Respite

This place should not be considered even remotely close to being one of «the best restaurants in nyc.» Walked in to loud, top-​40 type music, uncomfortable lighting, generic décor, and an odd, inauthentic vibe.
There wasn’t any coherent theme tying the menu together, and all the food seemed generic and pulled from random cuisines according to popularity. Where do a Baja fish taco, a European charcuterie plate, a Truffle Butter risotto and a Korean beef taco belong together? Apparently at Respite.
Not to mention that the menu is ludicrously overpriced — a $ 49 ribeye? You could get an entire meal at a legitimately delicious restaurant such as Porsena or The Breslin Bar for that price. All the entrees were in the upper $ 20-​range, for «small plates». What? You have to have an amazing chef or legitimate restaurant creds to charge those prices. As far as I could tell this place had neither. It seems to clearly prey on unsuspecting tourists that flock this area, near the UN.
I would save your money and steer clear of this place in favor of some of the authentically good restaurants in the area, such as Sip Sake or Aburiya Kinosake.

My girlfriends and I went on a girls only trip and the only fine dining restaurant we went to was Respite. We stayed at a hotel a few blocks away and wanted somewhere within walking distance and went on Unilocal and the photos sold us! We wanted Respite. Called and made reservations, were told on the phone that they were in the process of renewing their liquor license and could not serve us any liquor but that didnt deter us from going, and I’m glad it didn’t! We were the only customers during our visit there and we all tried the chef’s tasting menu and was pleasantly surprised by everything that was brought out to us. The food was presented beautifully and tasted great too.
Since everything pretty much tasted great my only suggestion that I think is a MUST to order is the pumpkin cheesecake! It was the most delicious cheesecake I have ever tasted in my life! It was really delicate and tasted light like a mousse cake.
I’m giving this place 5 stars for the experience but would have probably liked better service. The waitress could have been a little more personable but the guy refilling our water was really nice. Either way, it made our night in New York City memorable.

What a disappointment. After searching Unilocal for something good in the area, Respite showed up pretty high. But the experience was completely underwhelming. The place was completely empty (though, yes, it was a Monday). The portion sizes on all courses were TINY! There was a harsh vinegar taste covering what might have otherwise been a decent ravioli appetizer. The pork entrée was easily 50% soggy fat, and not impressive flavor. And just in general, I wasn’t at all impressed with the menu selection. Far too many other great places in the city to eat (and at better prices) to waste another visit to Respite.

Small portions, beautiful presentations and delicious food. The oxtail bone marrow is very good. They offer a 7 course tasting,
Nice wine selection. The décor can be improved.

The chef is very inventive and most of the items on the menu are unique and the chef places a lot of attention to detail. While expensive, I believe you will not find such items on the menu at most similar priced restaurants.
The service is also great and there is an extensive selection of wines and other drinks.

Respite closed at midnight on Saturday night last weekend. I know because I had to leave. Apparently I was the only patron in there — which I didn’t know because there were a handful of other PEOPLE in there.
I guess I expected Respite to have a nice cocktail list, but they really didn’t. They had sort of a limited number of plays on standard cocktails — and since I didn’t see Sazerac or Sidecard or any of the things I would have normally ordered for a cocktail, I gave up and ordered what I used to order in the proto-​Mel days — a super dirty vodka martini (of course I’ve always been dirty!).
The bartender turned out not to be the bartender at all, but rather a barback or something… but he made an AWESOME dirty martini. The bartender eventually showed up and never said a word to me, so I dunno. The barback was sweet and made good conversation though. When I told him I was waiting for my friends, however, he said they were about to close (it wasn’t even midnight). I get that it’s dead but it was just strange. Midtown is a mystery to me.
I did get my martini for free but Respite closing was bummertown because my friends ended up having to go to Ashton’s Alley (shudder), and they were visiting from Ohio, so that kinda sucked (to have them go a like the dumbest bar ever). So yeah, maybe Respite is great for dinner (I came here because of the awesome Unilocal reviews), but apparently in the summer it doesn’t work for drinks.
I am giving my experience here three stars because I got a free martini. Otherwise, totally a two star bummer.

