Thursday, August 22, 2013

Zaro's Grand Central

Zaro's has been operating out of Grand Central Terminal for decades now, and seems to get a pretty steady clientele\..

I have never met anyone who bought anything there nor have I ever sampled any of their baked goods..

And so to Yelp--well, Zaro's has a bunch of locations...

My advice from having read them: if you are going to one of their outlets, go to the one at Penn
Station, it gets the best reviews.
The Grand Central shop--not so much

Zaro's

3.0 star rating
67 reviews Rating Details
Category: Bakeries  [Edit]
89 E 42nd St
(between Park Ave & Vanderbilt Ave)
New York, NY 10017
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 292-0160
Nearest Transit Station:
Grand Central - 42 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
Grand Central - 42 St. (S)
Grand Central - 42 St. (7, 7X)
Price Range:
$$
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "Enter my daily pass through the Grand Central market and Zaro's." In 21 reviews
  • "Every time I go back home, I bring back some NY bagels." In 14 reviews
  • "It was the BEST red velvet I have every had." In 3 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
Sort by: Yelp Sort | Date | Rating | Elites' | Facebook Friends'

66 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 75 reviews
    New York, NY
    4.0 star rating
    2/28/2013
    This review is for the CATERING MENU only!

    Every so often a vendor tries to schmooze our firm so that we can order from them if there is ever an event / clients.  So we get a spread (whether it's complimentary or not, I don't know - that is the office manager's area) of their goodies.

    In most cases - I'd say 90% - the food is blah.  It ranges from "eh" to "horrible."

    Zaros Catering is the 10% that is amazingly delicious for catering.  Everything they provided tasted fresh and yummy.  The amount and variety of food was beyond generous.  I'm pretty sure our spread came from the Grand Central location b/c my office is about 2 blocks away.

    Cannot comment on their regular food b/c I've never tried their regular food.  But I used to love their fresh popcorn - not sure if they still do that.

    Anyway - catering is definitely one of the best!
  • Review from

    • 15 friends
    • 45 reviews
    New Orleans, LA
    2.0 star rating
    8/11/2013
    All of the fooderies in grand central seem to be subpar and expensive. The grand central food slingers capitalize from superior location and an insane amount of traffic. It's essentially an upscale mall food court. Zaro's fits right in. The food here is made to order and over priced. There's a lot of made to order food in the area that is higher quality and cheaper. I stopped by Zaro's because I was in a rush to grab lunch in between transferring from a bus to a train. Having eaten in Grand Central before I knew what to expect. The sandwich I got was mediocre and over priced. Pretty much standard grand central. This place does have fairly large portions for a dollar or two cheaper than a lot of the other restaurants around and is pretty fast. The food isn't terrible. If you're in a rush and need something you can easily take with you on a train or bus this place is one of the better options. If you have a second to sit down I'd recommend hitting the two boots on the other side of the fooditorium  or going to one of the other midtown made to order places.
  • Review from

    Hoboken, NJ
    2.0 star rating
    7/10/2013
    In what world do two ham-and-swiss croissants, two coffees and a bottle of water cost $20!?! Sorry Zaro's - you're good, but you're not THAT good.
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    1.0 star rating
    Updated - 1/23/2013 1 photo
    Dang it... I used to LOVE Zaros!

    Last week, I had a bad experience, so I gave it two more shots this week, hoping it was an off day, and to reclaim my former affection for this bakery..

    I was sadly disappoint, each visit got worse.

    First, I had a Zogel. A chocolate buttercream roll that kind of looks like a long hoho.
    Ooo man was it STALE.. Gross. The buttercream was just unsalted butter or maybe even crisco with a little chocolate mixed in. I am a butter lover to the max, most people find it a little disturbing how much butter I will use when cooking or on bread. As much as I love butter, in this form it was just icky.

    Next, I had a toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese. Really how do you go wrong with a bagel? Even chain grocery store bagels are tasty when toasted and coated with enough cream cheese (or butter;)). This thing was tough chewy STALE and nearly inedible! I only ate about a third of it on the train before I had cream cheese all over my hands and face (I know, sounds like a good look right?) trying to tear and gnaw into the freaking thing. Ugh at that point I gave up. Also, I pretty much ate the bagel immediately (well tried to anyway) and the supposedly toasted bagel was COLD, not just lukewarm, but cold. I didn't even go outside, how is this possible if they actually toasted the bagel? I don't think it is..

