Tavern on the Green

[Jaymes]

My daughter has received a very generous gift certificate for dinner at Tavern on the Green.

So what should she order?

[elyse]

I was going to say a cab, but for a gift certificate, it won't be so bad.

[Jaymes]

I was going to say a cab, but for a gift certificate, it won't be so bad.

Hummm... Er... Do you have any more helpful advice???

[elyse]

Oh dear. I'm sorry, Jaymes. They're pretty notorious for having awful food. Or maybe that's something from the past. The place is SO commercial and gaudy, it just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I think I had some poultry there once that wasn't half bad.

[Jaymes]

I think I had some poultry there once that wasn't half bad.

High praise indeed. I'll share that thought with her.

On second thought, perhaps I won't. She and her boyfriend were given this gift certificate by someone for Christmas. The gift-giver told her he had selected Tavern on the Green because it is "so beautiful and romantic." They can't exchange it. They're going. So, what should they order?

[elyse]

You know, I'll give them that. It must have been stunning at one time,and you can still see it though all the glitz these days.

[Bux]

I think it's many people's idea of beautiful and romantic. It's not mine, but then again, I find good food the most romantic thing a restaurant has to offer. Fortunately my wife shares that outlook. I don't think it's ever had a reputation for good food and it's unfortunately not a target restaurant for those who think about food. I haven't the slightest idea of what's on the menu and I wonder how many members have been there recently.

[Jaymes]

I think it's many people's idea of beautiful and romantic. It's not mine.

Fine. I'll tell them to resist the urge to invite you to join them.

[elyse]

Tee hee!

[Jaymes]

Look. Here's the deal. My daughter (25) and her boyfriend (30) are visiting New York. A friend (that is not me) has given them a gift certificate for $300 for Tavern on the Green. My daughter has not been raised to be rude or ungrateful. She's not going to tell her friend that, frankly, Tavern on the Green isn't good enough. She's going. She asked me to ask my "friends on eGullet" what to order.

Now, if I were coming to New York, and asking my "friends on eGullet" which restaurants I should sample and which I should avoid, posts telling me that this restaurant or that stinks would be welcomed.

But that is not the case.

If anyone has anything helpful to share, I'd appreciate it.

If not, well then, fine. I'll just tell her that I didn't find out anything and that she and her boyfriend are on their own.

[Bux]

I think we're just explaining why we haven't got any help to give. I, for one, am not suggesting your daughter and her boy friend be rude about the gift. The park is beautiful and every tree around the restaurant is strung up with Christmas lights. I don't mean that they are strung up like a Christmas tree, but that each tree is completely wrapped in white lights, trunk and branches. And yes, many people find that enough to offer romance to the meal. I'm sorry I have no more help.

Your daughter may want to peruse the Tavern on the Green's web site. There's a menu shown and there is a plan of the restaurant with photographs of the rooms. It may influence a choice, if available, of room to request when making a reservation. Certain rooms may hold private functions so they may not all be available. I'd think of advising her to ask for a table by a window with a view of the lit up trees, but then again, as I've never been there, I could be wrong. It's a large place capable of seating some 1100-1200 people at one time, albeit in different rooms many of which can be closed off for private parties.

http://web.tavernonthegreen.com/

[Jaymes]

Thanks.

[wannabechef]

Jaymes, my wife and I were given a gift certificate there for our 1 year anniversary - which was over the summer. Although I wasn't really enamored by the place, the food was actually decent. Depending on what kind of gift certificate it is, they may have a limmited menu offered to them. That's what we had. We had a choice of soup or appetizer, a main course selection (not off the entire menu), and then desert and coffee. I had the prime rib and a soup I can't remember. And I think my wife had chicken picatta - but I'm not 100% sure. In any case, it actually wasn't too bad. My prime rib was pretty tasty although over salted - and it was better than the chicken dish. And even though I don't remember my soup, I remember that wasn't so bad either.

The thing that did kind of annoy me was their service. I just totally got the impression that they simply do not care over there. It seemed that they are just such a NYC "staple", that they don't even care about their patrons. It wasn't that the waiter messed up, or anything - they were just not attentive in the least bit. I just felt like I was getting processed through a machine - virtually ignored. Part of this may have also been the fact that we were on a gift certificate, I don't know.

I won't ever go back unless I have to - but don't worry about the food being too bad. If your daughter and her boyfriend like red meat, you can tell them to go with the prime rib. Just tell them to go there with extremely low expectations and they'll be fine. That's pretty much what happened to us.

~WBC

[KatieLoeb]

Jaymes:

At one point there was a segment filmed at Tavern on the Green for a FoodTV program. Guy takes girl on romantic carriage ride through Central Park (a fine idea if it isn't too chilly and QUITE romantic) and then takes her to dinner at Tavern on the Green to propose. Very cutesy but well executed. I seem to recall him ordering a lobster dish of some sort and I think the girl had fish (salmon?) and neither of them gagged (visibly). I'm certain they will find something on the menu that appeals to them, or else just order the Fruits de Mer platter and some Caviar. It's hard to screw up raw bar and stuff out of a can, no? Besides, if they blow enough of that gift certificate at the bar or in the wine cellar, everything will taste better!

