Tao

Ive dined at the Tao in NYC and Vegas and I would say the food is better in NYC. That having had been said, the food is just OK, as are the wait staff...not polished at all. The ambiance is cool though, as are the drinks. The hype is from the tourist crowd, mostly. Admittedly, the decor is cool, no doubt and the bar and restaurant space is fun. The hostesses are sharp and pretty..but not obnoxious, which is nice. For the most part this place is a guilty pleasure-- but bottom line: I would recommend Tao for drinks and apps only..anything else is unnecessary and a waste of money more

My husband and I went to NYC for my first time this past weekend. A reservation was made for us ahead of time at Tao. We arrived a little before our 7:30 p.m. reservation and waited in the bar area for about 15 minutes before we were seated upstairs. The drinks were outrageously expensive; I realize it's NYC, but $7.50 for a beer...c'mon! Pros: Ambience, food Cons: Overpriced drinks, tables too close together more

TAO came highly recommended by the girl that made our reservation, saying it was her favorite Manhattan restaurant. Pros: Decor and food were amazing. Cons: Excessive wait times get you out of the mood. Loud. more

I went here for my 23rd bday with friends and the place at first glance is amazing - the buddha is stunning and the whole experience of being there was great - until our food came out. Every dish that came out had an additional ingredient in it that was not mentioned in the menu. My main entree just said it was was going to be crunchy...it came out COCONUT ENCRUSTED! YUCK! EVEN THE RICE HAS COCONUT JUICE IN IT! I HATED IT AND DIDNT EVEN TOUCH IT! Instead I shared a plate of my friends steak stir-fry meal and it was good - average for any old chinest take out place - not for the prices I paid for there! Pros: The ambience is incredible Cons: the food was terrible as were the drinks! YUCK more

Worst experience ever. I went there with a party of 15 of my closest friends - we had a 8:15pm reservation and did not get seated until 9:45pm (one hour and a half later). The guy responsible for th seating arrangement had a bad attitude and kept lying to us everytime we asked about the status of our table. THE SERVICE IS HORRENDOUS for the amounts they charge. Perhaps they should use some of those funds to train their staff on proper manners. I don't recommend this place for big groups even if you get a reservation. Bad Bad Bad Bad experience!!!! Pros: Love the Budda statue Cons: Bad Service, Pricy for the average quality you are getting more

Me and my boyfriend had a dinner in Tao few weeks ago,and I have to say that when it comes to food I'm extremely picky,but the food that we got in Tao was outstanding.Shabu shabu kobe steaks was so fresh and soft,filet mignon covered with some type of wasabi was very tender,just melting in mouth and even just simple side dish that we ordered shrimp pad thai from which we didnt expect anything special was amazingly good.Our waiter Anthony was very friendly,helpful and attentive.Of course there were some cons as well.The hostess was very rude,unpolite and left unpleasant impression from the beginning with her cynical smile and attitude.The management could put nicer person at the front to meet the guests. Pros: ambience,interior,service,and amazing food Cons: hostess and price more

This place was good when it opened; now it is terrible; I have been visiting New York for over 20 years and I have never had such a bad meal. NOTHING tasted fresh, or like any food from Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan. (I spent 5 years in Asia) Cons: FOOD more

Awfully arrogant and disrespectful maitre d's, a wait time of more than 20 min despite a reservation made at least 3 weeks ago and couldn't care less at the front desk as they have hords of people cramped in this place anyway. What a miserable management and what a shame! There are so many other wonderful and friendly restaurants in this city why bother with this one. Pros: space and ambiance Cons: arrogant maite d's bad service average food more

Unbelievable, we (a group of 11) made a reservation a month ago, and the restaurant called the day before our dinner to tell us that our reservation has been canceled. Their reason was because they were over booked. Seriously, at least they could have had the decency to call earlier, but the bigger question is, how can they not know how many people they can take? It's really not nice to cancel us at the last moment. all of us were looking forward to go there. -__-. If you're considering a group reservation, well.....make sure you check up on it every week to confirm it. more

had a reservation, waited an hour and a half after then left because the table still wasnt ready awful service at bar 15 dollars a drink too loud to noisy arrogance is in the air i will NEVER go back way to packed Cons: awful. more

If you are an Asian cuisine connosieur, you HAVE to go to Tao. Their food is absolutely amazing. If someone were to ask me what my favorite meal EVER was, I would say the Chilean Seabass at Tao. Their desserts are amazing, as well. Atmosphere is totally chic. Cute hostesses in funky kimonos welcome you at the super scenic entrance way. An enormous Buddha is in the back of the huge lower level of the dining room. Super high ceilings allow for another huge floor of tables above the Buddha statue. The only problem with this place is their waiting/reservation thing. In the daytime, no reservations needed... Lunch isn't TOO busy. But I've heard horror stories of 3 hour waits at nighttime. I recommend a reservation, and even then - prepare to wait a bit.. have a few drinks at the bar. Overall, AMAZING food, hip and cool atmosphere, great place for a night with the girls or a date. Great service too. The servers are highly knowledgable on the menu and VERY professional. XOXO, Danielle Pros: FOOD, service, atmosphere Cons: The long wait more

oh my goodnesss!!!!!!!!! THIS FOOD WAS OUT OF THIS WOLRD!!!!! DELICIOUS.. Where do I start: the decor was beautiful, the ambiance was explosive, the wait was HORRIBLE, but guess what!!! It was worth every second. the food was soooooooooo good!!!! The sea bass, the jumbo shrimp tempura, the thai crab cakes, the vegetable fried rice, kung pao chicken, braised spicy shrimp, the drinks were so good, tao-tini is a MUST drink... i will definitely be going back... LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!! Pros: DELICIOSU FOOD Cons: LONG WAIT - RESERVATIONS DOESNT MATTER more

