Group Dining at Cafeteria

I don't remember what year I first visited New York City; I suspect it was somewhere around 2007.  What I do remember is going with a group of friends at some ridiculous hour in the morning to Cafeteria, where we ate mac and cheese.  It was after a long night out, so I don't really remember much else, besides the restaurant name as it is a bit unique, and mac and cheese (it did happen to be shortly after a phase of life where I led co-workers to get mac and cheese for lunch nearly daily so very on brand for me athte time).  In the few years that followed, we wound up there at other random times of day/night.  I remember it being busy, hip, and full of mac and cheese.  I vaguely remembered something about dessert.  And cocktails, lots of cocktails.

And then about 19 years passed, and suddenly I found myself with an invite to a group work dinner at Cafeteria.  I was slightly amazed it still existed (and has been around since 1998 it turns out), but my brain had a bit of trouble thinking of it as a place for a formal work dinner, when my previous experiences were always not at regular dinner hours.  I was still kinda excited to go, because, mac and cheese.

Setting

The restaurant is large and loud. There is an outside dining area, a main dining room on the ground floor, and a downstairs, in addition to the private back room where we were.  In my younger years, I think we were always seated downstairs, and I think I was probably part of the ruckus, so the noise level isn't anything I remembered from back then.  But it was a dominant aspect of our experience this time.

Private Dining Room.

We had the private dining room, which was separate from the rest of the restaurant, however the noise still carried significantly.  The wall adjacent to the dining room was padded, which somehow didn't seem to help damper the noise. It was impossible to hear the person directly across from you, let alone someone elsewhere at the table not immediately to your side.  This was a bit of a bummer given that this was a team bonding event.

However the space was quite nice, and they did a nice job with seasonal decorations at the table.  We also had a private bathroom directly attached to our area, which made it feel a bit special and exclusive (and it had great quality products in it!).

Wall.

The wall that wasn't padded was instead decorated with takeout boxes, cups, and bags.  It was cute, but very visually busy.

Prix Fixe Menu.
Dinner $75/head.

The menu for groups is all family style.  They do not have options for format, only which dishes the host selects to be offered.  All dinners start with their biscuits, have choice of 3 apps, 3 mains, 2 sides, and 2 desserts, which yes, seems like way too much food.  Within most categories you can upgrade to pricier options for $5 or $10/pp, which could make this actually $115/person.

Our Menu.

I was a bit let down by the menu selected for us, as it just wasn't the dishes I was most excited for.  

• First Course
• Blistered shishitos (citrus sea salt)
• Mac + cheese (cheddar & fontina with truffle oil)
• Old school meatballs (roasted tomato sauce, fresh ricotta, basil, parmesan, toasted filone)
• Second Course
• Shrimp risotto (meyer lemon, buffalo butter, sautéed garlic, white wine, aleppo chili)
• Cavatelli (slow cooked short rib ragu, roasted tomato sauce, soubise, gremolata, grana padano)
• Fried chicken & waffle (buttermilk waffle, crispy sage, grilled lemon, chili butter, maple jus)
• Ravioli (spinach, ricotta, first pressed olive oil, lemon, 36 month aged parmesan)
• Sides
• Broccolini (lemon, chili, garlic)
• Polenta fries (basil aioli)
• Desserts
• Yodels (red velvet)
• Berries and cream

For appetizers, I adore deviled eggs, and I'm mostly pescatarian, so I really wanted the crispy calamari and crispy rock shrimp for apps, but we had the ho-hum shisitos and meatballs instead (but was glad we had the mac and cheese!).  I sorta wanted the meatloaf and mash or branzino for a main, and wasn't really interested in any of the pastas, yet we had all of them.  I hate broccolini, and would have preferred mashed potatoes for the sides.  And gah, no carrot cake for dessert?!  Just not the items I would have selected.  Our menu was also very carb heavy and low protein, a fact which multiple people commented on.

