American Girl Cafe

This is my 3^rd time at the café and it was by far the worst. The food used to be ok. Not amazing but it was pretty good for a kid based restaurant. But today the food was bad, like barely edible. And they changed the menu and I did not want one thing on the menu. Nothing sounded good and it wasn’t. Service there is always great and friendly. Too bad you are basically eating airplane food in a fun fancy place. I was with two other women who agreed that it was bad.

Mini me and I enjoyed shopping for the baby of her dreams. After finding her right fit (whom we named Jadé) we decided to a girls night out and scheduled din din for two. From the ambience, to the waiters (extremely polite and fun), we enjoyed every bit! Surely an experience that my mini me and I enjoyed! We had a blast. I honestly didn’t think the food would be good but it was. The menu was simple and the food and desserts was good.

My daughter had her brownie troop luncheon here. Of course they let you go into the store side so you can buy very expensive dolls and accessories. My daughter didn’t even eat much of their food b/​c she was too busy playing with her new doll. Just expensive.

I suppose this café is a necessary evil. You have a giant kids store with long lines, you are going to need a restaurant.
We had a 9:30 am reservation and arrived promptly at 9:10 am. We were told to check in on the third floor then line up for the next 20 minutes until we were ushered in. It felt like a cattle call.
The staff is a friendly if a bit saccharine. The restaurant is nicely appointed and decorated for the holiday. They have booster seats for your doll and you could «borrow» a doll for the meal.
Most of the food is lousy. You are greeted with mini cinnamon buns that are just yuck. We had:
Eggs Benedict — a unique experience, I never had solid Eggs Benedict and hope I never do again. The egg was cooked through and through. Totally solid and gross.
Breakfast Skillet — eggs with vegetables under a blanket of cheese. Tasted okay going down but felt like a brick for several hours later.
French Toast — surprisingly good
Chocolate Mousse — way too sweet and dessert for breakfast? Yes, let gets the kid totally sugared up before you take them shopping in a toy store.
You can’t expect gourmet at $ 20 per person, but the food should be better than what was served.
Next time I will skip the café.

I visited AGC for brunch and let me just tell you how amazing it was!!! We went in for my niece’s birthday. First off, I recommend making reservations as it’s really busy. The menu is a price fix menu and the cost of the brunch was extremely reasonable! Our waiter was so polite and sweet. My niece and I had fun with the table topics as we awaited our next course. The food was great. They start you off with cinnamon rolls that are sweet and delicious. Then I ordered my main course which I chose French toast. My French toast had a citrusy hint which made them taste even better. Lastly, Was our dessert which was even cuter! It was a mousse. Overall we had a fun experience and I will definitely be back for the dinner menu. Oh by the way, if you have an American girl doll. Bring her! There is a table side seat for her.

I’m not sure why they had us all line up around the Biddy Baby section instead of just opening the doors at 2:30 and letting people go to their table. The 2 stars are for the gorgeous set up of the tables and the cute way to have the dolls sit at the table. The food was cafeteria standard at best even though you are paying gourmet faire prices. It is a bit like Disney… herded in, served the thrown-​together food with cute flowers stuck in it then herded out. My chicken sandwich was passable although the tomato included was so sad I had to ponder if it was really worth including it in the sandwich. My kid was happy to be there but got diarrhea when we got home… luckily not on the subway. The staff were very, very friendly even though obviously frazzled. I think the oddest part is to know you have all been seated at the same time but watching other people around you get their food first, regardless, is a little bit depressing. I’m glad my daughter had fun being there, but I thought food was poor and it was not a break from the city but more noise, hubbub (no music) stress, lines, waiting and lame food.

