Public

Went for dinner Sunday night and it was poor. Ambience is fantastic and we should've just stayed for a drink, but we sat and became quickly disappointed. While the scallops and lentil salad were acceptable, the beet risotto was awfully salty and just downright unpleasant. We quickly left and went up the street to Cafe Habana where we had a perfectly great meal (the grilled corn!) for a fraction of the price. BEWARE what you're paying for. I don't plan on returning the food ever again.

I've always liked Public a lot - I've been a few times over the past couple of years and it's so pretty there, plus I love the food, the drinks are great, and the bartenders are uniformly adorable. So when my new man said he scored Valentine's Day reservations there for us, I was thrilled, and impressed. We walked in a few minutes early for our reservation fully expecting to have to wait, but we were seated immediately (no chance to ogle the hotties behind the bar, so sad). We had a nice table on the banquette that I was happy with, it didn't feel like we were sitting on the laps of the other couples, and we had a good view of all of the extra candles that they put out for V-Day. We had a very nice and attentive waitress. They had a special menu, 5 courses for 90 bucks, and I thought it was fantastic. Well presented and delicious with lots of interesting options. Highlights were the little cup of edamame soup, an amazing snapper in a soy broth with a lobster dumpling, and a chocolate mousse with passionfruit sauce that made me squeal it was so good. I was surprised with how much care they put into the food on such a busy night. Then they sent us on our way with a special Public CD and box of chocolate. Nice touch, Public. Thanks for being my Valentine this year!

While not a diehard regular of this superb restaurant, I have been dining here a half-dozen or more times a year for the past several years and live not far away. And with very minor exceptions, I have been consistently thrilled with my experiences. And I was reminded of how much I like this place just the other night, returning after a rather long absence, when I dined with a friend on a recent Thursday. As universally noted, it is a truly beautiful space. And yes, it was busy and we had to wait a few minutes to sit-much preferable to walking into an empty restaurant on a Thursday night, don’t you think-but the atmosphere was lively (not at all what I would call trendy as another diner commented) and the hostess was totally warm and appropriately accommodating-escorting us to the bar to wait for an open table and returning soon after to seat us. Once sat, we were quickly greeted by an agreeable and very well-informed server who walked us through the inventive menu. He also helped us navigate the eclectic wine list and recommended a delicious and reasonable New Zealand pinot noir that suited my venison and according to my friend, her snapper, equally well. Our entrees were absolutely fantastic-I’d not tried either dish before- as were our grilled scallops and kangaroo (a must) appetizers. We finished the evening with two really nice Australian desert wines-which the waiter informed us are called ‘stickies’ in Aussie parlance-and a to-die-for toffee pudding. Good food/service etc notwithstanding, to me, consistency is one of the most important attributes of a great restaurant and Public excels here. Cheap it is not. But neither is it without good value for a dining experience of this caliber. I highly recommend it whether in the area or as a destination (and as any great neighborhood restaurant has, the bar is terrific for dining if you can grab a seat). I promise I won’t let it go so long before my next visit.

With all the salt they sprinkled on every piece of food, it is hard to know whether they want you to eat it or preserve it. I choked down my snapper while my wife couldn't even have more than three mouthfulls of her risotto. This was my fourth dinner at this restaurant in the last two years and the quality of the experience has steadily declined. Waste of money, waste of time.

I was drawn to this restaurant only after my friend and his friends raved to me about how fantastic the place is. I believe his words were "to die for". Well, I almost died alright....of starvation and disappointment. My friend and I waited 1.5 hours to be seated...yea...that's on us, we'll accept that. When seated I ordered the oatmeal pancakes and was sadly disappointed upon its arrival. What I received looked like 2 small crackers (2 inches in diameter) with ricotta cheese spread on the top "pancake". I had asked the waiter where the rest of the breakfast was, because the meal, which looked like a work of art, was the size of an appetizer!! A small child would still be hungry after eating that! My friend ordered the English Breakfast, which, again, looked nice, but was unsatisfying. She enjoyed the meal, however did the believe the restaurant deserved the hype and attention it had received. Finally, the food, for what you get, is overpriced ($11 for 2 crackers and some cheese spread!!). 1.5 hours to receive below average food is extremely disappointing. On a positive note, the hostess kindly apologized to us for the wait and thanked us for our patience, which was greatly appreciated. The waitstaff were friendly and professional, and the atmosphere was quite nice. I believe the proper word to describe the restaurant is rustic (brick walls, new age furniture, warehouse look). It is definitely a "who's who" type of venue. If you are looking to be seen and on the scene, and do not mind the long wait, then this restaurant is for you. If you wish to eat good food, be satisfied, and still have time to do other things during the day, then this is not the place for you.

This is so far one of my favorite brunch places in the city. I had the oatmeal pancakes served with quince and my friend had the tea-smoked salmon and spinach benedict. both were scrumpcious! great flavors. we also shared a quinoa hashbrown which was good. the portions were not overly large so that you leave feeling stuffed. like other reviews have mentioned, the service could be better. i'll definitely be returning to try other brunch items and look forward to going for dinner sometime.

Sad to be out of new york for many years only to find after returning where once were good restaurants in their place now stand over priced trendy trash - with attitude to boot! Had the grave misfortune of eating at Public the other night , must admit the menu was enticing enough though as we stood outside reading, a cold night, let's go in. As soon as we entered we were unfortunately "greeted"? by a rude, surly arrogant "hostess" - surely that couldn't have been her job, (they're supposed to be polite aren't they), who refused to seat us at table for four because there were only two of us in our party, yet the restaurant was not busy at all. Upon leaving the restaurant after dinner the four top did indeed have a couple sitting at it. We were then moved to an over crowded noisy bar area where we were served trendy food without much flava -bland kangaroo and overly tough lamb, and sad apple crumble for dessert , which was followed by a check amusingly enough, with lots of flavor. do yourselves a favor - go somewhere where they know food and service and how to be a real restaurant, ie polite, kind and courteous, serving thoughtout food with acres of flavour, not the new wave of over priced under achieving rooms, masquerading as "restaurants".