TAO

TAO is definitely a scene - and is therefore crowded, loud, and expensive. But I'd have to say it's definitely worth it. The atmosphere is fantastic - perfect lighting, decor, and I love the monstrous Buddha. The service was also very attentive. And the food is amazing. I highly recommend the shrimp & lobster dumplings, wasabi-crusted filet, and miso-glazed sea bass. The sushi is creative, but not what you should come here for. This topped off with a really fun drink menu made for the perfect dining experience. My favorite Pan-Asian in NYC.

I?ll give it a star for good food, but the service, attitude of staff are not good.

I would come here only for the view and experience. Otherwise, the service is not very friendly and the food is average but pricey. Great place to see but only once.

I thought the place was very touristy. The music was so loud I thought I was at a club. The service wasn't bad. The food was alright but nothing great. I thought the decor was the best part.

My best friends in town and suggest we go to Tao because she had gone the previous month and the food was great. Well I don't know what happened in a month, but it was not a good experience. The waiter had an attitude when I requested tea from him 3x and stomped off to go get it the 4th time I asked. I ordered some peanut chicken on a stick as an appetizer, it came out cold. I finally got my tea and it tasted like an immitation of lipton. The rude waiter is changing shift and the next waiter is fairly decent. He recommends another tea, not to much of a difference but he tried. Dinner comes out. I have no idea what the name of it was but it was spicy shrimp w/ rice. The dinner smelled unappetizing. I figure let me taste it. The shrimp tasted good so I said I'll just hold my nose, but that was until I seen only half the shrimp were properly cleaned. The mandarin shrimp fried rice wasn't cleaned also. We paid the bill which came up to $100 and left. Unpleasant experience. The only good thing is I enjoyed the scenery and the music even though I couldn't hear my phone when it rang.

I've been to Tao several times as it has a great reputation and friends from out of town are always impressed with the great space. The menu is small but the dishes are very well prepared. If you've never been here, good luck trying to identify what it is you're eating given the lighting, and the food runners drop and run without even glancing at you let alone explaining the dishes as they place them on the table. All in all an alright experience.

Four of us went thier Friday night and it was great. We split a bunch of app's and one dinner so we wouldn't get fillied up. Our reservations were for 10:30 and we did wait about a half an hour. But it was worth it, the energy is unlike any restaurant I have seen. The food was great and the four of us got out of there for $140 with drinks. In New York, I would say that is a deal. Can't wait to go back.