Club A Steakhouse — Restaurant in New York

My wife and I had a FANTASTIC experience at Club A Steakhouse &just can’t say enough nice things about this place!! It’s hard to pick restaurants in NYC due to so many options to and sometimes you just have to roll the dice. Wife found Circle A while searching for somewhere to celebrate our Anniversary and saw their Groupon couldn’t resist the great value of a Full Steak Dinner for Two with Appetizers, Entrée, Sides, Dessert, & Bottle of Wine.

We visited on 7/16/21 for our 33rd Wedding Anniversary and from the minute we stepped in the door we knew we had made a great choice!! Over scheduled ourselves for last full day in NYC so we were running late, didn’t have time to stop & change into dress clothes, & arrived apologizing for being late & not dressed properly. Host that greeted us assured us that it was no problem, we didn’t need to change clothes, & made us feel welcome by telling us Circle A believes if the customer is comfortable then they are comfortable. It was a wonderful way to be greeted that set the tone for a great evening!!

It’s a beautiful restaurant located near Central Park with an interior that has the feel of the kind of place Sinatra would have loved with all the hardwood, linen tablecloths, & ambience that makes one think of everything that makes NYC famous. We were seated upstairs and our server Nick promptly greeted us by taking our drink orders and sharing details about the menu. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize the Groupon menu is separate from regular menu so he had to change presentation mid-course but he did not change his service level or attitude because we were Grouponers. For anyone using the Groupon just mention it up front so you get the right menu which is a fixed offering though you do have the option to order off the regular menu; you just have to pay the difference.

Nick was a fun server with a great sense of humor & stories all while being attentive to all the details needed for a restaurant to provide a great dining experience. He made sure our glasses never ran dry & was quick to bring the food courses. He is awesome so ask for Nick when you go…he will make sure you have a great time!

Dinner started with our bottle of red wine included with the Groupon for people like us who are not Wine Connoisseurs we have no idea what the experts would think of it but we know what we like and really enjoyed our bottle. For our first course, wife chose Mixed Green Salad (Mesclun Mix, Strawberry, Pecan, & Pecorino) and I couldn’t resist Club A Bacon (Extra Thick, Applewood Smoked). As a married couple, we naturally sample off each other’s plates and we both thought the options were delicious (I personally thought the Bacon was best!!). We both got the 10 oz. Filet Mignon for Entrée and were beyond happy with quality of meat & that they were cooked to perfection. Wife chose Whipped Potato Puree & I chose the Creamed Spinach (Cream & Nutmeg) and both were wonderful choices.

For dessert, Nick suggested we get one of each offering to sample both the Homemade Profiteroles & Homemade Tiramisu and we agreed. Imagine our surprise that what we actually got was an unexpected bonus that included a slice of New York Cheesecake!! Biggest surprise of all was when the owner Bruno Selimaj came to our table to personally congratulate us on our special day & thank us for choosing his restaurant for our celebration dinner. He then took our picture and gave us a card with the photo inside and signed it as a special memento of the night. He came back to talk & check on us a few more times and his son also stopped by with congratulations & a thank you for choosing Circle A. So happy we found Circle A since the Groupon offered the best dining value in NYC and gave us one of the most memorable dining experiences ever. Highly recommend it whether celebrating a special day or just want a great meal at a family-owned restaurant. Kudos to everyone at Circle A for making our special night something...

We reserved a table for four during Restaurant Week for Sunday at 8 pm a week prior. We were immediately seated as soon as all party members arrived. The host led us to the second floor and seated us at a round table with cushion seating. The view inside was simply stunning. The room was dimly lit, with antique chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that was covered in velvety sanguine design fabrics. Wine flasks lined the space behind our seats and the wall covered with photographs for decor. A simple white candle alongside a trimmed red rose adorned the white linen covered table. The tree outside embellished with blue light. The combination of red, white, and blue birthed an unexpected romantic ambiance. A perfect spot for date night.

While we waited for our orders, they gave us some bread and butter. For appetizers, we had the steak tartare and fried calamari. For entrees, the medium rare hanger steak and fillet mignon, with sides of mac and cheese, creamed spinach, and French fries. And for dessert, we had the New York cheesecake, profiteroles, and tiramisu. The steak tartare was made out of chopped tenderloin lightly seasoned with salt, capers, dijon, and topped with an egg yolk, with a side of crispy checkered potato chips. This is very similar to a raw beef dish in South Korean cuisine called yukhoe. The chips weren't sturdy enough to pick up the steak tartare by itself, but combined they were great. Although the chips were not that greasy, by the end of it my throat was parched. The calamari was lightly coated and fried, paired with their spicy homemade marinara sauce. The hanger steak came sliced with a side of au poivre sauce, which to me complimented the steak really well. My friends though thought the sauce tasted medicinal. While the hanger steak was great, it required a bit of work to chew unlike the fillet mignon that was much more tender and juicy. The creamed spinach was rich in flavors that after a while the taste became overbearing too much too soon. The profiteroles were standard, but the tiramisu and cheesecake were amazing! The tiramisu was a cloud of coffee-soaked lady fingers and creamy mascarpone cheese. The cheesecake had a hint of citrus, powdered sugar, and a light caramel drizzle. Just the right amount of salt, sweet and tart.

The tables were always full of diners throughout our stay. Three-course dinner for $42 per person during Restaurant Week was an unbeatable price for such an amazing experience. I would certainly return for...

We planned a visit to Club A during a recent vacation to NYC. We really wanted to go to a classic New York steakhouse, and after reading the rave reviews and finding a Groupon, we made a reservation for 8:30 on a Thursday night. We were a few minutes late, due to being stuck on Roosevelt Island waiting for the tram, but they accomodated us without complaint. However, we felt that we would have had a better experience if we had come earlier in the evening, and we also felt that we didn't get quite the same stellar experience as other reviewers because we were using a Groupon (which you must disclose ahead of time). This was a bummer, because we both work in the service industry and planned to tip very generously (which we did) to make up for the discount.

The Groupon was for a limited prix fixe menu, with two appetizers, two entrées, two sides, and two desserts, plus a bottle of wine. We ordered the thick cut bacon, caesar salad, and the Club A salad (not included in the Groupon menu) to start; two hanger steaks with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach (they initially brought fries instead of mashed potatoes, but brought out the correct side quickly and let us keep the fries); and tiramisu for dessert. None of it was particularly memorable; in fact, we both agreed we would prefer to make a steak dinner for ourselves at home rather than have that particular meal again. Also, as other reviewers have noted, their house steak sauce is basically ketchup, although we did see some bottles of A1 available. I especially do not recommend the Club A salad (shrimp, onions, and tomatoes in ketchup, essentially) or the creamed spinach, which tasted off.

I wish I could remember our server's name, because he was great. He never rushed us, was very polite, and boxed up all our leftovers for us (unfortunately a wasted effort, because we ended up throwing them out).

Although the Groupon seemed like a great deal at first ($126 for a steak dinner for two plus wine in Manhattan?!?), I feel you're more likely to get your money's worth and enjoy your meal if you just order what you want off the regular menu. If we were to return, we would probably sit at the bar and just do cocktails and apps. The old New York vibes make it...