Lezzette Mediterranean Cucina

I came here because of the good reviews on Unilocal.The sandwich I ordered (the «Lezzette») sounded delicious — goat cheese, apple slices, walnuts, mesclun greens and tomatoes. The filling was good but the bread was completely stale. While I was sitting there eating, I realized that the party at the table next to me was actually the local health inspector, going over a particularly troubling report with what looked to be the owner of the restaurant. I’m disappointed because others seem to have had great experiences here.

A friend and I wandered into this place while waiting for his Bolt Bus to DC. I had been scouring Unilocal for decent Mediterranean food in the area (my friend’s from Hawaii and a decent gyro is hard to come by on the islands), and wasn’t sure what to expect from Lezzette.
This place did not disappoint though! They have good food, decent prices, and friendly and efficient service. This place is great for a quick but savory bite.

The food is fine (I’d give them four if just rating the food), but recently I wanted a falafal sandwich. When it was ready, I presented my debit card (I had all of $ 5 on me), and was informed of an $ 8 minimum. First of all, minimums aren’t allowable to begin with (they violate the agreements with Mastercard or Visa) and second, there was no sign posted to this effect. An argument with the guy behind the register proved fruitless — «Everyone charges a minimum!» [wrong] and I told him he had a choice of charging me the correct price or forget it. He said «$ 8 minimum.» I told him to enjoy the sandwich, and walked out. So now, instead of whatever small fee they would have paid on my $ 5.95 sandwich, they were out $ 5.95 and a permanent loss of a customer.

My coworkers and I discovered this place when we ended up semi-​permanently relocated to the Penn Station area after Hurricane Sandy devastated our downtown location. Quiet upset at being relocated to an area which is a hell hole when it comes to good food options as well as a pain just to get around, we were very happy to have found this place.
Like all the other reviewers said, head straight to the back for the hot food stand. Ask the guy whats available that day and he will introduce all the dishes. While I might already know what I want, having the guy explain all the dishes may introduce to you something that you might have never discovered on your own.
One main and two sides. I personally like that I can get hot food at a somewhat reasonable price. At $ 10 – 12 an entrée thats almost restaurant pricing, if they went any higher I don’t think I will be going back. While you do get a lot of food, sometimes I wish they would charge less and perhaps offer a smaller portion to stop me from stuffing my face and then falling asleep at my desk from food coma.
Now that I am back downtown, I wish we had a place like this.

Soild little shop near work. I stopped in to check out the salad bar. I got some grilled chicken, salad, hummus, grape leaves. not to shabby. There was quite a line for the hot foods so I will have to check that out.
Ask for pita when you check out.

This is absolutely my favorite lunch place in the Penn Station area. Their Mediterranean food bar in the back is ridiculously fresh and tasty.
After struggling to find a halfway healthy option my coworker and I finally found Lezzette’s. Thank god – no more french fries for lunch!
I’d recommend the roasted brussel sprouts (I know, sounds gross, but its delish!), mixed salads, and don’t forget to grab baklava at the check out.
I’d skip the pita bread they give you though.

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!
Lezzette, my family has been coming here for years and we won’t be coming back. Not only did you burn the falafels, but when I asked for a piece of salmon I was told no. When I complained I was told that I had to follow his rules and that he is not Chinese so I can’t tell him what to do.
I’m sorry, did you just insinuate that I was racists towards Asians? Puh-​leaze, my money can be spent some where else for better food.

This is what I love about Unilocal.Never would have found this place without it, and oh man was it ever good! I went to the hot bar at the back and the nice woman guided me through everything they had. I chose the skirt steak based on some reviews I read here and it was simply spectacular. Wonderfully tender and flavorful. I got some hot sauce on the side and I’m glad i opted for «on the side» the stuff is crazy hot. The 2 sides that came with the skirt steak were really good too — I had full grain rice and veggies. Yummy to be sure. I’m going to be in NYC for 2 more days and will be back here for more.

