Cipriani Dolci — Restaurant in New York

LOL this place was so horrible I just know I'm gonna have a ball typing up this review.

Initially was pretty excited to have dinner here because it overlooks the main concourse at Grand Central Station. Got a table for two pretty quickly. Ordered tuna tartare as a starter, and ravioli and bolognese for the two main dishes.

Tuna tartare came out within 10 minutes of ordering (I have the time stamps from taking pics when we first sat down and each time we got food) ... then my and my dinner partner had a great time just talking and eating but eventually we realized our main course was taking a really long time. 3 tables who had came in after us got their dishes first and finished their meals while we were still waiting for ours. After 50 minutes of waiting, our server noticed our food still hadn't arrived and said he would check the kitchen. 10 minutes later, I asked for the check because 2 more tables got their food before us even though they had arrived after us too. At that point, the manager came to apologize and offered a complimentary dessert if we would stay and continue dining with them. I honestly didn't want to stay any longer but decided to because he said it was going to come out right away. The manager used the excuse that they had two big parties hence the delay. That excuse doesn't even make sense because of the fact that 5 other tables got their food before us even though they arrived and ordered after us. If everyone's meal had been delayed, then sure. But it was only us. And our dishes were the exact same as everyone else's dishes that were arriving. Anyway, we waited 5 more minutes then our food finally arrived. We weren't even hungry at that point because we had been drinking so much water to hold us over for the food.

As for the complimentary dessert, they served the both of us ONE small slice of cake. I wasn't that upset until literally a minute later, they came up to the table of two girls next to us with a WHOLE tray of various desserts to choose from to order!! Couldn't they have done that for us too ?? I literally should have told the manager when I wanted the check that I wasn't willing to stay if I had known this was the type of treatment we would be getting.

I will note we were the only people of color in the whole restaurant. Everyone else was white. That definitely plays a role in why I was feeling especially upset by this whole situation and our lack of service. Racism, discrimination, classism. All of these words come to mind.

Anywho, service aside, here is the review of the food:

Tuna tartare: overpriced deconstructed tuna salad sandwich. Tasted good though because it literally tasted like a tuna sandwich and tuna sandwiches are yummy. 3/5

Spinach and ricotta Ravioli in sage butter sauce: a little too salty for me. Sage was too faint to taste. Extremely small portion. Beautifully constructed though as the pasta was impressively thin yet did not fall apart. 3/5

Bolognese: Just regular old bolognese with egg noodles. 2.5/5

Overall extremely average food therefore extremely overpriced for what you get. Service is even worse. Go if you're rich enough to throw away money and white enough to be...

Meh. The white wines left a lot to be desired: Cipriani's own brand of Chardonnay tasted like cheap Chablis and at $22 a glass was ridiculously expensive for the quality; the other whites' tasting notes online were all too tart for my palate. The endive salad $26 was too lemony for the tart leaves--again with the tart--(the avocado did not balance the citrus as well as I'd hoped), and the veal $33 smothered in tonnato sauce was bland and dated (think early 1900s); no telling what mystery meat was under there. It was tender, sure, but it could have been lunch meat for all the flavor I did not taste. The cappuccino was okay, nothing to rave over as the underlying coffee wasn't smooth or aromatic. The tab for one small wine and two appetizers was $97 (one person).

THE SERVICE WAS GOOD, BUT. Faisl was a friendly and efficient waiter; however, his coworkers eyed my empty plates and fork/knife at "ready to pick up" position and ignored them, as I read my ebook on a tablet way off to the right of my postage-stamp-sized table. It would have been nice if they'd just grabbed my plate as they walked by since they were not busy. At all.

THE BAR was busy, though, and I note their menu is a little more afternoon-friendly (fries, sandwiches, tuna tartare). I would recommend a Bull Shot (Grey Goose vodka and beef consummé), one of my favorites--if you like vodka and you like steak, you will like this--$17, which is a reasonable price for a real cocktail. If forced to stop by again, by the circumstance of waiting for a Metro North train while hungry, I would get a bite at the bar.

As a local, I have to say that a lot of 4- and 5-star reviews of "delicious" food may be from tourists who don't have many options where they live, and are caught up in the romance of being in NYC. Read the lower reviews first. That said, I see pics online of things like a pappardelle ragu, which makes me think I just did a bad job of ordering this time. But a storied name like Cipriani should have amazing EVERYTHING, if you ask me....

4.5 Great location right upstairs in the main concourse of Grand Central on the West Balcony. Learning this restaurant also owns the famous Harry's Bar in Venice and Rome which both my partner and I have been to, we made a point to eat here after our museum walking tour in NoHo and getting on the train. The seating that looks directly over the concourse is all tables for two. Our party of three was placed at the next row behind those which still gave a good view of the terminal and it's majestic ceiling.

We ordered two cocktails, a Sweet Maggie and The Bellini plus a glass of ice tea. A basket of the long thin breadsticks you find in Italy and some ciabatta was brought out to have with our drinks. It took us awhile to study the menu made up of Venetian cuisine, but our wait staff was patient and friendly.

I was having the most trouble deciding as after inquiring about how a few mains were made, there would be some component I didn't care for. Deciding finally on their Special of the Day, organic salmon with leek sauce and a serving of rice pilaf, it turned out to be a fine choice. The salmon had a nice golden crust and rested in a thick bed of leek purée. A cluster of fried leeks on one half of the portion made an attractive garnish. I had a glass of Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico with my dish.

My partner ordered the grilled Mediterranean branzino that comes with broccoli rabe and a glass of Villa Sparina Gavi. He wished it came with a different vegetable but even after I asked if there was a substitute and we were given a list of perfect alternatives, he wouldn't switch. The presentation of the fish was lovely. (see my photos) Our family member chose the spaghetti with sea bass and cherry tomatoes. A big serving, he took some home.

Cipriani Dolci thoughtfully gives patrons a plate of complimentary butter cookies after their meal which we enjoyed for their...