(212) 871-6600

480 Lexington Ave (nr. 46th St.)
New York, NY 10017 40.75399 -73.974189

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Neighborhoods: Midtown Center, Midtown

Hours:

Mon-Fri, 11am-2:30pm and 5pm-11pm

Sat-Sun, 5pm-11pm

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 4.14.11

Category:

Lounges

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Private Rooms, Business Dining, Lunch Spot, Upscale Casual Dining, Private Parties

Cuisine:

Latin American

Bar & Club Special Features:

Specialty Cocktails, After Work, Private Parties

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About At Vermilion

Featured Review

Josh Ozersky

Contributor

In Short – At Vermilion's recipe for Indian-Latino fusion food, set in a very large, very opulent room has transferred intact to New York. Set in the former Django space on Lexington Avenue, the restaurant showcases oversize images of Indian fashion models, two pools (one with a waterfall) and a cream-and-crimson color scheme that is opulent indeed. The food is assertive without being too challenging--think tandoori skirt steak served with an herbaceous yogurt sauce and tamarind-marinated ribs with Indian dough crisps. There's also a wide assortment of specialty cocktails and an equally…

Editor's Tips

Know Before You Go:
The room is immense, to the point that an intimate dinner might be impossible; it's exciting but not romantic.
Parking:
On-street parking is available after 7 pm
The Extras:
Vermilion is a rare restaurant matriarchy: The owner, chef, and pastry chef are all women.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “The decor and my cocktail were fairly good, but that's about it.”
  2. “Cool space; Odd location Beautiful space; Odd location”
dessert
0.0% positive
  1. “For dessert we had the chocolate cake that came with a weird tasting blueberry sorbet.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “The drinks - my favourite Pear Jalapeno and cucumber mint, were unexpected and delicious.”
  2. “How could any bartender in good lounge / club ever serve such a drink.”
food quality
61.11000061035156% positive
  1. “The food was just awful and disappointing.”
  2. “Their food has too many spices w/no direction, portions were small, served on very big (empty) plates-hours after you order it, they never place it all at once on the table,so some plates are cold by the time someone else gets their food - horrible!”
  3. “On the plus side, the service was above par, so we didn't hate our experience entirely, just the food.”
  4. “The appetizers were tasty, but the rest just wasn't good.”
  5. “No but I still really loved the Artichoke pakoras and find the rest of their food very interesting and enjoyable.”
  6. “will not go back there, and I certainly do not recommend this restaurant unless you want crappy food and service, and want to be kicked our as soon as you receive your entree (hours after you order it).”
  7. “The drinks - my favourite Pear Jalapeno and cucumber mint, were unexpected and delicious.”
  8. “Artichoke pakoras and strip steak were delicious.”
  9. “Canned/frozen meal, too many spices- horrible and tasteless!”
  10. “All marketing and wining about recession etc, but the food is really bad.”
  11. “The food idea is not bad but what works in Chicago was good by Chicago Standards.”
  12. “We got the red meat tasting menu, a few appetizers, and lots of sides, so had a good variety to sample.”
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. “Would have loved to try their entire menu only if we were not full up to the brim.”
  2. “We got the red meat tasting menu, a few appetizers, and lots of sides, so had a good variety to sample.”
  3. “Had heard and read mixed reviews, but wanted to try such an interesting menu.”
return potential
0.0% positive
  1. “will not go back there, and I certainly do not recommend this restaurant unless you want crappy food and service, and want to be kicked our as soon as you receive your entree (hours after you order it).”
service
62.5% positive
  1. “will not go back there, and I certainly do not recommend this restaurant unless you want crappy food and service, and want to be kicked our as soon as you receive your entree (hours after you order it).”
  2. “The staff, from the waiter to the bartender, were fantastic both times I went to this place and very attentive.”
  3. “On the plus side, the service was above par, so we didn't hate our experience entirely, just the food.”
  4. “Knowledgeable waiter, good service overall.”
  5. “figured that not all people enjoy fusion.”
  6. “The waiter told us to recommend some very good Sous chef to train the Main Chef.”
  7. “How could any bartender in good lounge / club ever serve such a drink.”
  8. “We also had a chance to speak with the owner and her husband - they were both very rude and proud people.”
value
33.3299994468689% positive
  1. “Their food has too many spices w/no direction, portions were small, served on very big (empty) plates-hours after you order it, they never place it all at once on the table,so some plates are cold by the time someone else gets their food - horrible!”
wait time
100.0% positive
  1. “Additionally, though the place was half-empty, we had to wait 20 minutes between being served water and being asked if we would like a cocktail.”
2 Star Rating: Below Average

