Darling — Restaurant in New York

JUST NO! Do not waste your time or money here!!!

First and foremost- please stop pumping that atrocious, highly scented synthetic smell in the lobby area and stairs up to Darling. 🤢what an aweful way to enter and leave an establishment.

The tables here are so small that as a two top, we could barely fit our order on the table. We even saw them squeeze 3-4 people at the same small areas on the terrace. Our tiny table had a stuff wobble that could not be tamed.

We received one menu that had a lifetime of bacteria smeared on the cover and a wooden skewer that was accompanied by various sized hairs inside the pages. Yummm- that should have been the red flag to walk away. 🚩But after a long flight and us actually rooming at the hotel, we were desperate.

The waiter did greet us rather promptly but as soon as we got one word out, he darted away. While we waited for him to come back and get some apps in.

The arancini was pretty good (compariatively). Although, not crisp on the outside (only one of them was). So execution was rather lacking. The dish also required some acidity but was only presented with rich components… sad $14

The vegetable spring rolls with “thai chili water” was quite literally some frozen eggrolls from Costco with store bought jar of sweet and sour sauce. They arrived at the table less than room temperature and sitting in a puddle of sticky sauce. Yeah, that’s a great idea- let’s swim some fried food in a pool of sauce so it turns to mush. 🤔🙄 $16

The crudo was the best thing we ordered. And for $35 you get 1oz of tuna, sliced into four pieces on top of a bed of pickled cabbage and aioli. Truly ridiculous 😡

I had to return the shrimp cocktail after eating only half of one shrimp (my partner tried the other half) because it was so appalling. Never in my life have I had such rubbery shrimp. It was probably boiled in hot garbage water because it was both somehow bland and rank tasting. $26

My partners tuna tartar was mediocre. The tartar was simply chopped tuna and chopped avocado on top. Served with the saddest crostini ever- unseasoned and toasted so far ahead of the shift that it started to absorb moisture. So it was slightly crunchy while somehow being chewy/ stale tasting. $28

He was pretty happy with caprese sandwich because the basil pesto was good and the price seemed in line with the quantity. It was served in three pieces and the third piece was served with all of the ingredients slid off because the top piece of focaccia was two separate pieces. $20

One mocktail $17 and a glass of champagne $36

To add insult to injury there was an undocumented 18% service charge added to the bill.

Per NYC: “Restaurants may not add a surcharge (extra charge) to the food or beverage prices listed on the menu.

Restaurants may charge a bona fide service charge, but the charge must be clearly disclosed before you order food.

Acceptable service charges include:

-Charge to split a single meal on multiple plates -Minimum per person charge -Mandatory gratuity for parties of...

I usually never write reviews, but this time is a must. I am in healthcare and have a business, so I know how to treat clients. When I arrived at darling, I made my way outdoors and decided to take a photo of the view. Upon turning around after capturing a photo I bumped into a waiter holding a tray of drinks. The drinks spilled and glasses broke as they fell off the tray. The drinks not only spilled on the waiter, but on me as well. I apologized to the waiter and he said nothing to me. After that the rest of the staff was pretty rude, including our waiter who had nothing to do with the incident. When he noticed I was upset after getting drinks spilled on me, he exclaimed “that was you” and proceeded to fetch me a club soda for the stain on my shirt. The table we were at was reserved for 2 hours and they were indirectly trying to force us out after an hour (asking if we wanted the check). Little did they know we were waiting for two more party members. After the second set of party members arrived, drinks were ordered. At this point we still had 45 minutes left on the table and again the waiter was insistent of giving us the bill. Rule #1 in hospitality is the customer is always right. If you can’t cope with stressful situations learn how to manage them differently or find another profession. A great view does not make up for a well beyond sub par staff. There are better rooftops in the city with excellent staff members who will give you white glove service. And FYI, if simply Turning around is causing individuals to bump into each other, then one of those individuals is in the others personal space. Maybe give someone a heads up that you are standing immediately behind them with a tray full of drinks. Also, the drinks were average at best. Will not be recommending this establishment to...

I've wanted to come here for so long! I just didn't have a reason to because we don't usually hang out in midtown. When our DJ friends announced they were playing here, I was excited for the opportunity to check it out! Settled on the 47th floor, you need to take the elevator to 46th and take the stairs to 47th, it's a cute walkway. As you get to the top, you're greeted by their host/hostesses, I had made reservations and specifically noted to be seated closest to the DJ booth to watch our friends play (I honestly wasn't sure if they would see the note or be able to do it, but I tried). I think they saw the note because the host/hostesses were super accommodating, I'm really appreciative that they were able to get me that table (🙌) which made for such a better experience than I imagined. It's also probably luck and we got there an earlier hour too. We started at the bar first with a drink while we waited for the table to become available. We didn't have to wait long and got seated next to the DJ booth in the terrace. What I really wanted to see were the beautiful views of Central Park. Of course it was already night, but you can still see the surrounding areas of Central Park South, East and West sides which were still amazing. We only tried a few drinks on their menu (no food as we had dinner before coming, but it looked and smelled good!): Darling Unlimited, The Isadora and Here Comes Trouble, all delicious. I also asked for an Espresso Martini not on the menu but also delicious. Overall we had a great time, more friends and fans of the DJs came later in the night, which made for a fun atmosphere. We will be back when it's lighter out, so we can see the views during the day. Shout out to the wonderful staff!

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