Minetta Tavern

Top quality ingredients and simple preparation combined resulted in a wonderful dinner from start to finish. The special beet salad was surprisingly even better than the lobster salad which was delicious as well. The steak and veal chop were superb....perfectly charred on the outside and juicey on the inside. The chocolate souffle was the perfect ending to this meal. Our waiter, Damon, was very professional, knowledgable and attentive without overdoing it. I'd say it's back to basics....top quality ingredients, expert cooking and outstanding service.

Recently, I was invited to dinner at Minetta Tavern by a certain gentleman, who I’ve bumped into a few times around the city. We’ll call him Mr. Niceguy. You know the type; he’s ambiguously “older”, absurdly short, has chronic halitosis (and is a bit of close-talker to boot, which makes him nearly impossible to bear), but he is also the absolute nicest foodie on the planet. Generous to a fault, always ready with a compliment or a clever quip about the latest cocktail craze, Mr. Niceguy is just that, a nice guy…not my next love affair. But, a week ago, when Mr. Niceguy asked me out to dinner at Minetta Tavern, I couldn’t say no. I like to think of myself as a nice girl, and hey, Bruni just gave 3 starts to Keith McNally’s most recent foray into trendy comfort food. Mr. Niceguy doesn’t drink red wine, and so our meal began when we were forced to order our vino by the glass, something akin to heresy for the sommelier on the floor that night. The minute I informed said sommelier we’d be ordering individually, “We have very different tastes…you understand,” it was clear that he didn’t. I literally watched the enthusiasm drip out of his smile like a slow leak in a flat tire, and this was only the beginning of the evening. We decided to skip the much-lauded Black Label Burger and instead each had a Tavern Steak (a New York strip, served bloody, as requested), potatoes Anna (buttery and delicious) and two glasses of wine (me, a California Zin; he, an Austrian Riesling…with steak!). That’s when I knew that, even if he weren’t so goddamn nice, it could never work. White wine with steak is a deal-breaker for me, and Rieslings, well let’s just say I didn’t like grape juice as a kid, and I still don’t. All in all, Minetta Tavern reminded me of a poor man’s Waverly Inn; the food was solid, the crowd was über trendy, the décor was Old New York revived, the atmosphere was brilliantly alive, but the bill was a hell of a lot cheaper. I told Mr. Niceguy, and he agreed. He suggested I blog about it (which I did, I thanked him for dinner and told him I’d best head straight home to start writing. He responded, “Nice.” -Kimberly Belle

In short, very crowded and very loud. The menu is sort of brief and not terribly interesting. I am trying to figure out how Bruni decided this was worth three stars. My fish was cooked reasonably well but no better than any 1 or 2 star restaurant. The best part of dinner was watching a hapless drunk at the bar fall flat on her ass!!

It amazes me that this restaurant was given three stars by the New York Times. While I really liked the space, the vibe and the spirit of the place, the food was disappointing. I had the lobster salad- good quality but not special, especially considering the price and the $26 burger. I always order hamburgers rare, but the waitress stressed that I order it "medium-rare". It arrived more medium-well done and was dry. The frites were great. When I was asked how I liked the burger, I replied "coffee shop", which I guess was not the thing to say at Minetta Tavern. The friendly staff seemed to turn hostile. While I was told a manager would speak to me, that never happened, but complimentary sorbet was sent to the table, which I really didn't want or eat. I may be back sometime, but for drinks, not food.

NOT worth your time. In search of the best burger nyc according to the show "best thing i ever ate" A friend offerd to give me a PR # to get a reservation. Upon calling, You'd think i was asking for her first born child. So once your past the bouncer and the recovering meth addict w/ the clipboard it's small and noisy place. Food is def. good, best burger, def. not. i'll never go back again and urge you to consider somewhere else to spend your $$$.

great, fun place to bring a date. a very new york, hip, cool environment but the food is sub par. cocktails were well made and bar is gorgeous. go once to check it out but you wont go back. also, clip board guy out front is really quite annoying and inhospitable.

Like Balthazar and Pastis, Minetta is the new hotspot. He does have a great formula, but this time I wasn't completely impressed. The staff was amazing, atmosphere is cozy and cramped with his signature all over it, but unfortunately our food just didn't live up. Given, we ordered quite ambitiously (foie gras terrine and pork belly) but the greasy fattiness of both dishes really turned us off. Cocktails were so-so but the bartender was hot so that made up for it. It was a lovely experience, just wish I had ordered something safer, like the black label burger. I'd definitely go back and eat at the bar (nice view).