The Cafeteria at The Met

$ 0.96/oz. for froyo? $ 6 for a cupcake? $ 11 for a sandwich? Add NYC sales tax as the cherry on top and you have the most expensive tourist trap in a basement ever.
Pretend that you’re time-​traveling while you’re sipping on that $ 10 corn chowder because these will probably be the regular post-​inflation supermarket prices of food a century from now, but in the meantime consider your lunch bill a generous non-​deductible donation to the Met and its food vendors. The food isn’t entirely awful, by the way – just not anything a sane, middle-​class consumer would pay for.
Luckily, the place is almost never packed (except on holidays) if you need a larger table for a tour group or a family with a stroller. But if you have the energy and willpower to make it back outside and walk 2 – 3 blocks, get your money’s worth somewhere else.

Out of sight prices.
An asparagus salad consisted of 3 asparagus spears. $ 12.00.
The green salad had 3 bites. Same price.
We spent $ 70.00. A joke.
Beautiful view of sculptures and gardens.
Go to the park for the view.

I was pleasantly surprised with the food quality and choices. I had the grilled chicken sandwich with honey mustard and fries on the side. Both were delicious. Yes, the prices run high as they seem to within most museum eateries. If you walk to the back where the beverages are, you’ll see packages of pre-​made sandwiches. For convenience and food quality, it’s worth grabbing a bite here.

This place is ok. They have a lot of choices: grill, pasta, sushi, salad, main dishes, and deserts. I ordered the main dish, which is chicken, fish, fried rice, and green beans that day. They tasted good. The only thing is that the price is horrible. The main dish is $ 1 per oz. But the plates are super heavy. I guess the plate is even heavier than my food.

Great place for a panoramic city view from the roof top. Sandwiches tasty and fresh.
BIG COMPLAINT: The elevator operator on the unit going to the roof top let the door close on passengers as they were getting in. He made no effort to stop the doors by pushing the ‘hold open’ button. This was rude, inconsiderate and mainly dangerous. If he doesn’t like that job then go be a garbage collector or something that doesn’t deal in public safety.

Simply the worst!
New visitors be forewarned: A lunch for a family of 4 can easily run you $ 100!. It is true sticker shock. And the quality is so poor!
The coffee tastes like dish water — so weak.
I am a frequent visitor so I either eat before, after, or I bring a few snacks from home.

The Cafeteria at the Met is sort of weird in a sense that it’s located down in the basement of the Met and was quite difficult to find. The menu selection wasn’t anything too memorable. They had pasta bar, quick wrap/​sandwich/​salad stations, soft-​served ice creams that you can just grab/​get what you want, line up and paid at the cashier.
We just went to grab some drinks and soft served ice cream for snack and were so glad we already had lunch before going into the Met, because the price at the café was just way too overpriced. I think our self-​service soft served ice cream was priced at $ 1 an oz or something. The part that made me feel bad about this place is having to pay such high price and being stucked in the basement area close to restrooms and with no actual sunlight. If I had to pay a little high of a price, I would at least appreciate some sort of view than being stucked in a basement box.
Overall though. it’s an ok place to grab some snacks. If you are planning to feed your family a full meal at the Met’s Café though… organize your museum trip and of time and have lunch before visiting! The food price here is so high and the taste/​look of the food was just ok. nothing special. Eat somewhere else before hand and both your wallet and tummy will thank you!

Love going to the Met at 5 PM on a Saturday and go to the balcony bar and have prosecco and a bite to eat or dessert. My friend and I go often.
Music is great! Pierre is a very nice waiter! We speak french together! Staff is nice always but we have become very unhappy with the prices going up all the time and portions getting smaller! We used to get the cheese tray with fruit, dried fruit, nuts. I loved that the menu changed all the time. The non alcoholic cocktails are delicious.
But now it is half of what we used to get and more expensive!
My friend and I love to support the Met but this is getting crazy. My friend keeps filling the card and complain about their practice. Love the atmosphere but no fun anymore! Hope you will stop raising prices!

OVERPRICED. Enough said, that’s all you need to know about this place.
Unless you are super hungry after all the walking and made the mistake of not having a decent meal before stepping inside the met, there’s absolutely no reason you should blow away your money on this incredibly mediocre and overpriced food. So spend wisely and get a tasty and filling meal for $ 7 outside the met.

Ouch! They may accept donations to get in, but make up for it by gouging you with the food and drink prices! $ 3 for hot tea, and if you want more hot water, it’s $ 0.11.
My mom’s cupcake was $ 5, and coffee $ 3.
Ok it’s not outrageously expensive but $ 12 for 2 drinks and a cupcake? Hmm, me thinks not!

