Bonobo’s

This place holds a special spot in my heart. Thank you to everyone involved in this beautiful amazing place. Blueberry sorbet, nori rolls, bright and sunny, cute name – everything was wonderful.

Friendly staff. Nourishing yet tasty food.

What? I just started working around the corner from here and was about to treat myself to some of its goodness. How sad it’s gone.
R.I.P. Bonobo.
(Rise If Possible)

With such wide variety of raw selections I honestly can’t remember what I had them put in that bowl, but all of it was fresh, crisp, and so yummy.
The shop is quaint and a comfortable place to take a break after a long day of trekking through the city.
And coconut chai??! Wow, I wish I could have one everyday.

My super healthy raw-​eating marathon-​running friends took me to dinner here for my birthday after telling me about it for months. It was especially great at the time because I wasn’t feeling particularly healthy, so it was like recharging my system.
It’s set up cafeteria style with a long counter full of salads, nut pates, dressings, etc. and you can have samples of anything before you order. I vaguely remember a typical salad bar set up on one end of the counter, but what I really got excited about was all the other tasty stuff. You see, I am really not into boring leafy green salads, but there was a whole section of very flavorful slaws using a wide range of vegetables, which I really adore.
I don’t remember how much it was (because my friends treated me) but I do remember thinking it was very reasonable for the HUGE amount of tasty food. Often I want to laugh when I see delis charging $ 6 (or restaurants charging $ 12) for a couple of lettuce leaves with a slice of cucumber & a cherry tomato and calling it a salad. The combo plate that I got allowed you to basically get every single option that you could squeeze onto a plate. They just kept piling food higher and higher on my plate! I tried maybe 8 different scoops of things? And each of my friends got other things so we were able to try just about everything there. I liked almost everything – except the tomato sauce was too sweet.
There is also a range of juices, some delicious nut-​patty things, and frozen treats, etc. Also, the counter staff was super nice. Oh, and did I mention the delicious date truffle-​things? Divine.
I do wish it had a nicer ambience. It looks a bit institutional with its fluorescent lights and white walls. But between the great food and company, I got over that pretty quickly.
These are quality delicious creative raw vegetables, people. Go! If you’re into that kinda thing.

Right off of Madison Square Park you’ll find the wonderful raw vegan restaurant, Bonobo’s — what a great location. The employees are very friendly and helpful in describing the foods available and in picking out what’s right for you. The set up was more of a deli style, and you simply select what you’d like right at the counter. I tried a few things here — the spinach avocado soup was not for me, but the basil tomato soup and the pineapple dessert (with coconut meat) was great. If the weather is nice during your visit, I suggest getting your food to go and head over the the park.

I loved this place and feel cheated that when I lived the neighborhood I didn’t know about it.
Huge delightful filling healthy salads.
Kind and helpful staff.
Can’t wait to eat here again.

This is hands-​down the healthiest restaurant I have ever set foot it. And the food tastes good!
I especially like the nutmeat salads and the Diablo dressing. Everything is raw, almost everything is organic, no meat or dairy or wheat. You leave feeling refreshed and full of energy. There is more than ample seating and two very usable restrooms.
The downsides are that everything is very expensive and it’s difficult to feel full. For a salad sampler, you have to spend more than $ 13. Add on a drink and it’ll be another $ 4. Even the cheaper salad options are about $ 8 minimum and those will likely leave you hungry.
Mr. Bonobo, a piece of advice: make a $ 5 – 6 lunch option that leaves customers relatively full. If you can do this, you will likely begin to convert many New Yorkers to a healthier lifestyle.
Side note: the menu is also quite confusing and often requires the workers to explain much to each customer. Simplify, man!

I REALLY love this raw vegan canteen style place. It’s casual with tables and seats if you want to have your meal there. The staff are friendly, and the selection of food is good. You can sample before you commit, which is so helpful if you want to know how it will taste and agree with your digestive system.
It’s not the snobby, gourmet, high end raw food that you might find at say pure food and wine/​one lucky duck (sorry no disrespect), but it’s a solid place to eat.
You can customize your salads. The have nut meat patties, sushi, nut meat pates, and veggie salads and a couple of raw soups. The greatest value is the small bowl where you can choose up to 3 items from salads to nut meat pates, with the price ranging from $ 7 to $ 10 and you will be very full. The nut meat patties are expensive $ 4 each, the sushi is $ 10. The have some drinks premade and custom smoothies. My godsister loves the coconut chai drink. I like the gingeraid.
The down side is they don’t soak the nuts and seeds prior to preparation so I feel the food can be heavy. My favorite salads are the asian slaw, the zucchini pasta, veggie medley and bok choy in tahini (heavy but yum). I like the sunflower seed pâté, it’s a little lighter. They do use a fair amount of garlic so you can end up smelling like garlic and scaring the vampires and your friends away.
They have this dessert ball that’s so good with carob powder, dates, nuts in the middle OMG. It’s a heavy little thing, so don’t think that the small size isn’t intimidating =) Bonobos is a must visit, and a good staple for new and seasoned raw vegans. Highly recommended!

