Rainbow Room

So sad to find out the Rainbow room is closed. In the seventies I would escort a date to the rainbow room after the theater. Always good food and drinks,impeccable service,and a dress code kept out the slobs. Please bring it back with a dress code, I'll fly in for the grand reopen. more

all the negative reviews make me want to return even though they are 3 years old and this place is long shut. I went on a wed night and had outstanding service and 300 dollars later I was full and happy. The filet mignon was like butter and the table side waiter was attentive but not so much that 3 people were sitting down. I wished they kept the dress code on and hammered the skells out. more

Good news for those of you who hate to dress up! The Rainbow Room Grill is no longer enforcing its dress code. I saw jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts. The bar pours a very large glass of wine. It was $15, but easily worth the money considering the quantity. The view is spectacular. We didn't eat there, but I highly recommend a visit to the bar. Go casual unless you want to look like a geek. more

The Rainbow Room has a great view of Manhattan, but that's about it. The service was far from what one would expect at a $$$$ restaurant and the food bland, unimaginative and not worthy of $40-45 entree price. The chicken was dry, the salmon flavorless, the scallops rubbery and the beef completely under seasoned. Every dish was accompanied by white (watery) rice which looked and tasted as though it was prepared in a home economics class by a bored 8th grader. Overall complete and total disaster! Skip the food and enjoy a drink at the bar if a view is what you seek. If delicious food is your desire, avoid the Rainbow Room and head to Sbarro as you will have more luck there. Pros: the view Cons: food, service more

I have been to the Rainbow room a few times usually around the holidays for a cocktail after we do dinner somewhere else. I've eaten there once, and the food was bad, and the tables were so I felt as if I was eating the food off my knees- very uncomfortable seating. The last time we went they "FORCED" me to check my coat. Its not like I was wearing a big ugly puffer- it was an elegant wool ladies coat- really nice, and they would not let me even stand at the bar with it on, and I was cold! I thought that was totally wrong, but since we waited on line for ? hour to get up there I complied. The bar we "stood" next to was dirty (behind the bar) and all you saw was garbage. The drinks were fine, but we were double charged. The only saving grace is the view, and even that has gotten old for me. I'd much rather be at the Mandarin Lobby bar- which has a great view and great ambiance, seating, crowd, and is cleaner. Don't go to RBR they think they are special and make you feel like it's an honor to be there. Everyone who works there is stuffy- When I go out for expensive drinks I expect to enjoy my time at the establishment- you will be sorry if you make this your special night place. Don't go- and save your money. Pros: View Cons: No place to sit, must check coat, long wait to get up there, low ceilings more

I took my boyfriend there for his 22nd birthday and we had a 3 course lunch. It was prixe fixed of course. My salmon was delicious with lemon grass. I eat a lot of seafood, especially salmon and do i have to say this was one of the best that I had. Its expensive but worth the experience for a special occasion. Pros: Great salmon Cons: Expensive more

Visiting NYC for the second time we dressed up and went to the Rainbow Room. The waiter was ignorant, snobbish and rude. The waiter treated us as if we were more of a problem than paying guests. Drinks were ok but overpriced. The place is supposed to have a dress code, but apparently this code did not apply on the evening we visited the place. Jeans, sneakers, shorts and crocs seemed to be the thing to wear. A BIG disappointment, NOT recommended!!!!! Pros: View Cons: Bad service, overpriced more

My wife and I went there this past weekend and were completely disappointed. Here is what is so sad, this place could be great however they have solely relied upon their past in order to gain notoriety. First, service was horrible. It took them 15 minutes to acknowledge we were there and order a drink. When we ordered a drink and had questions on the menu, the waiter kept trying to pull away in attempt to service other tables. When the "Captain" came well into our arrival, she was less than apologetic. Food was mediocre, not worth the price. They brought the check to us much faster than the food or drinks. The environment was loud and not very romantic. My recommendation to go there when there is as little to no people as possible. Perhaps on a weekday and before 6 PM. New Yorkers tend to eat dinner late. My wife nor I will not be going back. Pros: Nice view of the city Cons: Loud, slow service, mediocre food more

