The Migrant Kitchen Upper East Side

A limited menu but all dishes were exceptional. The humus was a great appetizer and both th salmon and pork were delicious.. we didn’t have to wait long for our order and the service was exceptional. Thank you for coming to our neighborhood !

Discovered new spot for my lunch. Great salmon special bowl with salad and tasty potato wedges. Very friendly and helpful staff. Definitely will be coming back.

I went to Migrant Kitchen for lunch on my NYC vacation and had an absolutely delicious lamb torta. They included a free empanada and dip on the side for both. Both the torta and empanada were high quality, tasty, and filling without being too greasy. The staff were kind and there were good vegetarian options! Definitely recommend as a lunch spot.

I loved this place!! 😍😍 They had a “Free coffee on us” offer so they offered the coffe right after entering the place. I ordered a pork bowl with a side of potato wedges, and also some empanadas. My sister trief the roasted chicken one and she loved it too. Great portion size too. Try the hibiscus iced tea, it’s amazing. I would 100% come back!

Decent wraps. But the chicken sandwich and nice customer service will get me to come back every time! And… their salads are awesome too! Repeat customer for sure!

This meal was top tier - and without a doubt the most thoughtful fusion restaurant I’ve ever been to. We had the empanadas, the lamb torta, and the chicken. All of them were unbelievable *chef’s kiss*. Also dope that they donate a meal each time you buy something. It’s an awesome meal, and something surprisingly unique in a city like NYC. It’s worth it - I promise.

This is the second time I have eaten here and everything has been delicious. I had the carnitas wrap and Lamb Empanada the first time and both were full of flavor and so I went for the Chicken Sandwich and Chicken Empanada the second time and it was just as delicious and again full of flavor. The free Cucumber Lemonade I was given was a really nice touch too and all of this in a good cause as well. Great addition to the UES and really friendly staff as well.

I ordered cauliflower wrap. It came with a side of salad. Food was fresh and delicious.

The Migrant Kitchen is based on a great business philosophy. It's so good for the city of New York. There's plenty of choices and it's a good value for the quality and quality of the meal. My problem is allergies. There's far too many ingredients that will give me a bad reaction. Plus other ingredients that I don't know if I'm sensitive to if I eat them. I do want to say that the environment is clean and comfortable. The manager is very nice and accommodating to Yelpers. You can tell by the reviews that Yelpers that enjoy multi cultural foods really enjoy the Migrant Kitchen. I'm recommending this location.

--Location/Parking-- Located on the north side. Only New York street parking from what I can see. --Ambience-- When you walk in it reminds you of a phone store with its neon light and minimal dressing. The small space and the décor. I missed the menu and I had to ask the staff about It on the wall. --Service/Staff-- There was only one staff working and it was quiet for a Sunday afternoon. He was friendly and brought out my food when I was waiting outside by the sidewalk. --Food/Products-- I saw this place on Tiktok because of the empanadas. I ordered the Mushroom & Spinach and the Sausage & Egg and Cheese. Basically, what was left in the afternoon. The empanadas were average at best. Nothing spoke out that would make me want to come back and try the other empanadas. Small selection of drinks to choose from --Capacity-- Small space, typical New York size. Inside only had bar style seating. I chose to sit outside where there tables and chairs. --Overall-- I might go back and give it another go based on other reviews, but my experience was nothing to write home about.

I tried them during the winter village, and everything I ordered was pretty good. I ordered the horchata latte which is indeed sweet so I couldn't take too many sips, but tempered by the espresso in it (and I'm not even a coffee drinker) as well as the hibiscus tea which had just enough sweetness to balance the drink out. I'd get both again. I also ordered the loaded halloumi fries, which paired nicely with the meat and other toppings.

We were greeted so warmly when we arrived-- it truly made all the difference in the world. The cashier took the time to ask us if it was our first time here (it was) and whether we wanted any recommendations (we did). I ordered a drink and asked whether they preferred the cucumber mint lemonade or the hibiscus iced tea and they said "why not both?" So they gave me a cup of half and half which was super refreshing! I ended up getting the grilled chicken sandwich upon their recommendation. Overall, the sandwich was just okay-- the chicken was a bit dry-- but the bread was soft and the flavors went together very well, especially with the garlic whip. I probably wouldn't get it again, though, and might opt for the lamb torta (which my friend LOVED) or some of the empanadas. It was really the service that brought this review up! My friend and I sat at the bar-like seating that they have and the cashier brought our food to us, then took our trays from us when we were done. We thought them taking our trays was a sign that they wanted us to leave but they reassured us that we should take our time sitting and talking. I'd love to come back, keep supporting this small business, and give it another try!

