Mesa Grill

10/12/09

Not what I hoped for

by james chicago

The food was not what a Bobby Flay fan would expect. It was bland and the double baked potato was ice cold. I think he should wear a beard or some disguise and check his homework. Ramsey would have a field day in there. They seemed like they were trying pretty hard to succeed but just didn't. I had high hopes. Maybe too high. Maybe watching too much food channel. All in all pretty pricey. Not bad but not worth the tag. Might give it another try. Might not.

• Pros: staff was friendly and upbeat
• Cons: long wait cold food

09/13/09

Mexa wannabe food!!!!

by txingon

Let's just say my girlfriends and I walked out of the restaurant, halfway through our meal due to a visitor in our tabe AHHHHH!!!! My friend pointed out that I had a cacaroche (city search bans the true word from reviews... hmmm... conspiracy much?) crawling on me, we screamed to high heaven, and a bus boy came and put it in a napkin and ran to the kitchen. Next thing I knew I was asking for the manager, who was a person with too much attitude.... and tried to debate with me whether it was a cacaroche or a water roche... like manager, an inch long brown roche was crawling on me... do I really need to debate semantics here??

Anyways who knows if the perp was actually a cacaroche or water roche... either way I'm never going back there!

Just as a note, when we walked out, a woman at the front who had just finished eating said "Oh you guys had a cacaroche by your table too?"

Sorry that place needs to be shut down.

• Pros: Raid Please!!!!!
• Cons: Raid Please!!!!

Flavors crackle at Bobby Flay's two-tiered Southwestern

by Melanie Berliet

At this vast, almost always booked restaurant, both the lively crowd and the decor--including colorful dinnerware and booths upholstered in cowboy prints--shout "fiesta!" But while the design may strike some as overly kitschy (if not outright tacky) for an upscale eatery, when it comes to the menu Flay doesn't disappoint. Dishes are fresh and vibrant, and though the prices aren’t cheap, the food is worth the splurge. Barbecue pork quesadillas and crispy squash blossoms both make excellent starters; main courses like red snapper with chili tomato sauce or duck breast with chorizo goat cheese tamale seal the deal. Finally, pucker up for an adventurous dessert like the pineapple buttermilk upside-down cake.

05/17/09

~Delicious~

by Catwoman75

We had no trouble with customer service what so ever. On the contrary, our waitress recommended wonderful dishes (Goat Cheese Dip for an ap, Pork Tenderloin for an entree- seriously good!), our food was prompt, we were seated only about 3 minutes after our scheduled reservation. We all agreed that it was a fantastic night! Our total bill for 3 people was $120 (no alcohol or dessert, one shared ap and 3 entrees). We sat at a very comfortable 4 seat table which was great. I could see that the tables for 2 may have been a little close together, but honestly no worse than in other restaurants I've been in. This is NYC. Space is not overly abundant. But although it may have been slightly cozy, I really don't think it would have been a showstopper. I definitely recommend!

• Pros: Great service! Fantastic food! Really nice night out!

04/28/09

All that glitters is not gold

by shawnpo

Just went there for the first time last saturday since me and my wife both are fans of Iron Chef and Throwdown.As soon as we got in the server took us to our table.we were ordered the spicy chicken and my wife ordered chicken with sweet potatoes.The bread basket came which was decent but everything went downhill from there the plates came they looked wonderful but didnt taste any good its was without any taste and little burned the home potatoes i ordered were old and warmed in microwave i complained to the waiter but he ignored and told me that if i dont like it we dont have to come back so we paid our bill left .Once we got out we went to a hot dog stand and had the best hot dog of our life....All that glitters is not gold.

• Pros: Dishes look like a piece of art
• Cons: Taste like trash

03/27/09

Nothing to write home about

by Zachary

I expected a great experience for the price. Highly disappointing. The waitress didn't smile, when asked advice, we received a scowl.

Don't waste your money - plenty of better restaurants out there for the cost of this one!!

