Reviews & Ratings for Gotham Bar and Grill

04/11/10

One of the best with spotty service

by worshma

Let's be honest - the food is always great here.

What is not so consistent - the service. On more than one occassion when I am with a large group where the tip will already be included, the service is awful. On the most recent visit, the waiter had to flagged down to bring us water, take the wine order (and he had to bring someone else to the table because he had no knowledge of the wine list), to take our order, to reorder win, to bring us the tab, and to correct the billing. We had to search him down each time. And once we finally asked for him to correct the billing mistrakes, he assigned someone else to the table. Unfortunately, beacuse I am usually a fan of this place. Considering the money you pay, you would expect good food AND spectacular service. Not the case.

• Pros: Amazing food
• Cons: Poor service with attitude

03/27/10

An Exquisite Dining Experience

by silverblue , Citysearch Contributor

Gotham won me over with the $25 Prix Fixe restaurant week lunch in February (note that the 3-course lunch deal is now running at $31, which is still a steal!). The food was exquisite, the service impeccable and the atmosphere elegant (with a tad corporate air feel).

I loved the refreshing chilled melon salad to start off with. Then the delightful miso-marinated cod with spring vegetables and foamy purée tasted light and healthy. But the winner was the grilled hanger steak with baby carrots and crispy fingerling potatoes bordelaise sauce; so perfectly cooked, tender and well-seasoned. And to top it off, the Gotham warm chocolate cake left an indelible impression on my mind as the best chocolate dessert I can remember to date.

Tip: Every Monday, Gotham invite diners to bring their own bottle of wine from the featured region of the $75 prix fixe uncorked menu, without the customary corkage fee. In March, the theme is Spain.

• Pros: Warm Chocolate Cake, Meat Entrees, Solid Service

03/19/10

It doesn't get any better than GOTHAM!

by IDASQ

The experience at Gotham Bar and Grill is not one to be missed while in Manhattan. It's such a unique place - you can dress formal or casual and you'll get the same level of service. The service is formal yet friendly and Gotham has always been CONSISTENT on delivering a memorable experience (oh....just when you think it doesn't get any better after your meal, the dessert menu arrives - whatever you choose, you'll LOVE it)... the Pastry Chef is a MASTER!

Try dining at the bar for a casual lunch - it's a great spot to people watch.

• Pros: Service, Cuisine, Ambiance, PRIVATE EVENTS

This New American cuisine pioneer is still going strong.

by Josh Ozersky

In its heyday, Gotham was one of the most influential restaurants in America for its towering platings and ultra-seasonal cooking. The room was modern, airy and elegant and it still is; the only thing that has changed is that the rest of the cooking world has caught up with chef Alfred Portale. But the food is as good as ever. Typically, there is one top-quality ingredient understatedly supported by two or three elements; a soft shell crab might come with some chanterelles and asparagus and a brown butter aioli, or a king crab risotto might show up with a few braised artichokes and some pickled ramps. The vertical arrangements are long gone, but the confidence and competence are as reliable as ever.

10/02/09

Expected more

by trlyclsc

I went after wanting to for so long and being in the food industry, it was about time. Went for lunch, ordered 3 apps, 2 entrees, 3 desserts.

The terrine was definetly the best of the 3 apps, octo was a bit over-done, and the flavors didnt stand out at all. Their tartare was ok, I'm into slightly over-seasoning, but this was just too much for the dish +how it was plated, I promise you, gordan ramsey would have thrown it on the floor.

Tried the shrimp risotto, they put one shrimp split in the dish. you cant really call it shrimp risotto with one shrimp, come on. +the risotto was way over done. I tend to like my pasta a bit over done, just slightly past al dente, but this was like eating rice. no bueno.

The duck was ok. polenta and succotash were good.

The apricot terrine was eh. summer cheesecake, oh this was interesting. the sorbet was I believe a white balsamic huckleberry. Cheesecake though, it tasted tangy like there was blue cheese in it and no one seemed to know what it was made of. they found out for us and it was 80% mascarpone and 20% gorgonzola. I guess they knew people wouldn't order it if they had that on the menu. plus the linzer tart that came with it was bigger than the cheesecake. 3rd dessert I can't even remember what it was.

Service. Our waited greeted us with, "so 'bout some lunch today" No shit. Didnt smile once. never checked on us. when we didnt order wine they left the wine glasses on our small table with 3 apps.. never cleaned the crumbs off. left our empty bread plates. No one could or did explain the dishes. then when our waiter dissapeared, it seems his shift ended. No goodbye and so-and-so will be your waiter/waitress. Goodness. It was atrocious. Latte wasnt worth the 5$ something. which was even more than le bernadin's.

