08/04/09

Bad soba, not for people who know Japanese food

by livewithstyle

Matsugen was formerly "66" restaurant, another Jean-Georges attempt at upscale Asian cuisine. I ate here for restaurant week dinner and it was nearly empty - I guess everyone else already knew what I was about to find out. Let me preface this with I've been to Japan and am very familiar with its cuisine, my date is Japanese and lived in Tokyo for 20 years.

I do admit that some of the items were rather good such as the soft tofu appetizer, tempura and the miso cod - but no one goes here for this, its about the soba right? (more about that later) The tuna sushi and seaweed salad were ok, but nothing special. The green tea pudding dessert was also OK but it had more of a liquid consistency closer to a thick soup.

On the other hand the edamame was covered in too much pepper which made it unusual and nearly too spicy to enjoy. The attractive teapot holding the green tea hid a tea bag of questionable quality which produced green colored water with no flavor. At first I thought it had not been steeped long enough, but it did not improve with time. The worst green tea I have ever been served.

My primary issue with the food was with the soba, which is supposed to be the specialty and the main reason for going here. The hot soba with duck was just fair, much better can be had many other places. The cold soba tasted raw enough in the middle that we both thought they made a mistake in preparing it. After sending it back for another bowl which was the same, we pushed it aside and left it uneaten. We asked the waiter, when we could find him later, about this and he said many people like this style. After explaining that we are familiar with soba and Japanese cuisine he conceded that this was more of a Korean style preparation. If I wanted Korean style noodles I would have gone to K-town and not searched out a Japanese Soba restaurant.

Basically, Matsugen failed to deliver soba to justify its claim as an upscale soba specialty restaurant or warrant its prices, and overall its just not that great of a Japanese restaurant. I cannot think of a reason to recommend Matsugen considering the better alternatives at more reasonable prices.

Also, if you dined at "66" the décor is EXACTLY the same down to the tables, chairs and fish tank, the only thing that changed is the banners above the sushi bar and the menu.

• Pros: Close to the Franklin Street Subway
• Cons: Bad Soba - Overpriced, inauthentic food

04/11/07

A Great Restaurant with Ambiance

by lre0918

Do not miss this wonderful restaurant with very a very unusual and outstanding array of flavors! The ambiance is sensational, and the service couldn't have been better. DO NOT MISS THIS RESTAURANT WHILE IN NEW YORK!

• Pros: THE BEST OF EVERYTHING!!
• Cons: NONE

03/16/07

Very chic, good food, limited menu

by xiphz

Nice restaurant, I liked the decor a lot. I know its a special menu but it could use a little bit more variety I felt, or have some daily specials. The service was great, however just the hostess and the server. The food runner or expediter person was pretty rude to my friend and it was his birthday so that was a little bit of a damper. I got the Peking Duck and it was good, not amazing or very different but good. The Mojitos are recommended, and my friends enjoyed the Shrimp Dumplings a lot too.

01/24/07

Great Food

by zs314

This place is great, surely among my 66 all time favorites. Jean Georges has truly outdone himself on this one: the drinks are masterful and the entrees tickle the pallet.

10/04/06

HATERS CAN GO AND EAT CHICKEN BROCCOLI!!!

by cheetahcat

Was very surprized to see so many bad reviews...

In my opinion every restaurant has food that certain people will LOVE or HATE. I was lucky LOVER :) don't hate people, I had those AMAZING GINGER MARGARITAS, absolutely awesome two flavored shrimp (I don't know what they put in it, but you don't want the flavor to leave your mouth!!!). Server was very nice, even though I have to admit that she was dissappearing for quite a while from time to time. The atmosphere was very calm, quite and nice, we were sat in front of aquaruim, and you can see kitchen staff cooking your meal behind the glass :)

I was too full for desert (we've had 4 appetizers and 2 entrees for two), but deffinately next time!!!

• Pros: GINGER MARGARITAS (I'm not an alcholic!)
• Cons: slow service

08/17/06

AVOID this overhyped place.

by nyc_zagats

Quite possibly one of the most overhyped restaurants I have ever been to. The decor is OK in some places but it depends largely on where you sit, overall it is not that great and people in search of ambiance could easily find much nicer or more trendy places.

The food is on par with the WORST take out chinese I have had from a shopping mall food court. Combine that with the price of being about 3x more expensive than the exception Chinese food that is a few blocks over and I have no idea why anyone would go to 66. I would have sent back every course I ordered to the kitchen if I could find the waiter, which brings me to the service.

The service is largely absent, except to drop the food on the table and then disappear again for 30 minutes at a time. My food jumped off the plate because it was dropped so hard on the table, which in retrospect, I wish it jumped off the plate and onto the floor so I didn't have to eat it.

Overall, obviously I would say to avoid 66 at all costs, unless you want some of the worst food and service you can get so you can feel better about going to McDonald's. Maybe the drinks are good? I would have tried them if I could find my waiter but glad that I didn't waste any more money here.

• Pros: Close enough to leave and walk to China Town for good food
• Cons: Disgusting food, offensive service, overhyped decor

04/22/06

Average at best.

by mynameismita

While I love Jean Georges other restaurants, I was not that impressed with 66. We made reservations for a late Friday night and ended up waiting about 40 minutes for a table which wasn't too bad. However, the table was in a bad area and we could barely hear ourselves so we asked to move to the huge commune-style table. We were the only ones there besides a group of guys all the way at the other end which was great. I had wanted to go mostly for their pork buns which I'd heard from a friend were great, but they aren't even on the menu anymore. The food we did order wasn't anything special but at least cheaply priced. With two drinks each, a few appetizers, a meal each (for 2) and dessert, we ended up spending about $140 after tip. Not bad, but not highly recommended either.

• Pros: food, drinks, service
• Cons: no pork buns, long wait

03/16/06

So Yummy!

by slinsky

I was at 66 and was very impressed. I went with group of friends and had a lot of fun with the family style meals. We all ended up staying until almost closing time drinking in the lounge. The atmosphere was very chic, and the food was delicious. I liked the food so much I've now started ordering from their takeout menu for lunch.

03/09/06

Delicious!

by jkingsland

I went to 66 the other night with a group of my friends for my birthday. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautifully designed ambience and delicious food. There's nothing else like this in NY. I really enjoyed the family-style presentation of the food. The food tasted super fresh. I still felt like I was eating traditional Chinese food only elevated in quality. It's so nice to have this Chinese experience in a chic, sophisticated beautiful environment. Some friends of mine who live in the neighborhood say it's the best Chinese food they've ever had!

• Pros: food, service, atmosphere

02/15/06

Total Hype

by gzilla321

Mistake was going to this restaurant based on reviews for Valetines Day. Overpriced chinese food where you can go 5 blocks, get less salty food, and pay 3/4 of the price charged. Asked for recommendations, waitress said read everything on the menu which already wasn't to unique. The only thing nice was the Decor but didn't go there to pay for scenery. Utterly, dissatisfied.

• Pros: decor
• Cons: overpriced, bad service, salty food