Rock Center Cafe

Every time I go, either work or personally, I have great service. The food is generally very good, brunch portions are big. Today at a very busy Valentines Day brunch the manager came by, checked in on us, and took our plates away. She was classy. I wish the brunch menu had one or two more breakfast options.

The menu is simple. There does not have so many foods to choose but they’re tasty. I really like the latte. Great service and ambience. When you sit beside the window, you can see the ice rink.

We visited during restaurant week and had amazing seats next to the window facing the ice ring. The restaurant location is perfect with the view on Rockefeller Center. The server was friendly and attentive. We ordered the kale salad and NY clam chowder as appetizers. The kale salad was surprisingly tasty and the clam chowder was not that special. Our main course included the seafood stew (very delicious) and the home made Italian sausage (unfortunately way too salty). So two dishes were delicious and the desserts were good. We do think that the prices are way too high compared to the quality of the food.

We went on a Wednesday for lunch and lucky us, it happened to be restaurant week. We happened to be sat next to the window looking out to the skating rink. And there happened to be a free ice skating show that began shortly after we sat down. The simple Organic Greens salad was very refreshing and never cross the threshold of being too acidic. We got an extra Burrata and Prosciutto dish that had the most wonderfully toasted bread. The burrata and prosciutto part was awesome too. The duck sandwich was a juicy delight. The taste of duck always reminds me of a Peking duck because that was the only duck I ever had before discovering French cuisine. And the generously thick slices of duck in this sandwich was more than a Peking duck lover could ever ask for. Finally the caramelized apple tart with mascarpone was the perfect portion of dessert after a pretty filling 3 courses.
I’m not sure why this place had such low reviews. The service was great as well. They were quick, friendly, and attentive. Perhaps we went on an «on» day as compared to other reviewers’ off days.

Well, I came here with a friend for one of their themed special nights, a fixed menu omg, good I was not a serious vegetarian. The appetizer let a good deal to be desired l, but they asked for my opinion so I gave it frankly! Mira the hostess was very warm and open to honest input. She came back for every course and the staff was very accommodating and attentive. The courses got better and better (I am usually an appetizer girl) Tonight’s main was lamb chops and it was perfectly cooked! Wine was nice and again the service was very good!!!

While in NYC during the holidays we made a trip to the Rock to see the Tree and fell upon the Rock Center Café. I was more than happy to find a table near the bar and drink my vodka tonic while watching people ice skate. I’m sure this is a very touristy thing to do but being a Florida girl I had a great time!

For the past 16 years or so, my wife and I have a tradition of going to see the tree and then dining at this restaurant. The food is always amazing, the service is hit or miss though. But honestly, we go for the view of the tree and the ice skating rink more than the service. The past few years they have moved to a price fixe menu during the holiday time. Not really my favorite, but the food is still very good. If you are going to see the tree at Rock Center during the holidays, make sure you stop in here for a bite to eat, just remember to make reservations or you will be waiting for awhile.

Wanted to treat my fiancé to the best 30^th birthday ever. We came to NYC all the way from London, England so needed a great venue for dinner and Rock Center Café certainly didn’t disappoint.
My fiancé can be very fussy when it comes to food so after spending hours researching back in the UK I chose this venue on account of the views of the ice rink and the good looking good. Booking online was quick and easy and I had confirmation within minutes. On arrival we were greeted by friendly hosts and shown to our table. The view of the rink was stunning and provided much entertainment as we watched over confident skaters try to perform a trick before falling over! The décor at the venue was well presented and made for a warm and comfortable atmosphere.
Our server for the evening was Christine. She was friendly enough to be personable but not to the point of being irritating. Attentive enough to make sure we had everything we needed to enjoy our meals but not to the point of being intrusive. Knowledgeable enough to help us with our questions but not pushy towards certain dishes at all. She even allowed us to take a bit of a gap between our entrees and our sweets to allow our stomachs to recover. We certainly felt welcome and able to take our time without any pressure to release the table for another guest.
The food was excellent. The appetisers (beet salad and clam chowder) were sublime — I’m going to have to try and recreate that salad at home when I start my diet! The Salmon and Chicken breast entrees were cooked to perfection. Deliciously moist meat with crispy skin, and portion sizes just right (and as an Englishman I do sometimes struggle with American portion sizes!) for afters I had the New York Cheesecake (hey if I’ve come all this way I can’t not!) and my fiancé had the chocolate mouse. I would eat either again. Oh and if you don’t try the roast cauliflower or the Sprouts then you’ve missed out.
Whilst eating I noticed the manager spending time talking to guests asking how their experience was. It’s nice to see such attentiveness and appreciation for customer views.
Would certainly recommend coming back here — Whilst there is a price tag attached to eating here, every cent was worth it, and was certainly a fitting end to a busy 30^th birthday for my fiancé.

So I’ll be honest and say that I came here only because my department was having a year end holiday dinner, so therefore I did not have to pay. For the holiday they seemed to have a pre-​fixe only for $ 50 that included an appetizer, entrée and a dessert. I went with the lobster bisque, steak and the cheese cake. All three were delicious. The portion sizes were just right and we didn’t have to wait too long.
The location offers a cool view of the skating rink, which is was mildly entertaining. All in all I enjoyed the food and service, but would hesitate at the prices if I were coming out of pocket for this.

