Kurant Wine Bar — Restaurant in New York

Be cautious and check your bill carefully!

I visited last night with two friends around 7:30 PM after dinner, we ordered a bottle of wine and stayed for a while. The bar was relatively slow, with a couple of empty tables and unused bar seats throughout the night.

When the bill came, a 20% gratuity was automatically added without any prior notice. I asked the server if it was standard to charge 20% gratuity for a party of three, and she claimed it was due to us staying for 2 hours and the holiday season bringing in many tourists. However, we were not informed about this policy at any point, and I almost left an additional 20% tip unknowingly.

The server offered to remove the tip from the bill after we complained, but we told her it was fine to leave the tip this time since we had a good time there. However, we suggested they add a notice on the menu or inform customers about the policy in the future.

While I had no issue leaving a 20% tip on my own, being forced into it without transparency felt wrong. Clear communication about such charges would go a long way. Just make sure double check...

A great little wine bar in Midtown East! The wines by the glass are reasonably priced ($10-$14) and they are delightful! I had a taste of the Bourdeaux, the Tempranillo, and the Russian River Pinot Noir, and ultimately went with the Bourdeaux, but I would recommend all of them! I'm very picky about my wines, and wines by the glass are always hit or miss, especially when you're seeing wines under $14. But Kurant's wine by the glass are top notch! and very generous pours.

We also tried two of their cheeses, the Vermont goat cheese and the Boschetta Truffle. The Boschetta truffle is amazing! It is sheep & cow's milk, tender and sweet with black truffle. A plate of 2 cheeses is only $10 and 3 cheeses is $15. They come with a nice pairing of berry jam, grapes, and nutty/raisiny bread.

I'll definitely be back for happy hour (every day 4-7pm, select wines for $7), for dinner (the other food that passed by smelled delicious), and a good...

dined at Kurant for brunch and there were a couple smaller tables toward the back. We were seated with no reservation immediately. I split the Huevos Rancheros and Salmon Benedict. I thought that the huevos rancheros were just okay, not much flavor to the dish but the tortilla chip remained crunchy by the end of the meal. Similarly, I thought the benedict wasn't very impressive either. The hollandaise sauce was creamy and good. My sister said that the coffee tasted bad. There was the tiniest side of toasted potatoes and fresh salad. Overall, the dishes were appropriately priced but there was nothing to write home about and was left a bit disappointed. They have a bottomless brunch cocktail for 90 minutes (mimosa, bellini, screwdriver, and...