07/19/09

A punishing (and expensive) dining experience

by TommyM1

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.

• Pros: The bread
• Cons: Uneven food, unbelievably bad service

03/27/09

Overpriced

by damanincharlotte

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.

• Pros: Steak was good
• Cons: prices are high, slow service

03/10/08

Great Steak

by citybug6768

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.