Yep. Raw food.
I don’t know, it’s kind of bland. It does happen to be filling though. The food is energizing, but it’s short-​lived. I did really like their lemon ginger aid.

Amazing inventive raw vegetarian.
The made-​to-​order salads are magical — a diverse selection of veg + the unique nut spreads and freshly-​made dressings create a hearty delicious meal that leaves you feeling satisfied and healthy. The small salad is typically 1 to 3 meals, so what seems like a heftier price tag actually ends up a great deal.

I cannot believe I left Bonobo’s off my «foodie fo’ eva» list.
THIS PLACE IS AWESOME, time and time again.
Amazing vegan food, on the go, on the cheap, or dine in if you like. A ton of choices – the menu is insane to me! Fresh, flavorful, raw.
Usually vegan/​vegetarian joints aren’t this creative, so I love it.

The cherry on the vegan cake? The two gentlemen I always see working behind the counter are super sweet, provide great service, and are always willing to let you sample.
Bonobos, you make me proud to live the vegetarian life :)

This is the best salad spot, FAST!
You walk in, tell them what kind of salad you want, and they make it right in front of you. You pick the veggies, the dressing, and the pâté if you want it. They mix it up in a big bowl, the whole thing is done in just a couple minutes.
Eating is at long tables, meant to be more or an in and out type of place. Great for lunch breaks.
They also sell nori rolls, some raw snacks, and drinks too.
Things to try:
Durian Ice Cream (if you’re a durian fan, you’ll love this. If not… so sorry)
Dressing — I get the hot sauce and the tahini mixed.

This place is rawsome! Their soups are sooooo yummy and everything is clean and fresh. I got a raw kale salad with a citrus and agave dressing (no oil) and I’ve tried to recreate it at home ever since. I love that everything is organic too!
CONS:
–service is pretty weird. a bunch of tall, lanky, and unenthused girls looking like they want to eat my brains!
–pricey

Mea culpa, I don’t know what I was thinking getting lunch at a raw food joint, but since I like vegetables and eating healthy, I wanted to try it for a change. I don’t know why, but everything I ordered tasted sweet. I tried three side salads (kale, broccoli, julienned zucchini in a sundried tomato dressing) and a nut patty with sundried tomato sauce on top. Everything had a sweet taste to it and can’t say I liked it. I ended up paying $ 17 and was pretty disappointed (the gingeraid … or did they mean ade? … was delicious though).
I took my food across the street to Mad Sq Park and couldn’t help noticing the irony of my eating raw in the vicinity of all those Shake Shack burger eaters. One end of the spectrum was too healthy, the other end too fatty. Like Goldilocks I’m looking for just right… which is probably cooked and probably at City Bakery.
(Note: I wanted to vote 1 star but figured it’s not fair to them that this food is just not for me.)

The monkey speaks, and Unilocal should listen:
.-” ««-. «Hello, bitches, I am Bonobo, an endangered dwarf chimp
_​/​— = -. \_​species and one of humans’ closest relatives. Research
(_​| 0 0 /​_​) me, and you’ll see I’m noted for two things — first is my
|/​” \ | insatiable sexual appetite (no joke, Wiki it), and second
_​\_​’ = ’ /​_​/​is my raw vegan diet and resultant impeccable health.
/​\_​. – ’ ‘-. Bonobo’s restaurant was modeled after concept 2. Please
\_​_​). . \ go eat there so you, too, can be as healthy, virile, and
\ \/​/​\ \ cool as a Bonobo.»
\_​/​. | |
\ /​_​/​
\ | (_​\
| | | \_​/​
| | |
\__|__/
Why you’d like the place:
— The nut pates and soups are equally delicious
— Perfect veg takeout and I think they deliver, too
— It’s very clean for a place geared toward self-​seating and quick service
— Interesting fresh drink choices
— Less expensive than the other raw options in NYC
Why you wouldn’t like it:
— If you’re looking for a salad works type place, this might be a little too adventurous for you
— Also, I think it’s 100% raw. For people not into that sort of thing or vegetarians expecting some fried up tempeh, this is a bit different.
Bottom line, I think it’s prudent to listen to the monkey, and I’ll be making this place a regular stop.

