08/03/09

Surprised by how good this was

by allisont

My husband and I went to Mas for a birthday meal. We were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful wood-and-stone accents throughout the restaurant, and how well the tables were spaced. We were seated in the small back alcove room, and it was almost full the whole night. There was always a pleasant hum of conversation but it was never noisy.

The food was excellent. We both had the $68 tasting menu. We each had three dishes plus dessert, starting with an excellent caviar course. My husband also thought his cheese course was outstanding. The supplemental charges for the caviar course ($9 each) and his cheese course in place of dessert ($3) were very reasonable.

My only complaint, and it's not a strong one, is with the service. Although Mas's food rating in Zagat's is equal to the top tier, the service is not. The host who poured our champagne put huge heads of foam on both glasses and slopped drips of wine on the table, repeatedly. Our main waitperson was a little silly and overly friendly in her attempts to 'engage' us. There was a reasonable pause between the first and second courses, but the entree course came much too quickly and they were handing us the dessert menus seconds after the entree course was cleared. Also, the coordination between wine and food wasn't great - our glasses were dry before we were asked if we wanted more, and the glass of wine ordered specifically for one course came a good 5 minutes after the course was served.

• Pros: Ambiance, food
• Cons: Not the most professional service

07/20/09

Our Favorite Restuarant in New Yoke

by TedSTL

In a recent trip to New York we tried Mas for the first time. Our food was incredible. The atmoshere extremely warm - particularily for New York - and the service could not have been better.

Our server had spent time in San Francisco, Chicago and New York at some terrific restuarants including Blackbird in Chicago(another one of my favorites). We let him choose our entire meal and he asked some thoughtful questions and made perfect recommendations!!!

• Pros: Atmosphere, Food and Service
• Cons: None

05/10/09

Pretentious and Rude

by AlisonH

"I had high hopes for this place.... The food was definitely good, but the service was pretentious and rude. I took my mom there for Mother's Day. Right away the waiter was pretty distant and pretentious but after we ordered it was even worse! We had eaten a late lunch so we decided to just split an appetizer and an entree. Also, she had to drive home after dinner and the wine was $16/glass so we didn't get any drinks. Well, they weren't fans of our order. The waiter said "That's all you want?" and then later in the meal sort of made fun of us for sharing. My mom also saw the waiter go over to the host and tell them we were sharing and they started laughing. The whole rest of the meal, he was totally rude to us. I could understand having a little attitude if we were taking up a whole table at prime time and only ordering drinks. But we basically each had a meal's worth of food and eating at 6:30pm when half the tables were empty. If a restaurant frowns upon sharing, they should mention it on the bottom of the menu. I still think that's a bit pretentious, but I respect the directness, instead of laughing about it behind our backs (or more like in front of our faces.) Restaurants should appreciate their customers, not make them feel unwelcome. You can get food as good at places that are fun, upbeat and welcoming."

• Pros: food
• Cons: rude service