Forty Four

The location, ambiance, drinks and food are good. The cheeseburger dish is delightful. I only give them a 3 because the prices are exhorbidant and the service is slow. It’s beautiful and great for if you are meeting 3 or 4 people. It’s also nice if you’re on a date. You can’t look bad in that lighting. I’d give this a 4 if I could afford a drink that cost $ 17 instead of $ 12. If you can afford it, you should enjoy it.

The menu decribes a great selection; one of us had the brisket rib sandwich; frankly I’ve never had a sandwich that was so thin with so little meat and taste I would never serve as skimpy a sandwich
I wasnt expexting Carnegie but maybe 1″ with bread
I was shocked
My guest had the hanger steak
Again the portion was small and cut onto slices which then had no juice since it eas sliced
Of course we expected a whole steak
But I guess the only way to cheap out and serve a sm portion was to cut ir into chunks. The menu should have said sliced 4or5 oz hagar steak. Whatevet raspberry accompaniment was decribed as great but could have been a McDonald’s sauce. .maybe npt.

Worst service and management ever. Three of us went there a couple of weeks ago. We had a reservation and were promptly seated and given only two menus. After that we never saw our waiter unless we got up and went looking for him. We finally got drinks and food but not without a lot of searching. We asked for the manager who came over and explained that they were short a waiter that evening as someone called out sick. Sorry 44 that’s not an explanation for bad service. In your industry it’s your responsibility to see that the service is up to par. For our troubles they removed the cost of ONE drink from our tab. Really? This is New York City we have s lot of choices. It’s the place that knows how to make a customer leave happy in spite of problems they will win.

So disappointed. The overpriced drinks to start– i thought my $ 19 drink was a decent size until I noticed an ice cube the size of a hockey puck in low ball glass. The salmon (3 of us ordered) was raw in middle. We would have told waiter if he ever checked on us. The sliders were good. We we were seated at a cleared table. The server came by and dropped (slammed) 3 plates and 3 napkin wrapped utensils in a pile. Took forever to get 3 drinks– bar was not crowded– just a chatty bartender. We told waiter we were seeing a show– he took his sweet a$$ time. We had to practically beg for our bill. Which they added 20% gratuity on for 3 people! Never asked if all was ok… never checked on us… Had to grab another person to pour us some water. A waste of time– money & appetite.

Beautiful ambience! My friends and I had an amazing time. Their Hickory Old Fashion is a great concept and drink! The bar staff is very attentive, and fast! Furthermore, the floor manager, name Dre was very accommodating and welcoming. He sat us quickly, and checked on us from time to time. He’s awesome! Will return very soon!

Forty Four?
Haaaaah! I think NOT… More like 11 and a ¼!!!
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​So fellow Unilocalers, how bout’ we talk math?_______________
What do you get when you take 44 and subtract customer service? Hold onto that answer and then divide it by a conveyance of irrefutably absurd business hours and THEN multiply it all by run-​of-​the-​mill, if not certifiably uninspiring food within a surprisingly well decorated setting.
What you get, ladies and gents– is Forty Four reasons to AVOID dining at this place!!! Feel free to consider this review one of them.
* Located within the posh and upscale 4 star Royalton Hotel with their just as trendy «44 West 44^th Street address» — amid the epicenter of both Manhattan as well as the hotel itself, sits this plush lounge that from head to toe modifies the adjective ‘sexy’.
* For what it’s worth, the bootylicious undertones emphatically end there.
Those enabled enough to traverse beyond the «homey fireplaces» and dimly set lighting let alone the entrancing melodies of streaming «bebop» and recurrent sauntering of wannabe’s, posing endlessly (minus any such reason) — as if to await their (never to be found) chances at obtaining stardom by no such existent paparazzi — will like-​mindedly stumble upon the ineluctable conclusion; that being, that Forty Four CLEARLY FLUNKED an algebra course or two and just as likely missed out on summer school as well.
Possessed the pleasure of making the Royalton our hotel of choice this past NYE (separate review) and while I’m nothing short of pleased by the hotel itself — the message bestowed by way of 44, the establishment’s on-​site «restaurant/​bar/​lounge», would be enough to deter even the President.
While they accept reservations, don’t anticipate them being honored by any means. Given their inconsistent business hours (ranging from 7:30−11am, 11:30−2pm and then again within the evening from 5pm — 12am) and the lackluster dispositions of the establishment’s employees — I truly question how this place has managed to remain in business. If anything, I attribute the continued patronage of unsuspecting spectators to the overall flare of the hotel itself.
Ordered a cocktail. Nothing complicated; just a Jack and Coke only to receive a Hennessy and Pepsi. —- I’m no rocket scientist, but how do you screw up a Jack and Coke???
#probably-​a-​high-​school-​drop-​out
Requested it be sent back for an Amaretto sour only to be informed that the bartender was new and didn’t know how to make one.
Are you kidding me???
Frustrated as hell, finally I thought I’d settle with a frikkin’ Shirley Temple but not before I/​we were made even further aware that they were out of damned grenadine! (sighs…)
Water it is — ! (— — - MINUS 1 star)
Perhaps this should’ve been our red flag just to call it quits and head to Times Square in pursuit of booze and sustenance but with our room just 14 floors upstairs, we elected to stay, ordering burgers and fries.
Now it’s no secret that Kenny Ken isn’t exactly Chef Boyardee yet while engaged in conversation over the various antics surrounding this implausible and mind-​boggling occurrence, we took notice that a whoppin’ 40 minutes had elapsed — — — — – and we were still VOID OF FOOD!
Where in the high hell does it take 40 minutes to toss some meat between a few buns and add a slice or 2 of cheese? (I’m just sayin’…)
* THERE WAS NO SERVER PRESENT TO INQUIRE UPON STATUS WITH… AND THE BARTENDER WAS OVERLY-​ENGAGED WITHIN A SESSION OF TEXT MESSAGING THAT SIMPLY COULD –NOT– BE INTERRUPTED.
In turn, I thought it necessary to «take one for the team» and without hesitation did I get up and make my way directly to the kitchen, storming completely past the chefs, only to view our previously ordered food sitting idly beneath heat lamps.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat the phuk???
Of course I was promptly ushered out and requested to return to my table HOWEVER had I not followed up, it goes without stating that we’d have continued to wait while left unattended to, likely until the return of Christ,…all the while the pitifully apathetic, under-​worked and overpaid staff members continued to discuss their post holiday commencements in broken dialect. (— — - MINUS 2 stars).
Need I say — the food was passable but nothing I’d so much as travel out of the way to consume, further leading me to my trial balloon.
The verdict is in and I’m advocating for continuous and rapid striking to the knuckles of Forty Four —- by way of a rattan cane followed by even more striking to the buttocks.
My only diversion around this ^ would be Forty Four’s –IMMEDIATE– expulsion for a semester or two!
Provided our recent encounter is to be considered a final exam towards you all’s methods in quality assurance. I assure you: YOU HAVE FAILED — — - -