Respite is a hole in a wall place, which is perfect for after-​work drinks where you actually want to talk to your friends or getting food. I went with a client and we both enjoyed our experience here.
1. Delicious food — Ordered the cheese plate, tuna tartare, and prosciutto plate. We also had complimentary oysters and peach ice cream. I’m not a big fan of oysters, but I could have had a whole platter of them at Respite. The chef really knows his flavors!
2. Delicious drinks — The cocktails were refreshing and seemed to get stronger as the night went on…
3. Chill atmosphere — Low, key music. Neutral colors. Beautifully clean space
4. Great service
I’m definitely coming back here!

The first time I went to Respite was when it opened a few years ago. I liked the idea but the execution was a bit mixed. I went again a few weeks ago and literally had the exact same reaction, verbatim. That reaction was, «The concept is good, the execution is an incongruous mess.» The mixture of different styles of food in one dish seems like a great idea when they describe it but almost every execution of it was just slightly off. Ingredients ended up overpowering each other or fighting each other rather than existing harmoniously as one dish. Tropical fruit tastes overwhelmed delicate seafood, Asian flavorings sat strangely in traditional French preparations of meats. Even the Berkshire Pork Belly, which did not have mixed flavors to the degree of the appetizers and specials we had, was good but not great.
While I do plan to come back and give the tasting a menu a try (just because of all the good reviews here), I am shocked by the two comparisons to Alinea that I read below. Grant would (and really should) be horrified to hear such a comparison even hinted at. DO NOT come to Respite thinking you will get that kind of experience because you absolutely will not. The random mango sorbet splashed on an oyster that Respite offers is a far cry from the innovation and artistry Alinea is reknown for.

I took my mother here for her surprise birthday night out. Now my mother is just about as much a foodie as I am– except with a few decades of experience over me. So needless to say, she has a very sophisticated pallet and she tells it like it is. We both loved Respite.
The reservation I made was for 5pm on a Thursday. We came in a bit early, so the kitchen wasn’t open. So the bartender invited us to have a drink at the bar, even though he was still prepping, himself. FINALLY, a place where all the house cocktails DO NOT lean towards the sugary/​sweet side. We tried the «Bronx Zu» and all though it’s a knockout drink (make sure you eat something while sipping on this one), it was scrumptious and very original! If there were ever a drink to describe me, this would be it. Furthermore, the bartender was a sweetheart. Very accommodating and involved. We engaged in a lovely conversation and shared a few laughs as he made our time waiting totally fly by.
Once seated, our waiter came by and wished my mother a happy birthday upon distributing menus to us. He was very prompt, nice, and certainly knowledgeable about food and this cuisine. The way he delivered the list of specials to us made us want to try everything at this restaurant. Well played, sir.
So we shared the soft-​shell crab appetizer special to start, then my mother got the Uni risotto with lobster and bay scallop, and I had the Bass Provencal.
WOW.
The food here is incredible. And I don’t care what other people say: the price is right for this kind of quality. The chef is certainly creative and has a well developed sense of fusion. The combination of textures, the medley of flavors, the balance of spice and crunch and sweet and so fourth… My mother and I couldn’t help but praise the food! We kept giving each other little bites of our entrees as we were trying to convince the other that our own dish was better than the other’s. Very unique indeed, and definitely leaves me wanting to come back for more.
The desert tasting plate was also delicious and very creative. The only thing I would say is that the banana-​truffle ice-​cream, though a nice idea, might have been a bit too heavy on the truffle.
But everything was delightful. When i asked for the check, the waiter came by and poured us two complimentary after-​dinner drinks that I’d never had before. Some dairy liquor that he explained was spiced with cumin and other interesting spices. A very nice compliment to the wonderful dinner we just had. Upon dropping the check, he also told us the desert has on the house. Wow, I felt like royalty, or a long time regular, but nope, first time there. But i can tell you, after this lovely experience, it certainly won’t be the last!
Respite is a secret jewel of the NYC dining culture, and I will definitely be back.

Delicious! My wife and I came in for an early dinner. The staff are sweet and friendly. Our starters, butternut squash soup and an off menu risotto with truffles and scallops were both outstanding. The dinner selections of fish tacos and polenta fries were plain in comparison to the starters. But the brussle sprouts are amazing (I can’t quite believe I wrote that). My wife ordered the sprouts, but they shouldn’t be missed.

