakfast at Fresh&Co because they were doing a promotion on a classic breakfast sandwich for $ 3 plus a free small coffee/​orange juice/​tea. (The regular price of classic breakfast sandwich is $ 2.95 btw, but I didn’t know this until I walked into the restaurant for the third time– will get to that part later)
Since we were volunteering in FiDi, the closest location was the 42 Broadway location. Before we walked in, we checked the website times to make sure that we had the correct opening time; sure enough, that location was scheduled to open at 7 am on Saturdays and Sundays. The first time we walked by this location around 6:40, it didn’t look like the restaurant was alive and ready to get the day started. Boxes littered the counter tops and there was a lot of incoming food that was still wrapped. It was beginning to drizzle so we continued to trusty ol 24 hour McDonald’s to seek refuge from the rain while we waited for Fresh&Co to open. We stopped by around 7:20 in hopes that business was at least underway, if not set up and open already. But the door was locked and the sole worker running around in the store shouted that it would be open around 8am, and not the 7am advertised on the front of the store and on the website.
Since my friend and I had been volunteering at the event at 4am, we were exhausted and ready for some kind of sustenance, we decided to head home to the fresh&co on 14^th street Union Square.
But we came home to the same problem. Another location advertised to open at 7am, we went back and sought refuge in other buildings to wait for it to open. Turns out, it didn’t get going until it was almost 8:30. These two problems highlighted the nonexistent professionalism of this chain– if breakfast is offered, opening times are important especially for people who need to get to places in the mornings! Especially during promotion times, they should advertise the right time so people like me don’t make unnecessary trips to Fresh&Co! Although I don’t think I’ll ever have to make that decision again– I refuse to step food in this establishment again because any other place will give me all the food that I need to have a normal breakfast.
We asked the cook (Javier) what typically came with a classic breakfast sandwich and I highly doubt that he knew; he look at me and said «two eggs… avocado… … …» and I asked if I could redeem this offer and he said «Yep» and cracked four eggs for my friend and me. After he cooked them on the griddle, he put them on slices of bread, added avocado and disappeared into the back for about three minutes. When he came out, he told me that he just asked his boss and was unable to offer this deal because they didn’t have any tomatoes in the kitchen. This was confusing because there was a bowl of mini sliced tomatoes in the display case next to the assortment of cream cheeses– surely he couldn’t just put those into our sandwich?
But he said he couldn’t and told us that they were unable to offer this deal, although we could choose an alternative sandwich for normal price if we wished. I asked for an explanation and he looked for someone to consult– evidently he also did not know the answer.
Then the lady who was working the register said that the sandwich on the picture of the $ 3 Classic Breakfast sandwich+ Drink was not the classic sandwich and therefore not part of the promotion. If we wanted the sandwich that was on the picture, then it would be a different price. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I had asked the cook for the classic sandwich promotion and pointed to my promotion voucher– perhaps he mistakenly thought I wanted the sandwich pictured. In that case, Fresh&Co messed up again as a result of their own false advertising (advertising a sandwich deal but putting the picture of another sandwich). Regardless, I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just pay for the sandwiches; they were already half finished besides the last slices of bread, and the joint clearly had tomatoes. I also wasn’t adding anything additional into my sandwich.
Misleading opening times, under-​informed staff, cold food, no receipt, my best bet for you is to just order some popular menu item (like a quinoa breakfast bowl) and not something that requires special attention because the staff culture around here clearly don’t care about operating efficiently and customer satisfaction.
The wifi passcode as of 5÷1÷16 is freshguest and bathroom code is #9782. I didn’t get even receive a receipt which just reflects the incompetency of this staff even moreso. Maybe someone else can enjoy this place.

Surprised to see 3 stars. Ordered many times when starting near Union square, and found the breakfasts to be excellent. The Greek yogurt bowl in particular is delicious.

This location is fairly new to the neighborhood but I think they will shutter soon.
Been here three times and have gotten the wrong order all three times.
They sometimes offer free samples outside and on two separate occasions, my colleagues and I have seen hair either in the food or on the sample cup they place the food in. As with the workers in the store the employees working outside should be required to wear hats or hairnets.
Great concept but I’m done with this place. Looking forward to whatever opens up next.

I’ve been ordering their salads on seamless lately. Something is always left out (that I paid extra for) and the delivery guys always ask for «more tip.» I live on the next corner — literally a 45 second walk. They don’t even have to cross a street. I only order it for delivery because it’s normally after my toddler has gone to bed. Still, I tip $ 6 and they still ask for «more tip.» WTF?

I prefer Chop’t. It’s basically a made-​to-​order salad. They have grilled panini sandwiches and some stir-​fried made-​to-​order dishes too.
I got a salad with kale– blue cheese, onions, fried chicken, and egg– cost about $ 12. I do not think it was worth the price. Everything does seem pretty fresh but I feel like I can’t justify the cost especially since they do not give muck quantity of each topping. I feel like at Chop’t you get more bang for your buck. They give you 4 free toppings with the salad but it’s super limited… like the egg was extra money. It seems like the only free toppings are like common stuff like tomato, etc. It adds up pretty quickly!!!
Located in union square there’s tons of other places to eat around it. I will say that I did feel healthy af after eating this…

I really like their seasonal salad right now which has kale+ romaine, apple, delicata squash, goat cheese, candied walnuts and wheat berries in smokey maple vinaigrette. Make sure you go light on the dressing if you don’t have a sweet tooth. The salad really is just autumn in a bowl.

This location has been a great addition to the neighborhood. There are not many places where you can get a fresh, healthy meal.
The breakfast staff is great… the lunch staff should work on their customer service.

