Tao

I just read a great article about Tao on Behind the Burner. com! more

OK, my fish was under cooked. We told the waiter but nothing other than, ""I am sorry"". Our fifth annv. We both requested forks for our appetizers. We waited to long and used our spoons. Forks showed up with the main course. Very little room when you sit against the wall. Conversation will be heard by the next-door dinners. We even called the GM after returning to Atlanta and his comment, ""we are sorry, next time you are in New York we will buy you and your wife a drink. Pros: Selection Cons: Seating to close. Bar temp was hot more

The experience was truly fascinating. The decor is really nice and a wonderful place for a date or with... more

The experience was truly fascinating. The decor is really nice and a wonderful place for a date or with friends. Food,, so so... But definitely rec... more

I went to Tao because I saw it on an episode of Sex and the City. Though we had reservations and arrived on time, we were given a buzzer and made to wait an additional fifteen minutes. The buzzer added a very impersonal feel to the restaurant. When we were finally seated, we were not even given water for another fifteen minutes. The waitress did not introduce herself, tell us what the specials were, and NOT ONCE did she check to see if we were enjoying our meals. We received more attention from the man who came to clear off the table in between courses (by the way, they did not give us new utensils between courses! Disgusting.) We were surrounded by obnoxious tourists the entire time, who held up margarita glasses and smiled in front of a big Buddha. Though the restaurant was not crowded, it took us an unforgiveably long time to receive everything. I ordered a Diet Coke, drank it, and the glass was taken from me. No one ever asked me if I wanted another Diet Coke. We sat with our bill for almost twenty minutes until finally my boyfriend flagged the waitress and forced her to take it. I am NEVER coming back to this monstrous place and I am going to tell all of my friends to avoid it like the bubonic plague. HORRIBLE! Pros: interesting takes on classic dishes Cons: TERRIBLE service more

We arrived for our 8:30 reservation on time and were told that it would ""be a little wait"" for our table. I asked the hostess what ""a little"" meant and she said that ""not long as we have several tables turning over"" and suggested we go to the bar. I asked a THIRD time how much time she expected and was given the same answer. Off we went to the bar where the noise level was DEAFENING and impossible to have a conversation. One hour later we were STILL WAITING and inquired about our table again - only to be told it would not be long. THIRTY minutes later we still did not have a table. Now I understand that these types of restaurants simply shove patrons aside to the bar to get them to spend money, but the service"" here and attitude to match is totally unacceptable. We decided we had had enough abuse and as we left told the manager at the front desk in no uncertain terms that we were completely unhappy. Oh, he immediately had a table available - how nice but no thank you, we had had enough of this tourist trap. We made a reservation at a lovely French restaurant nearby and had a great meal and were even able to carry on a conversation throughout. My advice to anyone thinking of going to TAO is FORGET IT -- a total rip off! Pros: absolutely nothing Cons: snooty attitude and a joke to make a ""reservation"" more

Stayed upstairs at the sushi bar. The waiter kept my sake nice and cold. Had a good experience. Pros: Good selection of sushi Cons: Gets loud on the ground floor more

Hi, did lunch at Tao with a friend. We have the $24 lunch special. The food was sweet to the point of being terrible. We couldn't even eat the food. As always the atmosphere was interesting, but inedible food ruined my experience. Pros: Atmosphere Cons: Food more

Took half an hour to be seated with a reservation and this was standard waiting time for everyone it seemed - in my opinion its a tactic to get people to create atmosphere and generate more profits from drinks people buy while waiting! Also attitude of staff was quite intense.. On positive note food was very good Pros: Excellent Food Cons: Waiting time to be seated more

I have often been to Tao in NYC and Vegas. The food is very good and I always had good service. it would be nice if the bar area was larger. It does get alittle too crowded. Pros: Great for after work drinks and apps Cons: it needs a bigger bar area more

We had a late reservation as it was, 10:30p..and when we arrived they told us there was a 20 minute wait that turned into an hour. Yes, thats right...We had a 10:30p reservation and were seated at 11:30p. This is unheard of in my experience. The food was marginal with a couple shining lights, the drinks were overpriced, and the service was spotty. more

Vastly overpriced Chinese food with snotty service. Total disappointment, not to mention a complete ripoff. Tsing Tao beers go for around 7 cents in China. You'll find them for 9 dollars on the menu here. Plenty of other great places in the city, don't waste your time with this one. more

