Bar Boulud

We really enjoyed our dinner here. We went on a summer Saturday for early-ish dinner and were thrilled with the friendly welcome, got the table of our choice, the food was great, the wine list varied and not overly priced for the neighborhood. The service was amazing yet ""discreet"", just as one hopes for in an upscale Manhattan restaurant. The decor is low key without being cold and the atmosphere very pleasant. I would go back in a heartbeat. more

No rating deserved. Just give it a miss. From the unfriendly greeting at the door, the silly service (far too many buspersons and very little else) to the absolutely dire food - just take a walk in the park or go over to the coffee bar at Alice Tully Hall. A big no. more

Oops, going to Bar Boulud was one of the mistakes I did in a really long time for pick a restaurant. The reviews I saw were good, but the visit was total disappointment. Service was poor and I did not like the style of seating in the front. No privacy at all and you might end up getting a kick or two from the table right next to you. Way overpriced and not worth the hype. Better if you avoid! more

Sitting outdoors this week was so cramped itruined a good meal. sillly pretentious and disorganized. . Pros: good food Cons: rude, pretentious waitstaff more

We went to Bar Boulud b/c I love charcuterie. We shared a plate of ""Compote De Joue De Boeuf"" described as ""shredded slow-braised beef cheek onion confit and pistachio"" which we were excited to order. We love beef-cheek ravioli and onion confit and pistachios, so what could be better? First of all, it took FOREVER to come, and no, we weren't there during rush hour before the theater. When it did come, it literally looked, smelled (and, we suspect, tasted) like a can of ""Fancy Feast"" cat or dog food. Service was terrible, too. Very slow and unresponsive. My dinner date's main course (tagliatelle) came out before my main course (skate). The pasta was tasty, but my skate was so salty I thought it must have been cooked in seawater. They never refilled out water - not once. We couldn't flag someone down for ages and finally did, but the check arrived before he returned with the pitcher. Our server, who was female, took our order and dropped off the check. Everything else was delivered by someone else. She never checked back to see if things were ok with us. We LOVE wine, but as I was on a weeklong course of antibiotics, we didn't want to drink. The waitress was very pushy about the wine, to the point where I actually felt compelled to say, ""I can't drink; I'm on medication"" which is none of her business. In short, almost any other restaurant near Lincoln Center will give you a better dining experience. It breaks my heart to write this, b/c Daniel, the chef's flagship restaurant is one of our favorites, but we are so disgusted by ""Bar Boulud"" that it will be a while before we go to any of Daniel Boulud's restaurants again, and never back to that one. Pros: ??? Cons: badly prepared food, overpriced, bad service more

I have been to this place several times over the past year. Every time I am amazed at the attitude exhibited by the majority of the staff - from the often clueless and vapid hostess to the surly manager to the inattentive waiter. I guess I am a glutton for punishment. Last week I returned here for the first time in several months - we went in for a light bite during their limited menu shift (in between the lunch and dinner hours). If a restaurant says they are open they should provide the same service one would expect at peak hours. (if anything, it should be better.) There were no more than 15 customers in the place. Long story short - the service was HORRENDOUS. The waiter was rude and forgetful and not even apologetic for forgetting my simple request for salt and pepper (for the flavorless plate of lettuce/ salad). Every single thing had to be asked for - water, menus, coffee, salt, etc etc. Cleaned plates sat in front of us for more than 10 minutes - I had to passive aggressively place them at the edge of the table to signal to someone to please remove them. Furthermore, we waited 20 minutes between the soup and the salad. Out of the 6 or more staff members that were floating around - there was only one busser who had a lovely disposition and was appropriately attentive. Wake up! There's a major recession out there - this is not the time to assume that your customers will arrive and return based on brand alone. Shame! I am one more experience away from completely blacklisting this place for good and making sure to tell every friend and corporate executive in the neighborhood to do so as well. You have been open for more than a year - the reviews on service have been consistently bad. Fix it!! Pros: space, food, location Cons: service, service, service more

I was in the area shopping for gyms around 63rd street. After I was done, I hailed a cab with no destination in mind and saw Bar Boulud. I went inside and actually did not think I was going to be seated. I figured it was by reservation only and was happy when I was seated at the bar. The staff more

I have never commented on any restaurant in the 10 years I have lived and eaten in this great city full of great food. I have to now because I just want to warn people who are planning a nice night out - like I was. This place is terrible. Seriously. Just do yourself a big favor and don't go. I was so excited to finally try the food of such a well-respected chef in the restaurant industry but ...yuck. Poor quality ingredients, boring menu options, and just lazy, tasteless cooking. My boyfriends broccoli looked and tasted like it came from a can. My salmon entree was similar to an airplane meal. Bland, overcooked, and soggy. I believe in paying good money for good food, but it made me angry to give them my cash after that meal. I truly felt like I threw the money away and wasted space in my stomach. There are so many good restaurants in NYC. I have eaten at most of them and seriously wish I had eaten at one of them tonight. Go to those places, not this one. I promise you will have a better meal anywhere else. Pros: none really. Cons: the food. that is the worst con a restaurant can get. more

I have to say hands down, after being to Peasant, Il Buco, Casa Mono and Bar Jamon (and Otto), I think this was the best charcuterie experience I have had in nyc, remarkably compares to that of France. You need to try, and don't be shy. more

