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

INTJ_mara

Points +578

Vegan
03 Nov 2024

Great cheese.

This vegan cheese stand is located inside the Essex Market. They have a pretty impressive selection of vegan cheese. They’ll let you sample whatever you want. Don’t miss this!

SoyKal-El

Points +4940

Vegan
20 Oct 2024

Best vegan cheese

This location doesn’t compare to their OG deli in Austin because it’s just a vendor stall, but it’s still nice to have access to (imo) the best vegan cheese.

Pro tip - get a flight of cheeses and the gf crackers (skip the toast)

Ad3le

Points +173

Vegan
14 Oct 2024

How freaking cool

What an amazing selection of all vegan cheeses! The stuff of dreams! I really loved that there was a little basket of tasting-sized cheeses. Yum.

xbleedcurrentx

Points +591

Vegan
23 Jul 2024

Great selection

Absolutely huge selection. I got a flight of 3 cheeses which I don’t recommend. It comes with cheese, crackers, and jam but the cracker ratio is way off and I ended up eating cheese plain. It also really needed olives or something pickled. I really hated the crackers, they were like mini stale toasts.

sunniedarko

Points +132

Vegan
02 Jul 2024

Cheese paradise 🤤

No matter what you buy at this place, everything will be delicious for sure! We chose 3 cheese flights and they serve it with jam and crackers. Unfortunately it is a bit expensive and we couldn't taste more, but it is a must visit for me!

Updated from previous review on 2024-07-02

Pros: Cheese variety, Helpful service

Cons: Bit expensive

EABessel

Points +1257

Vegan
17 Jun 2024

Incredible selection

Conveniently located in the new Essex Market, Rebel Cheese offers a varied range of vegan cheese from near and far. I gravitate toward cheese with a rind and was impressed with the two types of “blue” they had available. I found the Nutty Artisan Foods Creamery (Spain) to be more nuanced and less salty than the Nourish (USA). Recommended.

guybraverman

Points +908

Vegan
01 Jun 2024

Vegan cheese

Largest selection of plant based cheeses I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Really nice service and affordable prices. If you’re a vegan and come by here you should definitely check this place out. They all ship nation wide out of their Texas location. As for texture and flavor, still nowhere near dairy cheese, but some of the best I’ve tried so far.

EmdotAlice

Points +4620

Vegan
07 May 2024

Worth trying

We got a flight to try some new cheeses we haven’t had before. We got the truffle Brie, cranberry dill no-goat, and triple peppercorn chèvre. We didn’t care for the peppercorn chèvre. I thought it would be tangy like chèvre but it was way too mild and rather bland. The others were good though. We recommend the truffle Brie in particular, especially if you like truffle.

Pro tip: If you get a flight, I recommend getting the seeded crackers. At first we almost passed on these because they described them as gluten free, and we like gluten, but they said the other crackers were “basically cheezits”, so go for the seeds.

Pros: Large variety

Cons: Could have used some help selecting cheeses

vegandinosaur

Points +386

Vegan
24 Dec 2023

I dream of the brie

Ok so as mentioned elsewhere I have strong opinions on vegan cheese. But this place never disappoints. I love the Rebel Brie but I will try anything they recommend — they’re super friendly and knowledgeable. Also the selection is incredible — I’ve never seen anything like it.

Pros: Hella options, Brie

Galini

Points +3717

Vegan
01 Dec 2023

Huge selection of vegan cheese

A huge selection!! I had a hard one with pepper and it was really great!! The staff is very kind and helpful!

thinkingaboutcows

Points +514

Vegan
11 Nov 2023

Genuinely OBSESSED

Their selection is incredible, the cheeses are so unique and good, and it’s not even that expensive considering. Please please go!!!!

Prajna

Points +5850

Vegan
27 Jul 2023

Heaven!!!!!!!! Omgosh!!

Amazing. This place is incredible! They have about forty types of cheeses on any given day! They are not only beautiful, but also delicious!!!!
I’m leaving nyc today, and was just there for the first time. If I had gone before I would’ve come back every single day!!

·X·

Points +21078

Vegan
03 Jul 2023

Riverdel

My only question is: Why didn't I visit this place any sooner????????

THIS IS THE MOST VEGAN CHEESE I'VE SEEN IN A DISPLAY IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!

Dear God...the options available here are so amazing. I absolutely loved all the soft cheeses I purchased from here (except the rosemary one, but that's personal preference). Not to mention, all the truffle cheeses (my favorite flavor) were 100% delicious.

They don't do samples here...but if they did, they probably would have gotten me to buy even more. I appreciate the lack of samples for the sake of my waistline! 😂

Updated from previous review on 2023-07-03

adalea

Points +1151

Vegan
02 Jun 2023

Very fancy

Gourmet vegan cheese place. Pretty expensive but delicious. Would only come from time to time because it’s pricey.

Pros: all vegan

DawnRice

Points +1167

Vegan
28 Mar 2023

Say Cheese!

Such an amazing find! Riverdel had an extensive selection of vegan cheeses and numerous other vegan products. I ordered the five cheese plate with crackers & jam and added some meat slices and olives. Every bite was delicious. The friendly and extremely helpful young lady that was working there made some excellent suggestions and I tried the truffle brie, fig, cracked pepper & dill, a cheddar, and an herb cheese.

