Butter Midtown

We so wanted to love Butter. Sat night ⁶⁄₁₈ we had 4 for dinner. Beautiful décor with wood panels and attractive setting. Food was great. Tomato salad and Brussel sprouts were awesome. Halibut was perfect, duck best I ever had, soft shelled crabs ok. Deserts were all well worth getting.
The place was rather empty and vibe (in this beautiful place) was meh. Service was really poor. Waiter was very slow. Took too long to order drinks and seemed to delay bringing food out. The side dishes (fries and snap peas) did not come with the meal and were limp when we finally got them. The waiter had no personality and spoke too softly. He says he worked there for 2 plus years. He was not good.
Alex you can do better

The Heirloom and watermelon tomato salad was heavenly. The gnocchi «Mac and cheese» was an actual religious experience. My server was fabulous and didn’t hesitate when I asked for the desert menu with my dinner menu– I have to plan accordingly so I have room for dessert!
I highly recommend to anyone who loves great food, fabulous décor, and of course, who dreams of being Blair Waldorf.

My coworkers took me here for my goodbye lunch. We work only about 2 blocks away. I had not really noticed this restaurant before. You enter and go downstairs and it’s as if you have been transported to another place. Really didn’t feel as if I was in middle of a busy street in midtown. Dimly lit restaurant, very nice ambiance. Since I went at lunch time there were a lot of business people there.
We all opted for the lunch prefix for $ 35 which came with app, entrée and dessert. We let them know we were on our lunch break and to keep the courses flowing and they did. After we ordered they brought out bread for the table. This bread was sooo good. I really wanted more. The portions of all the courses were good, not too much but not too small. I felt satisfied not stuffed after I was done.

Well, well. If you’re looking for a midtown spot that’s a luxurious, high quality and expensive haunt, look no further.
Descend the stairs to their subterranean restaurant and you’ll find yourself sipping on expertly crafted $ 17 cocktails and nibbling on oysters that will set you back $ 48 per dozen. That’s… ridiculously expensive. But, hey! You’re in midtown! That’s what it’s all about!
The food really is impressive though. The tomahawk steak was expertly cooked and sliced for sharing as we asked. Nothing here would upset you as a diner.
There’s also a garden of the weather is compliant. A lovely opportunity to be outside and avoid the lunacy of midtowns rooftop bars.
The people? It’s on 45^th street. It’s expensive enough to keep tourists away. Why don’t you have a guess what sort of people are going to be here? Bring your own crew to this one…

After watching chef Alex Guarnaschelli take matters into her own hands and step out from behind the judges table to Beat Bobby Flay in a cooking challenge on his own show «Beat Bobby Flay», I was determined to try out her restaurant Butter Midtown. I was not disappointed with my lunch there.
The restaurant is in a beautiful underground space. The staff is top notch, both the host and the wait staff. The meal starts with rolls served warm with whipped butter. I’ll never understand why so many restaurants serve cold rolls or hard butter. But Butter pays attention to detail and the rolls were a great start. For an appetizer I had the poached baby gulf shrimp. It was served with some kind of oil on top. A unique take on the shrimp appetizer and it was delicious. For an entrée I had the butter burger. This was no ordinary burger. It was perfectly cooked medium rare and was served with a bacon jam and a Monterey jack cheese fondue on the side. You spread the jam on the roll and pour the cheese all over the burger. I’ve never had this type of jam or chees on a burger. It was awesome! The perfectly crisp fries were an excellent compliment.
Chef Alex is not just a TV chef trying to make money off of her fame while producing subpar restaurants (I’m looking at you Guy Fieri). Butter Midtown served me the best lunch I’ve had in NYC.

This place was delicious! While visiting NYC to see Tribeca I had lunch here. The staff was very pleasant and appeared to be quite knowledgeable about the menu.
The rolls were served warm with whipped butter. The rolls were delicious. For an appetizer I tried the shrimp. The jumbo shrimp were served in a tasty light oil. The shrimp were large in size and very hearty.
For an entrée I had the butter burger. The burger was cooked to perfection and was served with a jalapeño onion jam and cheese. The cheese was served warm in a small dish to be poured over the burger. The fries were crisp and perfect. The coleslaw was bold and flavorful.
The restaurant had an ecclectic and modern look. The ambiance was comfortable, yet rich. This place was great! This restaurant is a must visit when in NYC.