It was also waaaaay too much food, but the staff did nicely provide containers upon my asking for us to box up what we wanted to take home.  Most of us left with goodie bags, either for ourselves, partners who couldn't join, or, in some cases, beloved dogs.  

Our host did upgrade one entree (+$5/pp) and also opted to include a 4th main, which was an additional $15/pp, which meant our menu was $95pp.

Drinks

Cafeteria offers several drink packages charged by the guest for several hours, but our host picked the unrestricted charge on consumption option for us, which I greatly appreciated. This meant I could select from their actually interesting full cocktail menu, rather than a reduced drink package selection.

Smoke Show. $17.

"Mezcal, ginger lime, blackberry ice cube *limited availability*"

I love mezcal, so I was excited to see a mezcal cocktail on the menu as they aren't all that common. It was marked as "limited availability" but myself and two others had no trouble ordering it.

It was an attractive drink, hard to see the photo, but there is a huge blackberry ice cube in the center.

I really liked it at first - smoky, mezcal forward, but as the ice melted it got considerably sweeter, until I was drinking a fruity cocktail, which is not what I wanted at all.  If you get this, and you don't want a fruity beach drink, drink it faster. 4/5 at first, but 2/5 by the second half, so 3/5 overall.

Upwell Cabernet Sauvignon. $18.

"Sonoma, CA. 2024."

I moved on to the only cab available by the glass.

It was not very good.  Harsh. Too young.  Priced per glass higher than the cost of a bottle elsewhere. Meh. 2/5.

Appetizers

The meal started with biscuits served 30 minutes after we were seated, then with a lull for 20 minutes before the rest of the appetizers.  I would have preferred the timing be pulled in about 15 minutes, as it felt a bit long.

Biscuits.

"Homemade buttermilk biscuits salted butter."

I love a good biscuit, and as these are a fixture on Cafeteria's menu at all times of day I had hopes they'd be decent, but I really didn't enjoy them. They were served warm, which was nic, but they were hard, dry, and had no buttermilk tang.  Meh.  Tied for worse item we got. 1/5.

Blistered Shishitos.

"Citrus sea salt."

I wasn't overly excited about these as I'm not all that into shishitos and our menu sounded so heavy I didn't really want fried veggies on top of that, but actually, I couldn't have them as they are fried in the same fryer as the avocado for the veggie tacos, and I'm allergic to avocado.   This was the only vegetable in our entire menu, but no one seemed into them, and they went unfinished (and no one wanted the leftovers).

$14 on the regular menu.

Old School Meatballs.

"Roasted tomato sauce, fresh ricotta basil, parmesan, toasted filone."

Our only substantial protein, and only non-carb dish (besides the shisitos) was meatballs.  They came attractively presented with fresh basil on top, and big gobs of ricotta. 

The meatballs were a large size, and were very herby.  A soft style meatball.  While I knew they were beef, I tasted more herbs, breadcrumbs, and sauce, that meat.  The sauce was fairly classic tomato sauce, not remarkable. Ricotta was ricotta.

A fine but not interesting or memorable dish. 3/5.

$16 on the regular menu.

Toasted Filone.

I say that the meatballs were the only non-carb besides the shishitos, but actually, they came with huge pieces of toasted bread. The bread was brought out much later though, and most people didn't realize it was for the meatballs or had already finished theirs.

I tried it and wished I hadn't.  It was exceptionally crusty, the kind of over toasting that makes it hurt your mouth. The other item tied for worst. 1/5.

Deviled Eggs. $9.
(Not included).

"Paprika, crispy proscuitto."

Because I couldn't have the shishitos, I was allowed to order another appetizer for myself.  However, they use the same frier for everything, which meant I couldn't pick any of my top choices such as fried calamari or crispy rock shrimp.  The other seafood starters had avocado.  But I do adore deviled eggs, so this was a nice choice.

