Forty2west

Groupon users beware.
I had called this restaurant a month in advance asking for a reservation for a specific date and time. I also informed the woman that I was a Groupon customer. She said that was fine and the reservation was made.
I received a call almost 3 weeks later from someone at the restaurant telling me that they’re not open on Sundays — a blatant lie since I had asked the woman beforehand and it’s also stated on their own Web site (Sunday 4−10pm). She asked if we wanted to switch it for a different date and time. The whole point of the advanced phone call was to make sure that they were available at the date and time we needed them since we’re coming in from out of town.
Ridiculously unprofessional and rude. If you’re purchasing a Groupon, don’t let them know in advance.

After a very long day of NYC site seeing we were desperate for a drink and small bite near Rockafeller Center. After walking to several bars with no happy hour and a few restaurants that were closed til dinner we finally bumped into Forty2West which had $ 1oysters, drink specials, and a window seat for four with our name on it.
We sat and ordered a round of drinks, some oysters and the most amazing Fries smothered in a meat sauce and cheese.
After a snafu with our drink and oyster order the manager came over and offered a sincere apology. He then sent out a complimentary appetizer. It was so amazing it made us forget about our issues. It was a Fontina Cheese, Procciuto, and Truffle Oil sandwich on a Foccaia Bread.
We were all obsessed. Apparently it is not on the menu but if I were you I would ask for it! That thing left us wanting to come back for more!
The service was great and it definitely hit the spot!

Last night my girlfriends ad I went for the happy hour. Was supposed to be $ 6 drinks. When we got the bill I was charged $ 10 a drink and was told my drinks were not on the happy hour price, even though we came specifically for that and told the bartender that. We were ripped off. Hen we complained nothing was done so we were forced to pay way way too much. We never would have ordered such expensive drinks. And we will never go back. The place was empty so I guess others were already onto them! Horrible.

Went there on a Groupon, didn’t know what to expect, and had a perfectly delightful experience. Drinks and food all excellent. Filet Mignon done to perfection, great martini, and the wine that came with the Groupon was really good (not always the case)! Harry our waiter was most accommodating, friendly, attentive. Bus staff very attentive. Would definitely go back.

Based on several reviews of ‘forty2West’, we were expecting questionable service since we were using a Groupon. However, we were warmly greeted, the food was top notch (if you like pea soup, it a gourmet treat!) and the ‘table service’ was 5 star (as indicated by the 5 stars I rated it (grin))
A bottle of wine was included in the Groupon and it was very nice. We told our waiter that we were heading for a 7:00 pm show. She watched the time, brought over the dessert menu and asked if we wanted to have our dessert ‘To Go’. Now that’s great service!
We thought that the excellent food and great service were well worth the experience here. I’d recommend this for a special occasion, especially if you’re in the theater district.

Sucks!!! Only been here for happy hour and will not return. They fooled you with their sign for $ 1 oysters during happy hour, once you’re in and seated, they take your drinks order and will «check» on the oysters. Came back out and told us that the had too many orders came in and they were out of oysters for the night. Seriously? It was 6pm on a Wednesday night and the place was nearly empty! We ended up ordering some expensive and nasty apps that claimed to be «half» prices before 9pm. The fried calamari were dry and no flavor whatsoever. I can close my eyes and can still fry the calamari better the ones I had there. Their seafood salad was a size of your little side dish with 2 tiny shrimps, a few pieces of squid and octopus. Since my happy hour experience was so bad, I can imagine how their food during dinner time. Please do not waste your money at this place.

It is a new Restaurant, it opened January, and I had a bone in Rib Eye Steak which was awsome!!! 28oz. perfectly grilled!
I know Wolfgangs, Peter Luger, the Strip House etc. and it was at least as good as there!
I was there again in Juli and it was as good as the first time!

This place gets 2 stars for its poor service.
We had received a gift card for AJ Maxwell’s Steakhouse which apparently doesn’t exist anymore, which is confusing because AJ Maxwell’s still has a website and a reservation phone number that leads to a VM box that’s full. Once we finally figured out that Forty2west is now AJ Maxwell’s Steakhouse, it took several phone calls to find out if they would honor the gift card for AJ Maxwell’s (it turns out they do, although they’ll get you a bit of a hassle about it).
Finally, we made a reservation for 5:30pm on a Saturday since we wanted time to enjoy our meal before an 8pm show in Midtown. The restaurant is very nice inside: high art deco ceilings, chandeliers, and private large red leather booths. Although we showed up on time, dressed up, and the restaurant was completely empty, they offered us a table RIGHT NEXT TO the only other patrons in the restaurant — a group of a dozen rowdy, drunken, middle-​aged businessmen. We asked politely if we could sit elsewhere (in this HUGE, 2-​story, several room restaurant), so they placed us in a cramped table next to the cash register where the water boy stood the entire night looking over us. It was very awkward and rude — why didn’t they offer us one of the premium leather booths, especially since we were the ONLY ones there, we had made a reservation, and we weren’t scummy looking people who had just wandered in off the street?!
The food was pretty «eh» and extremely overpriced for what it was.
APPETIZER: The server suggested the tuna tartare, explaining that the chef made this classic appetizer with a «unique twist.» Apparently, the «twist» was a pickled melon that was extremely sour and made the tuna itself very salty.
MAIN COURSE: My hubby had the NY sirloin and I had the homemade penne. Both were pretty good, but probably not worth the money.
SIDES: The sides are interesting here because they all cost $ 9 or 3 for $ 25. We ordered 3 vegetables: brussel sprouts, spinach, and cauliflower. The brussel sprouts were sauteed and mixed with bacon so if you like bacon, you’d probably like this. The spinach was creamed and good, but pretty basic. The cauliflower was the best thing we ate the entire night — it was roasted with sugar, pine nuts, and cranberries and was pretty out-​of-​this-​world. If I ever go back, I would probably just order this one item.

