The Polo Bar — Restaurant in New York

It was an absolutely exquisite experience! It is hard to snag a reservation here but it is so worth it.

Our reservation was at 7:30 pm and we got there by 7:00 and they let us enter right away. We were seated in the waiting area until our table was ready by 7:27 pm where we had some drinks and snacks. My hubby ordered a whisky and I had coke. The fried olives, chips, and nuts came while we waited and they were so good. All our servers were exceptional.

From the time we entered, Diane who is the host at the front door was so polite, kind, and courteous. She remembered to wish me happy birthday. Not only her but, every staff member that I came across knew I was there to celebrate my birthday which shows their attention to detail. It took me by surprise that everyone knew and wished me as I came in and as I was leaving.

Phenomenal food! They first brought out their croissants and butter and both were DIVINE! Everything is made in house and you can tell. For starters we ordered their pigs in a blanket which came piping hot and so tasty with their in-house spicy mustard although caviar seemed inviting too and it’s something we will order on our next visit (I wanted something really chilled out this time and the food hit the spot). I went for their burger and Ralph’s corned beef sandwich and our waiter understood exactly how we wanted it (without us having to over explain). In fact they brought the burger and sandwich cut in half and plated them for us already so we didn’t have to do it ourselves. The meat of the corned beef sandwich melts in your mouth. In my opinion it was better than the burger even though the burger was amazing. The fries were good too, and the coleslaw was fresh, crispy, with the right amount of zing.

For dessert we had a scoop of Ralph’s coffee ice cream and it was on another level - Bursting with that bitterness and sweetness and both perfectly balanced. It has to be the best coffee ice cream I’ve had by far. The old fashioned chocolate cake was nice too, and so rich we could only have half and they even wrote happy birthday on the plate and brought it out and that gesture melted my heart. The restaurant is beautiful. Horses are my favorite, and everywhere you could see beautiful portraits of horses. It was packed with people coming and going throughout our time there, which was more than 2 hours.

They do have a strict dress code policy in place which I actually like.

Reservations were made with Austin a month in advance (in fact we were communicating several months in advance and then finally spoke about the actual reservation 30 days before June 10th). Our server Will went above and beyond which made our day. We had another waiter from Bangladesh who was really kind and sweet - he too was super attentive. (I did not get his name but I wish I had asked him). Diane at the entrance is the perfect host. Everyone there is professional and they make sure you have a great time. Will surely be returning. I came to the Polo Bar after nearly 6 years - I came with friends way back when and even then the experience was really good from what I remember. Looking forward to coming here again, not just for the awesome food, drinks, and dessert but for the exceptional service!

Thank you for such a...

I wanted to check out The Polo Bar when it first opened up. Who wouldn't want to dine in this tribute hall to all things preppy and elegant? Ok, maybe that sort of thing is not for everyone. But I aspire to such heights. While I may not currently live in a multi-million dollar town house or wear a custom tailored suit every day, and collect vintage cars, and sail to Nantucket during the summer, I can certainly indulge in the occasional fine dining experience. And that's what The Polo Bar is. Is the food perfect? No. But everything else is, and that makes the food and the experience that much better. The hard part about eating here is the wait. You need to call one month in advance to reserve your spot. On my way in the door, I was greeted by a man and woman working the door, and dressed similarly in camel-colored overcoats. The gent checked my reservation and let me in. I entered into the bar area which is small, but has a fair amount of small cocktail tables. I met my guest (my dad) and we were escorted down the stairs to the dining room where we were promptly greeted by a man in charcoal trousers, a navy blazer (with brass buttons), shirt, and tie. Another similarly dressed gent took our coats. I was starting to notice a theme here. We were seated next to a foursome of young (20's) attractive (3/4) students (?) - my dad taking the inside seat on a tufted leather seat, and I on the outside in a standard restaurant chair. The tables are covered in white tablecloths. The dishes are all white with blue trim sporting the Polo Bar logo. We took our time once given the food and drink menus. I ordered a Vesper martini. My dad got a vodka gimlet. They mix a good drink. They brought complementary popovers and soft butter. The service and presentation impeccable. I should also all waiters and waitresses were dressed alike in charcoal trousers, white oxford shirts, repp strip ties, and medium brown oxford shoes. We started with a delightful tuna tartare. For an entree, we split a 22oz bone-in rib-eye steak supposedly originating from Ralph's personal RRL ranch in Colorado. The steak came with pepper corn sauce and fries, and we added a plate of roasted brussels sprouts. Everything was wonderful. The steak was cooked to perfection. I mentioned earlier that the food is not perfect. So, the sprouts were a little on the small side. The steak had a little more fat than I prefer. They don't lose a star over this. We finished up and ordered cups of Ralph's coffee, a scoop of sorbet, and a slice of cheesecake with blueberry compote. Again, everything was delicious! I will return again, but not for at...

What started as a beautiful experience ended in a rude and very unacceptable, disappointing ending. When you go to the Polo Bar, you expect an exceptional experience which is delivered with the interior and decor. Unfortunately, the service is chaotic and unfortunately non present. We did not even receive the second half of the bottle of Krug (at $400 a bottle) that we ordered. We understood later that a customer has to request an ice bucket for the champagne….really? This should be standard and is the proper way to serve champagne or any wine. Furthermore, the bartender was rude and hostile to us and referred to one of our party as “the blonde”. He then proceeded to shout at me at which point I asked to speak to the manager. The manager could have, and should have, defused the situation. Rather, he said that they would take care of the issue the following day and would give me a call. The call never came. If this establishment wants to continue to attract the clientele it seeks, it has to strive to deliver exceptional service reflective of a luxury brand. At the moment, it delivers below average service and management while charging premium prices. In all, it was a big disappointment and I will likely never return. I go to the other Ralph Lauren restaurants in Europe and the service is exceptional…not in New York unfortunately. The management did not seem up to the standard of an exceptional restaurant and as loyal clients of the brand, we left quite disappointed. This is not a luxury experience. Rather, it felt like a below average restaurant at exceptionally above average prices. Looking at other reviews both before and after my visit, there appears to be a similar pattern of disappointment. Very sad about what we hoped would be magical but turned into a very ugly experience with the Polo Bar…there are so many exceptional places to go...