Surpise on West 34 St. Gotta go with Bill on this one. Med. food quick, cheap & good. Best part is the salad bar in the back for $ 5 per pound. The nice lady makes everything fresh every morning.
Shepard salad
Red cabbage
Guacamole (yes guac)
Roasted eggplant
Zucchini w/​chick peas
Feta
Pasta w/​pesto
Lentil salad
Much more…

As I write the juicy essence of my skirt steak is still dancing on my tongue. Lezzette is a lunch place and a verifiable gem in the culinary wasteland of import/​export, discount clothing, and tourist/​transport mess that is the Penn Station strip. Many Unilocalers will tell you to resort to Lezzette if you (like me) are sentenced to work in the area.
The place is small but blissfully uncrowded. In a trendier district, it would be mobbed by foodies and beaten into irrelevance. But in the middle of a busy nowhere, Lezzette shines. You have two options for a delicious meal here:
* Hot buffet — the cool dude (owner?) behind the bar will hook you up with something scrumptious. Today they head skirt steak, chicken kebabs, lamb stew, chicken Marsala, salmon, mach & cheese, and other goodies.
* The Middle-​Eastern salad bar, where you’ll get delicious salads, feta, hummus, babaganoush, and some less known morsels. At $ 5.95 this is pretty much a steal for the area.
I’m not going to whine about the prices for hot entrees since so far they are awesome. Had I paid $ 14 for my skirt steak today (2 sides) included + seasoned red cabbage and not been thoroughly satisfied, I might be a little ornery.

MEH-​ALERT!
Hidden Treasure? Nope. Nothing special here.
Went in here for lunch having a craving for gyro. Saw the reviews about the chicken gyro and thought I’d give it a chance.
The place is small and you have to go to the back to order. It didn’t take long before the guy asked me what I wanted (bonus points for fast service at lunch).
Me: «Chicken Gyro»
Guy: «Chicken Gyro? You want everything? Lettuce, onion, tomato, sauce, hot?»
Me: «Yep.»
After about six minutes, my Gyro was brought to the cash register next to the door. When I arrived I also got a «coffee with cream» and a small pastry.
I paid for the fig newton, the chicken gyro, and the coffee and the total came to $ 11. Not bad for all that I got.
Unfortunately, I got back to the office and all was not right: (1) the gyro was flavorless and had no sauce (the missing sauce probably being the culprit); (2) the coffee had bountiful amounts of sugar (not just cream); and (3) my dessert tasted like a big, day-​old fig newton (very hard).
I tend to believe that sauce adds a lot to taste of a dish, but I also think the protein should stand on its own. With that said, the chicken tasted like chicken and nothing else. That’s a fail in my book. Who knows, maybe it was «healthy».
Tip: if you ask ME if I want everything and I get NOT everything, me get angry. Me get especially angry when my coffee has enough sugar to stand up a spoon. Me get REALLY angry if I pay $ 1.50 for a small dessert that I could buy out of a «Damaged Goods» bin at a 99 cent store (what I wouldn’t give to be eating a whole sleeve of stale fig newtons right now).
The whole trip was bland-​city and if asked about the place I wouldn’t be able to summon much more than a «meh» and a «this big city has too much to offer to ever go back there.»
Now I’m back at my desk and unsatisfied… Wait, is that a cat youtube video? Never mind. All is well.
Note: If you’re in the mood for a Greek salad, they did have a good looking buffet there, which was $ 5.99/lb. May be worth a try, but if it’s anything like their chicken Gyro, I’d consider skipping.

Now I love me some fatty gross meat, but bite-​size chunks of fat and gristle in my chicken wrap were enough to leave my mouth feeling violated until I found my way to the nearest toothbrush.
My first one-​star review after 40 others… so you know I’m serious!

Before we left the High Line Alan checked Unilocal and found this for lunch. We walked the few blocks over and walked in to a mostly empty restaurant. As you walk in you pass a pastry case full of delicious looking cookies and other baked goodies and then another, probably refrigerated, case full of gorgeous cakes of all sizes. We walked to the back where we were introduced to the array of lunch offerings, from lamb or steak or shrimp kebabs to chicken Florentine, to salmon to tender beef to simple roasted chicken hindquarters to a gorgeous looking lasagna. Dishes came w/​two sides. I suggested the chicken Florentine and the lasagna to Alan but he thought the lasagna looked too rich, so he opted for the lamb kebab. We both had bulgar as one of our sides. Alan had salad and I had mixed vegetables plus he took a small assortment of salads from the salad bar. We shared a bottle of water. Payment is almost on the honor system. Alan took his salad up to be weighed but then was directed back to the table where I was sitting w/​instructions to pay when were were done.
I cut my chicken in half and he cut his lamb and we traded. The chicken was meltingly tender and tasty. It seemed like a mix of dark meat and light, each excellent. The lamb was spicier than I liked. I took a bite and gave the rest back to him. Turns out he had negotiated a little bit of heat w/​the chef. Not a little by MY standards. The bulgar had all the flavor that was lacking in yesterday’s pilaf. The mixed vegetables were a bit past al dente, but they were very good. The tastes I had of Alan’s mixed salads were very good too. Seating was at small tables and chairs and it did the job. Once we were finished Alan went up to the cashier and reported what we had eaten. As far as I know, nothing was written down. The system works for them and it certain was a good lunch for us.