It was an attractive trio, with vibrant slices of radish and functional garnishes of crispy salty prosciutto and capers.  Although only 3 halves, they clearly used more yolk than just the half in each.  The filling was creamy, the egg white bases not rubbery. Pretty classic overstuffed deviled eggs, but not very memorable as they didn't have any special element besides perhaps the tiny toppings.

My favorite of the appetizers, but still just a 3/5 as they were highly average.

Mac and Cheese.

"Cheddar and fontina."

As I've alluded to,mac and cheese is a signature dish at Cafeteria.  On the regular menu, it is an entire separate menu section, and not considered an appetizer. They make 3 varieties (cheddar and fontina, a truffle oil version, or smoked gouda and bacon). You can also get a flight of all 3, or opt for mac and cheese spring rolls with cheese dipping sauce instead.

We had the most basic version, and alas, the one with fontina, a cheese I don't really care for.  It did look decent though, with a broiled cheese crust on top (although I think I prefer bread crumbs, or some crispy bits of mac around the edges, this had neither).

Mac & cheese: inside.

It looked great inside too. Really creamy, nicey cheesy, not watery, etc.  But it didn't really excite me. It just didn't have that much flavor to it besides cheese, and the pasta was softer than I'd like. Nothing notable about this at all.  Very low 3/5.

$16 on the regular menu (or $17 for the bacon or truffle versions).

Mains

It took nearly an hour for our mains to arrive. The lull was extensive.  One person left, given that they'd had a full meal at that point really anyway.  It also took 10 minutes to serve the mains once they started coming out (the appetizers were served all within a few minutes), which was a bit awkward.

Shrimp Risotto.

"Meyer lemon, buffalo butter, sauteed garlic, white wine, aleppo chili."

I am not a risotto person, but this was the only seafood dish so it is what I went for first.  I almost liked it.  Almost. It was really nicely creamy. The rice was well cooked.  But it had a really strange sour aftertaste.  I later tried using the spicy and the sweet sauces from the chicken and waffles to mask it a bit, but, something was just a bit off there. Too much lemon perhaps?  Except it didn't taste overly lemon-y, just, sour.  It is a shame, as it was well cooked and so creamy.

The shrimp were fairly large size, and were succulent, but were a bit tough and not all were properly cleaned.

Another mediocre low 3/5. The worst of the mains, sadly. $30 on the regular menu.

Cavatelli.

"Slow cooked short rib ragu, spicy vodka sauce, soubise, gremolata, grana padano."

I'm not a red sauce pasta girl, and I don't eat that much red meat, but this wasn't bad.  The short rib was really tender and flavorful, and the sauce decent. The pasta itself was forgettable, but at least not too mushy.  I loved the fried basil on top.

My favorite of the main dishes, but not really something I'd get again.  3/5, $30 on the regular menu.

Fried Chicken & Waffles.
+$5/pp.

"Buttermilk waffle, crispy sage, grilled lemon, chili butter, maple ju."

The other well known dish at Cafeteria is the chicken and waffles, available at brunch or dinner.  It used the same fryer as the avocado, but also I don't care for chicken, so I didn't mind skipping this.  No one in the group seemed all that excited by the chicken.

This dish carried a $5/pp upcharge from the regular prix fixe menu, which I found suspicious given that it costs the same as the risotto and the pasta on the regular menu ($30).

Waffles.

And of course, because everything needed carbs, the waffles.  Most people didn't even try one of these.  No one wanted more filler at this point.  I of course did try one, and found it pretty meh - not very warm, way too soft and spongy, no interesting base flavor.  Certainly didn't seem freshly made as it had no crispness.  Tied for worst dish with the bread for the meatballs. 1/5.

The sauces were described as "chili butter" and "maple jus". I tried them both, mostly on the risotto.  The chili butter was slightly spicy, but I'm unclear on the butter aspect of it, as it was a thick sauce and ... didn't taste like butter?  The maple jus was, uh, maple syrup? They were both fine.

Housemade Ravioli.

"Spinach, ricotta, first pressed olive oil, lemon, 36 month aged parmesan."

