While I consider much of the inside decor a bit over the top and tacky, this spot surprised me with the quality of the meal and the service was ok (while not the most attentive, they had all the basics down). Inside, beyond the red room art and decor, you find yourself seated at booths in tables that face the center area; classic tea sets for $120+, and caviar and other things to try. Starter bread was either the sourdough (good) or the wheat (skipped). I had the beef stroganoff, which was excellent - the pasta al dente, mushroom creme sauce very good, and a giant piece of beef in the center. Dessert, a delicious creme brulee that was just right. Overall pleasantly surprised on the food. Decor.. well, it's interestingly garish. And they have some interesting jeweled decor at the front. Not busy at lunch on a weekday. About $100 for two at lunch.
Gregory Charles
Really enjoyed afternoon tea. Been for dinner as well and it was great! All around wonderful place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Reitter
Atmo is great. Service was friendly but not attentive.For around $400 for three adults, with less than one drink each and one shared dessert and one shared appetizer, I expected pretty high-end food.My Borscht was tasty, but lacked meat, and as my blood glucose monitor reported afterwards, it might have had much added sugar on top of the beets. Sure tasted quite sweet. The Beef Wellington and the filet mignon looked quite nice.I've had more interesting Russian food, albeit in Berlin!We had a nice time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Daniely Rodrigues (viajecomadany)
Russian Tea Room is in the heart of New York! Unique and very glamorous decoration. I went with a lot of expectations, but there was nothing that surprised me.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Nina Maru
Would avoid if vegetarian or vegan. Not very accommodating to dietary requirements despite calling ahead and receiving confirmation they would cater. We did the afternoon tea which looked pretty but options lacked creativity for the price.Atmosphere was lovely, unique decor and staff were friendly but overpriced for an altogether average experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
JD Coughlan
Excellent experience. Great food, elegant atmosphere, and professional staff. Our server, Jasmine, was especially helpful and friendly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Soheil Ak
Absolutely amazing !We ordered the tea which was served with champagne and all the tasty sweets and snacks !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessie Cowan
We never mind paying for fine dining- when it is, in fact, fine dining. The only item that was good was the caviar. The quality is just not there with any of the food, especially for the prices. I’d rather spend $400 on a meal prepared correctly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Ellie S.
I usually write long reviews. If I could give zero stars, I would. I'm going to write and re-write about this: HORRIBLE. One of the worst restaurants I've eaten.
My wife & I had the most amazing dining experience at the Russian Tea Room for our pre- Carnegie Hall - Orchestre de Paris with Klaus Mäkelä - dinner.We felt transported back to elegant refined pre-WW1 St Petersburg. The opulence and beauty of decor was wonderful.We loved the traditional red beet Borscht with a beef pirozhok (or fleisch perishky as my Oma made them). Our main meal of Cotelette a la Kiev and Vareniki was so delicious. And the dessert of Medovik (or Honigkuchen as we called it by my wife's wonderful aunties) with the St Petersburg tea put a beautiful finish to our dining experience.We look forward to dining again at the Russian Tea Room.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joseph Michael
Great menu of delicious treats and very attentive staff. Despite some of the negative reviews posted here. Dinner for three was under $250 and The Russian Tea Room serves up the most generous sized portions in the City.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brant Malave
The ambience is superb, excellent service, delicious food and amazing atmosphere.
Wanted to have a iconic New York experience... sadly this place seems well past its best before date. Stopped in for afternoon tea and the disappointments were numerous. The room is fun, a very old school vibe, which was my favorite part. After that it was all downhill.One of the joys of afternoon tea is delicately prepared sandwiches carefully cut and arranged on an elegant tiered serving dish. There was nothing delicate about the sandwiches. The presentation was sandwiches randomly placed on a three layer metal tray. The curry chicken was good, the rest was mediocre.For this price I was expected magical. The reality was at a quarter of the price it would have been overpriced.Run don't walk away from this experience. Definitely the lowlight of my trip to New York.
Food: 1
Service: 2
Ian Hoyman
Don't be fooled by the low rating — this place is absolutely lovely. Well worth the visit for lovers of afternoon tea on vacation.