Only till recently, after watching some Project Runway episodes, I learned about the American Girl brand; rather interesting how customizable you can doll up your doll. Then, after helping my wife with some charity work, we joined together to have dinner with the Zetz Family Foundation (mother and daughter)– the foundation who we helped and return, they kindly treated us for dinner.
The daughter ‘Josie’ is in love with the AG brand and being that it was her birthday, we decided to visit the location for her to purchase a doll in remembrance of her father who past from the pancreatic disease and also to eat dinner at the café. After reserving our seats for dinner, we began to line up shortly there after to go into the café– fyi, a long line starts to build up for your reservation so give yourself some time to make the line to enter the café.
As we entered, you’re greeted by the friendly staff and a line of dolls for your child to choose to join us to eat– found that rather adorable how the dolls have their own attachable, high-​top seats at your table so they can «eat» with you. The interior décor looks great, with lots of black and white patterns– felt very New York-​ish, which I liked.
Once ordering, you have a mini menu of items to choose for dinner. I selected the Herb Salmon with Apple Juice– just in case you’re wondering, there are some alcohols to select from, like wine and beer, but I decided to stick with the non-​alcoholic beverage. Towards the end of the meal, since it was Josie’s birthday, we celebrated it with a mini cake that they provided (extra cost for the b-​day package)– totally worth it to celebrate your kids’ bday! After the birthday singing and eating, you get mini goodies for the AG dolls too!
Overall, the place was rather enjoyable, with good food and fun environment for the kids and adults. It is however a bit pricey but its totally worth it if you wanted to surprise your child on a special occasion.

Bottom line: Tourist trap with subpar food at a premium price. Close to $ 40 per kid, and almost $ 30 per adult.
If I’m going to spend over $ 300 for a family dinner, I’m going elsewhere like a real steakhouse, Carmine’s or somewhere where I can get quality. Kids pizza looked like Elios $ 2 pizza and chicken fingers order came with 2 plus small tiny bowl of Mac and Cheese. Had the food not been so subpar it would have been a better experience. Why on earth must we continue to feed into this excess lifestyle where we all must outdo each other spending hundreds of not thousands on our kids? Want to win their hearts over? Spend time with them.

I absolutely loved this place! The décor was exactly what you expect from a little girl’s dream come true. I loved the high chairs for the dolls and little crowns and party favors. The food was ok but I wished there was a bit more of a variety. The cake and ice crean were delicious!

Bad service and expensive, which makes a so-​so café. Good food makes the place a thousand times better.

Going to the AG Café makes my 9-​year old daughter feel special. The service is very focused on girls and their dolls, and eating here is one of her favorite parts of going to the AG store. I like it because it’s an experience to enjoy with the dolls rather than just a big shopping event.
I like the black and white décor of the café. It has a fancier feel and more in keeping with NYC over the more casual café that we have been to in Miami near where we live. This fancier look also makes the dining experience feel extra special. The dining room is a decent size and can feel a little cramped when it’s full. This was our 4^th visit to the AG Café in NY, and we’ve mostly been for lunch or tea. The tea selections are suitable for kids, but less-​so for adults. They involve a fixed selection of items, such as PB&J in heart shaped sandwiches. At lunch, you can pick your entrée. I had a turkey club which was a good sized sandwich and came with a side salad. Another in our party enjoyed his burger, and my daughter liked her mini bites (a small handburger, small hotdog and mac & cheese).
One of the negatives here is that I usually feel like I’m being quickly moved along so that no one lingers too long. Perhaps it’s because they need to churn through the dining times and clear out for the next group or perhaps they expect that kids only want to sit for a certain amount of time. Also, I had a little beef with my last visit because I asked if we could be in the booth area when I checked in. The AG hostess said that the lunch was busy and she’d try to move us but it wasn’t likely. We did not get moved to the booth, and then it turned out that the lunch was NOT busy and lots of booths were available. I would have asked to move to a booth right when we entered the dining room, but I assumed that these booth tables would fill up later. By the time that I knew they were free, it would have been a hassle to move. So I was a little irritated that my request wasn’t accommodated since it obviously would have been easily done. Either way, we had fun and my daughter enjoyed it, which is what matters.

