• CLOSED: Otarian

  • (14)
    9

    Closed

  • White Vegetarian
Vegan-friendly
Lacto
American
International
Fast food
Take-out

Committed to making the smallest environmental footprint on the planet. Food is lacto-vegetarian with vegan options. Sample items include pea o spinach soup, kale and candied pumpkin seed salad, Tex Mex burger, vegetable biryani, choc o mousse, and panna cotta o berry. Also offers grab & go wraps, sandwiches, and cake. JAN 2016 REPORTED SHUT, FB GONE.


Venue map for Otarian
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14 Reviews

First Review by dandeliong

tallietaylor

Points +35

Vegan
20 Nov 2015

better vegan places out there

If you aren't locked to being in this location then head up to peacefood instead. This is really a vegetarian restaurant and the food we had was not high quality. They have places to sit but it is not a comfortable environment and in addition the wait time was too long.

Pros: has vegan options and has juices and smoothies

Cons: not the best quality of food and careful vegans be

Swishyskirt

Points +95

Vegan
11 Feb 2015

Excellent vegan fast food!

Otarian is vegetarian with a lot of vegan options (in fact, several of the burgers can be made vegan by swapping out the cheese and mayo -- yes, they have vegan mayo!). I've had their two veggie burgers, veganized, and they were delicious! The fries are also quite tasty. Good for a quick bite on the go.

Pros: Good food, Inexpensive, Lots of vegan options

SikkepikChan

Points +27

Mostly Veg
11 Jun 2014

GOOD

The Burgers a good and the sweet potatos are delicious!

Pros: Fresh, Cozy, Service

Ajolote

Points +1327

Vegan
22 Sep 2013

worth checking out before your Broadway show

This place is not vegan, just vegetarian, but it has some good vegan options like soup and salads. Right now I am enjoying a Latska, which is nice and spicy. Do not expect big meals, just tasty bites with lots of flavor. It is a great veg option before your Broadway show. It has to go food, nice desserts and apparently they offset they do what they can to reduce their carbon footprint, but they do not use real plates, just compostable stuff.

Pros: close to theaters, quick service, to go food

Cons: serves animal secretions, no reusable plates

loloford

Points +746

Vegan
17 Aug 2013

...

the emloyees where very nice, but the food....
i couldn't finish the fries and the vegan burger was dry and tasteless
this place is empty most of the time, there's a reason!
i wanted to give a try, i won't go again

Pros: cheap, nice people

Cons: bad food

manuelllaser

Points +21

Vegetarian
23 May 2013

Not very happy

The good was the desert. Nice chocolate cake.
The bad one:
Burger too spicy and the salad was very bad, really it's look like quality went down.

Pros: good place, nice desert

Cons: salads are not so good, burger was very bad, the attention was not so good.

VeganYUMYUM

Points +106

Vegan
26 Dec 2012

ok

This place was fairly cheap and pretty quick, but the food was just so-so. If you are looking for yummy vegan food, this place probably isn't the best option. The menu looks exciting, but the food turns out to be fairly bland.

Pros: cheap, cute atmosphere

Poundie

Points +13129

Vegan
04 Aug 2012

Great fast food

Think McDonalds, except a million times better. This place serves nicely prepared, rather healthy, reasonably priced, and relatively fast food that you order at the counter. The place is clean, has a bathroom. Most of the food here is rather tasty, and the ingredients and calories are clearly labeled. It is not fair to compare this place to a gourment restarant--for a fast food place near Carnegie Hall/Columbus circle, this is truly a great find.
Updated from previous review on Thursday July 28, 2011

Pros: nice price, fast service, comfortable

AnnieTheCelery

Points +14

Mostly Veg
05 Mar 2012

Tasty-Quick/Friendly Service-Good options

This was a good find on Happy Cow and as my title explains, the restaurant had many food fusions that were creative and tasty. We received a complimentary chocolate mousse after ordering. (so smooth and rich- yum!) I ordered a Biryani dish that was good and my friends were happy with what they ordered. The seating is unique but there aren't many sets for larger groups. Afterwards, I needed to get something to go for a friend (who is a picky eater)and the staff was super friendly and helpful in choosing something to appeal to my friend's tastes. They were also talkative about their use of corn-based products for traveling/serving food and composting as well as the creation of the restaurant. Overall- it was a great experience and I would go back.

Pros: Inexpensive, Creative food fusion options, Friendly and Fast

Cons: Not much seating for groups

Meggie and Ben

Points +1786

Vegan
06 Jan 2012

yummy chiplets

Otarian has kind of a cafeteria-feel. Their meals are mix and match with combos all individually packaged. They are super environmentally friendly and they even analyze and can tell you the carbon footprint of all their menu items. When I first looked at the menu I was a bit surprised to see only 5-6 vegan entree options. There were no vegan desserts on the menu, but they did have some cakes in the pre-packaged food section.

I got one order of each kind of taco and a fruit cake, and my husband got the burger combo with sweet potato chiplets and a chocolate cake. I thought the tacos were pretty bland and I wasn't too happy with them (one was literally just corn, black beans, and lettuce in a tortilla shell--wtf). My husband's burger was really good and the chiplets were to die for. Both of the cakes were really yummy. Oh, and the prices were fantastic! The meals were filling and cheap.

Pros: Good burger, Chiplets are great

Cons: need more vegan options

Michael X. James

Points +945

Vegan
03 Nov 2011

Excellent fast food

Vegan options are labeled and the service is very helpful when trying to decide what to get. I got the mushroom quinoa burger and the potato spinach burger. Both were delicious! (The potato spinach was a little better). The sweet potato frites are interesting so I would recommended trying them out if you haven't before. Good food to grab on the go...got this while waiting to see a taping of the David Letterman show and it was great (both the food and the show).

FUZZYGUY828

Points +75

Vegan
19 Sep 2011

Good value for a small shop

Place was fast, clean and good menu. It reminded me too much of a fast food joint but, the food was good as well as the help. I would definitely go back.

Pros: Food , Staff, Location

Cons: Fast Food feel, Need more options, More greens

kennyp353

Points +1618

Vegetarian
14 May 2011

Surprisingly good

Having visited both London locations I didn't have high hopes for this one. But it wasn't as extortionate as London, and the food was surprisingly good. Today I had the lentil mushroom burger - the burger itself is kinda dry, but it didn't matter as it was swimming in a Big Mac Sauce substitute. French fries were perfect. Maybe I'll try the London one again now.

Pros: Amazing fries, Really filling, Good burger

Cons: Still kinda expensive, Closes early for NYC, You get to look at McDonalds as you eat

dandeliong

Points +20

Vegan
23 Jan 2011

First time, out of towner

Was visiting NYC for work and found this via happycow. Trekked through the icy streets for some good vegan food and wasn't disappointed. The counter staff was super friendly and explained my options for vegan food. They were out of the one vegan dessert, but I promised to come back for it next time I was in town. Had the portobello burger (vegan option) and sweet potato chiplettes. Very, very good.

Pros: Friendly staff, healthy cuisine, green-minded

Cons: Out of certain options




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