Rock Center Cafe

The food here is solid, but the service is stellar! I mistakenly made a reservation for the wrong date, and didn't realize it until I got to the restaurant. Despite the fact that it was literally the busiest time of year for the restaurant (lunchtime during holiday season) and a 75 minute wait for anyone without a reservation (which technically I didn't have!) the maitre d' Steve managed to seat me and my colleague within five minutes. The food here is great, as is the ambiance. It's nice to be able to watch the skaters at Rock Center while you eat. And though it was very crowded, I didn't feel like I needed to shout for my lunch date to hear me. I ordered the butternut squash soup and tagliatelle, both were delicious.

I've only come here during the holidays when they have the icerink up for dinner and a show. I love watching the people skating. They're always smiling even when they fall over and they do so constantly. The Salmon here is terrific and probably one of the best I've had in the city. The service isn't memorable so it's not bad, but not spectacular. Overall I like this place but would only come when the icerink is up.

we arrived in NY on Dec 28th and went immediately to Rockerfeller Center. My husband was hungry and wanted to eat at the Center. I was worried about the price but it was worth it. To be sitting by the rink at Christmastime was magical. Our waiter was great! Our water glasses never ran dry and the food was hot all the way through our meal. It is a bit pricey but as my husband said it was our first night in NY. We ate modestly the rest of the time there so it didn't put a dent in our spending money, consider it as your dinner and entertainment for the evening.

The view was wonderful and the food was not bad however the service was horrible. After my party was seated and we ordered drinks my friends parents mentioned that they were probably going to have appetizers to which the waitress stated that the policy of the restaurant was that if we were going to have appetizers we would have to go to the bar and eat them there....how ridiculous(this policy was not written anywhere nor stated to us before being seated)!! All of the other tables by the window had just appetizers. The woman that was seated next to us stated that she "ordered only AN appetizer" and she did not have to eat at the bar. The waitress was very upset with us and continued to mistreat us all night.

Yes you will be surrounded by tourists, and yes it is a little pricey...but the view of the skaters in the winter and the outdoor cafe in the summer make it worth the extra cash. The food isn't the most creative, but it is well prepared and comforting. With all of the fusioney even pricier places in the area it's definitely worth giving it a try at least once.

I know this place is a tourist trap and they see a million tourists everyday, but come on guys! I am a New Yorker and I smile at strangers more than you smile at your customers! This place is too expensive for the quality of the service- if you are a stickler for good service, AVOID this place.

My grandson was visiting New York from Las Vagas and I wanted to take him where he could be exposed to some of the highlights of New York. I arrived fifteen minutes after opening on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The place was 'jammed' and, of course, we couldn't be seated anywhere near the 'view'. In fact, until he stood up on his chair, my grandson couldn't even see the skaters. when he tasted his pasta with meat sauce he said that it could use a little salt. Pretty astute for a four old! His nanny had turkey medallions and I ordered what the server recommended, the crab cakes. They were hard as rocks; also tasteless as were the nanny's medallions. My grandson had ice cream, I ordered some sort of apple pastry which was stiffer than a shirt cardboard, It just couldn't be cut or eaten. The nanny and I each had coffee. The bill was $104.00 for a very poor quality lunch.