This place is undoubtedly one of the best eating establishments that I have had the pleasure of dining at while in New York. I went their with a group of 5 with the intent of having a somewhat private dinner meeting. Everything was so good that it turned into a bit of a round table buffet because everyone in our group was so impressed with their dinner they felt compelled to share it with the rest of the group.
The night started with drinks at the bar while we waited for our entire group to show up. Special thanks to both bartenders or should I say Spirit Engineers. They were wonderful and really know how to pour wonderful drinks. Make sure, if you go here, to ask them to deliver your drinks with a French accent. It was quite funny.
Special thanks to Paul Sharpe. You have put together something quite unique. I am sure if you keep doing what you are doing you will have a wait list 4 months long. I would recommend to anyone that is reading this that you make reservations now. This place is going to be really tough to get reservations at very soon because it was truly a great dining experience.
WONDERFUL!!! Great job!!!

Here I was, wanting to pre-​celebrate my birthday & respite…
At a place *called* Respite…
Destiny?
Entrees didn’t impress as much as appetizers, so we shared the:
OXTAIL & BONE MARROW — $ 24
celery root mousseline, shallot marmalade, pickled green papaya
GOLDEN BEET RAVIOLI — $ 18
lemon thyme-​brown butter, pistachio
special app: LAMB’S CHEEKS $ 34
scallops, etc, etc
and then these desserts:
TAMIRIND PANNA COTTA– $ 10
saffron-​lemongrass broth w/​jellied shit atop
MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE — $ 10
ice cream, candied kumquats
SWEET POTATO & GOAT CHEESE PIE — $ 12
maple bacon ice cream
These being the tiniest apps and desserts known to man, I couldn’t imagine the entrees were much bigger, and thus exceptionally over-​priced.
Yet somehow, between the talking, waiting, observing (the obnoxiously loud white people at surrounding tables), we became perfectly satiated.
Was super excited to try all things things I’d never eaten before: bone marrow, cheeks, OXTAIL (my mom always cooked it; I always avoided it)…
RESULTS (flavor, not portion size – which sucked of course):
OXTAIL & BONE MARROW – oxtail, Where have you been all my life??? (Oh. On the fkn DINNER TABLE!) Bone marrow (if that’s what that was), not so much… 4.5÷5
RAVIOLI– um, can I have a whole PLATE of this??? ⁵⁄₅ (Heads up: you only get 3 big pieces… DON’T SHARE!)
CHEEKS – ridicoulously moist! WOW! ⁵⁄₅
PANNA COTTA – pass ¹⁄₅ (I never ‘got’ panna cotta anyways, so I’m a bad judge of taste here)
CAKE– No clue, I HATE chocolate*! ⁵⁄₅?
PIE– WOAH! ⁵⁄₅ This was also prob the most sizable dish we ordered! (palm size) More bacon ice cream would’ve been muy excellente!
FINAL SUMMATION:
If you have money to blow, truly appreciate the culunary arts & experimental cusine, and haven’t just come out of say, Ramadan, come here and enjoy!
Split the bill with a friend to EXTRA-​enjoy!

Came here for restaurant week last night. The food was 5 stars, the portion size 2 stars, but then again, it is a small portion size tapas place… But I grew up in a McDonalds culture, super size me man! Your food was awesome, I want more!
Three course dinner was absolutely delicious. I started with the tuna tartare. Valentina had the salad which had these crunchy blue cheese balls that had some sort of pine nut inside of it. It was one of the greatest pieces of blue cheese I had eaten. I then had the mushroom risotto which was good but I am a meat eater so I don’t know what I was thinking as ordering this as my main food. I guess I was just in the mood for trying something different. The Lamb Sausage Ragout however was a dish like I had never tasted. We didn’t know what we were in for when we ordered this, we just knew we both liked lamb and this was going to be our choice. I had no idea that it would taste this good. Rock Shrimp, burrata croquette with a melted parmesan cheese. I don’t think I need to describe it because all of those are winning combinations on their own. The dessert was good but not better than other desserts I had.
The staff was pretty friendly and the manager came over to give us a free shot of a «mind eraser» for having to wait so long for our courses. The «mind eraser» ended up being a shot of apple cider wine. It was a very generous offer but anything but a mind eraser. If you have never had a real mind eraser… this is how you do it. In a rocks glass, pour 2oz of vodka, then 2oz of khalua then 2 oz of tonic water. Put a straw in the bottom and drink the whole thing straight up through the straw. Now THAT is a mind eraser.
Overall, I was very happy with the meal presented and it gets a deserved 4 stars for the quality of the food.

