Cafe 22

EY office cafeteria! Entry is only permitted for employees of the 5 Times Square office.
Overall, Café 22 is a very average corporate cafeteria. The prices are subsidized which is a big plus. The breakfast in particular is very affordable and they have great grab and go options as well as an egg station and smoothie bar. The lunch options revolve around stations (hot sandwich, salad, specialty (changes), and the grill). There is also a hot food buffet and a salad bar. The hot buffet changes every day and is themed around a particular cuisine. They are quite inventive with the hot buffet, and include cuisine such as Singaporean and Norwegian that would not be typical in a cafeteria.
The café is busy because it is reasonably priced and convenient. However, when it’s warm out its nice to eat outside at Bryant Park or one of the cafes nearby. Overall a decent cafeteria serving breakfast and lunch, with very reasonable prices.

Normally go here when I don’t feel like leaving the office, or have a meeting around lunch. Pretty cheap sandwiches and salads. For work cafeteria’s this is one of the best I have tasted!

Are these other reviewers high? This place is terrible! Only crowded when the weather outside is bad but you are better fighting the crowds of tourists to eat.

Great sushi, excellent smoothies and salads.

This café serves EMPLOYEES OF EY ONLY, it is NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!! This is the cafeteria for the company E&Y at 5 Times Square.
I love everything about this café! The food is fresh, the coffee is fresh the staff and servers are friendly.
There’s a global hot food section which I love! Monday — Friday each day is food inspired from a different country! Genius!
And did I mention the prices! Amazing and very inexpensive compared to the average prices in Times Square.

As a warning, I was told you have to work in the building to eat here. Since no one else mentioned it, I thought I’d give folks a heads up before they head here.

A Restaurant Associates cafeteria with five stars? You’ve got to be kidding. While I agree that Café 22 is a better than average cafeteria (and I’ve tried plenty), people need to be pickier about their five star reviews.
Café 22, due to their deal with E&Y, offers a very affordable meal in an otherwise terrible neighborhood for food. Be wary o overloading your container at the salad bar or global table — it can add up quickly if your eyes are bigger than your stomach. Crowding and seating can definitely be an issue, especially in the winter months and rainy days when the hipster staffers decide waiting in line for Chopp’d isn’t worth it. But the view of Times Square is pretty sweet if you can stand the high noise level.
Café 22 is broken out into several sections: the Illy coffee bar out front, the sushi bar/​smoothie bar in the AM, the global table, the main grill (burgers), the main course (changes daily), the action station (which changes each week), shaker salads, sandwiches, salad bar, soup bar. The salad and sandwich lines are usually ridiculous. The grill and sushi lines take forever (unless you’re like my colleague who gets in line at 11:30 am). I tend to stick to the global table, action station, or main course due to the lines alone. The global table is the most hit or miss. With the majority of the staff coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, the cuban or jamaican days are fantastic. NEVER ever get the indian food or thai food — its just really terribly not authentic. Even the fake chinese food is terrible. I do like the sandwiches and all the options they offer, but I only get them if the line is short. The soups are iffy — sometimes they can be salty.
For the vegans or vegetarians, there are usually plenty of options. If I’m looking for a balanced lunch, I always can find something in Café 22 that makes my tummy happy.
I dislike Café 22 because Restaurant Associates forces you to cater if you use a room on 23 or 22 and the food offerings for these meetings isn’t quite as good. The mini sandwiches tend to be dry and nobody eats those little danishes packed with sugar. They also have shameful mini bagels considering we’re in the middle of NYC.

Café 22 is my go to lunch on a daily basis — it is a great place to grab something quick but also there are a few stations that are worth the wait. I agree with the previous reviewers — Tony’s salads are great, and if you tell him you know Brian he will normally give you extra toppings!
Also, I usually wait in the a la carte sushi line about once a week — a maki roll and 6 pieces of sushi for $ 10?! Can’t beat it in Times Square! And now that they have added a second sushi chef, the wait is usually only 10 – 15 minutes.
The choices at the hot buffet are always plentiful and look good, but beware, sometimes the food can taste pretty bland. Overall, I think they do a great job though keeping the menu diversified and pretty healthy.

Decent food, great prices and extremely convenient. I’m sure I’ll be back quite often. The chicken sandwich on a Kaiser roll is the best deal around. Make sure you add some chipotle sauce.

The assortment here is pretty good, but the salads are the best! I’ve gotten to know a couple people there very well. They’re great. Tell Tony that Brian sent you — he’ll whip you up a shrimp salad that will rock your world.

This place is pretty awesome. The atmosphere is very friendly, the view is just georgous (Times Squre) and you can see the ‘ball’. I usually go to the ready station, which surprises me every time. I love this place. I would’ve given 5 stars, but today’s chicken wings weren’t the best I tried. So, 4 it is.

Tony makes a salad worth waiting for! Make sure you tell him Brian sent you, he will make sure to add extra toppings for you!