I love Alex, and I’ve been wanting to try out her restaurant for a while. So I was really excited to catch up with a friend at Butter last summer.
Maybe it was the Restaurant Week prix fixe menu, but I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong – the food was fine… just nothing stood out. Is it because my expectations were too high? I hope not. I would hope Alex would be able to go beyond my expectations and I do sincerely hope the mediocre food can be blamed on Restaurant Week. I would like to give Butter another try, but definitely not during any special deals.

We went for a nice meal since we were staying at the Cassa hotel and my boyfriend is into high end chef cooking-​he was very impressed.
I got the Mac and cheese with the chicken dish. He got muscles as an appetiZer (I wouldn’t taste them) and he got the pastA special that night.
Everything was very good. I felt my chicken needed a little side of veggie or something. It had mashed potatoes but I had gnocchi Mac and cheese so I didn’t eat them.
All of it was really good.

The ambience, menu, and food were ridiculously good. The service is the only thing that detracted from this being a no brainier 5 star.
We had an 830 reservation and were told it would be just a few minutes. We sat and watched an empty booth for 12 minutes before the hostess reappeared and sat us at this booth. I wasn’t terribly happy nor was my pregnant and very hungry wife.
My wife and sister had Brussels sprout salads that were off the charts the smoked pecan dressing was super flavorful.
I had a mushroom ricotta crostini that was dainty creamy and wonderful.
My wife and sister loved the chicken and mashed potatoes.
The server had to pry the double cut porkchop out of my hands. We split cavatappi, gnocchi Mac and cheese and fingerling potatoes as sides. All of it was awesome.
We forced raspberry beignets down despite none of us being hungry and they were absolutely worth it.
As we sat there full and ready to go we waited 10 minutes for our check. When the staff was around they were great, but they were Mia most of the night. Though the gents filling the water were on point

We loved the service and the food at Butter Midtown. This was on my list and I had to visit when I was in New York — and am so glad I did.
The veal bacon as an appetizer was fabulous. I’d never tasted veal bacon before and it didn’t disappoint. Don’t expect to get strips of bacon, though — it was more of a small slab, eaten with a knife and fork, if that makes sense.
I had the vegan cauliflower main dish and OMG. It was was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before and I’d fly to New York to try it again. The sauce was unbelievably creamy, and for dairy-​free, that’s a huge accomplishment. They used coconut milk or coconut cream for the base and it was really lovely. I usually don’t order vegetarian or vegan appetizers but I believe that a chef is truly only a great chef if he/​she can make vegetable-​based entrees taste even better than the meat-​based main dishes. I figured that Alex Guarnaschelli can do no wrong — and I was right. My friend who had ordered the sea bass ended up loving her meal but liking mine even more! I absolutely recommend going outside your comfort zone at this restaurant — you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I’m a huge fan of Alex Guarnaschelli and wanted to try this for years! I had no clue what to expect. I hadn’t read reviews or even bothered to look at Unilocal — it didn’t matter.
The neon sign outside cracked me up — very speakeasy-​ish, you enter and go down to what may have been a basement (?) either way, pretty cool. It is not ‘white tablecloths” very comfort feeling, could be casual or could be dressed up — either applies!
I was hoping for a tasting menu to get a little of everything, but it wasn’t offered (not even sure if it’s available — we went for lunch). I asked the server what «not to miss». She suggested the roasted cauliflower. We had that as a side dish, where my husband had the Butter Burger 2.0 and I had the branzino. We started off with the oysters. Everything was immaculate. I hate using ‘simple’ but she’s known for that, and the flavors on EVERYTHING were amazingly deep. Now. The roasted cauliflower. I had NO CLUE that cauliflower would change my life. The insanity of the flavors of that dish — I literally went online that night to find the recipe. I would have that over and over Do yourself a favor — ORDER IT. You will not be disappointed.
Dessert was raspberry beignets and dark chocolate layer cake. Desserts were not overtly ‘sweet’ which is what I enjoy.
All in all, I would be back in a heartbeat! I tried to go again during my weeklong stay, but they didn’t open for lunch on Saturday! Next time!

