Taureau — Restaurant in New York

I came to Taureau a few years ago and was underwhelmed and ended up having to wait 35 mins after our reservation time to be seated, but I thought I'd give it another go this year for Valentine's Day, which only turned out to be a total disaster.

My boyfriend and I had an 8:30 reservation and optimistically showed up 10 minutes early. The hostess told us we'd need to wait for 10-15 mins in the bar next door, which was also owned by Taureau, and found ourselves in the company of 30 other people who had been waiting to be seated for over an hour after their reservation time. We got a glass of wine, sat down with a few other couples and complained about the poor management as the hostess kept coming back into the bar to tell everyone individually that they're next in line and that there were some "complications" that night. There were still couples with 7:30 reservations being seated at 9:00.

There is literally one day a year that any restaurant cannot screw up, and yet Taureau managed to ruin the night of every single patron who came hoping to get their hands on some fondue on Valentine's Day. All the while, the staff kept complaining about how many people showed up, as if it's not their job to manage a restaurant and multiple reservations at once.

Meanwhile, everyone else was impatiently awaiting their meals and thinking of honestly leaving, however, everyone who made a reservation for Valentine's Day had to either pay a cash deposit or give Taureau their credit card information in advance, meaning that we were essentially held hostage in a tiny bar smelling fondue for hours before being seated.

Every 10 minutes or so, the hostess would come in the bar and tell us the order of who's next in line and then proceed to seat people with later reservations and even one couple who didn't have a reservation at all, before seating the people who had been waiting for hours. Sometimes she would come get a couple and bring them into the restaurant and then they would immediately return to the bar because she didn't end up having a table for them.

We were eventually seated at 9:45--an hour and 15 mins after our reservation-- in very cramped quarters at an extremely sticky table. The service was slow, inattentive, and unapologetic and the food was decent, but the final straw came when we got our bill at 11:30pm, 3 hours after our reservation, and they had charged us for the full price of the dinner, including the drinks we had at the bar while waiting and hour and 15 mins to be seated.

I waited 15 minutes for our waiter to come back to get the bill so I could express my discontent, but they never came, so I went to the back to find someone to complain to. I told them I wouldn't pay full price because this whole experience was unacceptable and about 5 mins later they came back and told me they'd only take off one round of drinks and give us a bunch of coupons for next time. At this point, I was tired and frustrated and just wanted to get the hell out of that restaurant, so I agreed. I again waited an extended period of time for them to bring me back my credit card--over 15 minutes to be sure--and we repeatedly asked various service staff where my credit card was and then they would respond "oh I'm sure someone's on it" and disappear into the back. I'm still not sure what they could have been doing with my credit card for over 15 minutes other than engaging in something unprofessional and definitely illegal...

They never ended up giving me coupons for next time, but to be honest I won't be needing them since I definitely won't be returning to this place ever again. I thought my experience here two years ago was bad, and I expected that they would get their act together in those two years, but nothing prepared me for how utterly horrible and unacceptable this experience was.

We were the second-to-last couple to leave the restaurant that night, the only other couple remaining hadn't been seated until well...

Went to Taureau for dinner last night and left feeling disappointed and ripped off. I do not understand how this place has so many good reviews. The food is terrible. We ordered the 3 course pre-fix of cheddar-monterey for cheese, red wine (which we ended up switching to the olive oil) for the meat, and the dark chocolate for dessert.

The cheese had no flavor. No tanginess, no sharpness. The croutons and salad were the best part of the first course but the fondue didn't taste like anything. We ordered a combination of sides to also dip into the cheese. The broccoli and potatoes were steamed vegetables, no salt or flavor or anything. The cured bacon was incredibly tough to chew. Taureau does seem to give everyone massive portions on their tiny plates, but other than the bread, salad, and bottle of wine we had, the first course was not good.

The two meats we chose were the filet mignon and the hangar steak. Again, Taureau does not skimp on the portions. The server came by with the red wine broth and told us how to cook the meats once the broth was boiling: 15 seconds for medium rare, 30 for medium, and well done beyond that. Nothing cooked in 15 seconds, in fact nothing cooked in 45+ seconds. We switched to the oil because we were having issues with the red wine broth. Again, we had to leave meat much longer than anticipated to fully cook it inside. The meats were not marinated or seasoned, just raw. The aioli dipping sauce was the only thing that gave it flavor. We probably should've left then, but kept assuring ourselves that chocolate fondue couldn't be messed up and dessert would be fine. At this point, I think our server could tell we weren't having the best time so we were poured a free glass of wine.

We had the dark chocolate for dessert. It also unbelievably had zero flavor. The "seasonal" fruits were fine, pears and apples were a bit of an odd choice for chocolate fondue. It was unreal how flavorless the chocolate was. We ended up eating most of the fruit just on its own and were happy to leave.

I had absolutely no issues with the service at Taureau. We had reservations, were a few minutes late, and were seated promptly. The servers were friendly and helpful when they sensed we weren't having the best time.

But for hundreds of dollars, I'd expect infinitely better quality food. Again, we are so confused as to how this place has the rating it does. The food is not good and definitely not...

Been coming here for a year and an half and am a frequent visiter (2 to 3 times a month). When I started coming, it really was great. Heavy portions, excellent service. But recently that has changed.

They have changed to an a la carte menu and now does not allow refills for the chocolate dippings. Originally you could get as many refills on the fruits, marshmallows and cakes as your chocolate needs. But now you finish your dippings and there’s a quarter of the chocolate left. So unless you’re paying extra for the dippings, your sol. It’s ridiculous.

Additionally, the last 3 times I’ve gone to taureau, the cake they serve is ridiculously dry, hard and yesterday was burnt. The first time I received bad cake, it was so hard I could beat the cake on the plate and it would not break. I showed the waiter and he took it away. At this time, you could get refills on other things. The second time, you could not get the refills. So he gave me some more strawberries. The third time, yesterday I was given fresher cake since the cake was literally burnt. I don’t understand why I would be served literal burnt black cake (the burnt cake being the white cake… no excuse for a darker color) when there were fresher pieces.

Additionally, yesterdays service was less than usual. It was the most busy time I have ever seen the restaurant (5 tables) but I do expect good service given the price and my level of frequency. Whenever there are large tables, you get neglected as a smaller table. This has happened to me multiple times at the restaurant. Often times salad and bread refills take longer (8/9 minutes), but wine being served, orders being taken for the larger tables, items being given to the other tables, etc. Never being asked how the food is. Having to ask for water, salad, bread refills as they waitress passes the table and never stops by. Having to wait 10/15 minutes for the bill to come.

Given the amount of money the restaurant has made with my patronage (cheese and chocolate fondue for 2, wine, cheese dippings every time and occasionally filet mignon additional course), I would expect not to be served hard, dry nor burnt cake nor would I expect less than good service. I know all these waiters/waitresses, and 20 percent tip is ALWAYS given when I go. I am additionally disappointed the refills for the fondue were taken away. Hopefully it is better the next time I adventure out to...