Clara Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

Sorry....really bad. I don't like dumping on restaurants but y'know... I'm expecting competency and creativity if you're asking big boy prices per entrée - I don't think I've been to a NYC restaurant that felt so incompetent both re service and how dishes were conceptualized and prepared. Some dishes were bland (pea soup something lovely that should taste like the vegetable -- it didn't) while others showed little skill / creativity / motivation -- I don't know. Nothing tasted bad just not what I want. I'm a decent cook at home and at times I'll score a positive review by just doing a normal preparation and pairing it with the right / interesting prepared sauce - and that's great at home -- but it's not a passing grade for a NYC restaurant asking to be taken seriously. That's what I felt about the Brussel sprouts, little gem salad, and chicken (for two). OK the sauce wasn't from a jar from H Mart, but please - these dishes are not integrated and don't demonstrate skill. Service? Service was slow on a not so busy summer Sat night. The waitress said "our bartender isn't here" (repeated elsewhere in these comments) ; my wife asked for Lillet - she thought it was a white wine. My daughter asked for more grated parmesan on her trofie (the dish was OK but predominantly lemony. And now I see menu says "Pistachio pesto" -- cant say I tasted pistachio). So who came out the preform that task? The chef (we were told). Weird.

But it was the kitchen and chef that was the big letdown here. We'd been to the previous restaurant, Storica as recently as April '23 and had a very nice meal. I had not sat inside for many years, and while its a handsome room, the tiffany lamps and various objects are a fine / thoughtful / attractive reference to the museum's collections, it's also loud and tends toward the chaotic (a thought I had before the food came out).

As an UWS denizen, I really really wish there were more competent restaurants up here == but this...

As a member and longtime fan of the New York Historical Society, I visited Storico many times for lunch over the years. On my most recent trip I visited Clara for the first time. I'll start by saying that the service was exceptional on all levels and the new chairs and benches are both beautiful and comfortable.

Beyond that, I'm sad to report that the space has lost its soul. The new decor is like a bad Pinterest Board with books turned with their spines backward, random pieces of pottery/ceramic, vases with big plumes, and ...ducks. New York City is filled with theatre artists - wasn't there a props designer available to dress the space?

The mismatched dishware - pretty vintage looking glasses and clunky pottery(ish) bowls and coffee cups - is puzzling and, in some cases, difficult to use. The Waldorf Salad was good (albeit tiny with no bread, no bed of lettuce) but was served in a bowl which made it physically difficult to eat, for example.

Though I like Marvin Gaye and 70s R&B, the music was too loud and was completely disconnected from attempted vibe of the space. Also, for accessibility reasons, instrumental music (no singing) played at a lower volume level makes it easier for patrons to hear each other and the servers.

I never visited Storico for the food - I visited for the huge windows with a view, the gorgeous built in shelving showcasing items from the museum collection, and a quiet space to take a break between visits to different galleries in the museum. This redesign makes me wonder who they think their customer base is and/or should be. I suggest the owners visit Le Grande Boucherie on 53rd to see how to create a coherent space with ambience and music that...

The food was absolutely delicious, so have no fear that you won't eat well at Clara. We ordered the Brussels Sprouts, Gigante Beans, Pistachio Pesto Pasta, and the Cabbage en Brodo. All were wonderful, and you might have noticed they have lots of good options for vegetarians. So why 3 stars? We went on a Friday evening at prime dinner time, and I was astonished at the service. The place was maybe half full, but we waited for everything. Waited almost 10 minutes to be seated even though we had a reservation, waited another 15 minutes after ordering drinks before getting them... But it's hard to blame the service staff. Somehow apart from the kitchen staff and bartender, there were only 2 staff in the front of the house. The poor guy who served us was playing host, waiter, and busser, and you could tell he seemed scrambled as heck. So it's hard to fault them. Maybe someone called out, maybe they're short staffed, I don't know. But the poor service left an impression on me that was as strong as the food quality, so they nearly canceled...