I'm a sucker for a good social enterprise, so it's not a surprise I love Migrant Kitchen for takeout on the UES and UWS! Sure, veg options are limited, but they're solid! If you ask nicely the chef will make the halloumi chorizo bowl without chorizo - it's still substantial as a vegetarian main. Don't miss the mushroom spinach mozzarella empanadas or street corn either. For the the omnivorous, try the zaatar salmon bowl and the roasted pork bowl. Order extra and feel good about supporting a great cause!!

Great food with a great mission! Giving 4 stars for now so I can update later with 5 stars and have an excuse to try out their revamped menu with more food sensitive options! I wish I could give 4.75 stars right now but alas... yelp is a harsh mistress with only 4 or 5 options lol This place was excellent for normal food eaters and one of the owners was so gracious! He offered us delightful snacks and was incredibly welcoming. The space is tiny and hard to eat inside when busy but they seem to do very well with deliveries and have a convenient location. Atmosphere is clean, inviting, vibrant, efficient, and minimalist. I really hope they do well and continue to strengthen their customer base. Check out their website, they really try to create community and build up others in need!

Stopped by for a quite bite & break from shopping. Asked the cashier which sandwich was the best on their menu. He recommended the lamb torta, so that's what's I got. His recommendation was spot on and did not disappoint. The flavors of the meat were tender and delicious. The bread added the perfect small crunch. I wish the portion size was a bit larger and more filling. If you're hungry for a full meal you'd probably need to order a side or something else with the sandwich.

Must try: Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Carnitas Shawarma Wrap! Why: The Crispy Chicken Sandwich was my fav part of the meal. The chicken, pickles, and whip packed in a za'atar roll was delicious! I appreciate how big the sandwich was with a large piece of crispy chicken and long sliced pickles. There's something very special about their whip sauce - I loved it! The Carnitas Shawarma Wrap was also amazing. Slow roasted smoke pork was tender and juicy, and it was packed with veggies and topped with chipotle salsa. Mmm! We also had an empanada, mac & cheese, street corn, roasted potatoes. They all tasted great too and were excellent sides to our sandwich and wrap. Notes: Delivery was pretty fast. They have other items I'd like to try like their bowls and hummus. They also do family meals, which seems like a great deal.

Might be the best hummus on the UES. Love the pita chips that come with it although there are not enough for all that yummy hummus. I haven't tried anything else yet but I will!

Ordered the za'atar salmon and it was great. I would have liked if there were more carbs (i.e rice) but the potatoes were great as well. The lemon-y sauce worked very well with the flavorful salmon and the garlic whip was not necessarily needed but a nice touch.

I'm all for supporting local business and with a birthday reward, I was about to afford one of their more expensive bowls since I've been eyeing their zataar crusted salmon for a long time. Due to my time constraints, I had to communicate with the team (via IG and phone) so my food would be ready when arrived. The UES staff is so friendly and helpful. Despite some issues with my gift code, the young lady didn't give me any issue and was so patient and just took down my code number and honored the discount anyway. Obviously, they deserve a good tip because they are our essential workers, Covid or not. I really appreciate their hardwork and also the IG team communicating with me. The salmon is delicious, I did it without the chimichurri as it's already flavorful (to me). Also ordered a side of turmeric rice. The spice is more for the color than taste, but you know, for health, turmeric has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties :) Thanks for making my day feel special. Really needed it as life does get hard.

Friendly service. Ryan provided professional efficient service. (4.25.22 5:45pm) Delicious meaty Empanada. I got the lamb-- yum! Plus the sauce, mint yogurt... perfectly spiced!

Short initial visit, but the veggie and lamb empanadas were both great, and the hummus was really outstanding -- I'm usually not a huge chimichurri fan but they really nailed it here. The pita chips on the side were excellent as well.

Good food. Prices have gone up recently. I miss the roasted potatoes and wish there were more vegetarian options, but the Mac and cheese is excellent.

