West Bank Cafe — Restaurant in New York

The year is still young, but I will be hard-pressed to find anywhere that can serve me a dinner better than West Bank Cafe. It was the final eatery of my time on vacation in New York and what a final eatery it was.

The atmosphere is phenomenal. The soft lighting and smooth ambient feel provide a nice reprieve from the hustle of Time Square.

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners, and she was an absolute pleasure to speak with. Our server, Larry, was equally wonderful: he had wonderful recommendations, speedy delivery, and was a pleasant conversationalist in passing.

I started with the Risotto Balls. Between me and the two other members of my company, we inhaled them in minutes. They were phenomenal. And I am not even a fan of risotto balls.

Appetizer finished, I ordered their three course meal (soup/salad, entree, dessert). The soup was wonderful, but the real star of the meal was the salmon entree.

Now, I love seafood. And I don't mean just as a friend. I'm not talking about some vacation romance. I'm talking about a serious, committed relationship. Take note when I say that this was the best salmon I've ever had. It was moist and warm and lacked the generic-salmon-taste I find too common at restaurants. Paired with the sauvignon blanc recommended by Larry, it was even more splendid.

I finished the meal with a lemon mousse dessert and a glass of Macallan 12 with warm water.

Next time you are around Times Square, ask yourself a question: do you want to have angels frolic on your taste-buds? If yes, go to the West Bank Cafe. You will not be...

If you have theater tickets, DON'T EAT HERE! We arrived at the restaurant almost an hour and a half before our theater performance (the theater being across the street). We informed the waiter, who was quite polite and attentive, that we had a 7:30 curtain. He assured us he'd make certain we'd get there on time. Appetizers arrived promptly, then ... ... ... nothing. He came by half an hour later to apologize that there was a "delay." As he was saying this, we saw several waiters bearing dishes to what turns out to be a performance space downstairs. 15 minutes before curtain time, I told the waiter to just charge us for the appetizers and drinks, and do that quickly. He offered to "bag" our food to take with (I assume keeping the bags warm on our laps during the performance), then went back to the kitchen. 5 minutes later the servers emerged with food. We chowed it down in record time, but as it turns out, there was no late seating at our performance, and we found ourselves cheated out of 3 rather expensive theater tickets, in exchange for a delayed (and, by the way, mediocre) meal. This is absolutely unacceptable! It appears that they "prioritize" preparing and serving meals for their performance space. This is a travesty. So, unless you don't have any additional plans for later that evening, or like sitting in a near-empty restaurant and not being served, find...

A very quaint nicely decorated restaurant on West 42 street, just pass ninth avenue. I ordered the mini mushroom risotto balls. It was served with a truffle aoli sauce. I did not like the sauce. I also ordered the fried calamari with a chipolte sauce. The sauce was very tasty, not spicy. The fried calamari melted in my mouth. It was cooked to perfection. For a main course, I ordered the crab cake. There was very little filling, mostly flaky crab. It came with two large slices of avocado, and well seasoned greens. There was only one crab cake. The waiter convinced me to order dessert. I ordered the frozen lemon mousse, which came topped with cinnamon meringue, assorted fresh berries, and candied pistachios. It was delicious. The wait service was excellent. The restaurant was busy but I did not have to wait on line for a table. They have a full bar service, with some interesting beers and wine. The prices were reasonable. They also have a prefixed lunch and dinner menu. I arrived too late for that. I would go back. The soup of the day was tomato Florentine with shave Parmesan...