At the risk of dramatic flair, the Simons Center Cafe reminds me of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. I've witnessed the change over 6 years from the cafe having their own chefs—true artists—to being outsourced to Lessing’s, a large company that deals in weddings, restaurants, food service management, and hotels. Those chefs were already working for Lessing's, I think, but at least they were creative. I can confirm, for example, that the braised short rib and glazed salmon pictured below are served both at the Simons Center and also at weddings that they cater. It leads one to ponder capitalistic mass production and also whether antitrust laws could be applied to a monopoly like Lessing’s to break its stranglehold on Long Island. If you read the other reviews, note that those which are 3 or more years old refer to a time when the cafe was not operated in the current fashion. In my opinion, those should be treated as reviewing an entirely different entity, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario. Similarly, the research faculty and staff of the Simons Center are, obviously, employees of the Simons Center, whereas the staff of the cafe are employees of Lessing's. The research faculty and staff of the center know the cafe is a trap and often pack their own lunches. You'll almost never see undergrads dine here because their dining points are not accepted, the lunch is then prohibitively expensive, and the cafe employees intentionally deter them from using the space for studying even outside of lunch hour.
For those who weigh less than 140 lbs, eat enormous breakfasts, are in the mood to spend $25 on a small 2-course lunch that will only fill you if you eat four or five bread rolls, and also willing to suspend the belief that much of the food served could easily be cooked at home, the Simons Center is the perfect place for lunch. But the average weight of an adult man in the US is 180 lbs and meager portions will leave them in want. The stinginess of the portions is much discussed by returning visitors. On many separate occasions, I’ve heard postdocs and grad students remark that the portions are smaller than they remember. Since the center does host many conferences that I’ve been officially registered for with per diem funding and we also have a weekly seminar lunch (again, funded by a generous faculty member's grant), I have been able to document their portions without having to pay the exorbitant prices.
The following photos supply evidence; in each, I have not yet eaten so what you see is exactly what I got. Note the coin for comparison of the portion sizes; either the US quarter or Canadian 2 dollar. For instance, on three occasions with carrots, I received only three carrots, showing that it wasn't a one-off event. Or note that there are only six green beans in another photo (my friend got five). Or compare the amount of watermelon in one salad vs the other. Or note that the braised short rib could be approximately covered by 4 US quarters. Also, I am no food expert but this food seems standard American (or western European, if you must), not culturally diverse. Certainly, the menu hardly varies over the course of many months; I'll say they have ~10 entrees in rotation with room for only small variations (see the repeat steak). Of course, a research center with a cafe shouldn't be expected to have the breadth of a restaurant but the cafe at the IAS in Princeton at least has some culturally diverse meals.
One of the other reviews from the past year (with several photos) depicts trays of muffins and desserts. These are only available to conference participants at tea time or banquets. Also, high turnover rate for employees. Once, I thought conference participants could have coffee but they said locals can't have it and I had to dump it.
To summarize, I grant that a subset of the food might be tasty but in my opinion, it is highly overrated and the cost of living is high enough on Long Island. Don’t waste it at the Simons Center Cafe, especially if you don't wish to support a monopoly like Lessing's.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 2
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4
Pretty decent coffee, and a beautiful atmosphere.
If you're looking to sit and have a cup of coffee while doing some work on your laptop, you should find some place else to go, though.
While it's nowhere explicitly stated (neither in the restaurant nor on the website), I was informed by one of the staff that you are not allowed to sit in the cafe unless you order food.
(It should be noted that I am a grad student in the Math Dept. at Stony Brook, so I imagine there are very few exceptions to this rule.)
They should really post this rule somewhere in the cafe.
Staff are incredible and always make the meals perfect. I had a crab cake and it was made fresh and had nice salad for a side meal. The pumpkin and flowers for table decorations added a nice ambience to the fall season. Over looking the cafe is a wonderful view of a courtyard. This cafe is a great location for treating a friend out to lunch or having a lunch meeting.