While I consider much of the inside decor a bit over the top and tacky, this spot surprised me with the quality of the meal and the service was ok (while not the most attentive, they had all the basics down). Inside, beyond the red room art and decor, you find yourself seated at booths in tables that face the center area; classic tea sets for $120+, and caviar and other things to try. Starter bread was either the sourdough (good) or the wheat (skipped). I had the beef stroganoff, which was excellent - the pasta al dente, mushroom creme sauce very good, and a giant piece of beef in the center. Dessert, a delicious creme brulee that was just right. Overall pleasantly surprised on the food. Decor.. well, it's interestingly garish. And they have some interesting jeweled decor at the front. Not busy at lunch on a weekday. About $100 for two at lunch.
Really enjoyed afternoon tea. Been for dinner as well and it was great! All around wonderful place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmo is great. Service was friendly but not attentive.For around $400 for three adults, with less than one drink each and one shared dessert and one shared appetizer, I expected pretty high-end food.My Borscht was tasty, but lacked meat, and as my blood glucose monitor reported afterwards, it might have had much added sugar on top of the beets. Sure tasted quite sweet. The Beef Wellington and the filet mignon looked quite nice.I've had more interesting Russian food, albeit in Berlin!We had a nice time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Russian Tea Room is in the heart of New York! Unique and very glamorous decoration. I went with a lot of expectations, but there was nothing that surprised me.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Would avoid if vegetarian or vegan. Not very accommodating to dietary requirements despite calling ahead and receiving confirmation they would cater. We did the afternoon tea which looked pretty but options lacked creativity for the price.Atmosphere was lovely, unique decor and staff were friendly but overpriced for an altogether average experience.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Excellent experience. Great food, elegant atmosphere, and professional staff. Our server, Jasmine, was especially helpful and friendly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Absolutely amazing !We ordered the tea which was served with champagne and all the tasty sweets and snacks !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We never mind paying for fine dining- when it is, in fact, fine dining. The only item that was good was the caviar. The quality is just not there with any of the food, especially for the prices. I’d rather spend $400 on a meal prepared correctly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
I usually write long reviews. If I could give zero stars, I would. I'm going to write and re-write about this: HORRIBLE. One of the worst restaurants I've eaten.
Very tasteless and fake borscht :(
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
My wife & I had the most amazing dining experience at the Russian Tea Room for our pre- Carnegie Hall - Orchestre de Paris with Klaus Mäkelä - dinner.We felt transported back to elegant refined pre-WW1 St Petersburg. The opulence and beauty of decor was wonderful.We loved the traditional red beet Borscht with a beef pirozhok (or fleisch perishky as my Oma made them). Our main meal of Cotelette a la Kiev and Vareniki was so delicious. And the dessert of Medovik (or Honigkuchen as we called it by my wife's wonderful aunties) with the St Petersburg tea put a beautiful finish to our dining experience.We look forward to dining again at the Russian Tea Room.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great menu of delicious treats and very attentive staff. Despite some of the negative reviews posted here. Dinner for three was under $250 and The Russian Tea Room serves up the most generous sized portions in the City.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The ambience is superb, excellent service, delicious food and amazing atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Stroganoff, Chocolate MI-CUIT
Wanted to have a iconic New York experience... sadly this place seems well past its best before date. Stopped in for afternoon tea and the disappointments were numerous. The room is fun, a very old school vibe, which was my favorite part. After that it was all downhill.One of the joys of afternoon tea is delicately prepared sandwiches carefully cut and arranged on an elegant tiered serving dish. There was nothing delicate about the sandwiches. The presentation was sandwiches randomly placed on a three layer metal tray. The curry chicken was good, the rest was mediocre.For this price I was expected magical. The reality was at a quarter of the price it would have been overpriced.Run don't walk away from this experience. Definitely the lowlight of my trip to New York.
Food: 1
Service: 2
Don't be fooled by the low rating — this place is absolutely lovely. Well worth the visit for lovers of afternoon tea on vacation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Afternoon Tea Service