Hunt & Fish Club — Restaurant in New York

Where do I start? I had been dreaming about my French onion soup for what felt like over a year and knew with all my other reservations while I was in the city that it would just have to be a quick pick up situation or a bar sitting. Walked into the restaurant, planning to go to the bar and / or sit at a table for just soup and maybe pasta. Was met by the hostess who was beyond rude. I had called the restaurant earlier that day to inquire about a table as well as what time service was over at the restaurant I was told over the phone that 11:45 kitchen closes and that the restaurant closed at midnight. Well, to my surprise, I was there at 11, maybe a little before, and there was an issue getting soup.

The hostess kept repeating herself, saying the kitchen was closed and that she didn't know who I had spoken with. I asked for a manager who honestly I can't recall his name and didn't care for the interaction as he really seemed disinterested and disingenuous during our interaction at first. He did, however, seat us at a table and send over bread and my soup eventually. He stood over me, trying to rush me when I had stated that I may want to order something else as well stating the kitchen was closed. It was like a running theme, I thought I was ina bad Broadway musical at one point.

Let's set the scene because the restaurant still had several guests seated. Some of which still hadn't received entrees. The kitchen wasn't closed and again it was soup... not a 10 course meal I wanted to order. As I waited with my mother, who had completely lost her appetite and refused to eat, we observed other food coming out of the "closed kitchen." Another manager actually visited the table. I think he may be an assistant, but he was familiar and kind as I had, had previous interactions with him when I had visited the restaurant prior. I did tell him what had transpired as well as how rude the hostess had been. I think what really turned the experience unpleasant is that the hostess spoke to me initially as I was beneath her. I want to be clear I wasn't dressed up as I normally am when I visit the restaurant. However, I'm sure my outfit costed more than she makes in a week. My handbag alone is 6 months' rent for most people. None of which should matter. However, with her, it seemed to.

Nevertheless, the soup made it out of the kitchen and wasn't as hot as it should have been. It ended up not being as good as I remembered either. I do think that simply was because of the horrible interactions and how difficult it was to get the soup, I was completely turned off. I had them box up everything and took it back to the hotel. They covered the cost of the soup, which was unnecessary as I would have greatly just appreciated a flawless dining experience instead. I over tipped the person who boxed up dinner and departed the restaurant.

I feel it is important to mention that there were still many people in the restaurant and bar when we left for the evening. I truly understand that hospitality is hard, New York, and more specifically Times Square is difficult, but this is what this restaurant signed up for. It's the holidays. This is when you really make the bulk of your revenue. Nobody is giving me a discount, and this isn't a soft opening. I don't expect to be met with mediocre service, sub-par food, and rudeness from your hourly hostess when I am paying well up for let's be...

I visited this establishment on Monday night of 10/03/2022 to celebrate my girlfriends birthday. Although we had reservations and the room restaurant had plenty of available seating we were conveniently put right next to the waiters station. We asked to move because it was uncomfortable being there as they kept going back and forth for water, STRIKE 1. We ordered the crab cake and French onion soup as appetizers. The crab taste like it was low quality and came from a can and the French onion soup which I specifically chose because it had short rib in it was GROSS it literally taste like a bowl of pot roast gravy STRIKE 2. Because it was a celebratory occasion I didn’t want to complain too much about the food. I wanted my girl to enjoy her bday. For dinner we ordered a 16 oz ribeye medium well with a side of lobster, brussel spouts with bacon and mashed potatoes. The brussel sprouts had way too much vinegar on them, the lobster was boiled and bland and the mash potatoes were like soup. The worst part of it all was the ribeye. The ribeye was so hard that we couldn’t physically cut through it with the steak knife they provided much less any other knife in the world. We decided to give them a do- over and ordered a small filet instead hoping they could get it right. While we were waiting a man that I’m assuming is the general manager came over STRIKE 3. He let us that our filet was going to be tough exactly like the ribeye because we ordered medium well. He then proceeded to rudely explain to us what a ribeye is as if we didn’t know and basically told us that we don’t know what we are talking about and are pretty much stupid. He even let us know that the chef tested the steak and that it was indeed perfect. How could it be perfect if it’s uncuttable. It was like using a butter knife to cut through a leather boot. Funny enough I went to culinary school and I know exactly how that steak should have been prepared. Just like all the other black people on here that still paid their bill we were fully prepared to do so, but this man was at our table berating us like we know nothing about food. Long story short we didn’t want to continue to beg him to make our food properly nor endure this experience on a day that is so meaningful so we told him that we were leaving and NO I DID NOT PAY THAT BILL. It was obvious that they don’t care to treat people of color with respect or dignity they just assume you never fine dined before and that they can treat you however they please. I will never support a place like this again. Because of them we had to make last minute reservations In Hudson yards. Save your time and money, the food is underwhelming and...

I’ve been to this restaurant several times over the past few years, often for special occasions, and have always had great experiences with both the food and the service. Unfortunately, the food and this one server, who once again made my most recent visit very disappointing, have made me reconsider coming back.

On my latest visit about two weeks ago, the experience was unpleasant from the start. I went to celebrate my birthday again as a party of two. Our server (the same one we had a while back, though I don’t know her name) had a negative attitude toward us almost the entire evening. When we ordered the tomahawk steak, she told us the price, which we already had an idea of since we’ve ordered it a couple of other times. That was fine but when we said okay and proceeded with the order, she gave us a noticeably disapproving look and even asked, “Are you sure?” as if doubting we could pay for it. We also ordered a ribeye steak, and she looked at us with disgust, like she was pocket watching us the whole time. It seemed like she kept judging what we ordered and how much we were spending. It felt uncomfortable and awkward, especially since she was noticeably friendlier and more attentive with a nearby table later on.

The service was poor throughout the meal, and the food didn’t make up for it. The steaks, which I’ve always enjoyed here, were tough and disappointing and nowhere near the quality I’ve come to expect. Even the sides we ordered fell short.

Looking back, there was another incident with the same server about a year ago, when gratuity was added to our bill for a table of two. That had never happened in any of my other visits, so it felt out of place. It felt like she was trying to suggest we wouldn’t be able to tip or afford the meal. We didn’t say anything at the time because everything else went smoothly, but that and this recent visit make me question how we were treated. All the other staff were so kind, and it just didn’t make sense for this one server to treat us like this on two separate occasions.

Toward the end of the night, she became a bit more pleasant especially especially after we ordered more. She was kind to bring out ice cream for my birthday, which was delicious and truly appreciated. But by that point, the overall tone of the evening had already been set and it didn’t change how uncomfortable most of the night had felt.

This used to be one of my favorite places that I would recommend to everyone. But after this last visit, I’m not sure I’ll be...