Porter House Bar and Grill

The worst!!!

I took a friend here to thank them for some work they had done for me. It was just fantastic! Tasty, wonderful ambiance, and excellent service. Don’t let the face that it’s in a high rise (Time Warner building) hold you back! EXCELLENT place to take your visitor tourist friends to, then walk it off in Central Park. DELIGHTFULLY located at Columbus Circle.

I have gone to porterhouse four times. The steak is great (four stars), and the lunch pre fixe is one of the best deals you will find in midtown. Minus one star for pretentiousness.

This restaurant is fantastic. I’m shocked by the rating. I eat here regularly and they prepare everything perfectly. The skirt steak and hash browns are favorites. I’m a foodie and this is really one of the very best steakhouses for business, friends or a romantic night. The pre fix lunch menu is a delicious. Enjoy!

Came here for a friend’s birthday dinner! Beautiful décor inside and very sophisticated ambiance (most people were dressed very nicely). I ordered the filet cooked medium rare and it was absolutely delicious. It melted in my mouth and was perfect! The peanut butter dessert was very tasty and an interesting mix of savory chocolate and caramel with sweet passion fruit foams on the side.
The food is 5 stars, but the service was horrible. The waiter was nice but the food took forever to come out and it was hard to get a hold of the waiter when we needed to.
Would recommend only if you have extra time to spare. If not, not worth the chance!

Porter House has it all – location, décor, good service, great appetizers and deserts. Steaks; however, are good but not the best. We had a double cut rib eye for two for $ 135 and as I said it was good but nowhere near $ 135 good.

I have absolutely nothing to complain about this place. I requested a table, but didn’t particularly loved the one being offered upon my arrival, and they gladly changed it to a table next to a window with great view. The manager came to me during dinner to say hi and make sure everything was going ok, and even gave us a complimentary after-​dinner liquor. Very nice. I enjoyed the whole experience, the food was good, and the service was excellent.
It’s a pricey place, but it’s worth every penny.

I live 2 blocks away. I go out to dinner approx. 5 nights per week. I have been to Porter House three times. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I write a review. The service is simply horrific.
Recently, the hostess sat our party of 3 but failed to give us menus. For 5 – 10 minutes, we tried to flag down a server or busboy. Nobody came to the table. Finally, we got up and went to the hostess stand to ask for menus. Once we finally got menus and a server, I asked for a burger with Swiss. The waiter pointed to the menu and said flatly, «It comes with cheddar.» I asked him to show me where the cheese was indicated on the dinner menu (hint: it isn’t). My colleague then ordered a steak with fries and onion rings. The waiter failed to mention (nor did the menu) that my burger came with both fries and onion rings. Rather than double fries and rings, we would have ordered additional sides. Thereafter the waiter ignored us for the rest of the meal. It took approximately 15 minutes to flag him down and get the check. Go to Per Se or Marea if you want top-​quality food and service. Go to Wolfgang’s, Empire, Luger’s or Ben and Jack’s if you want steak. Go to Porter House if you want above-​average food with surly, rude service for approx. $ 175/​person. Food is fairly good. Service is an abomination.

I did not enjoy my dining experience at this restaurant whatsover. I came with my mother for a late lunch and the restaurant was visibly empty and we had poor service, waiting forever for the food. Finally, when the food came, I ordered a steak that was supposed to be medium and it came medium well, almost burned, but I ate it anyway because I did not want to wait forever for another steak. Not a repeat for me as far as steakhouses go in NYC.