Went here for my birthday because of all the hype. Yes, it's a nice place to visit, yes the Buddha in the back is very large. I was seated on time unlike some of the other reviewers. It was cramped though where we were, since the tables are so close together. As for the food, pretty lackluster. I have had better sushi at no-name joints in the suburbs. Nothing really special about the dumplings or the overcooked duck at all. If you really want to go to Tao for the sake of saying you've gone there, just go for drinks. more

Had to still wait after I made reservations a month ago. I live in Brooklyn and thought it would be nice to dine in the city. I was disappointed with service and the crowded lounge where they made you wait. The food was nice and well presented. Overall I would of enjoyed my local restuarant that has almost the same menu. Should try Toro if your ever in Dumbo Brooklyn, if you enjoy Tao, I did enjoy Tao but the waiting is for Manhattanee's..Also I recommend taking a limo cause you will never get a cab. But I must recommend to come here once to see it. Pros: What you expect Cons: Parking and waiting more

My wife and I arrived about ten minutes before our reservation and were wowed by the space - which, I must say, was very cool. We chose to wait for our table at the upstairs bar and were again pleasantly surprised by my wife's yummy ""mango tamarind martini."" The rest of the night was complete dogshit. We were finally seated about 45 minutes after our reservation - nearly an hour after we arrived to be greeted by a boring menu with nothing that jumps out as a ""must-try."" One dish whose description was rather vague - Thai Roasted Chicken"" was described by our water as ""roasted chicken"" when we asked for more detail. Clearly, you F-ing moron! When we asked what makes it Thai, he replied: ""a Thai sauce."" My wife, sensing my frustration with this idiot, politely asked the waiter to describe the ""Thai sauce."" He clarified that it was ""not too spicy, but not too sweet."" Pros: amazing interior Cons: terrible service and even worse food more

it was my moms first trip to new york and our first trip to taos on a suggestion from a friend that i was meeting there for lunch. she asked have you been there ? i said no but it sounds nice. so we went and met for lunch 1 block away from 5th ave. and around the corner from our hotel my friend and i had the prix fix lunch. not bad for $25. the peking duck spring rolls were delish!! for the entree i had the wok seard sirloin and my friend had the soy ginger salmon it came with some soba.. we were both pretty happy with our picks and for dessert i had the zen parfait!! it was pretty yummy too. it had toffee bits along with some chocolate and vanilla- ish pudding so it was kinda like almond rocha-ish .....my experience was yummy more

High end interiors and music. Exotic delicious food. Nice scene. I wish the management add the beautiful chandeliers in red Murano glass that TAO Las Vegas has; They are so stunning and they really make a difference when you have a conversation / dinner with a special someone. Cons: Need red chandeliers as Tao Las Vegas! more

Do not go to TAO on a Friday Night! It is too loud, the music is ok. The food is great! I would rather go to TAO on a weeknight instead of a weekend. I do recommend their food. Their sushi is ok. more

As a tourist from California (I went to Tao the night of May 16, 2008), I had mixed feeling about my visit to Tao. It would have been very very good if not for my experience with the reservation staff and the women who work the door. I found them extremely rude overall so that set a poor first impression. It was as though you were just a number. In my experience these types of restaurants will never last. I felt the opposite feeling on my visit to Balthazar the same weekend. When our table of 5 finally sat down, things improved. It felt like a true New York experience. Waitress was friendly and attentive (although she took the low brow method of pointing to the menu and saying things like ""this is my favorite"", a technique usually employed by lower class eateries. Food was solid but not spectacular. We have many asian fusion type restaurants in L.A. that probably have better food but the sushi sampling, the peking duck spring rolls and the sirloin steak were all things that would not disappoint. Desserts (our table tried five) were all good and maybe the best part of the meal. The decor and music is certainly better than similar type restaurants in L.A. and these made the experience enjoyable. Maybe the most entertaining aspect of the evening was the varied type of patrons. Although there were many tourists, there was a strong element of young, good looking, well dressed New Yorkers that you see in the movies and on TV. It also reminded me of Gossip Girls. Next to us there was a table of 15 Spence girls celebrating one of the girls' birthday. They were dressed extremely well, very good looking and had accessories we would die for. And very sophisticated. We started a conversation with them and discovered, to our surprise, they were in the 6th grade celebrating the one girls' 12th Birthday. I can see why Gwenyth Paltrow went to Spence. That experience was a true ""New York"" experience and something you could only read about or see in the Movies. Pros: decor, scene, music, New York vibe Cons: reservations, women working the hostess station (rude and not attractive), food not great for price more

This is my second time dining at Tao with a good 2 year period in between, as I am not often out in this area. Service, wait-times (typically long), good martinis, fun atmosphere (and loud) seem to be pretty consistent. I would strongly recommend making a reservation and getting there on time if you're really hungry. On a very busy night you may have to wait even with a reservation. But while you wait bar service is pretty good and there is a comfortable, albeit crowded lounge area. Food is artfully presented and very tasty. Would definitely go back! Pros: Good food, good atmosphere, good drinks Cons: Crowded, loud, potentially long wait-time for tables more