Tao
Popular Asian Restaurant now DELIVERS!
(646) 350-3659
42 E 58TH St
New York,
NY
10022
40.762858
-73.971626
Neighborhoods: Midtown, Midtown Center
What People Are Saying About Tao
The Owner
Tao
Owner
Tao Restaurant now delivers to Midtown and Midtown East. Have your favorite Asian dishes delivered right to your door or office. Have New York City's best Asian Cuisine be your next delivery feast. Cozy up on your couch with any of our famous dishes, including small plates, soups, dumplings, springrolls, noble treasures from the sea, or sushi and sashimi. Asian green stirfry, wasabi crusted filet mignon, crispy orange chicken, or crispy coconut shrimp with a thai peanut sauce make excellent delivery options. Impress your guest with a meal in your own dining room from world famous Tao Restaurant - Call today for Delivery or Take-out. Also offering an outstanding pre-fixe menu if you choose to dine with us.
The Editor
Kathleen Squires
Citysearch
The Scene
A 16-foot-tall Buddha lords over this 12,000-square-foot, multilevel spectacle where, even after five years, bodies pack every inch from bar to bathroom. Though there's no dancing, throngs of midtown workers and trendy tourists bring out their inner club kids to the thumping deep house music.
The Food
The pan-Asian menu could easily become an afterthought in such a scene-centric spot, but Chef Rick Laakkonen runs a reliable kitchen. The satay of Chilean sea bass brushed in miso, shrimp and green beans in a bright XO sauce, and crunchy spring rolls generously stuffed with duck are impressive, but most of the menu falls short, as with lackluster wasabi-crusted filet mignon and flavorless deep-fried lobster dumpling. Desserts, like the giant fortune cookie filled with light and milk chocolate mousse, perfectly embody the spirit of this over-the-top spot.
User Reviews
NYFoodie
June 14, 2009
My boyfriend and I went to Tao in NYC last night. We both live in the city and love the experience of great atmosphere and superb food. In choosing to spend our evening at Tao, we were very disappointed. First of all we had an 8:30 reservation and arrived 15 minutes earlier as per the receptionist's request when we called to make the reservation- ONLY to arrive and be told that we were not on the list! After that was cleared up we continues to wait another 45 minutes in a crowded entranced way because the bar was overly packed with screaming tourists spilling their drinks. TO TOP IT ALL OFF, we were getting a little restless from the long wait when the arrogant, nasty, son of a b guy who is in charge of seating said to us, exact words, I kid you not, "Try smiling a little bit and go inside to the bar and have a drink. Be nice to me it will help you get seated faster." My boyfriend in return saying "Yea that's exactly what I'll do" as we continued to wait where we were and noticeably annoy the guy. We would have just walked out an went to our usual neighborhood restaurant, but we heard good things and decided to stick it out. Boy were we wrong! When we finally were seated and made our food choice, the music was much to loud to have a conversation. When the food came, (we ordered the pork potstickers and bbq spare ribs) there wasn't much of it. As our waitress advertised that the "small plates were to be shared and are enough for two" they clearly weren't. For the main course I had the Hong Kong Shrimp -which was good but I had better at Lai Yuen in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. My boyfriend's meal was a complete upset. He had the chillean seabass- one single piece with a vegetable puree, which was advertised as mixed vegetables and rice (there was no rice). For dessert we had verrrry greasy chocolate spring rolls. If you are a native New Yorker like myself and thinking about going to Tao, get it "Tao"t of your mind. Don't waste your money on yet another NYC Tourist attraction!
read full reviewspeakyourmind
May 25, 2009
great location and very cool inside on the eye, bar far too small and crowded, food average at best, expensive. its a simple tourist attraction tick it off your list after the empire state building
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sonyalavoe
May 08, 2009
It was a horrible, horrible experience!!! May 7th was my 30th birthday, and my fiancé, knowing that I love Tao made a reservation for 8:30pm. We were a couple of blocks away when we called to say that we are almost there and we are running a few minutes late. A male voice told my fiancé that they gave our table away, but as soon as we get there, they will give us another table. So we got there and it appeared that our reservation does not exist. It is just nowhere to be found. And the only male host that was there denied he spoke on the phone with my fiancé just 5 min ago. The other two hostesses did not really care much. They cared more about the model-type guy walking in. One of them told us that we probably called Las Vegas. Maybe we did if the Las Vegas phone code is 212. We showed her my fiancé’s phone, the number he dialed, and that the conversation lasted for almost 5 min. She said that maybe he did not call for a reservation. Why would he call then? We do not need to ask about location or food. I have been dining there since 2004. I could not believe that this is happening!!!…On MY BIRTHDAY!!!…..At restaurant like Tao!!! Disappointed is not even merely closed to explain how I felt… anyway, I said to myself: “I don’t want to be frustrated, it’s my birthday and I want to celebrate.” We took the “buzzer” and sat to wait for a table in the lounge. Like a walk-ins! We where told it will take 20-30-min. After 50 min waiting, I went to ask how long more it is going to take? That same male host mentioned above, with a very unpleasant tone in his voice said to me: “We do the best we can! I did say 30 min!” Well, it has been already 50min. And I could not believe that I have just been treated by some sad little person, like I asked him for money. I am a guest at that restaurant. But I was treated like an intruder. I felt so disrespected! Tao was the one restaurant that I loved! Not just liked, loved! The food, the ambiance…. I can not believe that people like that are chosen to be the face of that restaurant. And the other two hostesses, what were they for? Such an unpleasant girls, with a horrible attitude! Unbelievable! I don’t know how much the management of Tao cares about they patrons, but I neither see anyone that could of spare me that negative experience, nor such was called to be present and try to solve the problem.
read full reviewThe Details on Tao
What to Drink:
House cocktails include the Blue Zen, with Bacardi Limon, Malibu rum, blue Curacao and pineapple juice ($10).
Know Before You Go:
Plan to wait up to an hour, even with a reservation.
The Extras:
Like the music? You can take home a double CD of the restaurant's soundtrack for $25.
Category:
Payment Methods:
American Express, Visa, Diners Club, MasterCard
Restaurant Special Features:
People Watching, Lunch Spot, Online Reservations, Group Dining, Bar Scene
Cuisine:
Message from Tao
- Delivery
- Take-Out
- Asian Cuisine
Tao Restaurant now delivers to Midtown and Midtown East. Have your favorite Asian dishes delivered right to your door or office. Have New York City's best Asian Cuisine be your next delivery feast. Cozy up on your couch with any of our famous dishes, including small plates, soups, dumplings, springrolls, noble treasures from the sea, or sushi and sashimi. Asian green stirfry, wasabi crusted filet mignon, crispy orange chicken, or crispy coconut shrimp with a thai peanut sauce make excellent delivery options. Impress your guest with a meal in your own dining room from world famous Tao Restaurant - Call today for Delivery or Take-out. Also offering an outstanding pre-fixe menu if you choose to dine with us.