02/06/11

disappointed with the service

by gofoodeez

Love their decor, however, the service and food quality didn't live up to our expectation. We ordered the following: 1.Duck vindaloo arepa--Over priced for the 4 mini not so flavorful open-faced sandwiches; 2.Coconut chili mussels --This dish had nice flavors. however, mussels used were NOT fresh(picked out 4 bad ones in a bowl of 15). When I told the waiter about the bad mussels, he just replied"sorry, i will tell the chef", and that was the end of it. That was just bad service. For that alone I will not return; 3.Chimichurri NY strip--It was served over a bed of Bok Choy. Gf liked very much although it was overcooked for the medium doneness she had requested. 4. dark chocolate molten cake - so called flourless cake was a waste of money. Sorry sorbet and ginger just don't go together! Overall, I would say this was subpar for a iron chef want to be restaurant.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/02/11

Love the Bar!

by Samantha2011

I was come here after work and the drinks are amaizing!!!!! The small plates are so worth it

3 Star Rating: Average

12/16/10

order main entree, not tasting menu

by clairelin

Just went for the groupon for a 10 course tasting menu.

Overall, I would say the value is no more than $65. The place was empty, but they put us at a very narrow table. None of the dishes is particular memorable. All are just one-bite size.

The NY strip red chimichurri was too hard to bite. The lobster portuguese (which is their best signature dish) is tasty, but the lobster meat is not fresh (frozen kind).

We order another entree -- Mexican cornflake fish, which instead was the best of the meal. However, the plate was cold when they served so the food cooled of in 5 minutes.

Generally it is a nice midtown restaurant, but it doesn't make the top of my gourmet picks.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

04/21/10

What A (Pleasant) Surprise

by Pados

Have to admit the mixed real media reviews and less than stellar user reviews had given my pause to try.... but finally curiosity won out. Sure glad it did.

Fairly knowledgeable and very appreciative about Indian food, I approached At Vermilion's concept with caution; although I realized a number of ingredients commonly associated with Indian food were gifts from Latin America. Think hot chilis, tomatoes, potatoes, peanuts.

Anyway, for the most part this fusion of the two cuisines works very well. Duck vindaloo, skirt steak and ramarind ribs being particular favorites. Desserts though missed the mark except for bread for the pompkin bread pudding.

Service was very well meaning, but sometimes slow. Not sure whether that is a server or kitchen issue.

I'll go back... looking forward to sitting in what looks like it will be a lovely outdoor area, once the warm weather settles in.

  • Pros: Terrific food; good wine list; inventive cocktails
  • Cons: Erratic service; somewhat chilly ambiance
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/10/10

Seriously bad

by everliz

This is possibly the worst restaurant I've been to in my 12 years in NY. The decor and my cocktail were fairly good, but that's about it.

The food was atrocious; simultaneously overly-spiced and completely bland. They clearly add the spices too late in the cooking process for any of the flavor to sink in. We ordered 3 appetizers and a meal each; none were good.

Additionally, though the place was half-empty, we had to wait 20 minutes between being served water and being asked if we would like a cocktail.

If you twisted my arm, I may consider returning to the downstairs lounge area for drinks only -- but I'd need to have a good reason.

  • Pros: Drinks, decor
  • Cons: Food, service

The Details on At Vermilion

Place Categories:

  • really bad food
  • proud people
  • not hate culinary experience
  • delicious artichoke pakoras
  • tasteless cannedfrozen meal
  • not recommend restaurant
  • recommend good sous chef
  • very attentive staff
  • like cocktail
  • nice space
  • knowledgeable waiter
  • loved artickokes
  • good ginger pomegranate martini
  • fairly good decor
  • good works
  • favorite pear jalapeno
  • good service
  • cold plates
  • good lounge club
  • very big plateshours
  • tasty appetizers
  • loved would
  • loved duck vindaloo arepa
  • delicious strip steak
  • really horrible place
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