Mediocre food, watered down bourbon and bad service. Then for that bad service we had to pay 20% gratuity since we had 6 people. They got my burger order wrong and instead of taking it back to fix it, it was placed on the table and I was basically told they didn’t give a shit. That’s fine if I’m paying $ 5 for a burger, but that’s not acceptable for this type of place.

We were greeted by pretentiously awkward staff that didn’t seem to care to show us to the hostess so we could be seated. We had a DINNER reservation, and when we were finally given the time of day, they began to seat us in the lounge for drinks. Once we got to a table, we were greeted by a waiter that barely spoke English and I could hardly understand anything he was telling us. To top it off, I had a gift card that the waiter said the manager needed to approve… of which, he said he had only been employed for 10 days and would need to speak to HIS manager. The food was slow, marginal at best… but the best part is the music, ambiance and décor. Come for the cocktail hour… not the dining.

My friends and I came here for drinks Friday night. We had asked the waitress to split the credit card bill by five credit cards, however, she said the policy is four cards max. My family owns businesses and I know for a fact there is no limit on how many cards you can split a bill by. I judge a place not only by the drinks which were nothing extraordinary but by the service and experience and the waitress made this experience terrible.

Two problems — space can be noisy and prices are on the high side — say $ 19 for a cocktail.
On the plus side the space is really big, the bar takes up most of the ground floor space — which runs all the way from the front entrance on W 44^th Street to the back entrance on W 43^rd Street. The bar area is divided up into a series of connected alcoves which make it comfortable. It is pretty much all table service; not a place which makes it easy to meet new people.
Bartenders are professional and engaging.

Came here after work with some friends. It is a cute cozy dimly lit spot. The décor was very nice. We came on a Thursday night. It was quiet, not many people were out tonight.
We started with appetizers. Everything tasted great. Out of everything I strongly recommend the macaroni balls and cheese burger sliders. All food was flavorful and seasoned well.
Only thing I would say is they didn’t have enough options for main course dishes, which made it difficult to choose. We ended up deciding to keep ordering more appetizers and small bites.
Alcoholic drinks are strong and worth the price.
I would definitely come back again.

Went for a after work event.
Sexy ambiance & stylish bar.
Most watered down drinks in legit existence.
Vodka club soda tasted like it’s been sitting in the sun for 3 hours after paying $ 17.
Bartenders were friendly, but were overwhelmed by the number of patrons from the event which caused excessive wait time.
Nice venue for a drink, but better off ordering something on the rocks or beer because they water down their vodka something vile.