Very tasty.
Ambience: Simple deli-​style place with limited seating.
Service: Friendly owner was a little on the hard-​sell side but did give me exactly what I was hoping for.
Food: I got the lamb kebabs in pita bread to which they added some nice greens. Well seasoned and perfectly cooked. It was simple fare but done right.
Price: Very reasonable.

Outstanding Greek food. Everything was good, hummus, grape leaves, felafel, salads, you name it!

Yummy gyro– perfectly tender meat and awesome wrap… fast and friendly service too— good option if you’re ever in need of a quick meal before catching the Bolt Bus out of town!

We had a quick lunch here during a brief 2hr. stopover in NYC on our way to Boston via the Bolt Bus. It’s just down the street from the bus stop, and is overall, a decent alternative to the obvious choice for Bolt Bus riders — Tick Tock Diner. The space is small, though they do have a few tables set up. They weren’t quite ready for lunch around 10:30, so we returned a half hour later.
I ordered the Grilled Chicken with Tomato Panini which the menu description listed as also including «roasted red peppers, fresh basil and homemade pesto sauce». I was disappointed when I realized the paninis were sitting pre-​made in the glass case. The chicken most definitely was not freshly grilled, and the roasted red peppers, fresh basil and homemade pesto sauce were non-​existent. Preparation of my sandwich involved about 5 minutes in the panini press. When all was said and done, the sandwich was OK — the chicken a bit dry, and the tomato sauce boring.
My boyfriend ordered the Chicken Shish Kebab wrap, which was much more flavorful than my panini. The spicy sauce was good and the wrap overall was tasty. Once again, however, we questioned the freshness of the grilled chicken as it was a bit dry.
It’s possible I’d stop by here again if I ever have another stopover here on the Bolt Bus, though the fact that our food was not made to order, will probably have me searching elsewhere.

My FAVORITE lunch spot in the city. I used to work around the corner and went there all the time — now I work a few avenues away and I still go.
SALAD BAR
I always get the cold salad bar because it’s a great value (the hot stuff is good, but pretty pricey for lunch.) They have an eggplant-​tomato salad that is so garlicy and lovely as well as all sorts of orzo, bulgur, chickpea salads dressed with olive oil and herbs — with a chock-​full of veggies. The stuffed grape leaves used to be really good, but these days isn’t doing so well. Their guacamole is great, too! surprisingly…
The hot food can get pricey (if you get a few «shrimp kebabs» you’ll end up paying close to $ 20) so ask how much it is before you order. Maybe that’s just because I’m such a cheapo.
Oo! oo! and try their bite size baklava. Heaven :)

In some ways, I like to consider myself a connoisseur of lunch locations in the Penn Station area. After three years, I’ve found some of the best and some of the worst. Without a doubt, Lezzette is my secret, hidden gem. I love this restaurant. Tucked away on the NE corner of 9^th Ave and 34^th, none of my co-​workers or friends know about this place for lunch, but they are all envious of the smells and sight of what I bring back to my desk.
What makes Lezzette stand out is the hot food counter in the back. The chef (the owner?) has a wide variety of dishes that he prepares daily — each with a tasty Mediterranean flair. What I dig the most is that each offering has a unique twist on something familiar. Swordfish Kabobs, delicious encrusted whitefish, chicken done in a unique way. And your host beyond the counter patiently introduces each of the dozen or so entrees is and, with great enthusiasm and pride, why they are the right choice for you. Selection varies daily and served with accompanying veggies, bread and sauces. The flavor, quality and taste these meals is truly phenomenal. I’ve never been disappointed.
Beyond that, Lezzette seems to have the standard fare of salads, pizzas and other staples of similar lunch restaurants. Not a lot of room to sit, so most people are getting to go. Also, while delicious, a meal can run $ 9 to $ 15 if you get a drink. So, I don’t indulge often, but man is it worth it every single time.

Living in Astoria I’m spoiled by all the great Greek and Mediterranean restaurants. However, Lezzette is a good place for a quick lunch, especially since they have BULGAR RICE. Most places that you would assume that would have it such as Mediterranean places and Turkish places hardly has it on the menu. They usually stick with boring rice pilaf. The bulgar rice is by weight and I usually ask the man to fill up an entire carton so I can bring it home!
I see that someone mentioned falafel bowl so I ordered it. It’s a falafel platter served with… bulgar rice, salad, pita, hummus and hot sauce. The hot sauce is no joke. Really good and filling.