There are actually no vegetarian main dish choices on Cafeteria's prix fixe menu.  If you inquire about this, you can add one on (a token pasta or veggie burger) but it costs $15 more per person (for the whole group), which is crazy as it is just $26 on the regular menu.  For our group, that meant upcharge of $300 for 3 plates this size, which, best I can tell, was the regular portion.  This really didn't seem right. Our host added this though, as we had one vegetarian.

This was the least attractive dish by far.  It was interesting to see so little plating care given to it, compared to all the others.

The pasta itself was the most impressive part of the dish.  It was really pliable, fairy thin, and really well made. All were perfectly sealed. This is housemade ravioli, and you could tell.  It was far better than generic supermarket ravioli. The filling was quite flavorful - I was surprised by how spinach-forward the taste was, even though it was an equal looking mix of spinach and cheese.  The ricotta was fine, although it tasted a bit like goat cheese to me several times, which confused me greatly (also, I dislike goat cheese).  The sauce was simple and fine, although a bit broken. 

This was another ok, but non-memorable, 3/5 dish.

Sides

Our sides came after the main dishes, a bit behind.  There was enough of a delay that I wondered if they'd been forgotten, and enough of a delay that most people didn't end up trying them, as they were far too full by the time they came.

Polenta Fries.

"Basil aioli".

Cafeteria has regular fries, truffle fries, and sweet potato fries all on the menu, but our host picked the polenta fries, which sounded the most interesting to me, so I was excited for his pick.  But alas of course because they shared the same fryer, I shouldn't eat them.  They looked so inviting though, golden brown, massive.  And no one was taking them.  I couldn't resist.

I tried a small piece of one.  It was nicely crispy outside, creamy inside.  Definitely more polenta than fries though.  The basil aioli was not particularly strong basil flavor, but it was creamy and I like aioli in general, so this was something I enjoyed. I was sad that most people didn't actually try these, but they were just too stuffed full of heavy carbs at that point.

$12 on the regular menu, the best of the sides, and my favorite of the savory dishes. 3.5/5.

Broccolini.

"Lemon, chili, garlic"

Oh! We did have another vegetable. I actually forgot this was on the menu as I loathe broccolini, but, yes, we had broccolini.  Most people either didn't touch it, or took one piece, and disliked it. They said it was far too mushy.

Sauteed Green Beans. $10.

"Garlic."

Since I technically couldn't have the polenta fries, I was allowed another side choice, and picked the green beans so that I would have some vegetable in my meal.

The beans were ok, but really quite oily.  With such a heavy meal, they felt too heavy, I really wanted just steamed veggies at this point.  They were also softer than I'd prefer. And many still had stems on them.  I did like the big hunks of garlic. Low 3/5.

Dessert

The dessert from the Cafeteria menu I was most excited for was the mile high carrot cake, but alas, it wasn't on our menu.

Berries & Cream.

The berries were actually really good.  Just blueberries and strawberries, but they were perfectly ripe and flavorful. There was some fresh mint to brighten them up too.  Of course I adored the huge glob of whipped cream on top (yes, that is cream, not ice cream). 4/5 for both of these, above average.  My favorite part of the meal.

Not pictured is vanilla ice cream, also served in goblets.  It was very French vanilla / custardy style, which I don't generally care for, but the texture was great, it was served at perfect temperature, just not a flavor I like.  The also make chocolate, strawberry, brown butter pecan ice creams, and lemon or black currant sorbet all in house.

Red Velvet Yodels.

The main dessert was their yodels, red velvet.  At the restaurant for regular dinner, this is served with a vanilla milkshake, which is kinda cute, but ours came without.

These were fine.  The cake was moist, the cream cheese frosting was thick and rich, the chocolate shell was decent.  The ratios all made sense.  I'm not a snack cake person, and red velvet isn't one of my top flavors for cake, but this was enjoyable enough, particularly when paired with the ice cream.  Fine, but forgettable, like many elements of this dinner. 3/5.