Great place. Went there for a business dinner. Not a big red meat eater so I have the tuna entrée and the Kale Caesar Salad. Tuna was excellent.
My partner had the bone in rib eye and he loved it. Great bar crowd, great service. would definatley go back again.

A very good steakhouse with excellent service.
Went there with a Groupon. Generally it was a very good experience and would recommend the place, in particular because of the very friendly and professional service.
We started with a salad and the mushroom soup, which soup was superb. Perhaps one of the best mushroom soups I have had — Well seasoned with plenty of mushrooms.
The bread basket was good. Nice raisin bread. Wish the bread had been served warm, but many restaurants do not do so.
For the entrée, as I remember, we were not offered the rib eye or the prime rib, which I noticed after were on the list when we purchased the Groupon. This is a disappointment as I did not want the filet mignon, which was offered. Really would have preferred the sirloin, but that was a $ 20 surcharge per person. The porterhouse was only $ 25 total surcharge. Still, if I had brought the original printout with me (or remembered the details more precisely), I would have insisted on the rib eye since there would not have been a surcharge and that was on the original description, although my usual preference is for a strip steak. I do not know why there was a switch, but it is disappointing looking back.
Anyway, it is always fun to order a porterhouse for two and this was a good one. Maybe not the best in New York, but definitely a prime cut of excellent beef, which came medium rare, as ordered. I just wish I had known it was pre-​sliced (such as done at that Brooklyn establishment). I would not have minded if they cut it off the bone, but left it to me to cut the pieces as their slices were not thick enough for my taste. Still an enjoyable and flavorful steak.
Ordered the Sautéed Wild Mushrooms and the Smashed Potatoes with Olive Oil (not sure of the exact menu names). Both were excellent. The mushrooms were heavily seasoned in a very good way. The smashed potatoes had a bit too much olive oil, but all of that good cholesterol may have been a good balance against the cholesterol in the steak.
For dessert, had a creamy and very good crème brûlée and a chocolate mousse cake. The chocolate mousse cake was good, but it was the only item we had where the portion was too small. That comment is partly subjective, as I love chocolate cakes, but partly objective based on the size.
The atmosphere is slightly nicer than the average steakhouse (and much nicer than that steakhouse in Brooklyn). It was bit noisy, as the restaurant was not that crowded, but the sound seems to travel there.
I would definitely return without a Groupon.
It is a fine steakhouse with attentive service.

We went to the new location of Maxwells using a groupon. The porterhouse for 2 was excellent. The service was superb, all members of the staff were very attentive. I will definitely return with or. without a groupon deal.

Amazing experience with super friendly staff and delicious food served beautifully.

I don’t often give 1-​star reviews, the place basically has to offend me to get the 1 spot.
So here’s the story with this 1-​star… we made lunch reservations at AJ Maxwell’s Steakhouse for restaurant week. The website is still up and in fact there’s a 2013 restaurant week menu still up as of the time of writing this review…
So we get there and see the place is closed down but across the street ‘Forty2west’ was open and that the address matched the address given to us by AJ Maxwell’s… so turns out its the same owners who just left and opened up a new place… OK… not the end of the world.
So we get in and soon see that the new place has a dramatically different menu… also not the end of the world… until we see the restaurant week menu… its all sandwiches and not anything close to what we came in for, namely steak. So I go off the regular menu, prices are high for a bistro-​type place but I get a steak salad for $ 17.
It was the blandest steak and salad I’ve ever had in my life… completely lacking in any flavor. Also, it was tiny… A friend got a burger ($ 18) and said that was very bland as well.
Service was blah, I would get ice tea refills that were 80% ice and 20% tea so I would need to flag the guy down to refill over and over.
Then the manager/​table comes over to the table next to us and starts kissing the one patron’s backside… here’s a bottle of wine, pellegrino, etc, etc fine maybe you know him, maybe he’s a VIP there, that’s great I get it, go ahead and do that! But then the manager/​owner leaves without even acknowledging our table. Poorly played, you just opened up this place and you’re going to blow off a table that you had to step around anyway?
Stay away from this place for the better of your taste buds and wallet!

Formerly AJ Maxwell’s Steakhouse, which is now called Forty2West, was my first stop for Restaurant Week 2013. For appetizer I had the carrot ginger soup, risotto for entrée and a very cold and ill prepare crème brûlée for dessert. They don’t have an extensive wine list because they just opend two days before. but the wait staff was kind enough to make recommendations and let us taste the limited array of whites and reds before we settled on a dry Long Island Sauvignon Blanc. The servTice was phenomenol and the food was memorable. I avoided ordering the pana cotta for dessert as I had read reviews at AJ Maxwell’s that it was underwhelming, but the other option, crème brûlée was none the wiser. The dessert was cold and underprepared. I do however, praise their plating, presentation and the exceptionally prepared appetizers and entrees. The soup was the best carrot ginger soup I have ever had and the risotto was perfectly al dente and delicious. An overall pleasant and memorable dining experience :)