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I went here with two coworkers and we dined outdoors on a beautiful, warm day. The small outdoor seating area forced the waitstaff to constantly walk behind my chair and annoyingly slide against me. That is a huge problem for me when I am trying to enjoy my meal. Additionally, it took an inordinate amount of time for the waitress to come over to take our orders. Next, the waitress recommended the sausage appetizer which was completely unworthy of recommendation. It was nothing more than cut up pieces of very obviously fat-enshrouded sausage and it wasn't even warm. The presentation was so poor that one of my coworkers was afraid to even try it. Its red coloring looked almost like a rare animal was laying before us in chunks. The other appetizer we ordered was the mild cheese and sauce. It too was very plain in taste and had nothing to offer the palate. Perhaps it was meant to be a dunking sauce, but it only arrived with two small pieces of bread and there were three of us. Both appetizers were extremely small portions, so tiny that one of my coworkers was afraid to take any at all, for fear that there wouldn't be enough for all of us. Additionally, the apps were served with no serving utensils. Were we supposed to use our fingers? The entrees were more appealing. I had the scallops, which was a very small portion, especially in comparison to the chicken entree, which included two pieces of chicken parts. The scallops arrived in a bed of couscous and had a few mussels adorning the plate. The flavor was mild, nothing to rave about, yet the scallops were nicely prepared- not overdone as is often the case. The couscous included nuts, which I could have done without. Somehow I don't find nuts and scallops to be a winning combination. The other entree on the table was the snapper. Neither of my coworkers made any mention of whether they enjoyed their entrees, so I assume that it was just a meal and nothing more to them. The bus boys were extremely attentive, constantly coming around with more bread for us. And there was a choice of a couple of types of bread. I had the olive bread which was warm and soft. To the obvious disappointment of the waitress, we did not order dessert.

The place is well known and deserving of all the food kudos. So, why would the maitre d' try to sit me and my wife in Siberia for a 6:45 reservation when the place was about 10% full? A mild complaint and we got the table of our choice, just a silly, stupid little glitch that sets a bad tone, especially when you are about to leave big bucks. We don't drink so as a treat we ordered a fairly priced bottle of water, our server, without asking opened and poured another bottle when the first was empty, a mild complaint and the bottle was removed and did not appear on the bill. Another small glitch, but none the less annoying and completely avoidable by simply asking before pouring. I also noticed that the people drinking wine had their glasses annoyingly kept full in the hopes of getting them to order more wine. Overall service was fine, professional, prompt, and for the most part there only when you needed them, good place for special occasions.

I live in Tudor City, so obviously because of its location, Convivio is the most convenient dining for me. I will admit, I am not a fan of the atmosphere -- reminds me of an 80's era nice, mod restaurant but its not the location nor the atmosphere that keeps me coming back. The food is simply the best. I feel a lot of their menu options feature seafood, and I usually end up ordering something that I barely recognize but does not have seafood and it is always awesome -- no matter what is on my plate. Sort of pricey, but completely worth every penny. I find it being my fall back restaurant, always going there when I have guests or do not know where to go, but I never feel like I'm settling because I love it so much.

the $59 prix fixe was a very good value. No amuse bouche was surprising, but the meatballs and the oysters were great, the sturgeon stuffed squid ink pasta with rock shrimp delicious, the lamb chops and scallops perfectly done, and our desserts delicious, with a complimentary panna cotta for our anniversary. Problems? Had to ask for more bread and the bar had NO Canadian Blend whiskeys - Scotch, Bourbon and Rye. Period. Shocking really. Nice atmosphere, delicious food, excellent value for a 4 course prix fixe meal, marred only by minor annoyances that aside from the price, will always keep it from rising to the next level of dining elegance.

I took my mom and sis here recently for dinner and I could not have had a better dinner. I have never experienced any of the waitstaff problems that previous reviewers speak of. It's terrible that people have these issues but the food there is spectacular and people should not worry. I know many people who have eaten here and no one has has problems. It's the industry and sometimes things happen but I have experienced nothing but four star service.

Yelp, menupages, etc all had hints of how bad the service is...I ignored them figuring someone in management would have rectified this by now. Wrong. This is my first Internet review of anything, guess the experience was motivating. We waited 25 minutes before the waiter stopped by. They said my bottle water was empty, we only had 2 cups (turned out they gave away by accident). This is not white table cloth service, don't be fooled! They don't clear your plates or replace utensils, or ask if you want second glass of wine until you're on dessert. Woke up angry I still left 18%

Good food marred by service charitably called "indifferent." First time in a major NYC restaurant that we had to ask for the waiter to come to the table to take our orders. The busboy to whom we had asked to let the waiter know we were still waiting [about 10minutes in ]returned with word that the waiter would be there in a few minutes. The coup de gras, upon arrival at the table, the waiter asked the party is we were ready? Since when is wait staff being trained by Basil Fawlty? Of course, overcompensating as per usual, gave 20+ tip... when will I learn some people deserve the tip that don't get............