American
Fast food
Take-out

Stall 35 inside the market. Sells vegan cheeses and dairy-free foods, plus made-to-order sandwiches, pastries & coffee. For takeaway. Previously called Riverdel. Reported under new ownership February 2024. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-7:00pm, Sat 10:00am-7:00pm, Sun 10:00am-6:00pm.


Venue map for Rebel Cheese
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47 Reviews

First Review by ManhattanTransfer

drquayle

Points +738

Vegan
30 Aug 2021

Solid

Vegan cheeses generally upset my stomach. The cheese here doesn't, though – it tastes and feels more natural to me than store bought options. Also just really fun spot to visit.

Updated from previous review on 2021-02-12

Pros: All vegan, Nice alternative to store bought vegan cheese

Cons: Not a huge fan of vegan cheeses, personally

LisaSpykers

Points +7962

Vegan
22 Aug 2021

Delicious but really pricey

I bought 3 cheese wedges: picante, a blue cheese, and a sharp cheddar. The taste is a step up from other cheese wheels I've tried but the price is mind-blowing ($11) for the teeny wedge you get. I'm glad I got to try this place, but it isn't a place I can afford to frequent. Note that the cheeses can't be left out of the fridge too long or they become a soft mess.

Pros: Lots of variety

Cons: Very expensive

mramericano

Points +175

Vegan
20 Aug 2021

RIVERDEL!

This is the place for vegan cheese! What an impressive selection of cheeses - they specialize in having whole wheels of cheese cut and weighed to order - very much in a traditional cheesemonger style. They also have some good prepackaged cheese options along with vegan meets, sauces, unique jams, tofus, and baked goods. They have a couple of sandwich options too.

Updated from previous review on 2021-08-20

Pros: Cheese!!!, Helpful, friendly staff

Cons: Inexpensive

jrfishe1

Points +448

Vegan
28 Jul 2021

Great service and great cheese

We had such a great experience here; Clauditte was exceptionally patient with all our questions and have us great information and advice about the cheeses. We bought 7 samples and then bought a pound of our favorites (the house picante, Reine sharp cheddar, Rind lapsang, and Conscious Creamery maverick). They are in stall 35 on the ground floor (the one where you enter).

wanderinggabs

Points +186

Herbivore
06 Jul 2021

All the Cheeze

Amazing selection of vegan cheese for every occasion, helpful staff. They also have a good selection of packaged cheeses, “meats” and sauces/ dips.

Updated from previous review on 2020-11-19


Updated from previous review on 2021-05-08

yasmin1818

Points +911

Vegan
29 Apr 2021

Who doesn’t love vegan cheese

Amazing vegan cheese shop! 🧀

szczupak

Points +86

Vegan
22 Feb 2021

Good cheese, wide range of other vegan products

I came to Riverdel in person once, and the people there were very friendly and gave recommendations on cheeses to try. Also, my spouse's employer organized a cheese tasting as a holiday activity and ordered a Christmas box for him, full of great products as well. I particularly enjoyed the Camblue and cranberry blue cheese made by Rind.

Pros: Many options for vegan cheese, artisan products, Nice staff

Cons: A bit expensive like all artisan vegan products

gabandtonic

Points +3011

Vegan
16 Dec 2020

The original vegan cheese monger..

Riverdel is simply the best, what else is there to say? I was heartbroken when their prospect heights location shut down. They are the go-to vegan spot in NYC for cheese. Their cheeses can't be compared to anything else. The selection is incredible. I definitely spend an insane amount of money here and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Everyone who works there is beyond lovely. All of their cooking classes benefit a farm sanctuary. They are just the epitome of vegan awesomeness. If you are in NYC this is a must!

Pros: Everything, Riverdel is the best

JJones315

Points +2169

Herbivore
06 Jan 2020

Vegan outpost in Essex Market

Let me state upfront that, because of health reasons, I rarely eat vegan cheese. That said, Riverdel also has baked goods and groceries. At this first trip I had a truly delicious slice of pumpkin bread (which they kindly heated up for me) and I bought a bottle of vegan fish sauce (who knew?!). The service was appropriate, though not speedy by any means. I’ll be back next time I’m at ExMk.