I stumbled upon this small hole in the wall and I'll definitely be a regular. The spicy fried chicken sandwich and Mac and cheese were amazing. The lamb empanada with the spicy Diablo sauce was epic.

Expected much more from the reviews I saw. Ordered the spicy chicken Sandwich, chicken empanada, cheese/mushroom/spinach empanada, and the hummus. Everything came cold and had to be reheated. The spicy chicken sandwich wasn't on the homemade zatar roll, instead on a brioche bun. The taste of this wasn't very strong or spicy. I could taste the pickle and pickled jalapeño but it wasn't spicy. The chicken itself had a good texture and wasn't dry but it's flavoring wasn't very strong. Definitely didn't look like it's shown on DoorDash. The chicken empanada was also bland. The veggie empanada was better and even better dipped in the green sauce. The hummus was by far the best and is the reason for the stars given. It had enough lemon juice and salt. The topping also gave it a hightened flavor. Order also came very late.

I got the za"atar salmon warm bowl. The bowl had a nice hunk of juicy salmon, but it was way over salted and difficult to finish without a liter of water. Potatoes were also over salted. Additionally, at this price point some rice would have been nice!

The food, service and ambiance is excellent. The hard working staff has the best attitude even when it's crowded and they have worn their shoes to the ground. The food is always fresh even when I come in the day and at night. This restaurant turned me into a veggie eater especially the beets. I always bring my friends here for a good and filling meal.

Yummy! Love the different dishes and flavors , and like any dish with that chili whip.

Check out went out to New York for the weekend Ordered the cheese and mushroom empanada it was delicious. Picked it up Matt Ryan really nice and they gave me a discount coupon for the next time I come back

Good food! Had the Za'atar salmon and it was a warm delicious lunch meal. Clean restaurant and friendly staff.

Good food great service. My husband and I really enjoyed the chicken sandwich here. It was well seasoned and a good crispy chicken sandwich to go to when craving one. We weren't fans of the shawarma. It was more like room temp when we dug in and it didn't have memorable flavor. The size of the shawarma was huge though. We also got a cucumber drink on the house. My husband went to pick up the order and commented how helpful and friendly the service was here.

The crispy chicken sandwich and lemonade was delicious. The crispy chicken sandwich was perfectly crispy on outside and soft and juicy on the inside. If you are looking for a lemonade that is not overly sweet def get it from the migrant kitchen. There is a few tables outside so you can sit and enjoy your meal.

Not a restaurant, but a great fast food place ... while it has more than empanadas, that was the dish I went for so I can't really opine on much else. I don't know what i qualify this as, but certainly not a restaurant. What I had ... Lamb empanada ... the meat was very bland and not soft or juicy. The dough was good (as was for all the other empanadas in my review), but this filling wouldn't be a repeat for me. Chicken empanada ... totally a repeat! The meat was juicy and soooo tasty I wish I'd had another one. Mushroom, spinach and cheese ... very good. If I were to pick on something is that combination of mushroom and spinach inside the dough can get a little gooey and may not be the best of textures, but the taste was really good which made up for texture. Would repeat if I had to. Service and ambiance not really worth commenting as it's a tiny locale with a few tables. Not really worth sitting, but rather more of a take out place. Will definitely be coming back.

I've only had the empanadas so far but they are EXCELLENT! Slow cooked shredded lamb or chicken, not cheap ground meat. Great sauces, too! By far the best empanadas in the UES. Will be coming back to try all the other delicious food on the menu!

Solid meal. Had the spicy chicken sandwich, Southern palli salad and 2 empanadas. All great and Nice sized servings. Salad was very fresh with unexpected greens line watercress. Good luck to this new place and "I'll be back"

Very tasty food with a wide variety of items to choose from, including vegetarian. Excellent service and the food is prepared quickly and and provides an extraordinary value. Highly recommend! So

Horrible customer service. I ordered food for my friend who was sick and it never arrived. It then took 4 phone call and 5 emails to first try to get the order delivered and then eventually to get a refund as they were not able to figure out how to deliver it to her even though that is an option on their website. They still did not even refund the tip I added to the delivery I never received. I can't speak about the food as I never received it but was very frustrated about how much time I wasted talking to them and that my friend never got her lunch when she could have particularly used it.

The place is small but clean and the service was good. We tried the pork wrap and wasn't too happy with it. It had a lot of meat but lacking in taste. In addition, the food didn't agree with our stomachs and I will leave it at that.

