Freemans — Restaurant in New York

We found many allergy friendly places in New York. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

Visited Freeman's on our anniversary with my girlfriend during our recent trip to New York (May 2025). As a severe allergy sufferer (I carry two epi-pens), we always make it very clear to restaurants that I suffer from multiple allergies and list them out beforehand. We notified the restaurant that it was our anniversary and that I am allergic to Nuts, Sesame Seeds, Shellfish and Beans.

When we arrived, the first thing I mentioned to the waitress serving us was my allergies. I am always very explicit that they are very severe. The waitress noted down each of the allergies and reassured me that she would notify the kitchen. I made my point about 3 times, as I would with anyone serving me, to ensure they understood the importance.

I ordered a Chicken Caesar Salad to start and a Steak as my main.

The Chicken Caesar Salad arrived and before I tucked in, I gave it a quick glance to ensure there was nothing in there I could not eat. I always do this, just to be on the safe side. Although the restaurant is extremely dimly lit, I noticed that there were Sesame Seeds in the salad. First of all this was one of the allergens which I very clearly mentioned to the waitress would cause me to go into a reaction. Secondly, this was not even an ingredient listed in the Caesar Salad on the menu. I was shocked that this had happened and my girlfriend was so stressed she could barely eat. I called over the waitress and sternly explained the situation. The waitress went into defence mode and instantly shifted the blame onto the kitchen, mentioning it was nothing to do with her and that it was the chefs fault. She almost seemed so worried that I was going to sue her that she threw the kitchen under the bus to save herself. She mentioned that she had never seen anything like this before and took my plate away, mentioning that the 'Chef himself' would make me a new one. She also offered me the starter on the house.

I made it abundantly clear and again was very stern that I did not want to leave the restaurant in an ambulance, nor did I want to spend my anniversary evening in an American hospital.

My girlfriend wanted to leave at that point, I should have listened. Instead, I trusted the waitress to bring a new Caesar salad which the 'Chef himself' had made.

As the waitress gave me the fresh Caesar Salad, she mentioned that the kitchen had 'triple checked' for my allergens. I once again inspected the dish. There were sesame seeds AGAIN. I could not believe it. I was so shocked. I told my girlfriend we were leaving and we got up. But not before we called over the waitress and spoke to the manager (who did not seem like she cared very much). The waitress was visibily upset, as were we. This was the most dangerous and unprofessional dining experience I had ever gone through.

Had I not checked the dish (twice) I could have gone into anaphylactic shock.

The waitress offered me the steak to take away but how on earth could I trust them after what I had just seen and experienced.

This was the first time I had ever stormed out of a restaurant.

The fact that the waitress reassured me both the first and then the second times made us feel sick to the pits of our stomachs. In the end this is a matter of safety. If you can not cater to allergies, do not masquerade as if you can. If you have an allergy please DO NOT VISIT THIS RESTAURANT.

This was supposedly the pinnacle of our trip, our anniversary celebration. Instead, we left before our starters - angry, shocked and naseous at what we had just experienced. My girlfriend was in tears and I was also shaking as I had come very close to being hospitalised.

If you have an allergy please stay away from Freeman's, it is...

Oh my goodness this place is awful. I'm genuinely confused by all of the great reviews :/ I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

We came today (8/17) for a birthday brunch. We got seated early which was awesome, but in the end it didn't matter because a server didn't come over for 20 minutes. 20! And all he said when he came over was, "Are you ready to order?"

The table directly next to us, which came after us, had a different server and got their food a full 30 minutes before us.

I ordered a cocktail which was supposed to be strawberry, gin, and milk punch, and it honestly just tasted like Prosecco. I couldn't tell our server because he never came back.

The food arrived a full hour after we were seated. The "full English" was fine. The chicken Caesar was so bad. The lettuce wasn't properly chopped or dressed so it was just long, awkward ribbons of kale doused in a way too citrus forward dressing. The chicken was dry and the $4 half avocado was brown. The fries I got were actually really good but a busser came over to fill my water and spilled water all over them. He didn't acknowledge it.

When I got up to use the restroom I found myself in/near a server station. I asked the three servers there where the WC was and only one even bothered to look up and even then she just pointed to one without saying much.

There's staff everywhere- people roaming around the sections and dining areas but absolutely no one touching tables. Every problem I had could've been avoided if literally anyone there cared.

Eating here was such a disappointment. I work weekends and specifically took today off and was really looking forward to an awesome meal to start the day. Instead I...

This place is hard to find. Be sure to check out google maps first. It is worth the effort and a bit of fun to walk down a long alley filled with graffiti to arrive at the joint. Loud and fun. 3 bars. One just inside the front door is the least fun, one to the right and several rooms ahead is small but lots of fun, upstairs secret bar is not open often, but quieter with available. Food is awesome. Must have the artichoke dip. Killer!!! "Devils on Horseback" are not deviled eggs like 99% of the customers believe. They are dates filled with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon then cooked to a crispy crunch. They are totally different than you expect but they are great. Loved the mussels app as well. Hangar steak was tender and very well flavored. Bananas foster desert was incredible. We love fun loud places like this and we will return often. I tried to get as many photos as I could be it is dark inside so bear with me. Lots of animals on the walls that make it different. Be sure to walk around upstairs and downstairs to see all of the different rooms. Walk down the alley like you know what you are doing and everyone will think you are an insider. This is a super safe hood so do not be afraid of the alley at all. Check out all of our reviews. If we do not like it we do no review it so all of the ones you see are places that are fantastic. Follow us if you like. We had over 7 million views in 2021 and we thank you for that. We don't get paid, we just love to eat and do reviews. Be sure to click on "RobH" at the top of this review to see all of them and to follow us if you like good food or...