This has been one of my favorite steakhouse for years, but today I’ve had one of my worst dining experience … Ever!
Came here for late lunch on a Saturday with my parents. It might be because it’s raining and a casual Saturday, we probably weren’t as dressed up and the entire staff was not attentive to us at all! It made my poor mom thinks it’s because of our race (which I’m pretty sure they weren’t racist, the hostess and waiters are just… not great)
The hostess unwillingly sat us at our table. After 20 minutes of looking around and waiting for service, I asked the hostess who walked past us that we are ready to order and of course, she looked at me as if I’m this moron who never been to a restaurant before, and her immediately reaction is «Omgosh, I can’t take your order, I’m not your waiter!» When the waiter finally came over to take our order, his face is as straight and plain as an A4 printer paper can be. He didn’t even look at us after we thanked him out of mannerism after he took our order. I can swear we are good people and we really did not deserve that kind of service! :(I was in total shock and so angry I started this review while waiting for our food. But before I submitted this review, I gave an extra star only because their truffle mash potatoes is really good.
Needless to say, I was totally embarrassed throughout our entire meal because I was the one who pushed for my parents and I to come here for lunch. But seriously, the staff is the representation of the values for a business, and the reputation Porterhouse gave me today is completely class-​less.

Over expensive, I would I expect to get the best steak ever for this price… but it wasn’t even close to it.

Had this place on my list to visit always wanted to try aged prime beef and I did finally and it was a whole new experience. The service here was great even when I walked in a plain shirt and jeans and everyone was dressed up they treated me like everyone else. The cocktails are great too I love how they take pride when serving you. Once my steak was brought out and I took two bites my server was there to make sure if everything was fine. The chef did an outstanding job enjoyed my meal and will be back to try that porterhouse

We went here for prix fixe lunch and had a pleasant time. The interior is quite modern, if you have a chance to sit by window you can see the columbus circle view (we were big group so we sat in the middle but it was still okay). I thought it is very typical, but also safe (you’ll not totally fail with any dish) place.

I went here for my birthday last weekend and left very happy.
My steak was amazing and the side dishes were just as delicious. A lot of menu items are already gluten free which made my life easier. Our waiter was attentive but not bothersome and the waitstaff there runs like a well oiled machine; we didn’t have to wait for anything.
I’m giving it 4 stars because we got this little table off to the side back by a little alcove — It felt like we were being pushed off to a corner in a weird way.

I came here with my wife for the creek stone steak and I am glad I did. The steak was perfectly cooked and quite delicious. We got a seat by the window and the views made the dinner even more enjoyable. I would recommend this place for halalis if you’re looking for something a little more upscale.

This has to be one of the best steak houses in NYC. The food is great. The service is great. The ambience is great. I just keep going back!

A «go to place» for lunch and an occasional dinner for one. Accepted a booth in the front of the restaurant this week for lunch. Was told by the waiter that this was a different revenue stream and he preferred not to serve me at this table. A second server picked up the slack but not what I expect for $ 100 lunch. If this is the trending service at this restaurant it will not survive in a competitive market.

Enjoyed a fabulous meal, with a window overlooking Central Park.
To start and be completely transparent, I’m vegan. I ordered the chopped salad (awesome) and the mushrooms, vegan style (I could have ordered 2 of those). My husband had the cowboy ribeye and a side of spinach-​of which I could partake in. He did send the ribeye back to get a tad more medium but he thoroughly enjoyed it. The staff was attentive and the sommelier was very helpful. We ordered a bottle of the 2002 Stag’s Leap Fay. Outstanding.
I should also mention the music was perfect. Piped in Jazz at the right volume couldn’t have made this a better night (okay, maybe live jazz). :-)

Beautiful, upscale atmosphere, with good views. I’ve been a couple of times and, while small, the sea scallop appetizer is to die for! The chili rubbed ribeye is also delicious as is the prime porterhouse for two. My date really loves the rigatoni bolognese as an appetizer. It has been a very good experience each time I’ve gone and is everything one would expect from an expensive New York City steakhouse.