Great experience! Seafood (colossal shrimp!) and the dessert bar were fabulous. Price is high, but worth it for a special occasion. There are many choices, something for all. Harp music and the view added to the experience. We were in the city visiting our daughter and it was a nice treat. Would go again. Pros: Wide array of foods, all yummy to chose from. Cons: pricey, do not enforce dress code more

Our group of six allotted for 3 hours before our Rockettes show to "enjoy" dinner at The Rainbow Grill. All of us were very excited but were very disappointed by the time we left. First, it took 45 minutes before our watier even took our order. He came by once before that and asked if we were ready to order and then immediately went to another table before we could even respond. He came to our table a total of 3 times during our meal. One of the girls never even got a refill on her beverage. I feel that if we're paying good money for food then we should get immaculate service - I guess I was wrong. The food wasn't even very good. I was about an hour and a half into our dining experience when we received our entree. One of the girls ordered her steak medium and it came out more like rare. No one ever even came by to ask if it was ok. Once we received our bill (which we had to finally flag someone down to get or we were going to miss our show) we found out why the service was horrible - our waiter added on a gratuity so he didn't care whether or not he gave good service or bad service. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. The view isn't worth the price or bad service. Shame, shame, shame. Pros: view Cons: bad service, bad food more

I dont understand the negative comments one bit. This place is amazing. Me and me boyfriend went here for a special occasion and it was probably the best moment we've ever had. We were seated almost immediately. Our 2 waiters (one guy, one woman) were very sweet and attentive. The food was not excellent but not bad either. The views were incredible. The only thing to make our dinner less good was the big noisy group of irish diners (read tourists) sitting not to far from us. Other than that, I am very happy that I chose the rainbow grill for our special occasion. Btw, we are 2 new yorkers. Pros: the athmosphere, the views, service. Cons: almost none. hard to find parking unless you wanna pay more

This place is really awful. I have been up to Rainbow Grill before for after-work drinks so I knew it was overpriced (you are paying for the view!). We decided to go up for a drink after our Thanksgiving dinner. It was not a peak hour for cocktails. There were 6 of us. First off, the service ALL AROUND was poor to barely-existent. Don't expect anyone to really welcome you. Before we got on the elevator we had to talk to an attendant and "see if there was room for our party". He calls upstairs to ask "if they had space" and they do so he says "ok you can go up" - gee, thanks? They seat us at a little round table (more appropriate for 4 people max) and we are back near the exit door (which is used by the waiters). Only 1 menu for 6 people to look at. Majority of drinks are $20 (except their nasty house wine - Zonin). Service was extremely poor. We waited a long time to have someone take our order. Drinks were weak. I ordered a bellini (touted as Ciprianis' specialty!) and it was so much juice (was there even champagne in it - I mean prosecco?). No water was brought to us. We had to flag down waiter to get our bill (never even mind having him check back to see if we wanted another round!) They did add gratuity but I assumed it was because we were a party of 6 - but I see they do that to everyone regardless of party size. It is unfortunate because Rainbow Room could be really amazing but Cipriani is a sad excuse for running this place. Everything here is shabby, run down and service is terrible, at best. You would expect this place to be impressively immaculate w/ impeccable, 5 star service. But they run it like a low-level tourist trap that could be found in a strip mall. Even the drink menu is a cheap piece of paper, its the lack of attention to details (burned out lights in elevator lobby), even bathroom attendand was lazy and didn't move to offer towel or anything. If you want to see the view go up to the observation deck - you will be far more satisfied. Pros: none Cons: Too pricey, weak drinks, NO SERVICE, Terrible management of this NY icon more

We recently went to brunch at The Rainbow Room. It was fine. The decor gives a feeling that this was ONCE a very popular and special restaurant. However, it's outdated. The food was okay as well as the service. The view was very nice but could be found at a number of NY landmarks for free. Save the money and don't give into the hype. more