There’s absolutely nothing to like about The Cafeteria. Even the name recalls bad memories of «mock chicken leg» day in junior high. You know, the meat-​like thing that was served with gelatinous yellow gravy served up by Lunch Lady Doris? Well, that was haute cuisine compared to The Cafeteria at the Met.
The food is not good. Not even close. I had a «curried chicken thigh» which tasted exactly like a magazine photo of curried chicken. I also tried some «roasted pears with blue cheese» and found the pears to be basically raw. Hubs had a small salad, some mac’n’cheese with the consistency of wallpaper paste and some «BBQ» chicken. That will be $ 45, please… what?
Unbelievably overpriced (even for NYC) and truly Sysco food truck quality. Make a run for the food trucks outside if you can. A dirt water dog may not taste much better but it will be less than $ 5.

A little bit overpriced restaurant. One regular crewed coffee is 3 dollars and the muffin is 5 dollars

The only thing really going for this place is that it’s in the museum. The sandwich was ok at best and for $ 11 total bs. All bread and not very fresh tasting. It is crowded, hard to find a seat, and expensive. The atmosphere is nice for a cafeteria with a view if the pArk on one side and sculptures on the other.
Dear Met, step your café game up. Please.

Don’t believe the couple of glowing reviews. From the PR department? Do believe the other ones.
Plus: It’s there. Nothing is around outside except carts and a place in the park. It has tables and chairs.
Minus: Lighting and décor of a high school cafeteria and no tables and chairs at peak times. It’s just way too small for a huge museum.
Plus: Often interesting variety of food sitting around waiting for who knows how long.
Minus: Cost. Mostly by the ounce buffet so you end up skipping the pasta and rice etc. that cost them under a dollar a pound and go for some lightweight greens and protein dense chicken or something. So you have a little compromised lunch for $ 15 or more.
I have read articles about how this place is run by some gourmet chef and provides a lovely reasonably priced place for the family to eat. Right. No.
In good weather go outside and get a hot dog or halal food from a cart and eat on the steps. In bad weather remember you really don’t have to pay the suggested donation and can pay up in the cafeteria instead.

How do you balance fine art with a huge crowd of tourists? With a cocktail or two and a bite of course!
Wanted to check out the Martini bar that people recommended to me, but it is a seasonal thing so ended up in the Balcony Café overlooking the museum which was quite nice.
The cocktails were fairly well made. ordered a Charcuterie plate which was pretty decent, I wasn’t expecting anything grand just some basics to nibble on while enjoying the atmosphere and drinks.
Definitely a great place to relax from the huge crowds of people, to just sit and relax with a drink in hand with a duo in the background playing classical music!

Poor folks when it comes to eating the actual food here, at a tourist attraction. Even I know the burgers at the beach parks aren’t any better lol.
so that’s why i stuck to the greens and salad. just DIY, and what can go wrong here. Even added the salty turkey and bacon bits, and really, the squid/​corn/​red onion salad to add on top really wasn’t good bad.
and at 82 cents per gram, quite reasonable and comparatively healthier compared to those burgers and $ 6 pre-​made sandwiches that were the size of your fist!
Still worth an extra star considering the available of outlets to charge my phone, in the far back, make a left after paying the cashier. Much more quieter there too.

Great place to have a pot of brewed tea that is made the right way. Also had perfect amount of savory tea sandwiches to go with my earl grey — if you have access come here to relax then continue to stroll the collections.

What a great find with amazing views of the city! No tables — floor or bench seating only. Prices are pretty steep but you are at the met and the atmosphere helps you forget about that $ 14 you paid for a glass of wine.
Kind of difficult to find through the museum — don’t be shy, ask for help or you’ll wander forever!

Overpriced: YES
Good food: NO
Paying $ 10 dollars for a tiny burger i definitely expected more. It wasn’t just ridiculously expensive, but not even good. Not to mention that my stomach was growling for an hour after that.
It’s super super crowded and it’s practically impossible to get a seat. It’s also dirty and just disgusting. When you’re getting the food it’s also very confusing, there’s barely any signs with prices and it’s just all over the place. There’s only a few cashiers making the lines extremely long and it’s impossible to get through.
Unless you have no choice but to go here, don’t. Since i still wanted to walk around metropolitan after i ate, i had to pick something inside metropolitan, but if you can wait to eat after, just wait.

Well they have you kind of trapped, it is too much of hassle to leave and eat there is too much to see and too little time to see it. The food is passable. Grab a snack and some caffeine and get back to the Art. You’ll eat a real meal later. The WiFi works down here too, but seriously get back to galleries!

I coudn’t fault this place because of extraordinarily high prices. Every food item had a price tag; outlandishly expensive prices on tags. I don’t for a minute think you should starve, but some careful planning will steer you away from this unstellar cellar cocina. Everything here has been dumbed down over the years. They used to be known for having exemplary choices, but now, it’s just standard cafeteria fare.
Who’d like a $ 4 nonrefillable soda? Me.
Who’d like a $ 14 plate of tortellini? Me.
Who’d like a $ 7 tiny cup of soup? Me.
Who’d like a $ 6 petite dessert torte? Me.
How about a $ 34 lunch for one? Me, Me, Me!