    Then finally I tried the Napolean.. thinking its mostly cream, it can't really go stale right? WRONG. bleehh.. It was a stale Crisco based 'cream' nightmare. No flavor at all. Seriously lacking salt and just ick.

    I officially give up on you Zaros. Never again!

    (except maybe the day after Christmas when those chocolate Christmas bells go on sale :))

    Side note: the customer service here has always been horrendous, but on my last few visits it has been even more ATROCIOUS! Seriously, Starbucks is in the same vicinity and has wonderfully friendly staff, where does Zaros get these people? DO they specifically train them to be as rude as possible? Management (if it exists) needs to get on this..
    • Looked soo good, but we're stale, flavorless and gross :(
    Listed in: NYC Desserts
    Was this review …?

    3 Previous Reviews: Show all »

    • 9/16/2011
      I've been noticing recently how the service at the smaller one on the north side & closest to Lex… Read more »
  • Review from

    Queens, NY
    Updated - 10/29/2012
    Extreme hunger pangs in conjunction with sheer exhaustion, I needed a quick yet simple substance before trekking onwards towards the evening for this Zaro's was inside Grand Central Market.

    One apple turnover at $2.70 was the cheapest and quickest on-the-go.  The server did not produce any napkins as I had to attain my own from the counter backed by a rude scowl look.  The apple turnover was extremely messy to be dilapidated within mere bites and the breading was very stale.  The apples used in the baking was not fresh.
    Was this review …?

    1 Previous Review: Show all »

    • 2/28/2009
      This Zaro's is actually located inside of Grand Central on the lower level where all the eatery and… Read more »
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 111 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    2/20/2013
    This review is based on the chocolate mousse cake and the brooklyn blackout cake.

    Chocolate Mousse Cake: Great. I would get it again for sure. The cake part was good, the mousse part was good. No complaints.

    Brooklyn Blackout: Cake part was great, thick, and dense. Pudding part was not good and I didn't eat it. They should take the cake part of this and just make a regular chocolate cake with it.
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    12/7/2012
    Every morning between 9-10,
    A working class hero with empty stomach walks into grand central,
    After getting his morning coffee from Joe's,
    He steps into Zaro's and asking for an everything bagel toasted with cream cheese,
    A perfect morning then derives.

    Bagel here is fresh, toasted to perfection, with the right amount of spreads, and still hot after getting it back to the office.

    Service is fast, but you do need to yell out loud what you want, then go pay at the register, then grab your bagel.  I personally don't have any problem with it.
  • Review from

    • 63 friends
    • 114 reviews
    West New York, NJ
    3/20/2013 1 check-in here
    Bagels with butter here are $1.95 here. Bagels are good but not THAT  good. Coffee is flavourless and pastries are so so.
  • Review from

    • 290 friends
    • 2236 reviews
    Austin, TX
    7/12/2012
    I think the idea of calling your bakery the premier bakery of a city such as New York just screams unwarranted pretension. Especially when you really don't possess much in the way of high accolades.

    I also figure that with so many locations around The Big Apple, no one really takes notice of you. For example, one may say, "Oh, there is another Zaro's.... how interesting." At least when you say, "lets grab lunch at Clinton Street", there is only one true baking institution.

    Additionally, they go far too in-depth for each of their offerings, on their website, so as to shed light on how insecure they are with the assorted baked goods speaking for themselves.

    Zaro's is definitely not one of the best bakeries I have experienced in my time in NYC, but at least it is conveniently located pretty much everywhere... though it is not omnipresent. In order to find its way around town, it has to expand into satellite locations--in effect, it loses a lot of character points with me. And I, as a man of high moral character, prize character.
  • Review from

    Queens, NY
    7/29/2012 1 check-in here
    My go-to bagel spot in Grand Central station.

    If you are interested in getting a cup of coffee and a bagel on the go...this is your spot. I haven't bought much more that from here.

    They do have a decent black and white cookie as well.
    Was this review …?
   

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered