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All Reader Reviews of...

Bar Americain

152 W. 52nd St., New York, NY, 10019
nr. Seventh Ave.
212-265-9700

Avg. Rating

6
Food: 6
Service: 6
Décor: 8
"Mixed Reviews"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

50% would go back.

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Disappointing

By cathy506 on 9/5/2012

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 3
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

Our company held a small xmas party of approx 50-60 people in their private room and we expected it to be awesome but the hand passed appetizers although were tasty were the tiniest we had ever seen about the size of your fingernail, most of the entrees that came out were cold and had to be sent back and the steak was made too rare even though the waiter was told to make it well done. The staff wasn't that attentive to our needs and didn't even offer us coffee/tea with our desserts. This restaurant should be able to handle a small affair and have the food all come out hot, no excuses!

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10 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

High high points but a number of low points

By FFT on 6/17/2012

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

The problem is that Bar Americain uses its chef's reputation as a prop - an excuse to charge a lot for some relatively uninspired dishes. The restaurant, does, however, execute a number of items very well. The raw fish preparations I had were truly sublime -- the Hawaiin poke and tuna tartare (a dish that has become a cliche) were absolutely extraordinary. Steaks, however, were pricey and good but not good enough for the money. A $35 plate of "Grouper, Florida style" (come on, what does that even mean? we had to ask), was beautiful and solid, but not memorable. Certainly not worth more than $26 or $27 considering the modest portion. Oddly enough the side dishes were excellent. Service is very good and the space is beautiful. I would come back, but I'd be careful with regard to what I choose and how much I spend.

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21 out of 39 people found this review helpful.

We arrived fifteen minutes before closing and they wouldn't let us have a drink at the bar!!

By epeldredge on 4/25/2012

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

My sister, my 84 year old mother and myself were visiting in NYC and had just seen a Broadway play. The weather was rainy and stormy....we were drenched and arrived fifteen minutes before closing and just wanted to have a drink . The hostess would not seat us....our cab left us and we had to stand out in the rain to find another cab..not a very hospitable reception at all...4/22...

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25 out of 50 people found this review helpful.

HUGE Dissapointment

By heyaim on 9/27/2011

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

My husband and I were in NYC and wanted to dine at one of the Celebrity Chef restaurants... Bar Americain was near our hotel so we went for it. The restaurant was modern and as we would expect. The hostess was nice and we had a drink at the bar while waiting for our table. Upon seating, we met our waiter and he was gone. We waited 15 minutes to place ANY order... oh, he was close by. Standing near the entrance talking to the other waiters!!! Sooo, when he finally decided to return, we asked our questions and placed our order. We had tuna tartar for app; my husband had the rabbit and I had shrimp and grits (it was an app but had to try it!) The food was... just food. Tuna and Rabbit were prepared well but not spectacular. Shrimp and Grits were runny, SMALL shrimp and a lil too salty. I have had much better meals... the service through the meal continued to leave much to be desired!! The waiter was rude and did not return to the table but 2 times. I had to put my arm in front of him to get a refill on a drink. Just ridiculous!!! I absolutely would NOT RECOMMEND anyone dine at this restaurant!! I dined at another restaurant the next evening (not celeb chef owned) that I am still thinking about a week later!!

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27 out of 56 people found this review helpful.

An Americain Tale

By kris10 on 9/21/2011

  • Overall Rating: 9
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

I wasn't a Flay follower until some friends & fellow food lovers insisted his restaurants were worth a visit. I took my parents to Bar & was utterly surprised at how much we all enjoyed it. I'm now a believer in Flay & cannot wait to try Mesa someday. I'm a side dish kind of girl & every "accoutrement", from bread basket to veg was so flavorful. Even the coffee was splendid! The dessert was a bit disappointing but Flay has admitted it isn't his forte. Highlights were the crab cake (delicate bites of crab with little cakiness), the sweet potato gratin, & potato chips with blue cheese dip (I'm now converted to liking blue cheese because of this...dip your baguette in it). The filet mignon was quite nice but I will try a fish/seafood dish next time. The only gripe I had was that we were seated in a very awkward area near the noise & traffic of the kitchen which I would avoid if possible.

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32 out of 64 people found this review helpful.

Better than Expected; and Expectations were High!