I really want to like this place, since I love the idea of healthy fast food, but it’s hard with it’s very bad service. I’ve been to a ton of Fresh & Co’s around the city, and every place left me unsatisfied.
When I come here, I usually order a mixed salad. They let you choose 4 free toppings, but there’s very limited toppings that are actually free. Like, oh you want chickpeas? That’s an extra 50 cents. Tofu? Extra $ 3. Oh you want to mix your salad? Extra $ 1. So a «$ 7» salad becomes $ 12 or $ 15 very easily… and it’s not even that great.
Their snacks are alright. I like getting the chiseed pudding made with coconut milk. But again, a small small cup of pudding is nearly $ 5 or $ 6… so healthy, but for the price, is it really worth it?
Every time I go into a Fresh & Co, I feel like the employees work so fast that they’re sloppy. You can tell that a lot of them work long hours and don’t really care about customer’s satisfaction. When asked for their opinion on dressings, they really didn’t have one. Not much of a welcoming experience.

I eat at Fresh&Co pretty often, and this location is fairly new to the neighborhood I believe? I ordered an Asian Energy quinoa bowl, and it was not Fresh&Co usual standard… not enough quinoa, the salad was not properly sauteed which left the bowl soupy at the bottom. I think this place just needs better staff training for preparing the food.

Why all the hate for high prices? Yeah, this is kinda expensive for salad. But the prices are there up on the board, easy to see. You know what you’re getting into when you order. And what you’re getting in return is a really tasty salad made to order. I’ve eaten here a lot lately and I really appreciate the salad as a meal approach to lunch. You need to be a little careful with the calories (my favorite shrimp and avacado combo is 400 calories) but as long as you avoid the bread this is a great healthy alternative to neighborhood crap. Pay a little more, eat a lot healthier!

I am not a frequent contributor to Unilocal’s reviews, but I do rely on Unilocal for selecting services like lunch delivery. In this case I had an experience that merits review.
I directed an associate to make a large lunch deliver order (8 person) with Fresh & Co this week. The experience was fraught with frustration at every turn. The order process for the 8 lunches took more than 15 minutes which resulted in a call back 15 min. later saying that the order had be routed (by call center) to the wrong location requiring another 15 min. order dictation. (45 min into the process at this point just for a deli delivery!)
From that point, the order took 1 hour and 5 minutes to prepare and deliver. That alone is unreasonable, but adding the 45 minutes of earlier confusion made for a long and frustrating experience. Even with a call into the store manager to point out the delay and imploring them for the speediest service possible.
Once the delivery was made, of course, it was incorrect. Unfortunately at that point we simply had to take what was delivered. With that many items it is somewhat expected that one or two will be missing or incorrect – goes with the territory. We just didn’t have the time to wait on them again.
The items themselves were not exceedingly flavorful or remarkable. Fresh & Co does not distinguish itself from the similar (more reliable) lunch purveyors such as Food Depot or Flavors who offer virtually the same fare. The custom quinoa bowls might be unique to F&C but they sure aren’t worth a 2 hr wait. Without all of the delivery hassle the experience would have been a normal, if boring, deli lunch.
To top off the experience I find that I was billed twice for the (over $ 100) charge for the delivery lunch. I am still awaiting resolution of this error. I do 8 – 10 person business lunch delivery at least 5 times a month, so we are not inexperienced or unfamiliar with competent NYC deli/​lunch delivery standards. Fresh & Co failed on this transaction to the point that I will not repeat (even with the offer of free entrees on future orders).

Since there are 3 Fresh&Co’s within like a 8 block radius I am OK with saying that this is not the best.
Breakfast — understaffed… takes a very long time to get a bagel
Lunch — still a little understaffed — my salad was super lean and not as great compared to the location on Broadway and Waverly.

Picked up a tuna sandwich to go — bread was stale, sandwich was dry. All for $ 8. Some great delis nearby that are both better and cheaper.

Baguette was not good, bread was partially burned. Overpriced for small sandwich. Do not recommend.

I’d like to say «To paraphrase Linda Richman, ‘neither Fresh nor a company — discuss.’» But while the food really didn’t seem fresh to me, I have no choice but to presume that this is a legitimate corporation according to U.S. by-​laws.
This place just feels way too in-​between — a place striving for quality vs. striving for budget options, where it simply doesn’t hit the mark for either. Its not exciting to grab a $ 5.95 sandwich to go when I can barely see the sandwich fillings inside the bread. I don’t know… feels like a blatant attempt to piggyback on the Chipotle/Chop’t «high end fast food» market, except that I paid more than I would at either of those places for a meal I enjoyed much less, and still felt hungry afterwards (or to paraphrase Woody Allen in a sentiment I’m sure Linda Richman would appreciate «The food here is terrible — I know… and such small portions!»)

I stumbled across this place on
and it was the happiest mistake ever.
I love their salad. I’ve had the gaucho and the falafel and they were both great. Gaucho is definitely the winner for me.

The quinoa bowls are good and satisfying. I tried the burrito bowl and added veal meatballs, it was really good.

Had a horrible experience two blocks away with a different spot for breakfast, wandered in here and was warmly received. Fresh food, nice staff… so pleasant!

These employees might have been trained by a band of rabid raccoons. My boyfriend couldn’t get their attention to order even though he was the ONLY person on line, they were all busy being hounded by their ballbag manager. The crew was heavily displeased with my boyfriend ordering an item from the breakfast menu 2 minutes past the breakfast time. they gave him a disgusting attitude. That same ballbag manager made one of the employees literally mop under my ass, he was smashing into my stool almost knocking me to the ground. Then the manager proceeded to yell at him for «mopping the wrong way»
safe to say, we will never visit again.