The first time I stumbled upon this place was for after work drinks with a co-​worker, I wanted a nice glass of wine, and decided to come in as the bar was relatively empty, although the restaurant was extremely busy. Located upstairs in Columbus Circle, very easy to find. After being seated at the bar, we were given the wine list, a drink menu, and a little plate with our own bar snacks. After ordering a lovely glass of malbec, my coworker and I were engaged in a conversation with our bartender. He was very knowledgeable about wines. We also were chatting about a cookbook that the restaurant was promoting. He was very attentive to our needs, we even ordered a charcuterie board because the atmosphere in which we were in was very warm and inviting.
The second time I came was for dinner. We had about a 15 minute wait before being seated which was fine. We were with a relatively large group of people, but had a gorgeous table in the back corner, near the glass, overlooking central park. It was breathtaking. Our server was very attentive and helpful, we all had drinks and a few appetizers which we all shared. For dinner I had the center cut filet mignon, which was tasty but a bit closer to well as opposed to medium. The table shared creamed spinach with bacon (I mean, really, is there any other way)? which was the highlight of the meal, besides the steak of course. We also sampled the mac and cheese, as well as the buttered mashed potatoes, which were creamy and good. Even near the windows, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, very relaxing, and would also be a good place for a romantic dinner. The restrooms were superb and very clean, although a bit confusing to find (around the bar behind the wall, according the waiter… but once you find it, you know).

We went here for dinner before seeing a Broadway show. We had a great view of Columbus circle and Central Park, the waiter was very attentive and the filet mignon was absolutely fantastic! Bread and drinks consistently refilled, and a complimentary dessert because we were on our honeymoon!
Prices were on the expensive side, but food was worth it.

I had a solid meal here but overall the restaurant was just ok. It felt very business-​like and not as trendy as other steakhouses in NYC. The food was great, the service also great but due to the vast choices of steakhouses in the city I don’t know if i am rushing back. The views of the park and Columbus circle are certainly beautiful though!

Great view with great food & great service. You’re looking over Central Park.
Porterhouse for Two is really delicious, and could honestly be shared with three for those who don’t have huge stomaches. The price was a little confusing: while its name indicates it is «for two», the price is listed per person (so remember to double it when considering the total cost). The lunch special is really decently priced, coming with a large appetizer, good entrée and beautiful dessert. The portions are not small for this set! So it was certainly worth every penny.
Personally loved the cheesecake, chocolate cake and sorbet. Their portions are great to share, so it was nice ordering these different dishes and sharing it with the group.

Came here for father’s birthday. Friendly staff, good drinks, nice ambiance. Rating mostly based on food, which we found for the most part mediocre for how much it cost.
For appetizers, my mother enjoyed her artichoke salad. My father requested anchovies for his caesar salad, which turned out to be the brown, canned kind not the fresh, white kind. We also shared the jumbo shrimp cocktail. The shrimps were impressive in size and texture, but didn’t taste like much.
I managed to pick the best entrée and side dish in the duck steak and honey and thyme carrots. Duck skin cooked crispy and perfect and there must have been three types of «baby» (not grocery store sized baby) carrots, all great.
My parents were disappointed in their sirloin steak, which they described as tender, but tasteless. They had the mushrooms and creamed spinach as side dishes. My father enjoyed the mushrooms, I wasn’t impressed. My mother was disgusted with the cream spinach, which was extremely runny.
For dessert, I had the double chocolate ice cream sundae, outstandingly average and not worth the calories at all. I also had the Earl Gray Supreme, which I enjoyed (at least whoever chooses the tea brand has good taste?). My parents had the apple pie, which the staff stuck a candle into so we could sing happy birthday to my father. The apple pie was a very sizeable portion and I think they enjoyed it.
Overall, meh. Probably better steakhouses one can go to in the city.

The views from the dining room alone makes this spot a winner. One of, if not THE best dry aged burger in NYC. Flavor of the patty is incredible and the Cabot Creamery-​Jasper Hill 12 month aged cheddar only enhances the experience. Roasted bone marrow is a must and the truffle Mac n cheese doesn’t disappoint.

Overall very good steak restaurant.
Had business dinner with seven adults. Service was not quite as expected. Someone at table asked for beer and waiter suggested Octoberfest. Waiter came back and said they had to change the barrel. I asked for a small taste and the waiter looked at me like I was crazy. The beers never came to the table.
The food was wonderful. The sirloin and filet were outstanding. Got to try my buddies sirloin… The oyster on the half were great.
The wine selection was nice as well. Strange when you buy a couple expensive bottles of wine that you great those right away, but the beer never arrived.