Went to this restaurant during Restaurant Week. Great place, great food, great location. Would come back 100%

Came in for Restaurant Week which usually yields similar results to going out to dinner on New Years… but it was impressive enough for me to put Butter on the short list for midtown restaurants worth walking into. Salmon Tartare and Short Rib Ravioli are worth trying.
4 stars by midtown standards.

We made a reservation at Butter for our inaugural trip to NYC. Being fans of chef Alex Guarnaschelli, this was a must! The atmosphere was not what we expected, though not a bad thing. The restaurant is dark and located in a basement. The décor is more like a bar, very masculine. Casual music playing pretty loud over the speakers throughout our meal, it was more like a pub than a restaurant.
For starters, the menu selection was much smaller than we were expecting. About six entrees to choose from, ranging from $ 30-​$ 60 with a tomahawk ribeye for 2 at $ 120. It was burger and wine night (fun!) which was $ 24 burgers and half price bottles of wine. We had the burgers (a duck burger and a short rib burger) and they were delicious. The duck burger was one of the best entrees we have had ever! We also had the appetizer of tuna tartare (B-​) and dessert of the beignets (C.)
The good news stops there. The service was horrible. First, our food arrived with some errors. Second, it was 34 minutes from the time our dessert was delivered to when we saw our server again. Once we finally got our ticket, I was shocked to see I was charged for a refill on an iced tea ($ 6) which I never ordered and clearly never took a drink of. It sat full on the table. Our server had a poor attitude and was very abrasive, so we didn’t mention it. In all of our NYC restaurant experiences this was overall just okay food, paired with the absolute worst service experience. Vitae and The Smith Midtown come to mind as examples of restaurants where we enjoyed exceptional service along with delicious food.
We won’t be back, and I can’t recommend this restaurant. Don’t waste one of your NYC dining experiences on Butter.

Butter Midtown, I so wanted to love you completely and fully, but sadly it didn’t make me melt.
Instead of writing a cohesive review I am going to follow an a la carte approach similar to the way the dining experience is structured here:
— I do like the décor of this place with its varying wood and leather tones throughout, appropriately dim lighting, and with a large green forest image wall makes it come together for an intimate dining space. The best seating for dining are the booths that surround the space.
— The «Tall, Dark, and Handsome» cocktail was a revelation! Made with Woodford reserve bourbon, chocolate bitters, stout beer and carpano antica came together to form a transformed Manhattan in a frothy, bubbly cocktail that added a rich depth of flavors. My wife loved the Old Empire City, but I was in too much awe of my drink to notice.
— The grilled octopus served inky black with nova chiles on a bed of black lentils and ginger yogurt topped with zests of citrus made for complex flavors that ticked all the flavor boxes. It was delicious to be sure, but I prefer a simple grilled, lemon and olive oil approach that lets the octopus shine.
— The cavatappi pasta, the oldest mainstay on the menu is incredible so it is easy to see why it is a favorite — perfectly prepared pasta, sweet tomato sauce and rich lamb sausage with a bit of spice. Fantastic.
— There was a LONG wait between the smaller plates and our large plate. Luckily we had plenty of time before our show. (I did see another diner visibly upset complain to the hostess about their long wait for their order as well.)
— I liked that they had half bottles of wine available. We ordered a Sauvignon Blanc «Shooting Star» with our shared large plate that worked well with our halibut.
— The halibut came with a side of arugula and broth served on the side that is meant to be poured over the dish, but the server didn’t mention (perhaps because it is so obvious). Unfortunately the halibut was over done, but the rest of the dish had nice subtle, well balanced flavor.
— Not knowing what to expect from the ruby chard and crispy chickpea dish it was a bit disappointing that this is served cold and a little too acidic for my taste. Should have asked the server about this before ordering — my bad!
— The desserts were good the raspberry beignets, are little jelly donuts dusted with granulated sugar and a vanilla dipping sauce — very nice and seeming simple because it was done well. The butterscotch custard was topped with crispy crumbled cookies and a bit of fruit was very rich, but I could have done without the fruit addition.
The service overall was very good and attentive, but I would have liked to seen better pacing for the meal — the wait for the large plate was too long and our server acknowledged the fact. It was also surprising to see it so slow (pacing and empty tables) on a Saturday night, but we are just coming off restaurant week, and it is Feb so that may explain it. On a whole, the meal was very pricey and it is obvious there is an Alex Guarnaschelli «celebrity tax», because the pacing and preparation of some plates do need work and do not match the quality you would expect for the price.

