Amaranth Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

I have been here on various occasions over the past 4 years and I don't know why I keep coming back. In short: the food is overpriced, the service is underwhelming, and the ambience is not what you expect from a restaurant at this level.

Amaranth presents itself as an upper-scale neighborhood restaurants with typical Western European cuisine (think a mix of French, Italian, and Mediterranean food). While the food is good and d cent it is not mind-blowing, and in my opinion not what you expect for what you pay - any main course is about $25-35 with salads going for $27(!). For a typical lunch expect to spend about $40 per person, $65 if you count wine/drinks.

For that price you would expect fine ingredients, appropriate decor, and professional waiting staff. Unfortunately Amaranth falls short on all of these fronts. When you leave you won’t be complaining about the food, as it is fine, but you will feel underwhelmed and disappointed by the gastronomical experience and hospitality in relation to the hefty price you pay for what it is.

This is not a celebrity chef kitchen and neither is it a Michelin starred location or even a highly awarded restaurant, it is simply a neighborhood restaurant. By all means it can be that, but if it wants to be that it should reflect it in its gastronomy and service (which again is simply ‘fine’) and not just in its price.

To add insult to injury, and what for me was the final nail in the coffin that made me decide to not return is the fact that they have the arrogance to impose a food minimum of $25 per person, something that NO restaurant should have. This is simply unacceptable and puts you in a bad Kyra is to begin with. On top of that Amaranth imposes a mandatory 20% gratuity charge, meaning that the hospitality doesn’t need to worry about treating its guests with decency as either way they will get a tip. Truly disappointing.

Being so close to the bustle of midtown Amaranth has the potential of being great local secret, a place to escape to after morning of shopping or museum visits, but instead it defaults to average gastronomy and underwhelming service and decor while having the arrogance to charge its customers the prices of 1 and 2 star michelin...

What a disaster from start to finish! When we entered we were hit by a cacophony of voices that one might expect at a playoff game in Madison Square Garden. My wife was seated next to me, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. While waiting for friends, we ordered drinks which required significant repair. Appetizers consisted of tasteless tuna tartar, onion soup topped with overcooked cheese and greasy, poorly battered fried seafood and vegetables. Main dishes included nondescript chicken, a tiny portion of bland broiled tuna on a bed of gloppy lentils and an overdone burger. If this wasn't bad enough, clad in their overcoats, the staff started to close down the restaurant before we had even finished paying the bill. They commenced to pile chairs on top of tables surrounding us with a forest of overturned furniture. I have eaten in restaurants on five continents ranging from greasy spoons to the multi-starred but have never been treated like that. Why couldn't they have at least let us know what was going to happen? And as a coda to this "dining experience", the cost was over a...

Locals like this place for its convenience. The red lights and wreaths adds a tad of festivity.

SEATING IS RATHER SNUG SO BEWARE OF WHAT YOU SHARE.

THE risotto with crab and peas was so so. So so risotto is kind of sad. Even I could have stirred up a better concoction.

The cheeseburger is very good EXCEPT for the condiments they provide. Watery ketchup is a no no on such a tasty burger. Why skimp on quality condiments when the burger is made of quality beef. WHY RUIN IT! Why not spend the extra bucks or make their own.

Now the pavlova. Great presentation but the meringue was tough. Does that mean the meringue was old? This time of year berries need a little sprucing up. A soaking in sugar water or maybe whip up a fruit puree with a smidgeon of sugar to give this some extra zip. Was it bad-no, was it so so -YES.

So if you are looking for a so so lunch then you found the place. Why as New Yorkers do we put up with so so, but maybe we are SO used to it. The staff here is friendly and amiable. Maybe, we come because of the staff.

Feliz Navidad,...