Russian Tea Room - NYC

Review summary

1. A

   Aimee

   Houston

   27 reviews

   5.0

   27 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Delightful! We reserved a table on the advice of friend and we’re not disappointed. The experience was lovely. Our waiter was extremely competent, the sommelier was knowledgeable, and both the food and wine were above our expectations. Happy holidays to all!
   

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2. R

   Robert

   VIP

   New York City

   51 reviews

   4.0

   51 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Theatrical interior and wonderful greet-and wait-staff. Herrings (3 kinds) appetizer was very good. Gravlax appetizer appeared to be normal smoked salmon. Salmon en croute tasted good but doughing was too much. Borscht was well made but plastic-like piece found in it. The manager took the news well and agreed it should not have been in there. He reported the problem to the chef and came back to say that it was a a hard piece of onion. Not really believable. However, the manager tried to make things good by delivering to my table a chocolate mousse dessert, gratis. It would’ve been nice if he had offered to provide a dessert of our choice instead of assuming we’d like the chocolate mousse which was made with too much butter in our opinion. So, overall a decent try, but the food was touch disappointing. And for the prices that were paid, it was really unfortunate. 
   

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3. L

   Lynne

   Orlando

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Wonderful for a one time experience that can't be matched!
   

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4. S

   Susan

   New York City

   22 reviews

   1.0

   22 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   The Russian Tea Room was one of my favorites around the holidays. Festive and good food. So after 20 years (plus) of not going we decided to go back. Awful is all I can say. Food was terrible. Service atrocious. I won’t be going back. There is a reason why it’s easy to get a reservation
   

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5. J

   Julia

   Yorkshire

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I took my daughter today as a special treat - we didn’t spend much - we shared the bakery basket and I had a glass of champagne - but even so our waiter treated us like we were spending just as much as richer clients - not always the case in some nice places. Thank you to all staff who made us so welcome. We would highly recommend.
   

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6. P

   Pam

   VIP

   New York City

   42 reviews

   3.0

   42 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   Sadly only the grand decor lives up to our memories of The Russian Tea Room. And, some of the decor (especially downstairs by the bathrooms) is looking tired. But not the upstairs Bear room, it shines and we did love the fish filled giant, spinning bear! We went with very high hopes for a special meal. While we remembered special family memories of meals there long ago, we will not be fondly recalling this meal or the service which was almost non existent. Cold food and near invisible caviar top our list of disappointments today. I wish had had glowing reviews, but other than marveling at the lavish first level and newly redone upstairs decor (hello giant bear filled with fish, you were a highlight!), we don’t have many fond things to say. The tea was delightful, but sadly everything on the lovely tea trays was very tired and cold. Go for a drink at the bar where you will get your fill and pass on the meal. One more sad note, the coat check experience was a low point. Our coats were mixed up with another groups and they were given our things. We were told that was because coats were never hung up (!!) and our bags would still be there had we not gone to retrieve them ourselves.
   

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7. H

   Heather

   Hawaii

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Beautiful venue! We loved the atmosphere with the indoor light tree and the juggling near fish tank!
   

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8. D

   Doug

   Washington DC

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great food, ambience and service in an iconic NYC restaurant
   

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9. C

   Courtney

   Baltimore

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   From the moment we walked in we were in the way. We were told upon check in we would not be seated until our exact time (we were about 10 min early). Then we were seated 15 min late. Had to stand in the hallway where a hostess ran up and down the stairs carrying large bundles of coats so much that she was sweating. The temperature inside was about 90 degrees. We had to take off clothes down to our t-shirts. Drinks (must soda) took 20 min and were charged per drink 10$. That’s even high for NYC! 10$ soda? The food was just ok, not what I was expecting from such an icon.
   

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10. S

    Sara

    Toronto

    2 reviews

    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 3

    Was late to seat us even with a reservation. Terrible service. Forgot our drinks twice! Overall forgot about our table over and over again. Food was cold and lacked flavour. It was a waste of an evening.
    

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