RARE Bar & Grill

Place is nice and has plenty of seating area. Staff was attentive. The food was very good. The chicken lollipops are very good chicken wings and the fry basket is well done. The classic burger is very good and a good portion size and the pickles are a perfect fit for the burger. The lunch menu is priced right.

French fry baskets w/​dipping sauces and buffalo bbq sauce burgers…? So good. Not much more needs to be said… Service and drinks were good.

Don’t come here for the burgers. The main attraction is the french fry tasting basket. Trust me, it’s every fry lover’s dream. A basket of waffle fries, sweet potato fries, and regular fries to share? It’s like you died and went to fry heaven! All for $ 10 too!

Great burgers and the menu now has some great new items besides red meat! I recommend the new chicken paillard that comes with greens, avocado, grapefruit and a delicious citrus dressing. Yum.
Everything we have eaten there has been consistently good and the wait staff is always friendly. I would highly recommend Rare to friends.

While their food is slightly overpriced ($ 50 for 2 burgers and 2 order of fries) the taste was as expected. Pretty good burgers and awesome truffle fries. The service however was atrocious. The waiter went out of his way to be inattentive and down right rude. He actually made our table uncomfortable. We were guests at the hotel looking for a quick and inexpensive dinner after a long day and night. Wouldn’t recommend this restaurant based on the waiters attitude. Totally ruined the experience.

Came to RARE in the early afternoon on Christmas Eve. Main dining room was closed so my party of four sat at the end of the bar next to the window which was quite alright. Full bar, lots of TV’s and a very attentive server, his name escapes me.
I am usually a turkey burger kind of girl but having recently had a beef burger at another spot, please see my review of SERENDIPITY 3, I was ready to try another. I had the RARE burger (9.00) added cheddar cheese and bacon (additional 3.00), and ordered it medium rare.
The burger was cooked to sheer perfection as was the bacon. And the bun was simply superb. This bun, even when I mashed it down to cut my burger in half (yes, I do that), it sprang right back into shape. Amazing.
My only problem was with the fries. Yes they must be ordered separately but they give you a generous portion. I did not order any but my companions all got the 12.00 lunch special that included fries and a drink. Each of them «donated» a portion of their fries to me and they still had plenty. The problem was they were thin fries and many of them were very hard. That aside, would I come back??? Yes I will. If you crave a good burger they do them very well.

Delicious food, cocktails and dessert. Attending last March 17, 2015 for a friends birthday dinner and I was impressed. I had ordered the Ahi Tuna sandwich which was cooked perfectly and so tasty. I don’t recall which cocktails I had but they surely impressed me and were unique and satisfying. OH and the fried oreo a la mode, is worth every single calorie. Definitely recommend.

Good service. Plenty of screens to watch the game — and a decent pour by the staff tending bar. Yep, I’d do it again.

I am not at all pleased with my RARE experience. I’m staying a week at the hotel for business, tonight I stopped down to RARE for dinner. I ordered the Cowboy Ribeye Steak and a drink, the steak was quite amazing. Unfortunately, a short while after the server brought me my second drink I asked if I could grab the check and where the restaurant’s restrooms were located.
After a brief trip to the restroom I came back to my table and found that everything on it had been cleared off. Half of my steak and my completely untouched drink were gone, as if I hadn’t just ordered a second drink and also asked my server where the restrooms were located. It was a very uninviting feeling to say the least and I can’t say that I’ll ever be returning to RARE. I travel 50% of the time for work, and I almost always stay at Hilton hotels, I can say this is definitely the most unfortunate dining experience I’ve had to date.

Came here for the rooftop experience. Definitely something out of the way but worth visiting. Restaurant was spacious and service was polite although a bit neglectful at times. Food was standard burgers but nothing amazing. The view is what makes the place amazing and something to drink to.

The view is great — we went up to the rooftop for a drink on our last evening in NYC. We only had time for one drink — it seems the rooftop closes at 11pm.
The space is very chic and the drinks are a bit pricey ($ 15. for a cocktail.)
The first cocktail I ordered was a gin cocktail with grapefruit, cilantro, and jalapeño. I’ve had cocktails with spice before, but this was knock-​your-​socks-​off biting-​into-​a-​raw-​fresh-​jalapeño spicy. I had to take it back and get something else, which was sad.

This is a review for their restaurant. There’s a bar on the first floor, and then a pretty big lower level dining area. Great for accommodating large groups (I came here with a bunch of coworkers for dinner on a weeknight).
Service was great and quick, especially considering how many of us there were.
I had the Rare’s Ribeye burger, which is on their steakhouse burger list. It was topped with basically half an avocado with a grilled cipollini onion inside. Delicious, especially cooked medium rare. At $ 21, it’s definitely a burger you want to get on the company’s dime.
They also have a great beer selection. Rare is actually the first place I ever had Raidant Pig, which makes sense since it’s the neighborhood brewery.
It’s been years since I’ve had them, but the parmesan truffle fries were one of my favorite things to order for delivery. They were also my introduction to truffles. Oh to be young again. And yes, they were delicious.

Mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, the burger I had (the M&M burger which was a burger flambeed in whiskey with shallots, cheddar, and bacon) was perfectly cooked to medium as requested and absolutely delicious. The cocktail I ordered — The Bramble, which has rye and blackberry– was also one of the better cocktails I’ve had. Really nice balance between the rye and fruit and just very well made.
However the service was downright atrocious. First of all, we had a reservation for I think 9 or 10 and they made a huge deal about seating 8 of us even though we told them the other people would be late. One of my big pet peeves is restaurants not seating you when your whole party is not there. It makes sense if they are very crowded or busy but most of the downstairs area was empty and they could have easily seated us.
Then, it took them about 30 – 40 minutes to come and take our orders. Even drink orders took that long to be placed, and the drinks took quite some time to come out as well. After we placed our orders, it took at least another 30 minutes for the food (and most of the drinks) to come out. And they didn’t even bring out all the food and we had to ask several times for the rest of our orders.
Other things that bothered me: the burgers are $ 15+ but don’t come with fries– those are another ~$ 5. My friend asked for a beef patty to be substituted with a turkey burger (they have a separate turkey burger on the menu, but she wanted a different burger which just the meat switched) and was told it would be $ 5 extra. WHAT?! $ 5 more on top of a $ 15 burger just for turkey? Insane.
The check took another 30 minutes to arrive. I understand we were a large group and what not, but our meal was nearly 3 hours and the vast majority of that was spent just waiting. We had to flag down our waiters any time we wanted anything. Given the price of the food, the service needs to be much better.
The burger and cocktail were good enough that I would maybe come back, just for those. But the service definitely needs to be improved tremendously.

Didn’t try the food, but great rooftop to go dancing!!! I went for a bachelorette party and we started the dance party. The DJ was fun and played a little bit of everything. Drinks were great– the white peach mohito was my favorite. Pretty sweet, but it’s strong too! Anthony was the best bartender.
Overall, lots of fun. Rooftop is decorated with lights and nice lawn seating, and the view is great. No cover!

A friend and I stopped up to the rooftop for a drink one day after work and we had an enjoyable time.
Décor: The rooftop has a pretty cool feel to it, it is (mostly) covered and the style makes you feel right at home. I’m not 100% sure how to describe it but it was very comfortable feeling. It also has some pretty legit views. There are only a handful of tables but you have to get there early if you want to get a seat as it can get crowded. They have the specials on a chalkboard and otherwise they have a full bar that is ready to serve.
Bathroom: Standard bathroom.
Staff: The bartenders were nice and handled the crowds well, making drinks and closing tabs quickly.
Drinks: We only had drinks, mojitos and a few other cocktails, but they were very tasty and well made.
Value: It’s RARE and it’s a rooftop, so drinks are a bit pricey. But nothing outrageous.
It’s a good spot and the (food) menu looked pretty good, I’d come back again but it wouldn’t be my first choice of spots.

Rare is located inside the Fashion District Hilton where I was staying so it was very convenient. The rooftop bar has a great view and I definitely recommend it.
I had the chef’s special burger of the day and it was fantastic! There were french-​fried green bean strands, caramelized onions, on a perfectly toasted bun, which was melt in your mouth delicious and came with a side of a delicious little salad with a tangy lemon vinaigrette.

Quel plaisir (surtout lorsqu’on est résident de l’hotel Hilton Fashion District) d’aller prendre un verre sur le rooftop de l’hotel dans le bar «Rare». Les cocktails sont créatifs et parfaitement réalisés.
J’ai opté pour le cocktail signature «Rare Fashion» à base de gin (Citadelle), jus de pomme granny smith, concombre et citron vert.
Pour accompagner cela, on a partager la Shredded Brisket Quesadilla, tellement bonne, c’est trop dur de partager.
Le tout avec une vue exceptionnelle sur Manhattan et une musique qui met une ambiance de folie. Un excellent moment au dessus de cette superbe ville.

Had a super great time! The rooftop is a decent size compared to other places in Manhattan. The drinks are delicious and I mean it. I highly recommend the sunset or skyline one, I forgot the full name. $ 15 a drink.
The view was pretty good, but the vibe of the place was nice. no reserve seating, first come first serve.
overall, it’s a good place to stop by and stay for a bit. but I wouldn’t plan any big group hang outs here.

