Bobby Van's Park Ave - 'The Original'

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JMD62

Joined 2 years ago

Grest steak, good price. Been here a couple of times, food and service are great. The sides that come w/ the steak are large. No hipsters, no crying babys...The price is good, i dont know why some people are unhappy w/ it. This is manhattan, people pay $8 an hour for parking (in queens its 50¢) $46 steak is not a big deal. Good place to go for business dinners or drinks.

Doesn't Recommend

TommyM1

Joined 4 years ago

A punishing (and expensive) dining experience. The food was uneven

- The Casaer salad was dry and lacked flavor.

- The Broccoli rabe was slightly undercooked and flavorless.

-The a la carte side of mashed potatoes was good, but very small (and $11).

- The $46 ribeye on bone was decent but light on flavor and very fatty

The wine by the glass list was short and very weak.

I ordered a Malbec which was watery and flavorless. I sent it back (something I do unoften) in favor of a cabernet (the only one by the glass), which was better but only slightly so.



Now to the service. Uggh. I can only suspect that our waiter not only was new but had never worked in any service industry before.

First, after the salad course was served, the waiter disappeared. The caesar salad was not good and the busboys cleared it away after I ate perhaps 15% of it. When the waiter reappeared, I told him, "I did not care for the caesar salad." He replied, "Hmmm?" I then said, "I did not like the caesar salad. It was too dry and flavorless" Whereupon he defensively stated that I should have told him before.

Second, I went to the restroom, and returned to find my steak sitting at the table. For a $46 ribeye, I expect it to be served when I am at the table. Not sitting there without me.

Third, when I placed my dinner order, I had asked for a glass of malbec to be served with my steak,. It did not arrive until five minutes after my steak.

Fourth, the malbec was weak and ultimately undrinkable, and I had to wait 5 minutes before I could flag the waiter and ask the waiter to replace it. He grunted and walked away without taking my wine glass. When he reappeared with the glass of cabernet, he replaced the wine glass without a word.

Fifth, when I received the bill, I noticed I was charged for the caeser salad I did not eat. I pointed this out to the waiter, whereupon he argued that I had said the salad was "all right" and therefore he should charge me. I said OK, but then stating he "wanted to make me happy" he ripped the bill out of my hand and stated he would talk to the manager. He returned, putting the bill back on the table without comment. The $13 caesar salad graciously was written off, reducing the bill for dinner, one glass of mediocre wine, and one gin and tonic for me, my wife and my ten year old daughter to "only" $230 without tip.

I informed the manager as we were leaving that I had a terrible experience. He was unresponsive and unapologetic.

I ate at Jack In The Box two days ago and had a much better dining experience. Truly. I love restaurants, I have dined in many restaurants all up and down the east and west coasts, and I appreciate good food and good service. this place - apparently it is a tourist trap for unsuspecting visitors. There are plenty of other great restaurants in NYC.

PS: The bread was very good.

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damanincharlotte

Joined 4 years ago

Overpriced. In balance was an OK experience. The steak was good but I think vwey expensive. I was with a large party (but we were the ONLY party) and service was slow.

If I was paying I would try another place next time.

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citybug6768

Joined 6 years ago

Great Steak. I had a wonderful time at Bobby Van's this past weekend. I went here before going to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. Had an unbelievable artichoke salad and than an awesome beef wellington dish. Simply put, the food here was amazing, everything you would expect from a place rated the #1 steakhouse in America. I saw the bad reviews and thought I should tell the other side of the story. People are very critical in this city, everybody thinks they are a New York Times food critic, but this place is truly top-notch. Also, they service your table with a team of people, totally professional and world class, in my opinion. Most importanly is the steak. I think the best in the City is Sparks, and this was just as good! Go to the website and then give this place a shot....from my experience I can't see how you would be disappointed.

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ahollero

Joined 5 years ago

If you like ribeye, this is the place for you.. This is my husband's favorite restaurant in New York City. A must is their ribeye. It is quite expensive for $46 but well worth it. We haven't really tried anything else on the menu but the ribeye. The service is average but nothing spectacular. Our waiter did not do much talking but at the end, he did surprise us with a complimentary cake when he found out we were celebrating my husband's birthday. If you are looking for a romantic setting, this is not the place for you. It has a very business-like atmosphere. Despite its average service and setting, we always return for the RIBEYE!!!!

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cche7

Joined 7 years ago

Not worth it.. Arrived on time and Maitre d' seated us promptly. Our waiter, Steve, was terrible. He didn't want to answer any questions and didn't want call him by his name. Talk about someone who has ice in his veins. The sides were good, but the steak was overcooked and dry. Not impressive at all. I've had better at Keens. In addition, the dinner was way overpriced, $145 per person.

Doesn't Recommend

keithrez

Joined 9 years ago

Do NOT go there unless your company is paying. Unless you are on someone's expense account, you can do SOOOO much better with your $, and even then, u can still find better choices. Aside from it being the most expensive steak dinner I have ever had (everything was at least 10-20% higher than any place I have been to), the service was not impressive (until we pretended we were in the Sahara, we couldn't get a glass of water). Regarding the food, the 2 plain green iceberg type salads that were ordered were more on the brown side and the steaks were fine, but I didn't hear anyone in my party of 7 say WOW. The best part of the meal, imo, was the shellfish bouquet, but again, insanely expensive ($35 pp including 1 small crab cake). The wine list, while impressive, offered NOTHING in the reasonable category, so again, unless you are an oenophile, do u really need to pay $150 per bottle? Bottom line is I have been to this location 2x, been disappointed each time, and have no intention of going back.

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gablelomb

Joined 7 years ago

GREAT steak, welcoming service. I arrived early, wet and steamy from the humidity and a walk through a downpour. The staff was warm and friendly, and I was seated immediately. The waiter was very helpful, offering to split the caesar we ordered, and also said he'd bring us something my companion had enjoyed there before, even though it wasn't on the menu. Prices were a little shocking for lunch, but oh my lord in heaven...the filet mignon, prepared rare, bernaise sauce on the side...easily the best steak I've ever eaten. Can't wait to visit again. Can you open a branch in Seattle?

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desnr02

Joined 8 years ago

Great Service, Good Steaks. After spending 20min looking for it, we finally found it. I liked the atmospher was with some coworkers and we didnt feel intimidated. Waiter was very friendly steaks did need to be checked on often for the Temp. Appetizers a little off on pricage but some are worth it. will go back to give more accurate review.

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platinum25

Joined 9 years ago

Good steak, so-so everything else.. The food was good but for the prices, it was definitely not worth it. For about $20, you get one tiny crab cake for an appetizer. Steaks were alright, considering a few of the medium rares/rares came out closer to medium. Dessert wasn't anything special. Service was a bit slow even though we were only one of a few tables there that night.