My daughter loved this place. Her doll sat right next to her and she loved the mini cup & saucer.
For a child that eats nothing she ate everything! For an adult the food was ok… but it’s for the kids anyway. Waiter was wonderful, showed a lot of attention to my daughter and her friend.
The best part of the meal was this little box on the table that poised questions for all parties to answer. It made the meal so much better.
I can say we will most definitely come back as this has already become her new favorite place.

We had our daughter’s 9^th birthday celebration here. Best waiter Alex was very sweet, accommodating and attentive. He made my little girl feel special on her special day. We told them we have a show to see after dinner and food came out on a timely manner. Great place to have a birthday.

Took my 5 year old here for the exclusive, we had lunch. Very generous with their portions. My daughter got the pizza, it looked ok. I got the quiche w/​side salad, it was delicious. The service was great. My daughter loved having the baby at the table. Loved the hair band napkin rings and table talk questions. Ofcourse it was very expensive, but we knew that, no surprise.

What a cute place! Décor is very cool! My daughter and niece loved it, the food was actually good which I didn’t expect. But remember your going here for the experience so don’t expect a gourmet meal.

Really good eggplant parm.

I do not endorse the AGP brand, or most of their products. However, I was completely won over by the experience in their café, and would recommend it as a rather affordable option if you’re looking to host a special occasion for your li’l lovey.
The host staff are excellent, as are the runners and the wait staff. Very friendly, super attentive, overly accommodating to allergy needs, clean, comfortable, bright, and just… I can’t believe I’m saying it: lovely.
The food was actually quite good, especially for the price point! Pink lemonade wasn’t overly sweet/​sugary, the cinnamon buns were nice, the pretzel buns were good, decent cheddar, good veggie/​fruit platter, good burger (they will let you swap out a different cheese… and the burger was still juicy, even with it being cooked medium-​well!), decent fries, gluten-​free bread and dessert options, sorbet if you have a lactose allergy, nice salad, and hootch for the adults!
The bday package was only $ 28/​adult (a bit more for kids, since they get a goodie back, little crowns, extra service, and the lot), the service was better than MANY of the places I’ve dined throughout the boroughs, huge family bathroom, discrete security, they happily store your bags/​strollers while you dine… and they even provide dolls if your kiddo doesn’t have one, making them quite accessible to most everyone.
Do consider this option… though blindfold your kiddo on the way up and down ;-)

We truly enjoyed ourselves at the American Girl Café. We celebrated our daughter’s 6^th birthday with a few of her closest friends and several family members. I ordered the salmon florentine with medallion potatoes and wilted spinach. The salmon was cooked to perfection (medium)! The portion size is adequate and if it is less than expected, the staff are very accommodating.
The experience would be special for the little girl in your life. Even if your little one don’t have a doll or want to hang out with a new one, they allow you to borrow a doll while you’re eating. My son also found a boy doll to borrow during dinner. So he didn’t feel left out.
As it relates to the price, it can get rather costly but if you’re in this store, you already know what to expect, which means coming financially prepared…

I went there with my 20-​something friends (creepy, I know) and I had the Salmon Florentine with Potato Medallions. The salmon was fishy tasting and had the consistency of rubber. The worst part though was the potato medallions. The skin topping them was LEATHER. I could not cut through them with my knife. Let’s just say I named my bowel movements today American Girl Café’s Revenge.
I know people don’t go here for the food, it’s for the experience. The experience was phenomenal (minus the screaming children but I expected that). They let you pick out a doll and they have special chairs for them to sit at your table. They even get their own mini cups and plates that you get to keep. It’s so cute and this is the perfect place for many cute selfie opportunities. I would highly recommend American Girl Café if you want lots of Instagram likes.

The American Girl Doll CAFE needed a Unilocal page of its own. This is not a review of the museum/​store which deserves 5 stars in its own right.
I came here for my fiancé’s bachelorette party for Friday afternoon tea! It was a great restaurant to take a doll and dine with dolls!