I took my friends here recently for a friend's birthday. I've been here before and had a good time. However, I was VERY EMBARRASSED to my friends because the waiter was so inattentive and rude! It ruined our night. As a person who lived in NY all my life, I've had better service at much inexpensive places. The food was decent. However not the best compared to the price. They should really hire more professional waiters who know how to greet customers with a smile even if they're faking it. He ignored our questions, walking away with a nasty look on his face and took forever getting our drinks(wasn't even a cocktail so what took so long?). I'm sure everyone here will agree that no matter how good the food is, if the service is inferior nobody will be happy paying for their meals. I wouldn't recommend celebrating a special day here. They need to learn how to treat customers like they are customers. I would give 1 star however the coat check girl was a sweetheart. So 1 extra star for her! Pros: Decent food. Cons: Very inattentive and rude waiter, slow service more

went for a friends birthday and the restaurant was very dark that i could hardly see my meal. the music was very loud that i could not hear what my friends were saying. the wait staff was quick to bring out the food. VERY DISAPPOINTING. Pros: Example: best croissants in town Cons: very loud music, quick service, very dark more

some body lost a credit card but i have here see the name is jannett remember what somebody what worker the name is jannett but idont not the last name ere you can see what is the last name of that people thanck for you help and i'am sorry Pros: some body of workers Cons: any any more

I love this place and its music. has great atmosphere. It's pricey but I that's what makes it upscale Pros: music, crowd, atmosphere Cons: pricey more

My boyfriend and I went to Tao in NYC last night. We both live in the city and love the experience of great atmosphere and superb food. In choosing to spend our evening at Tao, we were very disappointed. First of all we had an 8:30 reservation and arrived 15 minutes earlier as per the receptionist's request when we called to make the reservation- ONLY to arrive and be told that we were not on the list! After that was cleared up we continues to wait another 45 minutes in a crowded entranced way because the bar was overly packed with screaming tourists spilling their drinks. TO TOP IT ALL OFF, we were getting a little restless from the long wait when the arrogant, nasty, son of a b guy who is in charge of seating said to us, exact words, I kid you not, ""Try smiling a little bit and go inside to the bar and have a drink. Be nice to me it will help you get seated faster."" My boyfriend in return saying ""Yea that's exactly what I'll do"" as we continued to wait where we were and noticeably annoy the guy. We would have just walked out an went to our usual neighborhood restaurant, but we heard good things and decided to stick it out. Boy were we wrong! When we finally were seated and made our food choice, the music was much to loud to have a conversation. When the food came, (we ordered the pork potstickers and bbq spare ribs) there wasn't much of it. As our waitress advertised that the ""small plates were to be shared and are enough for two"" they clearly weren't. For the main course I had the Hong Kong Shrimp -which was good but I had better at Lai Yuen in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. My boyfriend's meal was a complete upset. He had the chillean seabass- one single piece with a vegetable puree, which was advertised as mixed vegetables and rice (there was no rice). For dessert we had verrrry greasy chocolate spring rolls. If you are a native New Yorker like myself and thinking about going to Tao, get it ""Tao""t of your mind. Don't waste your money on yet another NYC Tourist attraction! Pros: Fast service- (after a very long wait) Cons: Too many- read below more

great location and very cool inside on the eye, bar far too small and crowded, food average at best, expensive. its a simple tourist attraction tick it off your list after the empire state building more

It was a horrible, horrible experience!!! May 7th was my 30th birthday, and my fianc?, knowing that I love Tao made a reservation for 8:30pm. We were a couple of blocks away when we called to say that we are almost there and we are running a few minutes late. A male voice told my fianc? that they gave our table away, but as soon as we get there, they will give us another table. So we got there and it appeared that our reservation does not exist. It is just nowhere to be found. And the only male host that was there denied he spoke on the phone with my fianc? just 5 min ago. The other two hostesses did not really care much. They cared more about the model-type guy walking in. One of them told us that we probably called Las Vegas. Maybe we did if the Las Vegas phone code is 212. We showed her my fianc??s phone, the number he dialed, and that the conversation lasted for almost 5 min. She said that maybe he did not call for a reservation. Why would he call then? We do not need to ask about location or food. I have been dining there since 2004. I could not believe that this is happening!!!?On MY BIRTHDAY!!!?..At restaurant like Tao!!! Disappointed is not even merely closed to explain how I felt? anyway, I said to myself: ?I don?t want to be frustrated, it?s my birthday and I want to celebrate.? We took the ?buzzer? and sat to wait for a table in the lounge. Like a walk-ins! We where told it will take 20-30-min. After 50 min waiting, I went to ask how long more it is going to take? That same male host mentioned above, with a very unpleasant tone in his voice said to me: ?We do the best we can! I did say 30 min!? Well, it has been already 50min. And I could not believe that I have just been treated by some sad little person, like I asked him for money. I am a guest at that restaurant. But I was treated like an intruder. I felt so disrespected! Tao was the one restaurant that I loved! Not just liked, loved! The food, the ambiance?. I can not believe that people like that are chosen to be the face of that restaurant. And the other two hostesses, what were they for? Such an unpleasant girls, with a horrible attitude! Unbelievable! I don?t know how much the management of Tao cares about they patrons, but I neither see anyone that could of spare me that negative experience, nor such was called to be present and try to solve the problem. more

The atmosphere is very cool, but you can tell it's caitered to the out of towner tourist to woo them. And it does. The sushi is good, the entrees are not. This is a good place to bring guests or for business dinners as the location is so convenient, right in midtown. Pros: Sushi, atmosphere Cons: touristy more