Pros: 100% vegan, Nice selection of vegan food stuffs, Great location

martint

Points +8318

Vegan
01 Dec 2019

Not worth the hype

The cheeses are verty impressive, no doubt. Unfortunatelly I couldn't get any so I ordered the "signature McDel" which decepcioned me a lot. A very small sandwich with bland slice of tomato, some lettuce and tofu, nothing more. If this is the "signature" meal, I do not want to get to know others... Totally below expectations

Pros: A lot of variety of cheeses

Cons: Expensive, Flavourless sandwich

kmanchester306

Points +837

Vegan
10 Nov 2019

Rude staff

Finally had a chance to visit Riverdel's Manhattan location today, and wow, wish I never did! I thought the staff at the Brooklyn location was unwelcoming, until I came to the Essex Market space.

My husband and I were in line to order. The women behind the counter were chatting up some guy (I'm guessing they knew) in front of us in line, asking him to try whatever chips he was snacking on and pretty much ignoring everyone else. They then proceed to skip over us in line and ask the man behind us what he would like to order. Once they were done chatting with their friend and serving the people behind us, they finally decided to wait on us. We were planning on purchasing Impossible burger and multiple cheeses, but after that experience, we decided to only purchase a small serving of Impossible burger (we've been looking to try Impossible at home!) and not buy anything else.

Riverdel: please train your employees on customer service. We ended up walking the three short blocks to the other vegan shop and spending $50 on their products because they're friendly and serve people in line appropriately. So disappointing. I want to continue supporting this business, but the service is just not friendly enough for me to do so anymore.

quarrygirl

Points +1725

Vegan
01 Nov 2019

Great breakfast sandwich!

Excellent spot in the market to grab a breakfast sandwich. I got The McDel, which comes with tofu egg, bacon, cheese with dijonaise , greens, tomatoes, whole-wheat English muffin. Would rate that sandwich 10/10.

Pros: Delicious , All vegan, Quick

vegangyy

Points +752

Vegan
25 Oct 2019

Awesome cheese

If your looking for a quick sandwich or deli style place, this is it. They also make their own cheese and it’s wonderful! Highly recommend checking them out if you enjoy cheese

Pros: Quick

wardrive

Points +122

Vegan
16 Oct 2019

Best cheese in NYC

I made a quick stop at Riverdale for lunch today. I got a ham and cheese croissant and it was fantastic. Amazing food and fancy cheese. Staff was very friendly. Sandwiches were priced reasonably. I'll definitely be back again.

Pros: 100% vegan

Cons: Limited seating upstairs during lunch rush.

ElizabethMae

Points +421

Vegan
08 Oct 2019

The best

There are no words.
But I will try.
The selection was amazing. The people are nice. You can taste anything. I loaded up my suitcase before getting on a plane. If it weren’t 100% vegan I would have some serious concerns that my blue/Camembert wasn’t vegan because it was incredibly tangy and tasted straight out of France. I can’t wait to go back.

FranciscoVazquez

Points +289

Vegan
21 Sep 2019

Delicious, great service!

Food here is great, and the service is awesome also, but there’s no obvious place to sit

Pros: Lot of options, Great service

Cons: No evident place to sit

sachboo

Points +44

Vegan
17 Sep 2019

Amazing grilled cheese

Awesome array of vegan cheeses and other specialty vegan products. Great sandwiches too

perenialist

Points +174

Vegan
25 Aug 2019

Wholey vegan cheese!

This is a place that vegan dreams are made of. Such cheese selection! Such vegan snacks! Wish this was closer or that they’d open a second location Queens (:

Poundie

Points +15409

Vegan
08 Aug 2019

Great vegan cheese

This is a small store that sells vegan cheeses and sandwiches, located within the Essex market, a type of food-court/mall. They have a large selection of vegan cheeses and a few other vegan items. Though listed as a store on Happy Cow, this could also have been listed as a restaurant, since it offers six types of sandwiches--you can order the sandwich, plus order a drink at another place in the Essex Market, and then go upstair where there is plenty of comfortable seating (and their are plenty of other vegan items offered by other venues within the Essex Market).

Pros: Great tasting food, Vegan cheese

Cons: Not inexpensive

ManhattanTransfer

Points +194

Vegan
18 May 2019

Awesome grilled cheese!

Quick and fast grilled cheese from all vegan cheese purveyor.

Pros: Great location., Fast!

Cons: A little pricey but with it.




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