Went here on a Tuesday night dressed as i usually do (very casual, sneakers, cap, jeans shorts) on a summer day and was told that i am dressed «wayyyy» to casual for the rooftop area by the security guard at the elevator entrance. This i thought was going to ruin my dinner date with my lady.
Thankfully i had reservations for the dining area down below where the two hostesses got very upset as soon as i told them about the security guard. They said they would talk to management and that he cant discriminate against my attire because there’s guys up there wearing flip flops. This prompted me to believe he took his job «wayyy» to seriously.
I really liked the look of the place downstairs with its dim lighting and staircase that wraps down to the dining floor. Got seated very quickly as there weren’t much people dining. I read on here that the lolipop wings are good and so is the chicken paillard so i went ahead and ordered those. My gf got their ribeye mac n cheese with artichoke dip. I liked the burger options but could not decide so i asked the waiter for recommendations and he said to go with the master burger special of the day and so i did.
The lolipop wings met my expectations. Came with the usual side of carrots and celery which not all places do with wings, so that was a plus as i got my fatty food balanced out with veggies. The artichoke dip wasnt anything special. Very bland and didn’t have a unique taste to it as i envisioned before biting in. Mac and cheese was also subpar and bland only good part was the beef pieces mixed in. Chicken paillard met my expectations and more as the mix of avocado, grapefruit, and grilled chicken was nothing i ever tasted before.
Lastly the burger which was cooked as i asked to perfection at medium well but didnt taste all that special. It was kinda sweet which i do not like when eating beef. I should’ve just went with an old fashioned cheeseburger so that ones on me. The waiter was very courteous as he checked up on us and filled our water at the right moments and not while we were conversing which can make or break how much i tip.
During our meal one of the hostesses came back to us and told us we are good to go upstairs to the rooftop area as she spoke to the manager about my attire. They were very helpful and accommodating of the situation which really went a long way because getting the view on the rooftop was my main purpose in going here.
Once we got up there wouldnt you kno it a guy is just chilling in his flip flops with his girl. Very nice setup they had with the couches, tables, bar, and televisions. Just the view wasnt all that i expected.
Only real view is of the Empire state building because it is really close by. Everything else looks like as it would from street level. Still it was a nice place for a hangout and drinks on a warm summer day. Thought watching the sunset would be nice but since the view wasnt all that we just had a couple drinks and left.
All in all it was a fun experience aside from being told i dressed too casual for the place but the hostess fixed that problem really making it a great time. On our way out one of the elevator girls wished my gf a happy birthday as she overheard me say it to the security guard as he checked our IDs. Little things like that made sure i will be back here before summer ends.

A bar at floor level with some side tables for dining (feels odd), and then downstairs is a casual burger joint. Don’t get me wrong, nicely designed with steaks, barbwire, and a big oven, but I feel like it’s not memorable, or personable, or even that fantastic.
Prices are really good. Service was efficient, but didn’t exhibit personality. They did the job, and brought the check. The have a «sport» room downstairs that is a mid-​size room with 3 TV’s. No bar in it. It’s as plain as they get.
1. Lollipop Wings ($ 10) — all drumettes with the meat pushed up leaving a stick (the bone) with the bulging meat atop. Fantastic, and medium spicy. (5.0 stars)
2. Widow Jane BBQ Babyback Ribs ($ 23) — super tender, half-​rack, strange flavor to the tangy and sticky BBQ sauce. Not for the connoisseur. (3.5 stars)
3. Mac & Cheese ($served as a side of the ribs, or $ 7) — cheesy with bits of bacon and swimming in a puddle of butter. Still, very tasty. (4.0 stars)
4. Jameson Black Barrel Burger ($ 18) — Ribeye flambéed in Jameson Black Barrel select whiskey. Sound good? Looks good! Execution, fair. Makes my top 50 in my «Berger knows: Burger» list. (4.0 stars)
5. Parmesan Truffle Fries ($ 5) — more parmesan than truffle. Crispy, but good not great. Give me truffle! (3.5 stars)
In conclusion, the bar was is the best feature. Seats about 32 – 40, they serve up drinks, TV’s all around, and they have the Lollipop Wings. Overall, this is just south of a 4.0 star. I would not make this a destination place, but if you are staying at this hotel it’s fine.

We fancy a burger so it seems like a pretty the M & M burger .
Honestly its not bad but its not the best either. I cant taste the bourbon its meant to be cooked in and the fried onions leave it all a bit soggy .
The trio of fries isn’t bad for a 10 spot. Comes with a nice little array of dips. Shame I only liked the cottage fries ., but if you like fries this is a winner .
Suggest you pop up on the roof for drinks after. Great Views.