Gotham Bar & Grill

08/01/2008 Posted 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

07/21/2008 Posted 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