Adem Mecit

Overall, we really liked the place. It has the atmosphere of a classic American restaurant, which we enjoyed. While the food quality was what you would expect from a standard restaurant, the prices were not at the same level and felt quite expensive for what was offered. Interestingly, the hash browns ended up being our favorite item, even though they are not a main dish. One thing we found uncomfortable was that a 20% tip was automatically added to the bill when we asked for the check. If spending over USD 100 per person for dinner is acceptable for you, you might want to consider other dining options that offer better value for money.

+4

Antti Sirkiä

Big portions, appetizers and desserts were really good. Main courses partially good but filet mignon was dry. Tuna & Lobster were really good.

Havana

Excellent welcoming by a member of staff known as Nicole. Restaurant is lovely and clean, lovely lights (with 3 settings) on the table which is my kind of idea. Food is more than excellent especially the Filet Mignon, cooked to perfection. Best value is the $55 pp for 3 course dinner which their don’t advertise or show on menu. Saw it online and had to ask in restaurant. Staff are very friendly, mainly waiters no waitresses. Very heavy handed with serving. Service is ok, had to wait sometime for table to be cleaned after each course. Restaurant is not busy at all during time of visit. This has lower the overall rating.

+5

Ken Oliver

The steak was cooked and seasoned well. The bernaise sauce tasted really nice. The corn was served hot but was literally just plain grilled sweet corn without any seasoning - even salt. Service and atmosphere were what you would expect from a busy NYC steakhouse.

Stephanie Braganza

I usually go to the Bob Van's on 54th St. but I decided to try a new branch this day. My state came back with very little pink in it despite me asking for medium rare (much closer to medium well and even well done at some parts). I never really do this, but considering it is a nice restaurant, I told him that my steak was incorrectly, showed them and asked to have it changed. They gave me a new steak, but then it was super rare (you'll see the photo here). The service was excellent all throughout, they even asked me if my new steak was OK. I just said yes because I definitely was not going to have them waste another steak (and of course was hungry) and I prefer mine undercooked to overcooked anyway. I also felt that the steak at this branch was much less flavorful than the one at 54th. I remember the last two times that I ate at the 54th street branch the sirloin bone in was EXPLODING with flavor to the point that my friend kept commenting about what a tasty steak it was. I was really chasing the flavor on the steak I had at the 50th St. branch and even asked for salt to make it a bit more tasty. The steak was a little over overall, I would still say good value, especially for a city like New York, and overall still a great spot - just in comparison to the other branch, this one wasn't as good.

+1

Allison

Went there for a pre-show dinner. When I looked online I saw there was a prefix menu. When we sat down however, we had to actually ask for it. When I asked the waiter kind of looks surprised. I noticed later on that the only way to get this is if you asked for it. Table for 2 was very small. The food was good. Appetizers were good. The brownie dessert was very dry though. I guess I should have gone with the cheesecake. My husband got that and was much tastier. I'm curious if the experience would be the same at a different site?

Nicolette Mitchell

I visited Bobby Van’s Grill on my mother’s recommendation after she went to their DC location. It was a Saturday evening, dining with 4 people in October. The hostess was friendly, but the experience took a turn once we were seated. Our original waiter was replaced (shoved) by another waiter who started by asking what type of water we preferred. I mean, I’m in the U.S.—tap water in NY is perfectly fine. When we didn’t order the blue bottled water (Saratoga), he had the audacity to comment, “Saving money, huh?” After that, he disappeared for about ten minutes while attending to another table that had a Saratoga bottle. He kept looking at our table and simply never returned. Eventually, I signaled for Ahmed, the original server who had been pushed aside, and he provided excellent service. Ahmed was attentive, patient, and friendly, timing our meals perfectly without any issues. Overall, the food was average compared to other steakhouses I’ve frequented. The service experience was quite odd; I’ve dined at many places and have never encountered anything like this. I’d consider returning if invited, but I wouldn’t specifically seek out this restaurant again.

+4

Cesar Montalvo

I had such high hopes for this place after reading other reviews. My wife and I made reservations for our last night in the city. At first everything was great. We did have some dirty glasses on the table when we sat down, but it wasn’t a bid deal, the waiter took care of it. I ordered the 12oz filet and my wife got the porcini mushroom scallops. I got a perfectly medium rare filet, as ordered, but it was 100% flavorless. I flagged down a waiter who said he would track down our server which never happened. We had a show to catch so I did what I could with the table salt. I have never needed to resort to putting table salt on my steak. It was disappointing especially since it was a $68 piece of meat. I ended up eating about half. Our original waiter never showed up after he served us our food. No one else bothered to see how our meal was or anything. It wasn’t too busy either, as our reservation was for 5pm that day. We couldn’t even get the check in a reasonable amount of time which almost made us late for our show. My wife did enjoy her scallops, and it was a nice ambiance in the restaurant.