Bar Boulud has not disappointed me in my two visits in the past 2 months. On both occasions, the front of the house was not warm or friendly and treated customers with little tolerance (the hosts all appeared to be rushed and preferring to move you along and out of their sight). However, the wait staff was very accommodating, polite and informative when it came to the menu. The food is very good starting with the pork belly, escargot and the salads - all were delightful. The main courses were also exceptional, including the artic char, bass, steak frites and chicken. The cheese plate had some wonderful selections and desserts were delicious. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and it wasnt to hard on the wallet. I would definitely go back! more

I went a week ago. We sat at the bar rather than a table. Someone took my coat as I entered. The service seemed really good and the waitress was attentive. She came to ask how we were doing and our wine and water was refilled continuously. I started out with oysters and had the sea bass entree. Both were great. The desserts however were a miss. We ordered two of the chocolate desserts, one of them had dried fruit in between and the other was just chocolate, both left me wanted more. The atmosphere seemed relaxed, almost business casual. Pros: great food, relaxed atmosphere with attentive service Cons: desserts more

I went to Bar Boulud on Sunday for Brunch. We came at a very busy time and we were treated very well. We were sat at a lovely booth and the servers really took care of us. The food was great. I highly recommend the pate on the brunch menu. Amazing! A bit pricey for brunch but still worth it! more

Very excited about our reservation, we arrive early. They sit us at the bar while they prep the tables in this empty restaurant. We order drinks. People start coming in and getting seated at their tables. We ask, politely, can we be seated. The waitress acts as if we've asked her to clean out the Augean stables and says ""you have to ask the Maitre D."" The bartender takes pity on us and asks for us. After another 15 minutes, we are shuttled to a horrendous table in the sun on the hottest day of the year. We ask, politely, to be moved to one of the many empty booths. Instead, after 10 minutes of harumphing by the waiter, we're shuttled to the back of the restaurant to sit crammed up against another couple even though tehre are tons of other tables. We again ask for a booth and are told, essentially, to take our business elsewhere. Left, walked a few bvlacks and had a lovely meal at Porter Hourse. The drinks were warm and tasteless as well and cost $30. What a terrible, uninviting pit. Cons: rude, uninviting, creepy pit more

Let me preface this review by saying that I have dined at a good number of other ""fine restaurants"" in NYC over the years. Generally, one of the (many) draws of a quality restaurant is great service...and this is where Bar Boulud falls painfully short. Pros: Charcuterie menu Cons: Rude hostess, front of the house staff more

I would absolutely not recommend this restaurant to anyone. The service is horrid and your money is better spent else where. The hostesses and managers are incorrigible. I was astonished at their rudeness and general disdain for their patrons. They made my husband and I stand there for 20 minute why the set up the table properly, mind you two water glasses needed to be added, when there were at least 5 empty tables in the restaurant. The food was nothing to rave about and certainly didn't make up for the way we were treated. They couldn't be bothered to help us. When we asked to speak to the manager we were met with even more attitude. If you are looking to be mistreated and for a snotty attitude this is the place to go, don't waste your money. more

After passing the frosty troll under the drawbridge, I sat down - or up - on a very high bar stool and prepared for greatness that never arrived. First of all, my friend found a hair the complimentary bread rolls, and another friend found a different colored hair in the charcuterie. We informed the wait staff who, bar the hostess, was excellent and apologetic about the gaffes and immediately took it off the bill. We also ordered the 3 cheese plate, which I thought would be a decent deal at $13. Unfortunately, it was a sliver of each; I wanted to go to the back and see the laser that produced them. Or maybe they used a machine similar to the shimmering red monolith used to slice cold cuts, which was right on the bar for all to see and fear - I pitied the two people who were seated mere inches away from it. I understand wanting to pack in as many seats as possible, but simply raising the slicer up on a platform would have made it less obtrusive and given everyone a little more elbow room. I respect you, Chef, but I think you can do better. more

We have been repeat customers of CB since it opened, and have tried to really like it, since the neighborhood really needed a place like this, but have found the overall service and warmth to be lacking - especially at the front. The front, in my mind, generallly sets the tone of the overall experience, and in this case, the experience has be OK at best. The hostess who works the night, is anything but gracious as she has an air of superiority that is old at best, but suprising in this case - If Boulud wants to grow this and create a legend, then he needs to take a lesson from places like Cafe Luxembourg and employ a staff that make you want to return - as the food just taste that much better. As wine and food lovers, my wife and I frequent the best of the best that NYC has to offer, and rarely complain about prices, however, we do expect excellent service, especially when we frequent a place and spend good money at the drop of a hat. We found the service overall not bad (past the front), but it does seem that they are trying to turn tables a bit fast (probably a mandate from above) - we have been there over 12 times since the opening. Overall , the waiters are improving, and I think that will be worked out fine. The food is good, and the prices are fair - The wine list is surprisingly diverse, with all the usually suspects, but an excellent selection < 100 (nice job Daniel Johnnes) The booths across from the ""bar"" are the place to eat and I hear a rumor that the place will double in size and take over Chase - If they can loose the attitude at the door, we will be excited to spend our hard earned money here for a long time - Pros: Wine List - prices are good Cons: There is a bit of attitude at the door more

excellent ambiance and service. food is quite good, if not too special. salmon amandie was excellent, great... more

excellent ambiance and service. food is quite good, if not too special. salmon amandie was excellent, great french wine, great dessert, great convo... more

a co-worker chose the restaurant and i was a bit weary as i am a vegetarian. the hostess was gracious, promptly sitting us before our reservation. the wait staff was amazing and the food was delightful. the chef prepared special entree/dishes for me as i do not eat fish either. the entire staff was amazing and very accomodating for a vegetarian in a french restaurant. the wine recommendations were spot on and the ambience was perfect. cheers to bar boulud. Pros: very attentive wait staff more