The Leopard at des Artistes

Much too dark to experience the joyous ambience of the room - and to read the wine menu. The overhead mini light was focussed elsewhere, certainly too weak to regard our meal. The food was excellent, the service passable, the value acceptable. Please make the restaurant come alive, so easy to do.

We ate often with friends at the Cafe des Artistes, more for the history and the art than for the food. Tonight we ate at the Leopard for the first time since they opened. It felt like the offspring of an old friend: familiar but better in so many ways. The food was fresh and interesting; the staff was attentive without hovering (with a sense of humor) and the renovations cleaned the lines of the rooms without erasing them. Who can miss the intertwined plants in the windows for the last 100 years? Cannot wait to share the Leopard with friends, house guests, and kids.

The food and the atmosphere was awesome..nice murals.We will be back!

Undoubtedly the worst Thanksgiving meal I have ever had. Can't decide what was worse - the food or the service. About 15 minutes after my wife, my daughter and I were seated, the waiter walks over and abruptly says, "You ready to order?" No greeting, no hello, no introduction, no welcome, no explanation of the menu, just a rude and impatient waiter with a note pad. Every time during the meal that he placed something on the table, I said "thank you." Not once did he say "you're welcome" or even utter a word. Then came the food. We ordered the $65 prix fixe Thanksgiving menu consisting of an appetizer, classic Turkey dinner and dessert. The appetizers were small and unremarkable, but what would follow was truly shocking. The turkey dinners consisted of a few odd scraps (and I mean scraps) of dry turkey with oversalted stuffing, sweet potato puree and cranberries. When the plates were served, my wife turned to me and said, "Looks like they ran out of turkey." My 11 year-old daughter did not even have enough to eat, and she hardly ever finishes her meals. Of course, the waiter never once asked us if everything was okay although the manager did come over to the table and I politely told him the truth. He said he would speak to the chef. In the end, the manager deducted one of the meals from the bill but I was not there to save money. I took my family to a beautiful restaurant in a historic venue for a first class meal only to be thoroughly disappointed. I have had better food and better service in diners. Whoever owns this reincarnation of the old Cafe des Artistes should be ashamed.

Love the mural. Ok if you eat alone. But if you dine with others, forget about conversation. If you consider the need to shout in order to be heard by your dining partner to be chic, this place is for you. But if dinner is something of a relaxing social event for you, go someplace else. Tight space, tables close together, ceramic tile floor, hard ceiling, no drapes or curtains on the windows, --the perfect combination for an extra-noisy NYC expensive restaurant. Food and service just fair for the price. We live here, and go to restaurants 3-4 times a week. For sure, not going back to this one.

We made a reservation for 8 people and had to wait one hour for a table, even though there was an empty table available the whole time we waited. We complained about our wait to the maitre d' several times and were told. "We are very busy. You only made your reservation the night before." Finally, my friend got furious and they gave us the empty table. It was a very embarrassing situation as our guests had never been to a NY restaurant before. The food is average, considering the prices. I would never go back here again. Rudeness ruled the evening!

I love the renovation. I think they did a great job with the space. The murals look wonderful and the restaurant looks lighter. Our food was delicious. The pasta dishes were all exceptional as was everything else. The service was friendly and efficient. It was a great evening. A wonderful place to celebrate a special event