02/27/09

Consistently great

by mar933

I've never left this place disappointed. Yesterday, as usual we had an extremely pleasant evening -- good service and excellent food. Their menu selections are exquisite. Duck confit yesterday was great. I love their combinations -- how flavors complement each other. Excellent atmosphere and decor. Looking forward to going back.

• Pros: Excellent food, choices, combinations, wine list, service
• Cons: Expensive. Occasionally loud diners

11/16/08

food good but not excellent

by eelijjahh

My experience at Blue Ribbon was just okay. Really didn't do much for me. Overrated, perhaps? The food was really good but not excellent and service could've been better. I feel like the staff wasn't attentive enough. We asked for bread two times and we never got it, I just couldn't believe it! I

• Pros: late night dining
• Cons: rude staff,

08/11/08

Rude and Pretentious

by leslies1981

This is such a pretentious place. I just don't get how restaurant management can be so rude. It must come from the top; always does. We went last Friday night, about one AM. No wait, we could see one table open. The manager says, let me see what we have available, walks around the dining room. Meanwhile a party of four comes in, introduces himself to the manager, back slapping commences, etc. and they are given the table that was open. He comes back to us and tells us there's a 30 minute wait. In a restaurant that takes no reservations, this is just rude and snobbish. I'll never go back to Blue Ribbon, or any of its other restaurants

• Pros: If you like to be abused by pretentious restaurant workers, its your paradise

06/19/08

Great, chill environment

by chelseagirl212

I love this place. I prefer the very small bar area, but don't mind being seated as well. The raw bar is fabulous. The staff are attentive and knowledgable. No, I do not work here and do not always have my way. Just because there are 5 of us crowded in the bar area and no seats are immediately available - no we can not just drink at a table in the dining room. NP. As soon as seats at the bar open up - the area is cleared and the seats are held fro us. In the meantime, we can make ourselves comfortable otherwise. Very reasonable policies, cozy environment. My friends (New Yorkers or Out of Towners) and I always enjoy ourselves. And did I mention that they serve food until 4am - full menu, I believe.

• Pros: Ambience, environment, staff, raw bar, kitchen open until 4am
• Cons: They are noticably nicer to their regulars than occassional diners...But can you balme them?!

01/14/08

Not Worth It at all

by kate31

Were trying to get into this place for a while. But they don't take reservations for less than 5 people, and we did not want to take a risk of waiting. Finally got into this downtown location of Blue Ribbon and were disappointed. Surprisingly, we were seated promptly as soon as all four of us were in. However, it took them about 30 minutes to tell us that the wine we ordered is not available (while we were waiting with empty glasses) The waiter quickly lost interest in us and started passing by quickly to make sure we don't stop him. The food was below average, disappointing. My fish was soaked in oil, veggies undercooked. My friend did not like his meat tar tar. After all we got a lagre bill (with the help of wine we finally got ...as their wine list is extremely overpriced!) Will not go back.

• Pros: Dim Lighting, Prompt Seating
• Cons: Food, Service, Price

12/21/07

Not worth the hype

by hanjib

Made reservations a week in advance with all sorts of rules such as: call ahead between 4 and 6 the day of to confirm.. if even one person drops out you lose the reservation completely. We were also told to arrive 15 minutes early, which we did. We waited for over half an hour. I had to ask the staff 3 times to seat us -- and they did so only after I pointed to a table that had been sitting empty. I don't usually mind waiting, but why ask us to arrive early?

The appetizers were good, but the entrees were mediocre. Not a bad restaurant but certainly not worth the money or the hype. Next time, instead of going to a well-known establishment like this, I'll support a newer restaurant where the owners and staff really care about great food and service.

• Pros: Appetizers
• Cons: Service, Entrees

11/25/07

Not very welcoming...

by robcitsearch

Pretentious. Not very welcoming on the inside for such a cool looking place in a great location. Great potential but a bit too clicky.

08/30/07

Shrimp provencal

by tgoldbloom

This is my favorite restaurant in Manhatten when i can get in. The atmosphere is great and the shrimp provencal is amazing but they don't take reservations and they're always busy. The only time you can get in is 1:00 A.M. Who wants to eat that late??

• Pros: Shrimp provecal
• Cons: The seating

05/16/07

Favorite Restaurant In Manhattan, Best Service Anywhere

by cobraman332

Went back to Blue Ribbon for my 2nd time on Friday night... my group (5 people... they don't take reservations unless you're 5 or more) had a 1am reservation so we could make a night out of it. We brought 5 bottles of good wine with us and paid the corking fee ($25/each... a BIT high for me but, still cheaper than buying 5 bottles)... the wait staff could not have been any better. We tasted the wines throughout the night with out waiter(s) and we even decanted one bottle. Started with a massive 3-tier raw bar platter loaded with pretty much everything, including some of the special oysters (DELICIOUS) and crawfish (also a special). Afterwards, we just had to order more oysters (12 more) and crawfish (another pound). The raw bar here is simply delicious. I ate a hangar steak for my entree... as before it was phenomenal and happened to go very well with the bottle of wine we were drinking at the time. We had a banana split for dessert and I had a glass of port to finish up the night. We were taken VERY good care of throughout the night and constantly looked after by the great, knowledgeable staff. Ended up leaving at 5am and could not have had a better night. I will be back without a doubt.

• Pros: Amazing Service, Awesome Late Night Spot, Fantastic Raw Bar, Great Food All Around
• Cons: Pricey, $25 Corkage Fee

05/03/07

Cozy restaurant with great service and yummy food!

by kellysan24

This was our first time to this restaurant. We arrived around 5:30 on a friday night and had a few glasses of champagne at the bar. The bartender gave us both nice size pours of champagne and we were feeling pretty happy by the time we were ready for dinner. We were lucky to get the cozy both in the corner closest to the entrance. We started with the fondue appetizer which was really good. My boyfriend doesn't like fondue but he loved theirs! I had the fried chicken with mashed potato's, gravy and collard greens. I was surprised they gave me so much fried chicken (3-4 pieces) and the smashed potato's were really good. My boyfriend ordered the steak and it was cooked perfectly. One of the owners stopped by our table to make sure his steak was cooked to his liking. They have a great wine list and we opted for a nice bottle of Pingus (spanish wine) to go with our meal. The dinner/bar tab was pretty high because we had $20 glasses of champange and a $130 bottle of wine but here were plenty other selections of less expensive wine's available.

• Pros: Good food, Great service and awesome wine list!
• Cons: They don't take reservations for party's under 5.