Update: They refunded me the extra charges and I found out they do NOT charge extra for ice. Hopefully I and nobody else will have to deal with kind of shit in the future.
I love this place and will change my rating if Management will do something about me being overcharged for two $ 12 Michter’s Rye. The first bill was $ 36!!! Not even close and the waitress try’d to tell me is was a up-​charge for ice.
They then admitted a mistake and then still charged me $ 28 adding $ 4 for ice. Then they charged my card twice. Hopefully I can get a refund and apology. I don’t mind paying $ 20 for good hootch (Hell, I’ve paid over $ 60 for 25yr Lagavulin) but a up-​charge for ordering «on the rocks» is quite insulting.
As I said I love this place and try and make it every time I come to NYC but if their staff is gonna nickle and dime with attitude I will find another bar.

This is one of the coolest places I’ve been to recently. Such a nice place. You open these two large doors and walk into this super dramatic sleek place. The décor was amazing and the entire lobby of the Royalton Hotel is this bar. Service was excellent. The crowd was, as my friend would say, «poppin» for a Tuesday night. Crowd is late 20s to middle aged it seemed, as it is midtown and this place isn’t exactly inexpensive (but it is worth the price, trust me). I had two drinks and tried two others from the person I was with. All were excellent and they were so well thought out from the tastes to the glasses they were in. The food was great too. I could eat the mac-​n-​cheese poppers everyday for the rest of my life, no exaggeration. I definitely recommend this place and will be back myself. Great date spot.

My friends and I met up for drinks at the bar at the Royalton — it’s the perfect location between the upper west side and the upper east side.
From the perspective, this is the epitome of a New York bar — it’s dark, sleek with lots of dark wood and leather. The drinks are spendy (which is to be expected) but I appreciated the relatively chill environment and the ease with which we were able to find seats, though we arrived just after 5 p.m. At that time, it was a quiet place to have a drink and catch up with friends. As we were leaving around 7, the noise level had picked up, and it was pretty crowded.

I had a lunch date here and was very impressed with my experience. The Hostess, Cassandra was a sweetheart.
The lobby area was very grand with dim lights and gold undertones. I felt there was a hint of art décor influence throughout the restautant. The leather upholstery booths looked very comfortable. The deep Cherry wood and carving detail throughout the restaurant was very well done.
I had the Tomato soup with olive oil which came with a side of two slices of white bread. I loved how wholesome it tasted. There was no need for salt and pepper. Plus the portion was pretty large so the price is good for the amount you get.
A very sophisticated location for a business lunch or personal private outing. This has a spot on the hidden gem ’ s list :-).

I loved this spot. Cozy & trendy décor. Strong drinks with a picturesque presentation.
My only peeve?
They were most accommodating while you were picking out a drink. Unfortunately, they took over 20 minutes to get the check to us.
Fail –_​–
DAMN annoying & super rude in regards to my friend & I’s timetable.
The place was not busy at all so I dont understand why this was a problem.
I’d go back but the servers need to be on POINT.

This is a dark place … The atmosphere is great with a great bar as well as tables and comfortable lounge chairs, but as so many lounges they took he concept of dim lighting to the next level. Reading the menu?! Please hand me the candle, as I cannot see.
The cocktails are boozy. Not much fruit juice in these babies … if any at all!

The round light fixtures, rounded corner tables and netted borders between tables imply that this lounge has been converted from the most exquisite midtown dentist office from 1962 into a nightlife spot. That’s not the case, but there’s a feeling of casual glamour that is both rare in a hotel bar and rare to find in midtown without devolving into a kind of kitsch retro aimed at tourists.
I feel in love with the space during a site visit for a winter party. The space wasn’t right for our event — it opens on the hotel so stopping crashers would be impossible — but I came back with a different crowd a few weeks later. We had pre-​ordered appetizers, which included a vegetable plate, cheese, crackers and spreads. The thick brie stood out, nothing else did, although plated cold appetizers for large parties are probably not where the kitchen shines.
A better-​than-​expected set of cocktails, beers and wine help smooth over the late arrival of a couple of guests, while smooth coordination between the entrance staff and the waitress made sure that everyone was deposited at the table with a minimum of fuss.
A sour note came at the end of the night when we failed to meet an agreed upon minimum. The restaurant was quiet, and we didn’t leave people without tables. Our waitress said she couldn’t waive the fee or provide a credit, but she encouraged us to continue the conversation with the manager the next day. At 5 pm someone called me back to say there couldn’t be an adjustment. This bait-​and-​switch was not entirely kosher, as if we’d known there was no possibility of change we’d ordered an expensive bottle of wine and been forced to drink it. Instead the buck was passed to an unseen manager who played bad cop.
I’d expect better from such a cool space.

Whattttt, another Dukedom by me… How dare I… yes NYC. How dare I!
We stayed at the Royalton, ate at 44 (not sure about that pic of the dude outside as representative of the lobby, bar, and restaurant), the food was great, the bar was great (expensive drinks, but worth it as they use a good amount of alcohol in them). I took pics of the menu and our food, peruse at leisure, if you stay here, you will have to try the restaurant at least once…