Restaurant week lunch nearly perfect. Excellent lentil soup w thick delicious chunks of bacon. One less star bc soup wasn’t hot. They brought me extra dessert for that at the end but couldn’t eat anymore. Perfect bread. And short rip ravioli very good. A few tastes of frozen chocolate whoopie pie and the ice cream and caramel sauces were outstanding but chocolate pie not so special. Very glad I came.

From watching Chopped, I’ve been meaning to try Butter for awhile and finally made it here for Restaurant Week dinner ($ 38).
We were seated promptly for our reservation on a Friday night. The interior is beautiful with lots of wood and also very spacious. Service was quick and attentive.
What we ordered:
1) Appetizers: Mussels saffron soup & Brussels sprouts crostini
— Both of these were delicious! The soup was creamy and smooth, and the crostini had a nice blend of textures with the crunchy sprouts and the whipped spread.
2) Entrees: Pan-​seared salmon w/​lemon caper sauce & Pork shank
— The salmon was cooked well, not dry at all though the lemon caper sauce was a tad overwhelming.
— The pork was juicy and fell right off the bone. Preferred this over the fish.
3) Desserts: Butterscotch custard & Chocolate layer cake
— Weakest part of the meal. Had high hopes for the butterscotch custard, but the flavor was really intense. It tasted better after I ate some of the chocolate cake to balance it out. The cake was good but nothing special.
The ingredients were all fresh, and flavor combinations were unique. Though I didn’t love everything we had, Butter is still a good choice for Restaurant Week.

Came for restaurant week for the fixed price menu. Besides it being very expensive (for what little you get) and not even remotely a good deal, the food was NOT very good.
For apps, we had the root vegetable terrine and brussels sprout crostinis. The root app tasted like baby food, no flavor, we couldn’t even finish it. The brussels spouts were okay, but there again was not much flavor at all.
For dinner I had the fish of the day, wild Alaskan salmon, and while cooked well, the rest of the plate was a few green beans in a very very strong sauce, which was incredibly overpowering. We also had the pasta w butternut squash, which was pretty good, but also bland.
For desert, the butterscotch custard. just don’t.
I had my holiday party here and liked the atmosphere, so thought it was be good to check out the food. bad call.

Arrived breathlessly late to a lunch date for Restaurant Week Winter 16.
Drink: The Fleming Double O, seriously one of those drinks that sip, sip, sip and 5 of them later your in Atlantic City…(not saying from personal experience) Fruity notes of orange… smooth smokey of Hennessy XO and polished off with champagne
Appetizer: Saffron Soup with Mussels… it wasn’t piping hot but still delicious and loaded with mussels
Entrée: Fish of The Day– Squid stuffed with fregola on a bed of cooked greens (maybe dandelion) and salad with lemon vinaigrette (perfect mix of hot and cold)
Dessert: Love… no seriously dark chocolate Whoopie Pie, coffee ice cream, candied walnuts and delicious slightly spicy chocolate sauce.
Other than the slightly hot soup and the Whoopie pie cake itself a being a bit dry (hence the 4 stars) the service was seamless and worth the experience.

Butter has been on my radar for a long, long time, ever since it was popularized on season 1 of Gossip Girl, so I could not have been more excited for what I expected to be one of my most stylish dinners in Manhattan!
I highly recommend starting the night with the Calamansi cocktail ($ 17), which is a blend of absolut vodka, watermelon, lime juice and mint. It was not too sweet, not too sour, not too strong, just the perfect mix of flavors.
For my appetizer, I had the soup of the day — an extremely creamy mushroom soup, and my goodness, it was AMAZING! If I could have had this for my entire meal, I absolutely would. It also went perfectly with the complementary buttery rolls.
For my main entrée, I ordered the braised short ribs (originally pork shank on the menu but was substituted). Rather than multiple short ribs, it was just one big slap of meat. It was certainly very tender, but the flavors were not infused very well into the meat.
Finally, for dessert I had the butterscotch custard. It was literally like sipping on butterscotch. Delicious, but a little too overwhelmingly sweet for me to finish by myself.
For a nice restaurant, the service was only average at best. Our waiter took a long time scrutinizing our IDs when we tried to order cocktails (guess we all have baby faces?), and he definitely did not send the right vibe doing that. I also would have appreciated more explanation for the ingredients behind the dishes, but at nearly 11pm, I guess the wait staff was beginning to get worn out. At least, our waters were always filled.