Went to the Rainbow Room this weekend - I knew going in that it was going to be an overpriced, tacky, overhyped place and I was pretty much spot on. The place was very old fashioned and tacky - it looked like something that would be in a cruise ship. Everything was musty and badly maintained - torn wallpaper, mirrored wall was cracked, the waiting area was dirty & had chipped furntire, the windows were not even washed and had a bit of a cloudiness to them. The buffet was decent, marginally better than the Bellaggio buffet in Vegas, however it was completely not worth the price. Who can (or would want to) eat all that food?? Also, the champagne cocktails were $18 a pop (you get one complimentary Bellini), but they completely skimped ont he champagne - I drank 3 and didn't even feel a buzz (and I'm a size 2). We were charged $13/bottle for mineral water (ridiculous!) and were not even asked if that's what we wanted. Ultimately, our bill came to $130/person - I would much rather have had brunch eating outside at a cafe in a swanky part of town - the Rainbow Room is embarrassing - dont waste your money here! Pros: Vast buffet selection, nice view Cons: Poorly maintained & tacky, very overpriced, parking difficult more

My husband and I and our daughter went to the Rainbow Grill for our 10th anniversary and we went mostly for the view, we already accepted the food and service not to be too great, but, I still wanted to go and it was a way to see our daughter that lives in the city. I noticed 3 tables of 4 nex to the window and was told only a table of 4 people were allowed to sit there. We still could see the view, you can't miss it with the windows from celing to floor. But our table was TOO SMALL for the three of us! It was definitely for only 2 people. The "captain" could care less about my compalint about the small table so I got up and asked for a manager. Then the "dumb" manager said he would make the table bigger like they do for a table of 4, then I said, "If you are making our table bigger, then seat us at those tables of 4 by the window." They moved us but didn't hide the fact that they were upset with us. The service was SO SLOW, and it was early, only 7pm and not very crowded yet. I realized my mistake in picking this place after I already knew from reviews the service would be bad, but, I was stubborn! I will admit my daughter and husband enjoyed their food, I had the plain, grilled chicken, but, there was no reason to charge $35.00 for chicken. Since the prices were super high, we had to be careful with no appitizers and only one drink each and no dessert and coffee. We had to ask for the waiter every time, the reviews are right, you hardly see the "captain" and your waiter! The part that also made me angry was that I was told my husband HAD to wear a suit, then, why did I see 2 men dressed in plain shirts, not even a dress shirt. Then I was upset to see the table next to us, a table set for 4 people had only 3 people there and I was watching and they weren't given a hard time, as, well as the table on the other side of us, 3 people give a table of 4 without a problem. My advice is to believe the negative reviews and DO NOT COME HERE> You will not be happy!!!!!! Pros: view Cons: bad, slow service,food NOT WORTH THE SUPER< SUPER HIGH PRICE more

If you have stupid money to burn, the Rainbow Room is the place for you. The service was good, but the cost of the food is absurd!!! And yes, we knew this going there. The fixed menu is much to be desired at $200 per person, which DOES NOT include drinks. My husband and I had two drinks at the bar before dinner, and the tab was $39.50. The food was very mediocre. My husband's lobster didn't taste fresh, and the Angus filet wasn't Angus, and not very tasty, I had two bites, and was finished with it. It wasn't good enough to force down. For $200 a person, the food should have been unbelievable, and it just wasn't. more

we made reservations for the rainbow room six months ago but where seated in the grill.... Pros: view if the sky is clear. Cons: price, neglect, inept chefs, reservations dont mean a thing! more

beautiful view more

beautiful view more

The rainbow room is absolutely beautiful and elegant. I went for brunch last sunday and was very impressed. The food was all great and fresh as can be, though nothing was incredible. By this I mean that there is so much food, so many different options, from lobster to crab, to steak, crepes, etc., however, nothing really stood out. Definitely try it once, you may fall in love with it. Pros: Food options, service, view more