[Bux]

My guess is that they do a lot of "functions" or private parties and serve a lot of out of towners on a visit, rather than a local repeat clientele and that might affect the service.

[summertruffle]

My parents ate here last year when they visited NYC. My stepfather adored their prime rib. My mother had some sort of salmon dish that she also thought quite delicious.

Please take into consideration that my folks are just regular old non-foodies, so their tastes are fairly simple. However, they know when things are improperly cooked, and they know when things just don't work, and neither of these were the case. They quite enjoyed it, actually.

Oh, and apparently they make a great Caesar salad.

Edited December 10, 2003 by summertruffle (log)

[TrishCT]

Jaymes,

I dined at Tavern throughout my teens often when we took the big trip into NYC. The restaurant itself is very stunning. Bright, decorative, it packs a punch. The food was very secondary to the surroundings. I sampled chicken and beef dishes back then. I don't think Tavern is known for any particular signature dishes. (Though weren't they in a Maxwell House commercial where the secret cameras changed the fresh roast coffee to instant much to the surprised delight of the diners?)

I say, for $300, throw caution to the wind, order what they think sounds good on the menu, enjoy the surroundings, and linger.

[tommy]

Look. Here's the deal. My daughter (25) and her boyfriend (30) are visiting New York. A friend (that is not me) has given them a gift certificate for $300 for Tavern on the Green. My daughter has not been raised to be rude or ungrateful. She's not going to tell her friend that, frankly, Tavern on the Green isn't good enough. She's going. She asked me to ask my "friends on eGullet" what to order.

Now, if I were coming to New York, and asking my "friends on eGullet" which restaurants I should sample and which I should avoid, posts telling me that this restaurant or that stinks would be welcomed.

But that is not the case.

If anyone has anything helpful to share, I'd appreciate it.

If not, well then, fine. I'll just tell her that I didn't find out anything and that she and her boyfriend are on their own.

jaymes, i wouldn't go there. i heard it's not good.

[Blondie]

jaymes, i wouldn't go there.  i heard it's not good.

Jaymes just carefully explained there's no choice involved, and she's trying to make the best of a generous gift.

FWIW I agree with Katie. They can't go wrong with caviar and booze

[tommy]

jaymes, i wouldn't go there.  i heard it's not good.

Jaymes just carefully explained there's no choice involved, and she's trying to make the best of a generous gift.

yeah. carefully placed irony.

[Blondie]

jaymes, i wouldn't go there.  i heard it's not good.

Jaymes just carefully explained there's no choice involved, and she's trying to make the best of a generous gift.

yeah. carefully placed irony.

And extremely helpful

[NewYorkTexan]

Yeah, Tavern on the Green is kinda over the top, but with the right attitude, they kind certainly have a fun evening.

I have not been there since Sharon and I considered it (very briefly) for our wedding.

They should try to sit in the Crystal room, nice view of Central Park. Sticking to their straight forward American classics is the safe bet, avoiding their Italian or French influenced dishes.

Brunch is another idea, they could enjoy some really great champagne with a $300 gift certificate.

[SethG]

Jaymes, tell your daughter she's going to have a great time. For out-of-towners, it is a perfect setting, with the park and the carriages and the buildings of Central Park West nearby. Don't worry about what she'll eat. I've only been to ToTG for functions once or twice, but the place is festive and fun.

And if your daughter wants a funny, brief look at the place, she should rent Ghostbusters. The scene in which Rick Moranis is chased by the hound of Hell into the park, only to collapse against a restaurant window, takes place at ToTG.

Edited December 10, 2003 by SethG (log)

[phaelon56]

Tavern on the Green has been discussed to death in the Travel Talk foru at Fodors.com

The majority of responses are to tthe effect of "don't go there the food's terrible" or "go for drinks and the view but eat elsewhere" but some are from people who liked the food. Despite that similarity to the threads here, I suspect that if you post a carefully structured inquiry there as you did here, you may get some more helpful and more specific responses. That board most likely has some people who may have eaten there of necessity when entertaining guests etc. but have reasonably discerning tastes.

I'd be inclined to order something simple that has few elaborate preparation methods and rely on the quality of the ingredients. I'm thinkiing a good dry aged steak, the aforementioend caesar salad and then some really good wine or champagne. Throw in a dessert and it should be easy enough to spend $300.

Word of caution - if they're going to a show or anything else with a defined arrival time afterwards, they should head the coat check with lots of time to spare. Rumor has it that the service there is terribly slow and inefficient.

[Suzanne F]

$300, eh? They should get the simplest food -- Caesar salad has a kind of mayonaisey dressing, but it's pretty good-- and the best wine! And they should wait until AFTER the holidays; too crowded until the end of the year with parties and people who will drive the staff crazy. Oops, that didn't sound right -- I mean people who are not used to fine dining, and well, YOU know.

NYTexan's idea about brunch sounds good, too, especially if they do it so they don't have to rush off anywhere after.

Anyway, the lights are up year-round, so they don't have to rush there. The whole place is very pretty.