Brasserie 8 1/2

11/26/09

A horrible Thanksgiving experience

by foodies76 at Citysearch

So they have a prix fix menu for Thanksgiving for $49.00 a person, which is a decent deal. I have been searching for a place, and made the reservation based on the fact, that they offered prime rib. Guess what, we get there, and it's nowhere to be found on the pre-printed menu. Our server tells us that they changed it that morning, and that she's had a LOT of complaints about it, but they have the right as menu is "subject to change". When we got home we checked the website it's STILL stated prime rib. It was no mishap, as a matter of fact, I'm not even sure that they ever planned on serving it, or just put it on the menu to get more reservations. The worst part is, that I left a small, disappointed but polite note along with our bill- which we payed, and tipped the waitress well, since it had nothing to do with her. She brought it to a manager while we were still there, and not only did he not come over and apologized or god forbid offered a dessert or a drink- he looked at my husband, and gave him A CONDISENDING SMIRK, and walked away!!!! I guess economy is no problem for Brasserie 8 1/2 since they clearly working on alienating their costumers!!! I would NEVER consider going back there, and working in a bar in midtown myself, I'll make sure to advice everyone that asks for a restaurant recommendation, to stay clear as day away from Brasserie 8 1/2!!!

• Pros: Nothing that would cancel our disappointment
• Cons: Feeling taken advantage of...

07/21/09

Very good food and nice, upscale ambiance

by yippee at Citysearch

I went here for restaurant week. The heirloom tomato salad was beautifully presented and very tasty. The skate was "good". For dessert I got the banana pudding and my friend got some type of bl00d orange dessert. I tried both desserts and would have to say that the dessert chef seems to be the star of the restaurant. I'm a dessert connoisseur and can say that both desserts were spectacular.

This restaurant has two nice bars and an open bar area with cushy leather sofas. I think this would be a great place for after work drinks...a bit more sophisticated than your typical after-work bar.

• Pros: Open space, nice bar area, good food
• Cons: Feels a bit dated...too 90's expense account

05/09/09

Awful food!! Overpriced!! Dark and Mall-like feeling..

by MichelinStar at Citysearch

First of all, the food was horribly over-priced, over-salted and the proportions were a joke..and simply put, not good.

Second of all, the restaurant feels like a huge war bunker or underground airplane hanger with no windows and no sun. They should have built a mall there instead.

And last but not least, the manager appeared to be 80 years old, probably living there like a hermit and in serious need of a hearing aid and an english dictionary. Nothing worse then asking a simple question three times and having the other person scream out WHAAAT??

Rue 57 is across the street with fresh air, city views and good food. Hope this was helpful.

• Pros: The bread was free. At least the waitress spoke English.
• Cons: Everything else..

02/25/09

Just cancel the Foie Gras, and it will be PERFECT!

by MisstheBoat at Citysearch

This place is gracious, beautiful and expensive but worth it!

A staircase leads to the lounge. Sit back on great, comfortable couches and choose appetizers from a wonderful bar menu, and cocktails as low as $8.50!

Continue to the beautiful main floor where you will be greeted with graceful, relaxed, and completely professional service. Our server, Peter, made our experience one of the best ever. He appears to LOVE his job, and couldn't wait to make our dining experience the best. We left there feeling like we had a new friend.

The food! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! The 12-oz Steak Frites is so flavorful with its incredible bearnaise sauce. The Crabcakes are the best I have ever tasted. And, don't miss out on ordering a side of the Macaroni and Cheese with Lardo and Truffle butter. It will melt in your mouth!

My only criticism is that I cannot understand how a restaurant with a chef of such high caliber insists on condoning the use of Foie Gras! (Even West Hollywood passed a resolution to ban its use.) I am asking Chef Julian Alonzo to please take a stand against this cruel menu item. It will only increase the integrity and "heart" of this otherwise, wonderful restaurant.

• Pros: Professional, friendly service, ambiance, great food
• Cons: The use of Foie Gras

01/21/09

Best Mac and Cheese in the city

by hart22 at Citysearch

Frozen Banana Praline Souffle is reason enough to trek up to 57th Street, and if you need another, get the mac and cheese made with some sort of ham and truffle butter. Went to dinner there after a friend recommended we go there for the Filet Mignon. It's huge, the au poivre sauce was perfect, and the fries made my heart sing.

More importantly, the service was so attentive--- not stuffy either-- actually felt like they cared if we enjoyed our experience, which, simply, was refreshing.

Oh, and the other cool thing--- they're doing 25% off all their wine bottles. I believe until March. We were able to try some wines we would otherwise not have to opportunity to enjoy.

• Pros: service, macaroni, banana souffle, lounge/bar area
• Cons: Hard to find

01/19/09

Overpriced average food

by KChaseV at Citysearch

Not an upscale restaurant in any way other than price. The staff is professional if a bit slow. Food quality is fine but if I'm spending $20 for a burger, it should be fantastic (which it was not). Same goes for $29 crab cakes served without any sides at all, other than wilted garnish. Spend a few extra dollars and treat yourself to Nobu 57 across the street or Shelley's a few doors down - the food is a far better value.

