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I was looking forward to eating here after all the good things I had heard. Unfortunately, like many NYC restaurants this place was all hype. The food was okay not great. I just wouldn't go back or go out of my way to eat here. On a positive note, the service was excellent.

Let me break Blue Ribbon Brasserie down like a fraction for you. When it comes to its ambiance, one word immediately came to mind - UNDERWHELMING! Having said that – get over it & give it a chance! The food is where Blue Ribbon's reputation is rightfully earned! As you peruse their menu, you immediately appreciate the range of dishes available. There is a strong focus on seafood. But they have several appetizers and main courses showcasing other proteins such as beef, chicken, duck, lamb and yes, even pigeon. I personally feel the pigeon is absolutely unnecessary as it only conjures up images of the nasty, greasy-feathered variety you run across on the lawns of Bryant Park or the sidewalks of Gotham. You know the kind: perhaps it hobbles around with a chewed-up-stump of a missing leg which was the result of a prize-fight caliber encounter with one of our infamous rats behind the dumpster of a well-known eatery? But I digress. I started with a half-dozen fresh raw oysters. They were served with a traditional mignonette, a red spicy sauce, and another sauce with finely chopped onion, lime juice and cilantro. I thoroughly enjoyed the oysters. My sister had the escargot. These were prepared out of their shell Bourguignon-style in a rich red wine/veal stock reduction served with potatoes, carrots and wild mushrooms. Four our main courses, my sister had the filet mignon with cooked spinach and French fries. The meat was very tender and done to her specifications (medium). I would normally have mine medium rare. But it was not my dish. I opted for a favorite - skate wing! It was fantastic! In its most traditional form of serving, it was very lightly dusted with flour and pan seared with lemon segments and capers. A brown butter sauce was very lightly drizzled on top. The skate was served over diced shrimp, small potato cubes and lardons. My one complaint was I wished my dish had more brown butter sauce on the plate. Otherwise, the skate was very flavorful and cooked perfectly. All I can say about the service is, it was spectacular. Our host sat us very quickly. Our waiter was spot on. He provided us some great recommendations. He told us about the specials and clearly answered any questions we had. He was extremely attentive without seeming clingy. He gave us space but timed his visits to our table with military precision. I will definitely return and bring others to enjoy a good meal. However, I will warn them to not judge a book by its cover.

I have been coming here for years & the food, atmosphere and service are excellent. The only problem is their wine list. The wine list on their website shows a wide range of wines that are all reasonably priced. The actual wine list in the restaurant is totally different and 90% of the wines are priced over $100 and perhaps 65% of the list is $200 and up, way up. This is not a customer friendly wine list, especially when the few reasonable wines under $100 are of sketchy quality. It is surprising that a good restaurant like this would offer such a wine list that does not cater to all customers. In this current economic climate, I cannot imagine that a large percentage of any such small independent restaurant's customers are regularly buying wines over $200. I hope that the wine list will change in the future or it will prohibit me from wanting to dine here if I cannot find a good wine on the list offered at a reasonable price to enjoy with my food.

I had the Bone Marrow dish. It was delish. I also tried the Escargot, which was prepared different than what I am used to, but was very good, with a sweet kick to it. Steak Tartar , no complaints there. I did not get dessert, but the table next to me got the banana split and it was ginormous!

Went to the Brasserie for dinner on Saturday night. Didn't love the calamari app, but oysters and pate were pretty good. Really enjoyed the hangar steak entree and shrimp provencal ravioli. Chocolate bruno dessert was very good as was the creme brulee.

I took my boyfriend here for his Birthday as the reviews of this place were fantastic. The food here is very good, especially the sauteed calamari we had for an appetizer. The flavor of the sauce was delicious and the chef kept the integrity of the calamari itself. It was a nice change from the usual battered and deep fried stuff you get at most restaurants. As for our entrees, I had the hanger steak and my boyfriend had the NY Strip. Both were Mediocre. The portobellos with my meal were too salty, and his steak was so so. Would I come back? Probably one day, but I wouldn't order the same entrees as I did this time.

My fiancee and I have eaten here the last 3 Monday nights. We do love the food and I have no problem giving it a good numerical review. However, this past Monday we made a reservation to celebrate her admittance to the bar and a friend's completion of the marathon and left with a very sour taste in our mouths. The reservation was for 6 at 8pm. Unfortunately, when we arrived we were told that since we did not call the restaurant to confirm our reservation it was canceled and our table was given away and that the host had left us a message to that effect. It was very embarassing for us and our guests and the restaurant made zero effort to accomodate us when we clearly chose it as a place to celebrate something special. This senseless policy is the opposite of the standard policy of every other restaurant in the city. The host explained that Blue Ribbon takes great care to make sure that patrons understand this policy when they call to make a reservation. We happen to eat out 5 nights a week and I would have taken note of such an out-of-sync request when making a reservation. We are going to take a break from Blue Ribbon because they don't seem to need or want our business and most of all, we were really disappointed that they host did not try to remedy a misunderstanding that was driven by their own backward policy.