Temple Court — Restaurant in New York

We stayed at the Beekman for four nights and had several different experiences at Temple Court Bar - which for some reason doesn’t have it’s own page for reviews. This 3 star rating is primarily because of the bartenders and service at the bar when we returned from evenings out.

Here is more about each experience:

We were sat next to the Edgar Alan Poe portrait in the bar room for dinner. Lovely. A great place to people watch. We ordered: the “east coast” oysters - $25 for 6 enormous sloppy oysters. I have not had oysters this large from the east coast. Would appreciate if the menu listed where the oysters were from because they were not from MD, VA, PEI or likely even NY. They were not cleaned well, either. Would not recommend. the duck liver patè - by far the best thing we ate during any experience at TCB. Very lovely flavors, a large portion and only served with 1.5 slices of grilled bread. the Brussels sprouts salad - was good; i make almost an identical one at home. duck confit ravioli - was good, the olives made the flavors pop. Felt like there was something “missing” tho.

The service was bad. Once we were seated and had cocktails, it was super hit or miss. There are many staff members wandering around the room apparently watching but not doing anything helpful. We asked the back waiter for more bread for they pâté - it never came. When our server finally came back like 10-15 minutes later, we were able to order it from her. When we were finished eating, the back waiter took the plates. Then we sat with a clear table and empty glasses in front of us for another 15 minutes before the server came back. I get that she was busy but the manager or host or whoever that was sharking around the room could have helped her out. It was quite clear we were done. This was my fist time at a Tom Coliccio establishment and i was underwhelmed.

2 - the next morning we had breakfast there. We were sat very quickly. the server came up, was very forward / almost aggressive about what we want to order - and that’s how she said it. “What do you want?” Then before we even had a chance to look at the menu she started recommending things. I ordered the omelet at her recommendation. The $6 drip coffee was like brown water - super weak, and we were never offered refills. The omelet was delish, i will say that. But we sat there waiting for the check for 15 minutes after our table was cleared. No coffee, no water, no plates in front of us. Just sitting there… We thought we were being pranked. How is service like this at a Tom Coliccio restaurant??

3 - came for drinks at the bar at 11pm-ish on Friday. A great experience. Friendly bartenders and nice pours on the wine. Made an excellent NY Sour for my sister.

4 - breakfast again. Saturday. We were prepared. The service was better; we ordered espresso drinks. I had the classic breakfast - $27 for two eggs, a slice of toast, and some bacon. Laughable that it’s the most expensive menu item, but i did enjoy it. What’s not to like? My sister had the breakfast sandwich and wanted bacon but the server told her the sausage was a special sausage for the day and she really recommended it. That sausage was garbage. It looked and tasted like spam. My sister ended up taking it off and eating half my bacon. At least we didn’t wait for 15 minutes for the check this time.

5 - another PM bar visit, another great experience. I had two Negronis, sister had a couple bourbon cocktails. Again good service.

Overall I’m left a little confounded. The dining experience at TCB left a lot to be desired. The table service needs a lot of attention. Managers and other staff should be helpful, not just standing around staring. Expected more from both the service and the food at a Tom...

I spent FAR too much time researching fine dining options for our wedding anniversary. We really love to do tasting menus, but between the investment and the decor/vibe, I just couldn't find the perfect restaurant to go this year. I finally found Temple Court when I searched something like, "most romantic fine dining NYC." And look at that, loved seeing that Temple Court was not only much more my vibe, but they had a menu that looked worth the cost and that the founder was the founder of Gramercy Tavern (which we love), Craft, etc.

Can I tell you what a perfect anniversary date Temple Court created for us? This restaurant is SO our vibe! I adore the old world, romantic feel of it so it was perfect for our wedding anniversary dinner. Manny (Emanuel (sp?)) was a lovely, attentive, kind server. And the table they gave us was perfect with an L-shaped (velvet, if memory serves) bench so we could sit closer than across the table from each other.

We loved everything we ate or drank (and we tried everything of each others'):

COCKTAILS: I had JESSICA PRESSLER (Select Aperitivo, subbed apricot Liqueur instead of fruit punch liqueur, Vanilla, Lemon, Sparkling Wine) and my husband had PABLO NERUDA (Cimarron Blanco Tequila, Catedreal de mi Padre Espadin Mezcal, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Pomegranate, Habanero, Lime)

1st COURSE: I had CHILLED MAINE LOBSTER - Asparagus, Black Truffle Vinaigrette & Crispy Soft-Boiled Egg), husband had GRILLED QUAIL - Porcini, Asparagus & Black Garlic. They were very different from each other -- the lobster very bright and summery, Quail the opposite. I loved both, but the quail wins if I had to pick. Chef's kiss.

