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Heard so many great things about this place. But the food was pretty tasteless and boring. Seating is cramped (and not in a charming way). And we were seated a good 35 minutes after our reservation time with no apologies whatsoever.

Having been curious for quite some time, I finally decided to eat at 26 seats last night. I had walked by a few times before and the food looked magnificent. I'm affraid this is where it ends, when our salad arrived, a special of scallops on greans, there was one, yes one, scallop, which had been sliced into 3 slivers, creating a chewy and tough experience, that salad had little to no flavor other than the oil which it was doused in. Our entres the cod special with tarragon and lemon which came with mashed potatoes also had no flavor, the fish was dry and had obviously been frozen, and the sauce tasted overwhelmingly of lemmon, the mashed potatoes were not dry and crusty, very unappealing. Our second dish the duck suffered the same flaws, dry tough duck breast, not done to the ussual medium rare, but more to a well done stage, came with a side of moldy rasberries. The onion tart was fine, but tasted as though onion soup had just been poured over some puff pastry, not creative at all. The deserts were not as bad, but a stale, literaly cruncy perfiterole was not up to par, and left me wanting a 'real' perfiterole. All in all this place is bland and boring, the best part of the meal was the bread and butter, which I could not get enough of. Looking around I saw the place was packed on a tuesday night, which leads me to belive that people either like bad and boring food as a throw back to their childhood, or a simply unaware that things get better than tough bland meat. I will not be going back to 26 seats.

I had eaten here when it first opened and was more impressed then than now. The trout was ok, ver y lemony but a little dry. The salmon was good but not to die for. The value for money is good, the bread delicious and the wine list decent.

Had the duck breast with sweet potato. The portion of duck was ample and nicely cooked but had a liver flavor which spoiled the experience. My friend's balsamic chicken was fine but the potato gratin was strangely textured and flavored. The prices are very reasonable, but probably won't go again.

I come to this little East Village restaurant once a month, and I love it. There is a great admosphere. The food is always good, especially the salmon and the duck. If you are in a mood for steak, go for it...It is the best in the Village! The restaurant is very tiny, so be sure to make a reservation.

I live within a block of 26 seats and have gone many times. The last three trips have been noticably lower quality - food is not prepared nearly as well, specials aren't creative, and fish just isn't fresh. The place still has its great charm and wonderful service, but please don't let the food slip - this is great neighborhood place, bring back the quality food!

I live in the building right upstairs from 26 seats, so I have the rare pleasure of smelling the kitchen work its magic 6 nights a week. While I don't eat at the restaurant that often, I do go pretty regularly, and can say this place is a real find. Prices are totally reasonable (main courses around $20), especially given the quality of the food, and the waitresses and owners are incredibly friendly. I really can't say enough about 26 seats- definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.