Wasn't supposed to go to this location, but instead, the one on 45th St. Nevertheless, because my reservation was at 9 pm and they closed at 10 pm, I sat down to eat. The restaurant was very quiet, only 5 other tables seated in the restaurant. Our server Marco G was very nice and pretty attentive. I generally won't visit a chain steakhouse in the city because there are just so many other options, but I needed something close and convenient. We ordered thick cut bacon, french onion soup, crab cocktail, lobster cocktail, meatballs, and chef bacon cheeseburger. The french onion soup had no taste/flavor. I didn't even know it had onions in it other than seeing them in the crock. The bacon was great but comes with a basalmic glaze that isn't noted on the menu. Crab cocktail was ok, nothing to really write home about. However, it was better than than the lobster cocktail. The lobster was tasteless and almost seemed that it had been sitting in water, it was overcooked. The server didn't bring a shell bowl until asked to do so. The meatballs were tasteless as well. We only ate 1.5 out of the skillet. Lastly, the burger, I paid more for the chef burger because I wanted the aged Vermont cheddar, but the cheese seemed to be one step up from a kraft single. I asked for the bacon to be well done. There was a half a slice of bacon on the burger, leaving half of the burger with no bacon. To take the cake, the burger was well done when I ordered it medium. It was dry, and I mustarded through to just a little less than half of it. When Marco asked if I wanted it boxed I explained to him that it was well done. He went over to his manager. However, when the check came, the burger was still listed. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I wasn't paying for soup that I only ate 4 /5 sips of meatballs that we only ate 1.5 of and then the burger. I am extremely disappointed if the kitchen is tired and feeling overworked than get new kitchen staff or close the restaurant. I could have honestly had a better meal at Chipotle or McDonald's. I won't be back... very disappointed on how the management handled this tonight.

We tried their prix-fixe dinner menu and unfortunately were not impressed. The food was mediocre and largely tasteless. The Caesar salad was very sad and soggy, and the salmon dish was overly salty. Overall, the meal was disappointing. The ambiance was just okay. The bar area was full and extremely loud, while the restaurant side had only a few tables occupied on a Friday night—which says a lot. On a positive note, the service was very good. The staff was attentive and friendly throughout the evening. That's why I give this restaurant 2 starts, otherwise would be 1.

J Ro

Granted the place was packed with Christmas parties and afterwork get togethers but we were seated in the backroom. The waiter asked me to repeat the order after each selection. I ordered a Porterhouse for 2, medium and it came out rare. If the chef was insulted by my temperature then just dont cook it. The side were small and not much better than your local diner. The drinks came 20 minutes after ordering, the dirty utensils and empty bread basket stayed on the table for way too long. The service was not good and the waiter was either new or overwhelmed which made the $350 dollar dining experience hard to swallow. Won't be back.

David Rimmer

Chose Bobby Van's Grill from among many any excellent dining options on a Sunday night with friends from out of town. I couldn't have been ore disappointed or embarrassed with my choice. The server called me 'boss' all night - which may be ok at a Queens deli, but is beneath what an upscale restaurant should be doing. I guess management doesn't pay very close attention. Then one steak - a $95 ribeye - had to be returned twice because it wasn't properly cooked. First it was overcooked, then undercooked, then finally ok. Steak on the steak cobb was burnt beyond recognition. And the server did not return to the table - not once, in an otherwise almost empty restaurant - after dropping off appetizers, entrees and coffee/tea, aside from picking up the remains of the last course. No check-ins, can we get you anything else...nothing. So when we wanted something, we had to physically leave the table and go searching for help. New York has so many great steakhouses. Sadly Bobby Vann's Grill is not among them.

We walked into Bobby Van’s around 5:25pm without a reservation. The restaurant was not busy and had multiple empty tables. From the start, the host was rude, dismissive, and seemed visibly annoyed that we had young children with us, which made us feel unwelcome. She told us to stand to the side while she checked if we could be seated. Five minutes passed with no follow-up. When I asked again, the manager (Luca) came over and said they could only seat us at a high-top — which didn’t work since we had young children — and then claimed they were “fully booked for the evening.” Within seconds, I went on OpenTable and successfully made a reservation for six at a standard table 15 minutes later. We have dined at Bobby Van’s many times for business dinners and have spent a significant amount of money there over the years. The lack of professionalism, poor communication, and minimal effort to accommodate us was extremely disappointing. We will not be returning.

Sean Courtney

Worst meal we’ve ever had in nyc. Shocked it is still there and in business anywhere. Airport lounge food is superior to this. We got the 14 oz filet, tuna tartare, roasted corn and roasted vegetables. The steak seemed frozen, not fresh, but with a decent char on the outside for flavor. The tuna was okay. The sides were inedible, not an ounce of seasoning, and had to be frozen. It was absolutely awful. Lastly, and what should’ve been our first clue. This restaurant has a B safety rating and to make matters worse, that rating signage is hidden at ground level behind a plant. Avoid this place.