A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

• Pros: none
• Cons: service - food

03/25/09

What A Mess-a Grill!

by prlgirl

Am guessing the staff thinks Mesa means mess in Spanish- Awful experience. Arrived on a Monday night and was greeted by hosts who looked frightened by people. We weren't really given a good estimate as to when we would actually be seated but am guessing some people shouldn’t have to bore you with details about how long a wait is when you have a reservation. Big crowd in the waiting area while there were seats open. Even more amazing is that they were turning away walk-ins with a supposed wait while there tables. Losing revenue in times like these, I should have taken that as a hint and ran while I still had a chance. Our waiter was apologizing for how busy it was and we did feel bad for him, it looked like he was the only person manning a large number of tables. They were severely understaffed. Managers fluttering about and not stopping by tables to ask how things were given how crazy things were looking. Felt like I was in a bad episode of Hell’s kitchen. Bobby Flay should really re-visit this restaurant and get back to basics.

• Pros: centrally located so you can dine elsewhere
• Cons: hostess, kitchen, wait staff

03/14/09

Great Food!!

by senn1611

For our 24th anniversary my wife & I decided to eat at the Mesa Grill. We have eaten at fine restaurants around the world. (Paris, London, Germany, Arizona, California, Florida, etc.)

We had a wonderful experience here. We had the Blue Corn Pancake for an appetizer, I had the Sixteen Spice Duck breast, and my wife had the Mahi Mahi.

Every dish was unique and flavorFULL! Even the sides stood on their own.

I have read that some have not enjoyed their experience, but we did not experience any of those things.

I highly recommend this restaurant and we will return!

• Pros: Food was excellent!! Wait staff superb
• Cons: none

03/02/09

Worst Food By Far, Please Read, I didn't listen to the bad reviews as well, now I learned my lesson!

by gracelady812

This is how I feel about Mesa Grill.

As soon as I got home I emailed this to Bobby Flay, owner

Dear Bobby Flay,

I have been such a big supporter of you. I started out as a fan from your show, Hot Off The Grill.

I stayed at the Cove Atlantis, and Mesa Grill became my favorite restaurant there. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious.

I live in New York, so yesterday I decided to disregard the warning reviews and finally check out brunch at Mesa Grill.

I cannot believe it Bobby!....My husband and I had to continually eat throughout the day to get the horrible taste out of our mouths. SHOCKED

I have to say this was a huge disappointment..since I always rave about Mesa in the Bahamas.

If you were to eat this meal, I don't think you would have finished it. I ordered the mahi mahi that was my favorite from the Cove....it was terribly burnt.....it left the worst taste I have eaten in years.

I have had the pleasure of eating at the finest restaurants in the city from Daniel, to Le Cirque, however I have has some bad ones as well. This was by far the worst. The fries were terrible, drenched in spicy powder. I have to admit the green chile rice was just as I remembered in the bahamas, delicious.....but it was a TABLESPOON!

Since the fish left me with a terrible taste I made the mistake of ordering dessert. How bad can chocolate cake be....well bad try diner dessert.

SHOCKED SHOCKED

I think you should go in as a disguise and try this meal.....this is your reputation, listen to the reviews, google mesa grill new york!!!!

do something!!! please

It ruined my sunday meal,

I don't want it to happen to other customers.

Thank You

• Pros: NO PROS
• Cons: Terrible Place and most importantly terrible food.!!!!!!!!!

02/08/09

Much better than expected!!

by jmrichards

Because of former reviews on this site, by boyfriend and I have been reluctant to try Mesa Grill- afraid of what seemed to be in user's opinions- "tourist trap prices", "not the signature sauces expected"....that was NOT the case tonight. We went in on a Sunday without a reservation and were promptly seated, dutifully waited on and the meals were amazing. They had an impressive tequila selection and an interesting wine list, though I think there should have been more from the northwest US and South America. I was very happy with the apple/spinach/blue cheese salad with citrus dressing that had an amazingly pleasant kick to it- my boyfriend had the blue corn pancake which was out of this world! For entrees, he was happy with his ribeye and the accompanying green and red pepper sauces featuring lots of cumin and a cilantro-pepper chutney, as I was with my duck breast paired with a chorizo-goat cheese tamale. He raved about the side of cauliflower with a bechamel cheese sauce. The flavors were strong and complex and made us want to lick our plates. Dessert was an especially nice surprise of profiteroles that were the tenderest I've ever had with cream cheese ice cream and caramel sauce- OK, I would had preferred some dark chocolate- or some spicy dark chocolate sauce at that- but the texture of the pastry was the best I've ever had- and I have profiteroles wherever I go! We left completely satisfied. So go and see for yourselves and don't listen to the ranters!! I would go back again for sure!

• Pros: Great flavors, great drink selections, great service!
• Cons: Little on the noisy side, but not bad.