This beautiful restaurant is hands down one of the best in the area. And the only excuse to not order the Gnocchi Mac n Cheese is because you’re lactose intolerant! So good we ordered it twice!
The rest of our order…
Veal Bacon-​loved. A must order!
Chestnut Torchio Pasta-​another hit, comparable to Cacio e Pepe but better!
Beet Ricotta Crostini-​love beets, didn’t get the ricotta so much but very refreshing and light.
Arugula Salad-​super underwhelming. Mimics baked clams, subbing the clams with dressed arugula. And that’s it. I’m all for simple but for $ 17, robbery.
Cavatappi Pasta-couldn’t try because I’m pregnant and it was spicy, however my sisters enjoyed it.
Butterscotch Custard-​I need this recipe, seriously.
I would also like to note that service, unlike some of the other reviews, was great! Our server was attentive, water was always full, food came out in great timing, even the gentleman in coat check was a pleasure.
Well done to Alex, Michael and the rest of the Butter staff. We most definitely will be back when I venture into Time Square again.

I really wanted to love this place. I love Alex Guarnaschelli and her comments whenever I see her on Chopped. I wanted to try her food since she is an Iron Chef now. You know those dishes always look so good.
The food was good, but the service was lacking. Is it because I look young or because I’m used to more waiter service in CA? Who knows, but it was a decent experience.
I ordered the Fleming double O which was delicious and fruity, just the way I like my drinks. The gnocchi mac n cheese was probably the highlight of my night. The soft gnocchi drenched in the cheese sauce was really good. Loved the crunchy bits from the breadcrumbs on top too! I ordered the halibut too. Fish was delicious and flaky, but the greens that came with it was weird tasting… blegh. Not in love with it but not all that bad too.
Service was basically nonexistent. I do want to be checked in on, but our waiter didn’t check in on us until the end to ask if we wanted to have dessert. No thank you.
Protip: maybe just sit at the bar and get some mac n cheese.

Review #2100 — Butter is best know for Alex Guarnaschelli, Food Network star and Iron Chef. We understand that the restaurants for many of the Food Network stars are often geared toward the masses and thus have to price their menu as such and balance the quality of the overall meal.
However, I thought that Butter was outstanding with really tasty, flavorful, and well thought out menu items. Any time you have thick cut bacon on the menu, it’s a good thing. I also thought that the grilled octopus was excellent — the grilled left a tasty char and the octopus was cooked perfectly so that it was still very tender. The pan seared branzino was delicious. The beef filet was one of the best prepared and perfectly cooked steaks that I’ve had.

I mean, it’s not like it was gross. But like many of the reviews say, you’re really comparing this to what it could and should be… and it really missed the mark.
I went on a trip to NYC to basically eat and see shows. This was one of the restaurants that I’d scoped out in advance, mostly because Alex Guarnaschelli just seems fantastic. We sat down and ordered drinks ($ 18 /​cocktail, eep, but it was good). Unfortunately the beer that my date ordered was out, and then when he ordered another draft, the server came back and said that all the beers were warm… what?
We started with the cavatappi pasta to share, then I got the pork chop and he got the fried chicken. The pasta was fine in a whatever tomato sauce, but the lamb sausage in it was to-​die. I wish they had a standalone app of just the sausage. The pork chop was a little tough, but the brussel sprouts it came with were really good. The chicken was great, and I wished I’d ordered it, but didn’t come with much of a side. We opted for no dessert, but I got a cappuccino and I think it was legitimately the best part of the meal. Maybe the best cappuccino I’ve ever had.
Generally our server was more interested in flirting with the hostess than making sure we were taken care of, but the water guy was fantastic. Promote him to a waiter position! The space was also nice — large and dim lighting on the bottom level of a brand new hotel.
Overall it was fine, and maybe I’d go back if I lived in NYC, but it just wasn’t special enough for a destination dinner.