After wanting to go here for a long time, I finally had the chance last weekend. The first time we were actually gonna go, I remember not being able to find it, but apparently it had moved and now is right across the street from Madison Square Park.
As for the experience, let me start by saying «wow!». My partner and I both had the nutmeat salads, where you choose one of the «pates» (which are like nut salads), then something like four different veggies and a dressing, and the guy tosses it all up for you… amazingly good!
To drink, I had to try the coconut chai. It was something to drool over… though next time, I wouldn’t get it as my drink because it’s not really a thirst-​quencher. For dessert, I had one of the sesame balls and it kind of reminded me of Halvah, which you ‘d get in a deli, made out of crushed sesame seeds (though halvah has milk in it and this didn’t, obviously).
I would definitely recommend this place and can’t wait to go back… maybe this weekend.

I had read some reviews and was not too sure about this place. but we were walking by and it was worth the stop. a little pricey, but good food always costs a little more — and you are worth it, right?
the guy behind the counter was nice and let us sample a few things and we had our platter with a bunch of different things and everything was great. if you are into raw or vegan foods or just looking for something natural and different, bonobo’s is a great place to check out.

To counter all the unhealthy junk I’ve been eating lately, I decided last week, to pass up the chance to dine at a Turkish restaurant and instead have a clean and fresh vegetarian meal at Bonobos.
A friend and I were both very excited over our delicious «nori veggie rolls». there’s a wide selection of pates which is used as the base spread in the roll. I went with the almond pâté, and with that, a mixture of five different vegetables /​nuts and an organic, house-​made dressing. My nori wrap of zucchini, beets, carrot, sunflower seeds, tomato was marvelous. I loved the array of colors this medley of fresh vegetable created and the soft and crunchy textures was pleasantly noticeable. This was no puny roll, you’d be amazed at how satisfying a handful of raw veggies, rolled and tucked into a nori wrap can satiate a hungry belly.
As much as I enjoyed my first-​time experience at Bonobo’s something didn’t sit right with me. I’m not sure if was the bland truffle ball that was our dessert, or the weird location of the bathroom (room within a room where within that room, a book release was taking place the night we were there and so having random people barge in to bee-​line their way to the restroom at the opposite corner, must’ve been really annoying for them and immensely awkward for the one needing the john — i.e. me!), or perhaps it was the vibe I got off the seemingly unenthusiastic server behind the food counter that rubbed me the wrong way.
In any case, if I had to describe my overall opinion of Bonobo’s in one word, it’d be «lukewarm». The nori wrap and the coconut chai smoothie are both great and all, but I’m unconvinced that I need to go back and have another fix. Sadly, it didn’t stir me enough.

Years ago, I went to a raw vegan restaurant. I picked some tofu things, some other rather unidentifiable things and sat down and chowed down — and my taste buds cried with sadness. I looked around suspiciously and thought «Wait, people PAY to eat here?!»
When I decided to give it a good old fashioned try again, I chose Bonobo’s — and I am SO glad I did!
Bonobo’s has a *huge* space. The front could seat about twenty people, but there’s this huge seating area in the back that was so large I thought it was a Yoga studio or something. It looks like it is reserved mostly for parties since all the tables and chairs there were pushed to the side.
The staff is super friendly and patient. They’re wiling to explain each item to you and they freely give free samples of everything, so don’t be shy — try before you buy!
I had a salad of fresh greens with my choice of five additional veggies. I chose tomato, cucumber, zucchini, olives and beets. Choosing the ginger dressing was a no brainer. It’s not something all restaurants carry so I try it whenever I can. It was delicious. Tangy, but not heavy and the veggies were all crunchy and fresh. On top of the salad I had a nut patty, which is basically a raw veggie «burger» with their in-​house ketchup. It definitely had a nutty flavor, and the ketchup had a light, sweet, tomato flavor that I enjoyed a lot.
As a ‘dessert’ I snagged one of the seed/​nut crisps with a tasty pesto pâté. The crisp lives up to its name. It was crunchy and tasty like a cracker and the pâté was creamy and delicious!
As a word of warning, Bonobo’s doesn’t carry conventional drinks. They have their own line of water and drinks. I had the mineral water which was okay, but it had a «heavy» taste to it I guess I’m just not used to.
I was so stuffed from my visit I didn’t get a chance to try dessert, so next time I’m going to try their puddings for sure. I can’t wait to go back!