Raoul's — Restaurant in New York

Went last Wednesday night for our Pre-Thanksgiving dinner date. Was welcomed warmly by the host who also gave us a great table, right under the heat lamp. Their terrace is beautiful. Not as much distance between tables but still well thought of. I especially liked the small table lamp per table. Added a lovely touch and beautiful lighting!

Javier or Xavier attended to us and was great from start to finish. Pretty warm, friendly, no unnecessary attitude, thank you! We really appreciated that. We started off with a glass of champagne for me and Cab Sauv for the husband. We went for the ham & truffle beignets and it was delicious. Ordered the Steak Au Poivre and Burger Au Poivre, both house specialties and waited with our drinks.

This would have been a 5-star experience all the way except for the tall dark-haired white guy who was looking at our table intently and couldn't help himself, probably assuming we could only afford drinks and we were drinking slow. At 5:40 PM (yep it was an early reservation at 5:15), he came over and said, "any dessert?". Not even "How are you guys?" Or"Anything I can help with?" He jumped to the conclusion that we needed to spend more money. So I said, "Sure, we're just waiting for our main dishes to be served". At 5:40 PM. You guys open at 5PM, I sincerely recommend you consider all these things before assuming anything and more importantly, treat paying customers right. No matter how much of a big name restaurant you are. It's the way you make your customers feel that makes them come back, beyond the food and service. Anyway, rant over. He was the outlier, thankfully. I hope Raoul's wouldn't take feedback like this for granted.

As for the food. The Steak Au Poivre at $52 was excellent. At par with my favorite Steak Au Poivres in Paris. The Burger Au Poivre at $29, which I had, was incredible. The poivre sauce elevated both dishes. Expectedly so. And of course instead of ordering from Gold Belly and waiting for it, we decided it's best to order a bottle of the Poivre sauce for $19. Worth it. Oh and the fries that were included in both dishes were fantastic. Another glass of champagne after and it was a really lovely meal.

We were initially not going for dessert but the Profiteroles from another table caught our eye. Turned out to be an excellent decision. Probably the best Profiteroles here in NYC so far. And the hot fudge was perfect!

Overall a place to indulge and spend. We did end up paying almost $200 and don't regret it. We love paying for great food and experiences after all. Look forward to coming back, just hoping it would be a much better experience. No need to be snooty to customers who are happily supporting during the pandemic. It is kindness that we could all...

If you want to pay $200 per person x 4 only so the bartender barks at you, while you are ordering drinks because you are waiting for your table, not being greeted by anyone when you walk in, only then to have a condescending sarcastic waiter who does a “hand gesture” that men are all too familiar with as he’s walking away after scoffing at you about ordering a bottle of wine, who then forgets to put in your entrees… that take over 30 minutes to arrive, go for it.

I tried to be nice and friendly with this waiter but it was a mistake it only gave him license to be more a rude jerk.

This is how the last of the great institutions of this city lose their character and turn into tourist traps, a former shell of their heyday by losing locals with staff that either need a vacation or need to be replaced and the too comfortable notion of busy over quality of busy.

The manager, sommelier and support staff were great. Hostess needs to be a bit more polite to people at the bar who are waiting for their table that she wasn’t even aware of instead of curtly saying you can’t be here, people are going to sit here when I was only putting my cocktail on the bar. Wasn’t planning on sitting. Just trying to stay out of the way.

Food: Steaks were perfect, fries could be warmer, but not worth being insulted over. Appetizers nothing to write home about especially for the prices/portion. A salad should not look half empty on a plate. It’s lettuce, not foie gras. Lots of places make great burgers and steaks it’s not rocket science and with a lot LESS attitude.

Atmosphere: except for some of the staff acting like they are doing the customers a favor by tolerating them, could have been more enjoyable had we not been put on notice that we were not guests who were actually welcome.

Institutions like this get too comfortable from the constant volume but their clientele that used to go there don’t go there anymore.

Basically, if you go on a night where the main staff you have to interact with are in a bad mood or believe they are in a position to be elitist or snob you, good luck. The only reason I didn’t speak up right then and there was I didn’t want to ruin my company’s night when it was also a special occasion.

There was no way I was going to hold back once I let them have a piece of my mind at such Contempt towards us veiled as sarcasm and some problematic superiority complex. I’ve been dining all my life as a native New Yorker, and I cannot remember being treated like this. My friends/family pretended not to notice as to not make me upset and feel stupid for choosing what was a great place that got too rude/cocky for their own good.

I sent a feedback via RESY but they didn’t...

Busy restaurant and very tight space. The host is hide in the back so make sure you find her when you enter. I reserved for 1 for brunch so I was offered to sit at the table rather than at the bar. I was glad to have the option so I opted for the table yet I regretted my choice as I have to wait for the previous table to finish and pay. My reservation is 11:45am, I went in around 11:55 due to train delay (yeah train 1, you done it again) and was seated at 12:22. Like wow. Not happy.

Okay, another thing I wish I knew is that you CANNOT SUBSTITUTE SALAD FOR FRIES for the burger. You can only do that with steak Au poivre.

That being said, I have to say good things about their food.

Watercress salad The salad is sweet and velvety. The greens are fresh and are fully coated with smooth vinaigrette, introducing a harmony starts with savory and sweet, and end with a linger pleasant bitterness. It pleases me instantly that my anger goes from 8 to a 4.

Burger Au poivre (medium rare) The burger is quite sublime. The beef patty is cooked perfectly to medium rare and the fat would run onto my fingers and I couldn’t help but to lick it. It has some green and onions paired on top of the patty, and with a nicely non-seared bun that would suck up a ton of flavor and juice from the sauce Au poivre.

Two keys things that makes the burger great: Firstly the sauce really elevates the burger. It is filled with peppercorn and caramelized onion flavors that add savory to the buttery taste and texture. Coats the burger and the fries well.

Secondly, the peppercorns are not grounded fine. I wouldn’t even call it coarse because each peppercorn is literally diced in half and what it does is, when your teeth grinds them, they burst out the spice flavors that dances on your tongue, leaving you with a long-lasting peppery finish.

The fries are crispy. I used them to wipe the bottom of the Au poivre sauce plate. That’s how much I love the sauce.

I eat my words: I was texting my friends angrily saying I wouldn’t recommend or come to this place again yet I have to rescind that decision. Truly a remarkable burger.

And lastly, though the service is slow, but their hospitality was great. My waitress is a star that kinda saved my mood. I love her laugh.

Summary: recommend if you are in a mood for an awesome burger and crispy fries with a great salad. Do make a reservation but prepare to wait a bit if people decide to savor their food (which is worth of...