There’s a reason why I keep coming back to Butter Midtown. I love everything about this place. The food, the ambiance, and the service are all wonderful. On Thursday I had Butter’s Sneak Peak lunch menu (I think it’s the same food during RW but it just opened up a couple of days earlier).
tldr; if i were to do this again I would order:
1. Soup of the day (Mussel Soup)
2. Fish of the Day (Skate)
3. Frozen Dark Chocolate Whoopie Pie, Candied Pecans
I ordered the smoked salmon tartare, grilled skate (fish of the day), and apple crisp for dessert. My friend ordered the mussel soup (soup of the day), short rib ravioli, and whoopie pie dessert.
First Course:
The salmon tartare was good but not incredible. It was very fishy tasting (think tuna fish texture but with salmon). It mixed a bunch of interesting flavors (apple, shallot, celery) but overall I wasn’t that impressed by it (the other dishes I’ve had here set the bar very high). My friend had the mussel soup and THAT was tasty. The mussel soup was broth-​y but felt very wholesome. With every sip you had a mix of warm flavors complemented by some soft bits of carrots and other vegetables. My friend described it as dish «Grandma would make,» which of course is the highest compliment. You could tell that a lot of thought went into this soup. It was delightful and perfectly balanced.
Main Course:
OH MAN, the skate (fish of the day) was amazing. I love fish and I’ve never had skate before so I thought I would try it. The skate was cooked to perfection on a bed of warm greens. The fish melted in your mouth and was flaky and everything I could’ve asked for. There were hints of lime juice and balsamic that initially surprised me, but what an adventure! My friend ordered the short rib ravioli and that was good too but when compared to the skate, the ravioli fell short. On its own, the ravioli was yummy but a little ordinary.
Dessert:
I ordered the braeburn apple crisp with toasted cinnamon ice cream. I didn’t really like this dessert as much as I did the rest of my meal. The apple crisp was too sweet to the point that it irritated the back of my throat. There’s a coat of brown sugar on top that you have to break through to get to the apples underneath. Overall, it was too sweet. The tiny ice cream scoop on top was fine. The dark chocolate whoopie pie summed up in one word: WOW! This was chocolate galore and I loved every bite of it. Savory and scrumptious.
Oh, and I should put in a word for our waiter. I don’t remember his name but he is very tall (sorry, not a good description). The service is great. It’s not enough to say that he was attentive because he was of course attentive, but also just sweet without being overbearing. Alex Guarnaschelli and I attended the same undergraduate college (Barnard) and I asked if the chef was in today (I am dying to meet her). When he came back to let me know that she was not at the restaurant, he brought back an autographed card that Alex signed. HOW SWEET!
I absolutely adore Butter. My favorite restaurant and it tastes like home.

Being a Food Network fan, my trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without hitting at least one celebrity chef restaurant. We picked Butter in Midtown.
Dinner at 6:30pm on a Wednesday; we (three of us) were seated right away, although the place was definitely full.
Surprisingly tasty bread with butter and herb butter were set down, along with a communal bowl of salt. After one of my cohorts dug his fingers into the salt, I didn’t want to touch it. Yuk!
Service was pleasant, drinks were a little slow. If you like Bourbon, don’t have their «Tall Dark & Handsome» Bourbon drink. But do have the Holy Basil! For an appetizer I ordered the tomato soup. It wasn’t bad, but still just tomato soup.
Main course, I had the fresh Lumache pasta (butternut squash & brown butter). Good God it was delicious! I tasted the tobacco-​smoked double cut pork chop. Also, incredible.
Dessert: Dark chocolate layer cake. Meh. I wish I hadn’t ended with it. I didn’t even bother after two bites. Nothing special, and actually a little dry.
So, four stars:
* Ambiance
* Service
* Drinks & Appetizers
* Dinner
_​Dessert
On the way out I noticed they have a coat check in the corner. That would have been nice to know on the way in.
Price… I don’t want to talk about it. I’m still deciding how to sneak it in to my expense report.