By jetsgirl on 10/31/2010

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 10
  • Yes, I would go back!

My husband, 13 year old daughter and I went for dinner because we are all fans of Bobby Flay and the Food Network. Going to Bar Americain was on all of our "bucket lists" and we are very pleased to say that the entire experience was better than we even expected! My husbands filet was perfectly prepared, as well as my daughter's Saturday special - philadelphia style steak. I chose to have a salad and appetizer; the chips and blue cheese sauce were amazing, but I wanted to save room for dessert. I am glad I did because the red velvet sundae was delicious! The service was excellent making the experience even more pleasant and delightful. We will definetly go again, and explore other Bobby Flay restaurants!

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71 out of 101 people found this review helpful.

Bar American

By restaurantfairy on 10/30/2010

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 4
  • No, I would not go back!

I just love the screen presence that Bobby Flay has on his food shows. With so many TV shows and Iron Chef accolades under his belt – I was thrilled to finally try out one of his restaurants. We chose to go to Bar Americain because the most recent issue of The Food Network Magazine (March 2010) had featured his Shellfish Cocktails – which looked outstanding! Boy was I disappointed…… I feel like I spent the entire evening at Bar Americain catching wisps of the Bobby I thought I knew and loved……… Everything about  this restaurant felt so overwhelmingly underwhelming. The space is huge and its overdone with giant lamps hanging from the ceiling. I felt it was all so mass – it lacked the attention to details and personality I expected. I guess my search for the real Bobby Flay will just go on……..perhaps Mesa Grill…. but after this experience …I think it will be a long time before I’m willing to “throwdown†this kind of cash for a meal like that! For pictures and more food details click on this link: http://therestaurantfairy.com/2010/03/07/bobby-flays-bar-americain/

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22 out of 54 people found this review helpful.

Very Disappointing!

By JHenson on 6/29/2010

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

I am not a hard person to please and rarely write a review for a restaurant due to this very reason. However, I can not pass up the opportunity to do so for the recent experience I had at Bar Americain. The restaurant was miserably hot the evening of my reservation due to a problem with the air-conditioning. However, we were not informed of this issue upon our arrival. In fact, we were not informed of this problem until our waiter, Ian, had seemed to disappear and another waiter temporarily took over service of our table. We were told Ian was not able to tolerate the heat and was taking a break to splash his face and wrists with cold water; all be it, while we sat in the sweltering heat! Upon Ian's return, our table of 3 was subsequently ignored while he focused his attention on a larger table of 9. He even went so far as to open the doors to the wine refrigerator for this table while the rest of his section, made up of smaller tables I might add, melted in the oppressive heat! We had to repeatedly ask for refills on our drinks, which you can imagine we went through quickly. It was appalling that we were not informed of the problem with the air-conditioner upon our arrival, but it was inexcusable that there was no effort made to offer any compensation for the miserable conditions! To top it all off, the food was mediocre at best, and the only enjoyable part to the evening was the apple martini; although, it should have been comped! Don't waste your time or money!

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41 out of 95 people found this review helpful.

Mr. Flay, you should be ashamed!

By MinazJ on 6/16/2010

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

Four of us were visiting New York and decided to have a meal at Bobby Flay's restaurant's. It was the most disappointing meal we have ever had. We ordered a rib-eye, a strip, a fillet and a pork chop. The only meal that was edible was the fillet, 4 of us shared the meal. The rib-eye was over-cooed, the strip was undercooked and the pork chop dry. None of the sides were edible, especially the mushrooms. I have had better steaks at a Waffle House. On the plus side the appetizers were fairly good and the service was a nice surprise. Mr. Flay you should be ashamed of yourself putting your name to this place!.

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50 out of 89 people found this review helpful.

wonderful time

By jacquelineschlieder on 6/8/2010

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 10
  • Yes, I would go back!

The food was devine. I had the Red Snapper and the other person I was with had the special, Fried Chicken. We had the Shrimp and grits for an appetizer as well. I highly recommend the shrimp and grits. Yesterday was our first time ever having grits and they were amazing. We also purchased a bottle of wine from their amazing wine list. The food was excellant and the service was just as great. We were from out of town and our waiter talked and joked around with us. We had a wonderful time.

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35 out of 80 people found this review helpful.

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