Address: | 557 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022, USA |
Phone: | +1 212-715-2400 |
Site: | thenationalnyc.com |
Rating: | 3.7 |
Working: | 7:30AM–10PM 7:30AM–10PM 7:30AM–10PM 7:30AM–10PM 7:30AM–10PM 8AM–10PM 8AM–10PM |
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Darren Johnson
Thursday, July 6, 2017 we went out to celebrate our last night in town in NYC and we were sorely disappointed with our experience at The National. The service led by our server was riddled with missteps. From the beginning there were errors. As my wife had went to wash her hands, the waiter comes by and shares the specials to only myself. After that we ordered a number of dishes as we were excited to sample Chef GZs awesome cuisine. Soup and salads were brought out by another server or runner and were auctioned off at the table, to top it off the server places my salad down first before leaving my wife with soup and no spoon. I would have expected to have had the cutlery placed before the food. I requested a spoon for my wife and one was brought. We ate our first course, and the bus-person comes and clears my wifes soup leaving me to eat alone in front of her. I was also served first with water, food, etc. Please remember it is still polite to serve the females in the party first. After this, the food is cleared and the next course is brought out and once again we have an auction going on. Please, there are table numbers and seat positions for a reason. Not once, throughout the whole night did one member of the staff inquire as to how the food was, if we needed anything, or even if we would like another drink when removing a glass. Missteps in service can be overlooked if the food is exceptional, this was not the case. Out of all the dishes we ordered, the only one that we said we would order again was the brussel sprouts. I rarely add salt to any dishes when dining out, however the dishes were lacking seasoning. The asparagus and fava beans had no flavor, the mac and cheese tasted like Valveeta, and the Branzino was placed on a bed of ice cold artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and other Mediterranean flavors making it soggy on the bottom. On the Petit Filet, the hen of the woods mushrooms were very slimy and bland. Chef, I know you are busy, but please head over to The National and see for yourself if this place truly represents you. My wife and I love experiencing the cuisine of our favorite chefs, and this was a huge disappointment. Even after we finished, and the bill was placed, not once did anyone inquire if we enjoyed the food, if we were pleased or how things were. I hope that Chef GZ or a staff member of his actually reads this as it is not how I believe he would want to be represented. We are leaving NYC and it is with this experience. Once again we love what Geoffrey Zakarian does, but the National Bar and Dining Rooms is not a place I would recommend to anyone. As a footnote and to be transparent, the manager of the restaurant called me after I left the restaurant and apologized, inviting us back. I had used open table and they had my cell number. While that is a nice gesture, we were leaving the next day and frankly, unless there are substantial changes to many areas of the restaurant, I dont know.
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A Private User
I planned a dream vacation to New York and am a huge "Chopped" fan! While In New York, we went to Scarpetta ( Scott Conant), The National ( Geoffrey Zakarian) and Butter (Alexander Guarnaschelli) to dine at these Chopped Judges restaurants. I am a Canadian Chef and own a catering business. The staff at the National were friendly and the atmosphere was very nice. As Chef Zacharian was the newest Iron Chef, I had high expectations of his restaurant. I was disappointed in his menu selections as I did not expect to see such simple items on his menu - such as chicken noodle soup and chicken wings. A group of four of us each ordered different appetizers and entrees and each sampled each dish. I did find the flavors bland and the meal was forgettable. There was nothing on the menu that stood out as it was like looking at many other menus. I was hoping for more of the "WOW" factor and was sadly disappointed. I am still a huge fan of Chef Zakarian and applaud his dedication to the hospitality industry. I would love to see a new and exciting menu with unique signature dish choices that can only be found at the National. I loved your signature drink-the fresh ginger in the drink was very refreshing! Respectfully, Chef Sheila Chartrand
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Foodie FindersNYC
My meal at The National was amazing! The bread basket was a delicious blend of olive bread, white bread, and bread with oats. It was a great first impression of the restaurant. For the first course on the Restaurant Week menu, the Shrimp Salad was delicious. The shrimp was cooked perfectly and seasoned with a lot of flavor. There was grilled peaches in the salad that were just scrumptious on their own. The Gazpacho with avocado and croutons was very refreshing and flavorful. For the main course, the Roast Chicken had an amazing crispy skin and under the chicken was an herbaceous barley risotto. The Grilled Branzino was a great dish with a tasty corn chowder. The Ricotta Cheesecake for dessert was amazing with a unique balsamic ice cream that went great with the cheesecake and figs. The Yogurt Panna Cotta was creamy and scrumptious, sitting in a pool of passion fruit. As a bonus to my meal, I got to meet Geoffrey Zakarian. It was a wonderful meal at The National that I hope to repeat soon.
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A Private User
Cocktails were great, meal went downhill from there. Waitress did not make us feel welcome, wine was not brought out with our order of the octopus appetizer, it came ten minutes late and the waitress poured it out in a hurry and spilled some. She was clearly stressed and unhappy and did not make eye contact, which stressed us out. Both my husband and I had to deposit the first bite of the octopus into our napkins - it was like pure carbon, not grilled but burnt to a crisp and rubbery. We asked to pay for the drinks and leave and canceled our dinner orders, something we have never done in our lives. A floor captain came over and asked to atone and take over our table but we wanted no part of it. They clearly didn't want our money and any kitchen that would send that charred flavorless food out onto a customer's table is best left alone. We went to Bar Boulud and had a phenomenal experience and fantastic food for around the same price.
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Rodrigo Canales
We had wanted to try The National for some time and we almost canceled our reservation after reading some of the reviews. I am glad we did not, which is why I am writing this. Granted, we went there for brunch, which is a simpler meal, but we had a fantastic experience. We had a carrot ginger soup that was truly delicious. My wife then had a salmon salad that became her new favorite. My huevos rancheros were delicious. The service was not exceptional, but it was certainly not bad. It is just a busy place, so the wait staff, while very friendly and attentive, are busy. So, dont be swayed by what I would characterize as unfairly negative reviews. The restaurant is what it is. If you are attracted by the menu and what they promise, you will not be disappointed.
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Deanna Martin
Made a same day reservation for early lunch with my staff for 11:30am. When I called, the nice lady on the phone advised she would accommodate my party of 6 if we can come at 11:30am. When we got there at 11:25, the gentleman (host) was incredibly rude, and indicated that he could not find our reservation. With a very disturbing attitude, he advised that he could give us a table, but we needed to clear the table by 12:30. HOW ARE 6 PEOPLE TO EAT LUNCH IN AN HOUR?? Needless to say, no thank you, we did not stay. I always passed here and wanted to try it, but I will not be spending my money or my companys money at a place that treats customers in this manner. There are many better options in the neighborhood.