What an absolute gem this place is. Totally unassuming, it looks like a takeout hole in the wall, but the food is fresh, flavorful, interesting, and great bang for the buck. Some of it is Latin American, some of it is Middle Eastern. Everything I've tried has been delicious. The roasted chicken bowl offers a large portion of food I'd be happy to eat in a much snazzier sit-down restaurant. The only empanada I've tried is the mushroom, spinach, and cheese one, but the filling was cravable, and I'll try all the others for that thin, flaky crust. The slow roasted smoked pork bowl was also tasty and satisfying, as well as enough food for two people eating lunch. It's rare to see a place like this that so honors the ingredients (or has ingredients worth honoring), but everything has been fresh and delicious, from salad to bowls. Their condiments have also all been notably great. I could eat a whole bowl of the garlic whip. It's a great addition to the neighborhood, and I'm excited to try even more of their menu.

I ordered the roast chicken bowl and the cucumber mint lemonade. Cost of meal = under $20. Food was flavorful and fresh, the side sauces were wonderful, and the portion size was perfect. Would definitely recommend this place!

Such a great business with equally delicious food! I was intrigued when I heard the back story of how this business was founded and about their philosophy. The work that they do is inspiring and is such a unique food spot unlike anything else I've heard of! I ordered the chicken sandwich and an empanada, and both were very tasty! I enjoyed my meal a lot and have already been recommending it to others to try! Will definitely be coming back soon!

Unfortunately, the food doesn't taste good enough to justify the over pricing & small portions.

Love the idea of this restaurant but poorly executed. Food doesn't look like photos or as described and the staff is rude.

I really wanted to like this place as it is a newer place on the UES and I want to support small and local. However, my grilled chicken sandwich was the saddest excuse for a sandwich. The avocado was harder than an apple, the chicken was so salty and completely dried out and the bread was too hard to bite into. It was way to expensive not to be at least edible.

Pretty solid. Food came fast. I ordered a chicken sandwich on a roll, it was good if the chicken might have been a little dried out. Also went with the hummus which had a green herb sauce, maybe chimichurri with olive oil. I enjoyed it with the ultra thin pita chips. They have a nice menu, I am going to check out some more of it. It hit the spot when I was hungry.

Soggy & Tasteless was so disappointed as so much hype and after tasting one bite out of each flavor, I through them away.

This meal was top tier - and without a doubt the most thoughtful fusion restaurant I've ever been to. We had the empanadas, the lamb torta, and the chicken. All of them were unbelievable *chef's kiss*. Also dope that they donate a meal each time you buy something. It's an awesome meal, and something surprisingly unique in a city like NYC. It's worth it - I promise.

I loved the food and warm greeting. I got a sausage egg cheese empanada, and a cucumber lemonade on the house! Really friendly staff and a great cause.

So glad we finally tried this place! We ordered the lamb torta, spicy chicken sandwich and the corn. While I see several raving reviews about the torta and sandwich, don't skip out on the corn. It was delicious and gloriously covered in cotija cheese!

Delicious food and such friendly service! The empanadas and corn were great I can't wait to explore more if the menu!

The chicken and turmeric rice are our go to family dinner! My kids also love the empanadas.

This was a fantastic place to get lunch. As a lover of Latin style tortas, my partner and I each had their Lamb torta and thought the meet was well braised and a great twist to a classic for me.

Very clearly asked for no pickles on the sandwich because I am unable to eat them. Got home and tons of pickles were on it anyways. Waste of money because they didn't follow requests even after repeating it back

Had the salmon bowl and the crispy chicken - both excellent. So glad they opened on the UES

Ordered several platters for a birthday party and they were all fantastic! Carnitas shawarma wraps and hummus were particular favorites of all guests. Food showed up exactly on time, looked lovely and I think it's great that they donate to food insecure. This is my new go to for casual catering! Thanks Migrant Ktichen!

Wanted to like this place! Great mission and menu, but my wrap wasn't very good. The cauliflower was barely cooked, the tahini was bitter and salty, and the wrap was stale and not wrapped properly.

We stopped by for their lamb torta and it lived up to the Time Out review. The meat was flavorful and tender, and the toppings were great. Would totally come back for more.

We love hummus kitchen! The service is great! The Food is amazing, the Hummus is mouth watering, the shakshuka is on point, highly recommend :)