Ive been here once before– but in the downtown location. This is the first time I’ve been to the Midtown location. I had no idea!
Came here tonight for the company holiday party. Im so glad we did. It was a really nice venue. The bar, the finger foods and the buffet were great. Most importantly, the service was flawless. All the servers were friendly and attentive. All one could ask for.
The food was made well. Had the boneless short ribs with mash. Soooooo good! Had the cream of spinach artichoke and sweet potatoes. The finger foods going around were all so good. From tuna tartar, spring rolls, pigs in a blanket, finger sandwiches, the cheese, fruit and cracker spread, the perfectly made drinks to the buffet. It was flawless.
It made my Tuesday night. I recommend coming here, for sure. Believe… I’l be back!

When fangirl hits New York she always has a celeb chef restaurant on her bucket list. I stayed across from Auerole but my client meeting much to my happiness was across the street from Butter. Higher on the bucket list as I’m a super fan and follower of Alex G. Girl Power.
I was all by my lonesome so I opted to sit at the bar. After reviewing the menu and agonizing over my choice I asked the bartender/​server what came with the Halibut. I’m not sure if he didn’t understand English or what but he just walked away and made two drinks. He came back and said «It comes with whatever it says on the menu». So a.) clearly he heard me when I asked and b.) how hard would Alex G cringe if she knew an employee said that! Granted he was at the bar but if you are going to have a full service bar, shouldn’t they know the menu? It’s not like it’s hard to memorize, it’s not 48 pages like the cheesecake factory. So that was a bit off putting but I ordered it anyway, rolling the dice I’d like what it had on the plate.
Then…the bread! O.M.G the bread that comes with the salt on top (see pics) is UN.REAL. First off I only eat bread if it’s worthy because I’m a low carb life gal and I’m telling you, this bread is on my «Give up the dream» «Bust the Buttons» list. It was warm, and buttery, and soft and airy, and was made with heaven and dreams and angels.
Halibut arrived and it was ok. It was a pinch overcooked. The bacon broth was good (I mean how can bacon broth not be good) but there was some component of the dish that was a little to pungent for my taste. I couldn’t put my buds on it but it held it back from being a 4+ star dish.
The gorgeous décor and that bread and butter yall is what I loved about this place. There is also a garden area that is open in good weather that is just enchanting. Visit that for drinks! All in all, very pleased I came to visit my girl Alex G’s place and I think you’ll enjoy yourself as much as this fangirl did.

The BF and I are huge fans of alex guarnaschelli so we were excited to try it out during Restaurant Week.
I made a reservation for 7 PM and we were coming from Teaneck and the traffic was awful! They only give you a 15 minute grace period before they give up your reservation. I called about 20 minutes and asked if she could give maybe 5 – 10 minutes extra but luckily she said she could change our reservation to 730 instead. It was a lifesaver because we still had to take the subway and walk!
I started off with the cherry blossom cocktail and it was good but a bit expensive. For apps he had the shrimp which he said was really flavorful and cooked well. I had the fried tomato crostini and of course had no complaints. The fish of the day was salmon which he was really excited about because that’s his favorite fish to eat. That salmon was cooked beautifully. Flaky inside with the crispest fish skin ever. I had the ravioli and it was just okay. The food wasn’t bad at all but the salmon was probably the best fish of the night.
The only real problem was the service. Though food came out consistently we felt like our waiter was spread out too thin.
But overall Alex didn’t disappoint and I’ll definitely make another visit next time I’m in town.

This was our 3^rd or 4^th time at Butter. Space is gorgeous and noise level is decent enough for good conversation with your dinner companions. Food is still better to anything else nearby for pre theater in the area.
Biggest complaint continues to be lackluster service. After you are seated, servers tend to disappear. There seem to be plenty of «assistants» to refill water glasses and clear plates. However, this is the 3^rd time we’ve had a hard time find your waiter to place your initial order or get your check. (Note each time was a Friday or Saturday, they may do better during the week.)
Restaurants want to turn tables, and I appreciate not being rushed… but there’s got to be a happy medium. If you are going to theater on the weekend, I recommend a 5:30 reservation to be extra safe. Keep your eye on the clock, as they won’t be in any hurry to get you to the show.