Had a excellent veal chop topped with roasted garlic and served with arugula. Friends had filets and they were very happy. We shared the truffle mashed potatoes. Outstanding. And the spinach. but it was just ok. Service was terrific. No complaints. The wine list is extensive and yes it’s pricey but we managed to find a decent pinot that didn’t break the bank. By the way, many high end restaurants have bread servers and the bread at Porter House is quite good and our bread server was a gem.
Plus we had a beautiful window booth. All in all a wonderful last meal in NYC.

This one is simple and hard to mess up: Order the Porterhouse at Porterhouse. It is fantastic and perfect for 2 and worth every penny.
The mushroom side is great, but stay clear and aeay from the asparagus and butter sauce (which is watered down and plain).

If you’re looking for a great view, you’ll get one here. Don’t come here for the beef though. We made a reservation via open table and when we got there, we noticed that the bar area was pretty packed (promising). We got seated promptly and were handed our menus. Here is how it went from there:
1) cocktails — acceptable quality. About standard for this type of restaurant.
2) oysters — sandy/​gritty
3) bread — they awkwardly come up to everyone’s tables with three different presliced loafs, sourdough, raisin and wheat/​oat. I felt like I was at a buffet.
4) chilli rubbed dry aged rib eye — dry aged? That’s got to be either a lie or they used a really poor quality beef supplier. This was the dryest rib eye that I’ve ever had, even though it was served to me at medium rare.
5) duck Breast — excellent!
6) sweet carrot side — great.
7) NY cheesecake — excellent.
Service — I’ve had better service at Peter Lugers… Literally, who is known to have lousy service (we actually got treated really well at Lugers).
All said and done, if you’re a «real» steak person, don’t come here. If outback and Texas Roadhouse is your cup of tea, then this place is definitely an upgrade from them.

We came here for restaurant week lunch. For a steak restaurant the food was good. Service was on point and professional. I ordered the gazpacho which was cool and flavorful and large in proportion in comparison to other restaurant week venues. The Steak frites was cooked to perfection and the sauce did not overtake the flavor of the meat. Breads are delicious as was the cheesecake dessert. Nice and quiet for lunch. I brought my baby and they were very accommodating and friendly.

This place has clearly gone downhill. I get that restaurant week is a great excuse to get rid of all your bad cuts but man… Porter House showed no shame in doing what they did.
Me and my friends went to porter house for restaurant week and I got the caesar salad, steak with fries, and NY cheesecake.
The only good part of the meal was the caesar salad… The steak was a TERRIBLE cut. I kid you not, I could get better cuts than this steak for less than 5 dollars at Key Foods. It’s INFURIATING that they do this because looking back as «recently» as 2012, they were serving actual filet mignon (petite sized). I don’t mind if they serve me a smaller portion of a good cut because I get that their steaks are supposed to cost $ 50+ What I don’t understand is how they can call themselves a steakhouse and knowingly serve TERRIBLE cuts to customers and call it restaurant week (or in this case the lunch menu). APPLEBEES STEAK TASTES BETTER! Too harsh? Eh… maybe applebee’s steak would taste better compared to the well done one… I’m not even sure why they bother serving cuts like these. It would make more sense for them to make chili out of it or something. I can only assume they think poor saps who have no clue will eat it up just so they can say that they ate at porter house. Disgusting.
The cheesecake was dry and heavy. I hate that «NY» cheesecake has become synonymous to crappy cheesecake.
Overall, I wouldn’t even come here for the actual $ 50+ steaks. The entire place reeks of bad management. Bad cuts for bad management.
I wouldn’t eat that lunch «steak» if you paid me.