The cheeses are from vendors throughout the US. They also had packaged vegan items and fresh desserts, which were very tempting. I also tried the Kombucha and it was unique and tasty.

Pros: Amazing selection, Great service, Great for a snack or a meal

Kerrymichigan

Points +88

Vegan
18 Feb 2023

Vegan cheese and meats

This was wonderful place to visit on our trip to NYC! Bought small wedges of cheese and enjoyed visiting Essex market.

woodlewis

Points +476

Vegan
19 Jan 2023

Gorgeous, wide variety

It is stunning to see the creativity and beauty of these cheeses! Really nice selection of crackers and other tasty treats to go with the cheese. Small selection of lovely sweets like cannoli!

Ramy94

Points +134

Vegan
11 Jan 2023

More cheeses than I thought possible

I've been here twice and tried a multitude of cheeses. They've all been delicious. I always get a flight so I can try 5 different cheeses at once, but I'm planning to start buying blocks soon. I especially love the havarti dill and olive oil feta.

Pros: So many cheeses, Great/rare pantry products for purchase, Excellent service

Cons: Expensive

VeganFamilyTravels

Points +1813

Vegan
06 Jan 2023

Great selection of cheese

We travelled from England and this was the first place we went to as we were so excited about a vegan cheese store. As the founder and admin of Vegan Cheese Lovers Club and have made and sold lots of vegan cheese, we always love chatting, tasting and seeing vegan cheese. Whilst the amount of cheese and variety was impressive, the service was underwhelming. We asked for opinions, gave examples of what we liked and was just shown to some bits that had been packaged up earlier. The server was not keen to talk or passionate about the product. We had to go off the labels but had no clue on the product base and limited idea of it's softness or firmness. The three we chose were nice but softened really quickly so were spreadable rather than sliceable. The garlic one was our favourite. For the price I would expect better service. #Veganuary

Pros: Lots of vegan cheese, Selection of associated products

Cons: Lack of customer service, Expensive

Izzy234

Points +1640

Vegan
30 Nov 2022

Unreal!!!

A fully vegan cheese deli with loads of different artisanal cheeses... this place is heaven for vegan foodies!

The guy working behind the counter was really nice and made some fantastic selections for me based on my preferences. Everything was SO GOOD!

You MUST go here if you're in NYC.

Pros: TONS OF VEGAN CHEESE!!!, Convenient location - near lots of vegan places , Friendly service

Cons: Nowhere to sit

Yuna_X

Points +689

Vegan
04 Nov 2022

Wish it had sandwiches

I saw a really yummy looking sandwich on happy cow but when I got there they didn't have any and it didn't seem like they made them anymore. I got a cheese sampler and it was pretty good but kind of a meh experience to eat it from a to-go container. I was hoping to get something substantial but had to settle for a snack. Cheese was good but if I were a local I'd just buy the cheeses instead of the sampler and eat it at home with my own crackers and fruit!

Pros: Yummy cheese and huge variety

Cons: No meal options like sandwiches

NickTustin

Points +957

Herbivore
20 Jul 2022

Would like to try again

Love that this place exists, would definitely like to try more, but we tried the cheese balls sampler and they were just okay. One variety was clearly very stale, we couldn't finish.

IwaWella

Points +1249

Mostly Veg
25 May 2022

Incredible

A vegan cheese shop such a niche place and yet it’s one of my favorite places to buy food in New York City

paypar

Points +800

Vegan
23 Apr 2022

Cheeze heaven

Died and gone to vegan cheese heaven! I did the three tastings and it was so hard to choose but the person behind the counter helped me by asking what my likes were and sharing their own experiences.

Pros: All vegan, Not just cheese!

Cons: No place to sit and enjoy, Hard to choose

mazinha

Points +303

Vegan
27 Mar 2022

Blue Cheese!!!

I’ve been looking for a vegan blue cheese for over 5 years.. the search is finally over! I looked for one everywhere in California and could only get the spirulina ones that look blue but taste like cashews, even decided to make my own (with very little success). Billy Blue is the real deal with the perfect creamy texture and pungent flavor.

We also got cheeses from rebel and they were also delicious. Finally feel like I don’t need to compromise by deciding to not hurt cows. Happy vegan!

Pros: Lots of options , All 3 we tried were delicious , Helpful staff

Cons: None

GFGoldenLady

Points +2005

Vegan
13 Feb 2022

Amazing vegan cheese!

I was totally blown away by the section of cheeses available and the staff were quite knowledgeable as well.

Left with a few pieces of cut off cheeses when ch in my opinion is a great way to sample!

Pros: All vegan , Artisan cheeses , Superb selection

Cons: Blue cheeses are made with spirulina for effect

GF Cookie Monster

Points +872

Vegan
14 Jan 2022

Finally! An all-vegan cheese store

Fresh vegan cheeses cut while you watch. Plus pre-packaged cheeses and other vegan specialty grocery items. The made to order sandwiches are very affordable. The cheeses, on the other hand, are really expensive, but the quality is outstanding. Most of the cheeses themselves are gluten-free. And there is a gluten-free bread option for the sandwiches.

Riverdel is on the Lower East Side, INSIDE the Essex Market. Most of the vendors in the market are not all vegan, but many have some vegan options. If you're visiting NYC, this is right next to the awesome Tenement Museum.

Pros: Gluten-free options, Affordable sandwiches, High quality, artisanal vegan cheeses

Cons: Expensive (but worth it)




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