Several friends came to town for the VMAs. In keeping with the theme of their visit, we decided to dine at this restaurant co-owned by one of the VMA performers, Justin Timberlake. The food was excellent, and our waiter was attentive. Unfortunately, the bartender was the worst I've ever encountered in New York City, incapable of making the most basic cocktails (Manhattan, Lemon Drop) and rude on top of it. Despite our 10 pm reservation, we had to wait a bit to be seated, by a not-terribly-nice hostess. However, once seated, we realized that Timberlake was having a birthday dinner for Cameron Diaz and JC Chasez was seated at another table, so that probably explains the delay. \r
\r
The rest of our experience was wonderful, though. Our waiter was friendly, the food was delicious--especially the desserts. I had veal piccata, which was unusual in that the sauce was slightly thicker than I'm used to, but the veal was perfect. My friends were equally pleased with the delicious food and reasonable prices. \r
\r
As long as you don't go when Justin Timberlake is in town and stick to wine over cocktails so you can avoid the atrocious bartender, I recommend Destino's.
Pros: food, desserts, wait service
Cons: terrible bartender, slow seating due to VIPs
more