Amaranth Restaurant

Tip; try the fried calamari seafood mix as an appetizer. Best I’ve ever had! Couldn’t tell it was fried, so light and the seasoning most delicious!

I love this place! Its true that it is small and a little loud, but the food is amazing and the people watching is unparalleled. The staff has always been incredibly warm and accommodating to me. Order the focaccia for the table as soon as you sit down — it is not to be missed. Some of my other favorites include the zucchini carpaccio, lentils vinaigrette, avocado salad, eggplant napolean, whatever the pasta of the day is, the baby chicken and definitely leave room for the Mille Feuille Napoleon for dessert.

Deservedly three stars even though my steak tartare was coming out of a grinder (not hand chopped!) I could taste the beef was of good quality but for the love of god the texture is ugly when through a grinder. My gf’s handmade fettuccini w lobster was good, at least the sauce was very good! I would give another chance before dismiss this place.

Mediocre food.
Mussels — many were closed (about half), and the broth was not so great.
Lobster pasta was meh. Undercooked pasta… not al dente… uncooked.
This location is fabulous, so it’s disappointing to have lousy food.

Good atmosphere. Decent food but horrible italian waiter service made the whole restaurant looks awful. But other than that, it was great

To get started with, this place is absolutely inapt for anyone to go dine at, and I certainly would NEVER think of stepping back there ever again in my life. I didn’t event get a bloody acknowledgment when I stepped into the restaurant (probably because I am the only non-​white in there at that time), while the others were greeted with ‘open arms’. And the service was awful, as the waiter (not the steward) who gave me the menu and took the order said that what I ordered for (fettuccini with lobster & artichoke) is too small to fill my stomach, which is bizarre as I went there to have what I want, & not what someone else thinks I should have. Apart from that, the place is absolutely not fit for quiet dining as the noise levels were beyond my imagination. And, finally, I didn’t even get a bloody ‘thank you’ for my eating there. Hence, for all the aforementioned reasons, the tip which I left behind was just 10% as I felt that the service was pathetic.

While the food and the service were good, we were served a couple of «bottled» water without being consulted for the 2^nd one. At 10 $ a bottle, I would have expected to be asked. That was an unwanted surprise.

Service was excellent, ambiance is great. We got the porterhouse for two which was very tough/​chewy. There were a few tender parts, but mostly hard to even cut and center of each piece was raw. The scallop appetizer and salads were amazing (we got the chopped and kale salad). We might try again and get the filets next time.

Recently visited Amaranth on a lunch date with one of my friends. My friend had the Amaranth salad which was fine (not mind-​blowing), while I had the tuna tartar (entrée portion) which was pretty delicious. Make sure to utilize the lemon as the acidity is clutch. Much like other reviews, I think the highlight of this place is the truffle focaccia — the cheese melted with the arugula, tomato, and truffle oil = delicious. If you pair this with a salad, it’s the perfect lunch; nice and light!
Site note: there’s a minimum of $ 20 per person.

Nice Italian restaurant on the Upper East side. When the weather so permit you can sit outdoor and watch people passing by. My favorite dish is the Salad Nicoise. Really good! I have a feeling that Amaranth is often frequented by local residents! I truly enjoy the place!

Good Tuna Tartare, good wine, good service. I enjoyed my Risotto with Wild Mushroom and had to skip desert.

Our meal could not have been more perfect for a frigid cold night in NYC. We were seated immediately for two in a half-​empty, yet charmingly cozy restaurant off of Madison Avenue. We shared a half bottle of a beautiful red wine — the Chateauneuf du Pape «Telegramme». I definitely need to get my hands on this for home!
For appetizers, we had the Baby Artichokes Salad & the Octopus Salad. Both were refreshing and delicious — even better paired with Amaranth’s warm, crusty French bread. For my main course, I had the Seared Tuna over Warm Lentils. This dish was absolutely fantastic– the tuna was cooked perfectly and the lentils were rich and hearty. The BF had the super tasty Tiger Shrimp and Arugula Pesto Linguine.
Feeling so smitten and satisfied, we had to end our wonderful meal with some Tiramisu. Although Amaranth is a bit on the pricy side, the food is well worth it. I will definitely be back!

The food was ok– flavorful but not exemplary for the price. Nothing about our experience makes us want to return.
Service was poor. We waited 26 minutes with empty glasses after dinner was served– no dessert menu– no refills– no service. The girl who was our server was on the phone and laughing up front. We had to ask for dessert menus and by the time she brought them we were just ready to go.
Too bad– valentines day dinner

Just saw group of men– customers and employees– right outside the entrance yelling «the saudi’s have it right!» to a woman walking down the street who dared to ask them to move.

Lovely neighborhood restaurant. More locals than out of towners like myself.
Love the zucchini carpaccio fresh and delish. Fillet thinly sliced with Arrugulla and parm Nice ! There were 4 of us and we all had something different No complaints.
Except For A saturday they were less than ½ full but the food took more than a while to come out. It was ok because we were visiting with friends and this time could actually here each other. Unfortunately a regular lit up sitting on the street and the smoke came drifting in. If looks could kill we would of been.

Food — great. Gazpacho, chicken w mashed potatoes, lentils vinaigrette… lovely.
Noise level — very very loud. Hard to hear dining mate.
Service — ok.
Crowd — packed!

Just walked into restaurant with my party and the owner (tall, greasy, too taned Italian Douchbag) was chatting with friends. He greeted my aunt and I after several minutes after he saw us staring at him. He said it would be several minutes when there were clearly open tables. He then proceeded to go back and chat with his friends for an additional 5 minutes until he saw me giving him the eye. He then finally approached me and said he wouldn’t seat us until our third member was there. Mind you she was a block away. He never said that on the phone when I called for the reservation I told him. He said I never asked. So I said let’s go! He looks at me and said — good get out of here. Biggest jerk. Worst service. Don’t go.

Amaranth is a wonderful spot for lunch, just off Madison Avenue. They offer outdoor seating and I find myself looking around the room, to take in all the beautiful people, so it’s always interesting.
I love their Tuna Niçoise salad with a glass of Sauvignon– YUM! After that, I’m ready to resume shopping.

The UES seems to have quite a few neighborhood restaurants that are about a storefront wide, have white walls & low ceilings, are very upscale, and have swarming waiters. These places tend to be frequented by the wealthy locals, who for them, this is like a comfy sandwich shop.
I came here for dinner and the clientele did not disappoint. On my way in, I saw a somewhat well known billionaire leaving. At the table next to me, were plastic /​botoxed out Russian ladies, wearing lots of black and coated in gaudy jewelry. Fantastic.
For dinner, I had a myers rum and the baby chicken, which came with mashed potatoes, spinach and a mustard sauce. My dinner was excellent. I cleaned the plate. The chicken was delicious as were the sides. The service was good as well. There are a lot of these high end neighborhood spots in the UES that are notorious for stratospheric prices, mediocre food, and dreadful service. My dinner entrée and cocktail came to about $ 40. Not bad there. The service was fine, too. I was not wowed, but the service was more than adequate. I definitely think Amaranth is worth it if you are in the area.

I’m not a big fan of UES restaurants as they tend to be overly priced and it’s always more about the scene than actually quality of food or service. But yet, this one is located just off Madison avenue; the whole shopping strip of Manhattan where the woman full of collagen and plastic surgery spend most of their afternoon after the shopping; which make this place I would say more interesting specially lunch time.
Anyway, this place has good food (a bit pricey); but reasonable compare to the other venues on the area. It has a large number of regulars that makes it feel like a neighborhood restaurant even with all the pretensions.