Perhaps it was because we came right when lunch was ending? I still dont think thats an excuse. Maybe it was just a bad day in general? Or maybe I just expect too much. Hope others have a better experience.

• Pros: room temp butter like it should be.
• Cons: service

02/25/09

Delicious Food

by LeeLee74

My Husband and I went to Gotham for Valentines day. The meal was amazing every bite was savory, we were disappointed when the meal was over. I wish the resturant itself had a little more character but other than that the experience was tops.

• Cons: ordinary ambience

08/01/08

Great food, lovely dining room

by grouchomarx

We ate there a few months ago for my boyfriend's birthday. We were on time for our res and seated promptly. The dining room has great lighting and a nice ambience, with beautiful white drapey things hanging from the ceiling. It's a little loud but auite manageable. We started with excellent house cocktails which are all very old school and for serious drinkers - no fruity watered down concontions and lots of bourbon based drinks. We ordered a nice bottle of rose champange for the meal. Wine list is pricey. The menu offers 3 savory courses and dessert, we figured there must be a reason for this so we went for 3 savory courses. All the food was very delicious, including ceviche, lobster, berkshire pork. All were wonderfully tasty and artfully presented. However portions are rather large and I was literally about to explode by the end. We didn't even have dessert which is unheard of for us. Service was professional and friendly. We saw Alfred Portale greeting some tables in the dining room. We were not among the lucky ones but it was nice to see him there. The place is enduring for a reason - excellent food, well prepared, beautifully presented. My only complaints: 1) tables are close together and it's an uncomfortable situation to go to the restroom - you need someone to pull the tabel out for you and if you don't wait for that to happen, your butt will be in your neighbor's dinner (and I'm not fat), and 2) the price! jawdropping prices, and I've eaten everywhere from Daniel to Eleven Madison Park but whoa, that $48 lobster makes your pause for a moment. It's a place for people with stacks of money who don't want to get dressed up but want 5 star food and great service.

• Pros: Food, ambience, cocktails
• Cons: Price

07/21/08

miserable attitude wrecks the food

by rachelz3

Lunch during Restaurant Week, second year. Hostess doesn't greet us. Arrive 5 minutes early for reservation, empty room, made to wait the 5 minutes. Returning then to the hostess, a male host tells her "we have another minute, (make them wait)".

Seated, our server tries to push drinks on us, condescending to our tap water order. I was in the mood for wine. Server brings a wine list, I asked him about wines by the glass but he cut me off and walked away mid sentence dismissing me with: "we have so many (read it yourself, don't waste my precious time)" . I finally got his attention to ask "how many wines by the glass do you have that are red and Italian?" Oh he says, we have two, a Chianti and a Rioja. I opened the wine menu and confirmed that a Rioja is Spanish, not Italian. For this kind of superior attitude, he should at least know the difference between continents, and further, the Italian wine is probably not a Chianti. In any case, I was put off the wines.

The Restaurant Week menu is not only diminutive but also I am fairly sure it is identical to last year's.

I get it that Restaurant Week is discounted, and many people tip only the percentage of the cheap prix fixe price, I am sure they would much rather have people paying full price and buying liquor and leaving big tips, but they sure as heck are not going to get there with snotty abbreviated service. I would have ordered wine and full entrees from their main menu but insulted, I ordered the minimum.

The food was nice- I choose that word intentionally. We ordered melon salad, gazpacho, steak (2, as the other choices were boring cod and cheap gnocci), panna cotta and chocolate cake. We asked to share and they looked at us like we were from Mars. The cake was especially lovely and light consistency with dark chocolate- but overall:

The Food is not good enough to compensate for the miserable condescending attitude and LOUD dining room. Try Union Square Cafe.

• Pros: nice food
• Cons: horrible condescending attitude, LOUD room

05/01/08

STILL TERRIFIC

by brunyfood

This is the most reliable place on earth. Need I say more? Service is wonderful. The bar is one of the best in the city. And the food is superb. Thank you, Alfred.

• Pros: always great
• Cons: no more tuna on the menu

04/02/08

1 of the best meals I have ever had

by dreadnoght

I was in New York on a trip and we ate here for lunch, I had the black cod it was amazing the presentation the taste the textures just truly great. It was really busy for lunch and the service was still top notch. Everything was timed perfectly, the server was able to answer every question we had. If your ever in the area stop and eat you wont be disapointed.

• Pros: food and service
• Cons: not in minnesota