**this review only refers to the Restaurant Week menu
Honestly was not impressed by the Restaurant’s restaurant week offerings.
Options for appetizers: gazpacho, caesar salad & endive salad
Entrees: Steak Frites, Salmon & something else I might be forgetting?
Dessert: NY Cheesecake, Flourless Chocolate Cake & Sorbet (Mango & Orange)
Let’s start with how they seated us — we were seated in a round booth, facing away from the window. The view’s really nice… just not from where we were sitting. Good thing I came in with my group of friends who were just there to enjoy a casual Sunday dinner so we didn’t really mind where we got sat but would’ve definitely been more impressed if we had a window view.
The gazpacho had me thinking that we were off to a right start even with the limited options on the menu. It was fresh, refreshing and soothing. Coming from the blazing sun outside especially, I loved this cold soup!
The steak frites, the main course, the reason I showed up, was not close to satisfying. I felt the peppercorn overpowered the meat and although I ordered medium rare, the meat was cooked very dry on the outside. I found myself constantly having to drink water to stuff it down. Fries were excellent though!
My favorite part was the cheesecake. It was my first slice of NY cheesecake in New York and I think I just fell in love! Now I can’t say for sure whether the cake was that good or if I was just disappointed by the entrée. Either way, definitely leaves me drooling every time I think about it, like now.
Service was superb! Our waiter made sure we were having a good time & we never had to ask for the water refill. He also offered to take pictures of the party I came with — great guy!

Came here with my friend back in February. You may think we are crazy for coming here as we are mere college students with debt stacked up. Well, you’re right, we are crazy. I can’t even begin to fathom how many other cheaper alternative meals we could have devoured with the amount of money the bill added up to.
As I know nothing about good steak and I have no other steakhouses to compare this place to, reviewing this place will be tricky. In the end, I decided to give this four stars. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite, which exceeded my expectations because I rarely find any food that is absolutely heavenly in taste. I also enjoyed the ambiance and the company. The service was impeccable. I had to subtract one star because as much as I enjoyed the steak, I did not think it was worth the price. Also, I wish we had a seat near the window as some reviewers had the luxury of, because the view of Central Park looked astounding.
I would definitely recommend this place to everyone, and I would definitely come back here again (when I have an excess of money to spend).

Had a wonderful late lunch here last month and I was throughly impressed.
The atmosphere is amazing– you can’t beat huge windows facing Central Park. The restaurant is quite large and it’s located in the beautiful Times Warner Mall.
My bf had a martini and said it was amazing! Ice cold and perfect with three olives.
I had the prefix lunch menu that came with Cesar salad, steak frites and a dessert. I of course had to try the raw bar oysters. Our waiter was down to earth and very helpful. I like my oysters bigger the better and that’s exactly what he supplied. The Cesar salad was amazing– salad came with freshly shaved parm and buttery crutons.
The steak and frites were honestly just OK. That’s where thst fifth star went for this review. The steak was very tough and over cooked. The fries were not fresh and I honestly did not enoy it.
My bf’s hamburger on the other hand was ammmmazing. The hamburger was basically buttery steak in two buns. Top ten burgers I have ever had.
The deseerts were yummy as well! We had the cheesecake and sundae. Both were very very good. I would come back here again-​especially for that buger!

We came to porter steakhouse on a random night and a spontaneous decision. I like the food but the experience was somewhat disappointing. We had high expectations of the restaurant base on its location and the 4 $ sign on Unilocal.It did not quite meet our expectations.
The restaurant is situated among the most prestigious and the most expensive restaurants in NYC, from per se, to masa. In comparison, the price is most affordable. The food was my favorite part of the night. We ordered Cabernet Sauvignon, 45+ days aged rib eye and skirt steaks. I loved the rib eye, it was very well cooked and flavorful. Tender and very big portion (12 oz). The skirt steaks wasn’t so good in comparison to the rib eye. To finish our dinner, we ordered the seven layer coconut cake. I loved it. It’s a generous portion, very fluffy, not too sweet.
the service however fell short. While we were waiting at the bar before a table at the main dining area became available, We didn’t receive much bar service other than a cup of water. Fortunately, we got seated after half hour. The main dining area was airy with the high ceiling, the space wasn’t too tight. Everything was okay at the beginning, Until we couldn’t find our server. She was very friendly and nice, but we couldn’t find her when we need water, and checking out. She kind of disappeared after serving our food. Maybe her shift ended and there was a change of shift. But the service can definitely improve to be more attentive.
Overall, Not my favorite steak place in NYC. You deserve a much more enjoyable experience no matter how much you pay.