Bobby Van's 230Park — Restaurant in New York

There is a clear target group to whom this restaurant gives its business, and that is very clearly not those who have chosen to dine here on their first trip to New York; well-established men of the Madoff crowd are the kind to frequent this sort of place.

Even in keeping an open mind, the food was mediocre and overpriced. You pay for location, not for service or taste. The Chilean sea bass that I ordered was okay, and is the only redeeming factor for this occasion. My traveling companions weren't so lucky, as they both received terrible plates - one unseasoned slab of gristle labeled as a "sirloin," (which was at the unfortunate price of $63) and a pasta tossed with overcooked clam and an unpleasant bitter aftertaste reminiscent of rancid fish. Even the bread was long past stale, and I had to wonder if it was purposely hand-selected for a small table of weary tourists.

Service: what service? There was a group of stuffy waiters content to cross their arms and stand in groups at the far side of the dining area, oblivious to their diners. With our entire meal lasting about an hour and fifteen minutes, it took a little over thirty minutes for one of our group to receive one refill of water. These same waiters apparently have some sort of good rapport with an occasional diner in a business suit, as they greeted those with open arms and welcoming smiles; however, we were treated with abrupt and dismissive tones and contemptuous glances by waiters that felt tourists deserve condescension.

Overall, I do not recommend this location or any of its chain of sister restaurants. Tourists and new...

Bobby Van’s is tucked away off of Hemsley Walk, and the entrance is art deco but reasonable unassuming.

But it has a special place in my heart. Many years ago I came back into the city after a long work day. Most everything around Grand Central was closed, but I stopped by and found the bar at Bobby Van’s busy and LOUD. The dining room was closing down, but the bartender was extremely helpful and let me order a lobster cocktail and steak to take back to my hotel room. Best ‘room service’ ever.

I recently had a chance to re-visit the restaurant. I wanted to sit at the bar, but it was very crowded. Despite a busy night and despite me being a single diner, the front desk staff was very accommodating and found me a table in the main dining room. I had the chop chop salad and, keeping with the theme, a veal chop. The waiter was very friendly and offered me a half portion on mashed potatoes as a side to the veal. Nice touch.

Overall I would say the food was ‘good’ but not exceptional, and probably not as good as Keen’s or Smith and Wollensky. BUT, the service (15 years ago and now) at Bobby Van’s is exceptional and beats most restaurants that I have visited in NYC (especially the attention to a single diner, which is rare). Come here for the food, but stay for...

Bobby Vans was an all around terrible experience. To start off, I sat down facing the window to soak in what little view I had from my table, but was promptly asked to change seats by the waiter. The bread was free but slightly stale and tasted bad. While the staff was somewhat friendly the service was extremely lacking. It took 30 minutes for my water glass to be refilled even though there was a waiter standing not 5 feet from me doing absolutely nothing nearly the entire time. Throughout the entire stay I felt rather ignored. I had ordered a sirloin steak, and while it was thick and cooked properly it tasted awful and had zero seasoning on it. It was quite obviously a bottom sirloin even though it was priced as a top sirloin. It was really dry especially for it being cooked rare, and there almost zero marbling, and an entire side of the steak was covered in grisle. I have personally cooked a better tasting sirloin from Wal-Mart than what I was served. And to top it all off, the restraunt was incredibly loud and the ambiance wasn't very good. All in all basically what you would expect from a poor Applebees. Even though the prices were that of...