I’m shocked that this place doesn’t have 5 stars — some of the best food I’ve ever had!
Loved how complex everything was, and how certain things had VERY subtle undertones of Asian/​Indian flavor.
The service was awesome, friendly. As a non-​New Yorker, I’m happy to have found a place that was not «touristy», and so awesome.
I’ll go back next time :)

The haters must have came on a off night, place is spot on chef used to work at fat duck and that’s creditails, so shut up
Food was good I understand it’s a little pricey but it was given a three dollar sign rating they have truffles scented food and nice ingredients that are well seasoned, for NYC it’s a cool hole in the wall, I will be returning
I had some cocktails that were pretty tasty but the wine list wasn’t bad

Short version:
Pros — The Food, the service, the ambiance
Cons — The Portions, the prices (given portion size)
The food here is really good, and obviously very sophisticated in a «foams everywhere /​sous vide everything /​creative plating» new pan-​European way.
We had the Oxtail appetizer — which captured the essence of beefy goodness in an interesting way, the Monkfish special — which was perfectly cooked with a delicious and unexpected curry sauce, and the Lamb «Under Pressure» — which was melt-​in-​your mouth delicious with a perfectly balanced sauce and garnish.
If just judging on the food and the service — then this restaurant deserves a 5 star rating for sure.
However, the portions are a bit small for what you are paying. The lamb was the only dish that felt like you could get full off of, with the monkfish entrée about 50−60% of the portion of the lamb. The $ 12 chicken satay ordered by our companions contained, literally, three small bites of chicken. And while our oxtail appetizer was pretty hearty, it also cost twice as much as the other appetizers.
We will definitely be back at Respite, because the food is just that good. But we will probably be saving up for the ~$ 85 tasting menu for a special event instead of the ~$ 50 appetizer + entrée combo that left us a bit peckish for the rest of the night.

What a fantastic place to walk into by accident. The bartender mentioned it was a Cocktail Lounge and they were very adept at a fine cocktail. The highlight on the food menu was the Oxtail and Bone Marrow appetizer. Because it was late we did not try any of the entrees and simply went with the appetizer and share menu.
Service was fantastic and I will definitely return, even if just for a drink prepared by good people.

Beware — the portions are TINY. I would say this is not a tapas place, but considering the small portions of the entrees, maybe it is tapas. I would rate this a 3.5, but bumped down because it’s not filling.
That being said. Friendly manager, good service, and cute atmosphere, especially with the handwritten drinks on the chalkboard.
It seems a lot of dishes are infused with some fruit element, which I really enjoy. The fried pita bread was delicious.
Appetizers: The chilled oysters are… interesting. I feel like they’re sort of overdone and the oyster itself is overpowered. The baja fish taco was merely okay.
Entrees: The berkshire pork belly was soo good, though TINY. The special for that night was a single crabcake, which was okay and also rather small.
Given the other not great restaurants in the area, this is a great place by comparison. I would probably return at some point because there’s not much else in the area, but certainly not if I had an appetite.

Came here for NYC Cocktail Week and had the 2 cocktails and 1 appy for $ 20.11.
Service is fantastic, cocktails were inventive and delicious. and the food was great as well.
I really can’t complain except that I will be back for more.
They have only been open for about 9 months now — and are definitely working hard to win a fan base!

I stopped in with a couple of friends to support my bartender friend, Anthony. We had barely an idea of what we were walking into. Our experience was a lovely treat!
The ambiance is inviting, modern but warm. The bar is stocked with an incredible variety of liquors (22 different vodkas, if I remember correctly) and fine wines. The cocktail list looked delicious, though I did not partake.
The food menu offers tapas sized selections that are sure to make your mouth water by just reading the descriptions. Every plate was presented beautifully. The flavors in each dish we tried were playful and delicious. As mentioned by other reviewers, the Parsley Gnocchi and Butternut Squash Soup were delectable. I was told that the chef has spent time with French Laundry, Per Se, and Fat Duck. For those that know Alinea in Chicago, Respite is a more accessible & affordable restaurant along those lines.
Good for intimate dining, low-​key hangouts.
Objectively, I would give Respite 4.5 stars; half star bump for exceptional treatment and service from the staff.