(212) 253-2828
415 Lafayette St
(nr. Astor Pl.)
New York,
NY
10003
40.72866
-73.99247
Neighborhoods: NoHo, Downtown
Hours:
Mon-Sat 5:30pm-11:30pm
Price:
$$$$
Last updated 5.13.12
Category:
Payment Methods:
American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard
Restaurant Special Features:
Celeb Hangout, People Watching, Online Reservations, Bar Scene
Cuisine:
What People Are Saying About Butter
Featured Review
Justin Hartung
Contributor
In Short – Trendy restaurants are lucky if their "it" factor lasts a full year, but Butter has managed to keep the Blackberries of the velvet rope crowd buzzing since 2002. Much of this has to do with the still fresh, space-age forest design--the arched upstairs with its illuminated tree mural and the downstairs with its birch-lined walls. The New American menu, featuring dishes like caviar and potato salad, Hudson Valley duck breast and Montauk Point striped bass "au poivre," is merely icing on the debutante cake.
Editor's Tips
- Where to Sit:
- The upstairs decor is a bit more dramatic, though the downstairs offers a loungier scene, and a DJ plays after 10pm on weekends.
- Bar Menu:
- More casual fare like crab cakes and Kobe beef empanadas comprise the bar menu.
- Prix Fixe Menu:
- A five-course tasting menu costs $95 (or $140 with wine pairings).
- What to Drink:
- A $32 bottle of Gruner Veltliner complements the lighter New American fare well.
like butter ????
by mr smitthers
Not bad the food was ok ! maybe I caught them on a bad night but I will give them another chance.
Great food, service? Not so much
by NORIS
I went to Butter last Thursday with friends, for try them through their Restaurant Week participation. While the food was delicious (not as much the dessert), the service not so much. Our server Eddie was friendly and all, but I’d say a bit distracted… first, just about a minute after we placed our order for the food, they brought us the appetizers. It happened that the table next to us had order exactly the same appetizers (just one was different) as us, and they gave theirs to us by mistake. Then about 15-20 minutes later, we had to ask the server about the bottle of wine we asked for with our order. He apparently forgot about it.. he apologized for it and said he’d “make it up” to us. Fine, we get the wine, and sometime later our main course. I was the last one to finish my meal and just as I placed the last piece of salmon in my mouth, this guy comes and grabs the plate from under my face while asking “are you ladies done?”, Seriously – how rude is that?! I couldn’t even respond because my mouth was full. Now to top it all, after dessert, Eddie brought these (3) “raspberry beignets” to our table and said they were on the house, “to make up” for the incident with the forgotten bottle of wine… well, I came across my copy of the bill in my bag a couple of nights and guess what? We were charged for beignets - $14. And we didn’t even like them! We all split the bill even and paid with our credit cards, so I guess we simply missed this on the bill… So basically my two stars to Butter are for the food. The rest of my experience at this place was not good at all.
Dining downstairs can be a bit dark
by TardyKat
Very happy with the Restaurant Week menu. We were a party of 3, seated on a banquette downstairs. It's darker and louder down stairs with a DJ spinning tunes. The bread basket came with 2 types of butter--a regular and one infused with herbs. We tried the lobster bisque (was more a chowder as it contained potatoes and corn and other vegetables)and the charcuterie plate. For our entress we went for the short ribs (delicious), beet ravioli (cheese filling tasted so strong it's like goat cheese) and the grilled salmon. We also ordered 2 additional sides--mashed potatoes (good) and onion rings (too greasy); shouldn't have because we were too full. Desserts we got the peach cobbler, raspberry semifreddo and the Dobosch cake.
fantastic
by peppercookie
It had been a month since i had my last meal at Butter, and it was so good it was time to go back.
.
3 of us were there this past Friday evening.
Everything that came to the table was fresh and so delicous!!!! The menu has everything on it that is in season right now (as it was last time).
The meat and fish were cooked to perfection, the 3 apps we all shared were a perfect start. Our waiter was very helpful in pairing wines....great list as well. I will be back again and with more friends.
And save room for dessert....... beignets!!!!
Don't waste your time!!!
by Gina24s
Never going back.!!!! The "Manger" Teresa is nasty and doesn’t know how to handle herself. After spending nearly $1000 we got kicked out because she came barreling through the crowd pushing and naturally my friend pushed back. What is a 5’5’ 100 lbs blonde going to do to break up a fight???? Needless to say nothing about the place was great so either way I would never go back.
- Pros: Nothing
- Cons: Everything