ENTREE: I had: ROASTED ROHAN DUCK BREAST - Confit Leg, Rhubarb, Ramps & Sea Island Red Peas (paired with LANGHE NEBBIOLO, Broccardo, Il GioPi, 2020, Piedmont, Italy) -- the very first taste I got a bit too much rhubarb/sweet and thought, "Oh no, what have I done," but was so relieved and delighted when I continued eating and got the bean mixture with the rhubarb and then it was perfectly balanced and delicious. There was a bit more fat on the duck than I'd prefer, but that's what you get with duck and it was really, really good.

Husband had: STUFFED RABBIT LOIN - Asparagus, Sugar Snap Peas & Farro Verde (paired with PINOT NOIR, Holloran, 2022, Willamette Valley, OR). He also added the sauteed greens w/ garlic & lemon. I liked the duck a lot better than the rabbit, but my husband was very happy with his. He called his "subtle" in a way he liked.

DESSERT: I had the LEMON MERINGUE PIE - Meyer Lemon Curd & Mandarin Mint Sorbet & my husband got PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE - Pineapple Ginger Caramel & French Vanilla Ice Cream (I liked mine better) -- we had a macchiato with dessert, also delicious.

They wished us a happy anniversary multiple times and when we first arrived brought a Happy Anniversary card out signed by the whole staff.

I thought the bathrooms were pretty, although the latch on one of the stalls was broken and another almost wouldn't work.

If you go, be sure to walk through the bar and look up through the atrium/multiple floors of hotel rooms.

We enjoyed walking through the hotel lobby (love the velvet armchairs) and seeing the model of the hotel.

If you're interested, ask the host/ess to give you a pamphlet that tells the history of the Beekman Hotel. Reading this, we learned that it has a cool literary and theater history -- Edgar Allan Poe lived at the Beekman Hotel and this building used to also house a theater in which Hamlet got its first NYC production. No wonder this felt like a fortuitous fit for us, given our family of writers, actors, creative types.

We're Temple Court's...

We were staying at the Beekman Hotel, which was beautiful. Prior to arrival, we made reservations at Temple Court based on so many good reviews (which now don't make sense to us, quite honestly) and because we wanted to be close to our rooms after a busy day of sightseeing in NYC.

We were not expecting the bar to be "reservation only" upon arrival, so that was an unfortunate start to the evening. However, it was the holiday season, so we understood. We were able to stand at the bar until our table was ready, which was totally fine. The dining room is comfortable and well appointed, and offered a fun vibe. We had requested a round table when booking our reservation, but we were seated at a long, rectangular table, which made conversation challenging. Once seated, our dining experience started off well, with a server stopping by almost immediately, but things quickly declined after other patrons arrived. Other than taking our order, we barely saw her again.

After switching from cocktails to champagne, our champagne selection "was warm" so they provided a small sip of another selection until our champagne was chilled. Ok, no problem, but we would expect that your wine offerings would be chilled during the holiday season, especially bubbly! (We received our selection about 20 minutes later)

Our waitress was not very familiar with basic menu questions, and was unable to provide simple answers, so it was obvious that she was uneducated on the menu. (ie: "What are the sautéed greens on the sides menu?" "I don't know, maybe green beans or something.") We were told that the sides were all "very sharable, and for the table" but the portions were tiny and not very sharable for a party of seven. Again, more service/menu education would have been helpful for our larger group.

Our appetizers were all fine, but with the exception of the duck, and the chicken that our young children ate, the rest of our entrees were weak, and incredibly disappointing. Three of us ordered the Wagyu steak at $79 pp, which was undercooked and well, boring. (Our server attempted to talk us into getting the ribeye special, which perhaps we should have done, but at $6/ounce, it was an expensive option.)

Surprisingly, we decided to order dessert with four of us ordering the monkey bread with the chocolate fudge, which was burnt and inedible. ($68 down the tubes, unfortunately) The crusts on the two apple crostatas that we ordered were so overcooked, we could barely cut them.

Overall, the five adults in our party were pretty disappointed in our lack-luster dining experience, and paying the $1100 bill was painful. We all just looked at each other like, "huh, well, that wasn't very good." Such a bummer, as we had so many other options to choose from in NYC. We expected more from a celebrity chef establishment, but sadly, like so many others, the celebrity name doesn't necessarily mean...