• Pros: service, location
• Cons: overpriced mediocre food

01/18/09

Beautifull place with intriquing dishes

by Paulie1966 at Citysearch

I recently went to Brasserie 812 and had a great time. There is long spiral staircase leading down to the restaurant that sparks your imagination and raises your expectations. The Dining room is beautiful and modern and were taken to a glass lined booth without a wait. Our waiter Grahm was very warm and enthusiastic and described the specials as well as his favorite dishes. We had the "cat's ear pasta" with escargot and it was wonderfull. We then had a generous filet mignon and wild duck breast. They were both very tasty and larger than I expected. Lastly we had coffee and a recommended dessert. It was a take on the ring ding called the ring ding dome and alone was worth the visit. The staff was very friendly and not at all stuffy. It really is a beautifull place. The service is good and there were a lot of dishes you won't find elsewhere. We will be back.

• Pros: Interesting menu, attentive service, beautiful dining room
• Cons: Hard to find, look for the big orange 9

01/02/09

Not worth the time of day.

by Sherry5 at Citysearch

My husband and I came to New York over the Holidays. On our wedding anniversary we decided to go to Brasserie 8 1/2 it was a disappointment we had gotten there a half hour early so we could sit in the lounge to have a pre dinner drink they had just opened so there were not many people it took 15min to be served. We were then seated at our table at our time. The meal was so so not what I had hoped for since I thought I was eating a what I thought up scale restaurant much to our surprise it was not. I had went to the ladies room an hour after they had opened and to my surprise there were four stalls and only two equipped with toilet tissue and the waste basket was over full, now they had only been open for an hour at that time there really was no call for that. The best part of my 30th anniversary I was with the one I Love and maybe next year we will find an up scale resaurant that is. I think I could of done better if I would of stayed in Pa.

07/28/08

A Decent Restaurant Week Taste but Trying to be Too Cool For School

by chiway at Citysearch

I went and had the restaurant week menu at this swank, well-appointed American French midtown place for borderline trying-too-hard-to-be-classy-cool diners either trying to impress hot dates who are probably out of their league, or going with friends using their daddies' Amex cards, or bored business men at the tail end of their midlife crisis, or Lawrence Fishburne who happened to be at an adjacent table. Although this certainly isn't my type of place, I have to admit the food tastes good. There was the simple crabmeat salad on brioche toast which was not really all that interesting but ultimately effective as an appetizer, whetting the appetite and generating curious anticipation for the next course. The lobster risotto was near flawless. Creamy, perfectly textured, and flavored in smile-inducing fashion. The grilled quail was rather pedestrian but satisfactorily flavored as to provide a pleasant bone sucking experience. Medallions of duck was slightly overcooked but I enjoyed how it was paired with duck confit to create variety of flavor and texture using the same protein on one dish. The crusted sea bass was cooked well and left moist with well-complementing sides (asparagus and mashed potatoes). And although I'm not big on sweets, I thoroughly enjoyed my peach shortcake. It sounds like a lot of food, but we were served very small portions and 3 courses each (I shared some of the dishes with my friend). The dishes weren't on the regular menu, but from this tasting, I feel like I can say the kitchen is comprised of extremely competent cooks who know how to execute a good plate of food. However, after scanning the regular menu which failed to impress in relation to the pricing and spending 60 a person including wine, tax, and tip for a half-filled stomach, I left feeling that this is just another "I Wanna Be Trendy, Modern and Overpriced" superficial New American / French joint which has wasted a talented kitchen crew in trying to be too cool.

03/24/08

Not For The Holidays

by allthingsfood at Citysearch

My boyfriend and I went Brasserie 81/2 for the first time to celebrate Easter. It was $55 per person, not including coffee, about double of what they charge for regular Sunday Bruch. This menu was two pages long and sounded unbelievable with a crepe station, smoothie station, carving station etc, we were expecting rooms filled with mouthwatering traditional spin-offs.

Our reservation was at 1pm and upon arrival noticed that this was probably the busiest time slot out of the 11am-3pm seatings. No big deal.

The man who checked our reservation and asked us to wait two minutes before, then told the host to seat us (my last name), pointing to another party. I heard this and quickly told him we were the appropriate party but the other couple had already sat down. We waited another ten minutes and then were seated near the buffet.

There was no smoothie station; instead, 10-12 unmarked glasses were carried on a tray out of the kitchen at a time, across the dining room and to the buffet table. There was no crepe station, instead a pan of decent pancakes with powdered sugar and blueberries. I understand not serving what isn't is season, but not including whole stations seems like false advertising.

The carving station served up average turkey, tasteless ahi and so-so beef. The Eggs Benedict tasted decent but was cold on top and burnt on the bottom. The bacon was crisp and delicious. The vegetables were soggy while most of the fruit was in season and fresh. The shrimp and smoked salmon were good. There were some lunch fair items such as a steak taco salad, Sheppard?s pie and mussels in marinara that were tasty.

The dessert station was well stocked when we visiting and all the pastries we had were pretty good.

I think the whole experience would?ve been more enjoyable had they not overbooked and posted an unrealistically lavish menu with a disclaimer in small indicating that the menu may change when it was pretty clear that they knew it would.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere
• Cons: Food not worth the price