08/21/09

Love, Love, Love it!

by CelestialNYC

My friend and I randomly decided to give this place a try after doing a search online for a place to eat around LES. So glad we did! We came on a Tuesday night, was pretty empty when we got there around 7 pm but more people filled in later on. It's small and charming, very quaint inside. There is small outdoor seating in the front. Service was fine, there was only one waitress/hostess there the night we went and didn't have any problems. She was quite knowledgable on wine recommendations and we each had the special of the day. I had the duck confit (2 legs) w mashed potatoes. It was incredible! The flavor was so good, and the meat was very tender and moist. The potatoes were creamy. I tend to get duck a lot when I see it on the menu and this one was the best duck meals I've had. My friend had the Chilean sea bass which was also deliciously tender and full of flavor. I would totally come back and try other stuff on the menu. An enjoyable dining experience and great price. The specials of the day were $18 each. I'm surprised I've never heard of this place before, think I will have to check out more places around Alphabet City to find more local good spots to try!

• Pros: Food, ambience, wine
• Cons: nothing

02/14/09

Great food, poor service

by lady177812

26 Seats has been one of our favorite restaurants since moving here 5 years ago and we go often. Last night's experience will make us think twice about going back. We had an 8 pm reservation and were seated a bit later at 8:25pm - which was completely fine with us, except that there was a 9pm reservation on our table. We had ordered 2 apps, 2 entrees and a bottle of wine and had planned on dessert - enough to buy us a fair 1-1.5 hour meal...The 9pm party was of course impatient which I understand after waiting 30 minutes and they all came in and stood by our table - we agreed (before finishing our last bite of our dinner) to move to another table to finish our bottle of wine. Our waitress did not apologize for making us move, did not offer us dessert or coffee and brought our check while we were still finishing our last glass - the rudest service we've received in a long time. The apps were great (garlic sausages & escargot), but our Duck Confit was undercooked - in an attempt to rush us further. I've worked in a restaurant and I know how important it is to turn tables and I never linger longer than I need if people are waiting, but having reservations on tables 1 hour apart is poor management. Although the food is usually great, we might never go back because the service was so bad. If you want to try the food, my advice - go on a weekday!

02/09/09

Like Paris

by AMandK

We eat here often (early) and love the food. We are always surprised every time we come here that we feel like we are in Paris again. On a cold recent evening we were seated right away and served our wine. A big cowboy and his wife came in and had a tough time, I think, acclimating to the fact that there were only 26 seats. I think they moved to 22 of the seats trying to find the right one. The staff really worked with them. I was in awe. We had a lovely meal, too.