The view of the skaters was nice, but that’s all good that can be said.
I had issues with flatware (non-​existent) and when I asked the manager for flatware, she could not understand me, perhaps she spoke barely any ENGLISH or she herself could NOT hear me, as they sat my Daughter and I … Next to a large party of loud and belligerent drunks and when they were asked to keep it down, they became even louder and MORE belligerent!!!
I went there to celebrate a special event with my Daughter and I was very clear that we were celebrating something very special; when I made the reservations 2 weeks prior, so I could NOT understand why they would make our special day, so miserable!!!
I left hungry (as the food was «not» what fine dining should be), with a headache and VERY, VERY upset!
For a $ 50.00 a head pre-​fixed lunch menu, they sure did NOT delivery any satisfaction, decent service, and the «food» was barely edible. The polenta was a running mess, as soup! The chicken had no flavor, and it was not tender, as explained to me by our waitress!
I would NEVER return, as most people on this web-​site have express, so save your money!

We had Christmas dinner here. The view of the skaters was nice, but that’s all good that can be said.
We waited 50 minutes past our booking time to be seated, then another 20 to have our drinks order taken.
The servers were mostly disinterested, making numerous mistakes with missing cutlery that we had to keep calling them back to correct. The water guy was on point though.
Our vegetarian member was promised an option when we booked, but on arriving there was no vegetarian main on the menu.
The food was OK, but nothing that even approached the price of the meal. A meat meal was brought out for the vegetarian that had to be taken back and something clearly was invented on the fly in the kitchen that was bland and uninteresting.
This didn’t even compare however to the couple seated across from us, who had been seated before us and were served their food after we had finished our main. Except they brought out their mains first and missed their appetiser.
Avoid, unless you like throwing money away just to watch novice skaters fall over while you wait forever to get to eat average food.

Like the other reviews state… Overpriced tourist trap with mediocre, overpriced food. Service is slow. The view of people skating was nice. But one can stand outside and see it for free.
*If seeing strangers skate around in a circle while you eat dinner is exciting to you, maybe we have different ideas of entertainment, and you should disregard this review totally.

I like this place. Great view of the ice skaters outside. Was here for breakfast and I had the open faced mushroom & swiss omelette egg white. I thought it was amazing. I’m not a huge breakfast person but I gobbled this one up. I like the way they serve the coffee in a french press. Very unique. I’ll be back next time I’m in NYC.

So not worth the $$$. Slow service, disinterested servers, food bland !!!‘sons chicken tenders undercooked. skip it folks-​head for
The mezzanine food
Court Instead. View is wonderful.

The café is located right in the lower lever of the Rockefeller Center. A very convenient location while your kids ice skate while you’re enjoying a nice cup of coffee or having dinner after their skiing blast.
The dinner was very pleasant and servers was very helpful. I ordered a petite filet with cream spinach. My son ordered salmon with Brussels sprouts, which he loved so much. I had a bit of his Brussels sprouts and it was Caramelized perfectly. My filet was a bit dry and I really care too much for my cream spinach. It looks like the spinach was finely chopped up so it taste purée. The tomatoes soup also tasted bland.
I would return to taste their breakfast menu because I saw some great reviews about their AM menu. But at the end. My son was satisfied with his dinner.

Brought my 3 year old and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. It’s bright and airy and we were seated right by the window so we were able to watch people skate by!
I had the eggs benedict and my kid had some hot chocolate. I enjoyed the food overall it was delicious and they switched out the Canadian bacon for regular bacon.
They did forget to bring me my café au lait which is fine, also took awhile to get the check, but we were seated right away! So can’t win em all!

If you’re looking for a unique place to eat with an amazing view of the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza, then look no further. And if you’re looking for an over-​priced and mediocre meal… you’ve also come to the right place. I’m only giving Rock Center Café 3 stars for the view, because the food is barely 2 star worthy.
I ordered the ham-​glazed sandwich which came on the smallest micro mini baguette you can imagine. The taste was okay, but for $ 21 it should have been a decent sandwich. My wife ordered the lobster bisque ($ 15) and the field greens salad ($ 14) and said both were okay.
Do yourself a favor and save $ 50 buy getting takeout across the hall at Cocina and then sit in the tables by the window in the open seating areas and enjoy the same view!

Had a really nice time eating right in front of Rockefeller Center!
We had gone here for dinner after visiting the Top of the Rock. I wish we had asked to sit in front of the fountain/​where the ice rink usually is, but i did like how we had no one else around us so my friend and i could chit chat as loudly as we wanted.
We both did the 3 course dinner. I ended up ordering the watermelon/​tomato salad, the skirt steak with corn salsa, and the New York cheesecake. The watermelon salad was really good, and the steak was really good (i loved the corn salsa).
The service was alright — even though it wasn’t busy our waiter kept checking on us to refill our water (although after we got our checks and signed them, he was quite quick to take those from our table).
I’d love to come back and eat here when the ice rink is back up — that would make for great people watching.

I had their Shrimp Chop-​Chop salad and thought it was great! The customer service was a little slow, but the weather and company made up for the tardiness. The view of the Rockefeller made lunch just a little bit better too!

Great view. Make a reservation well in advance or plan to sit at the bar (which is very small).
It is a very cool, elegant and had a great view — but the food was less than memorable to me and the drink choices were just so/​so. I think during the winter holidays though, this has really fun ambience and you can enjoy watching all the people ice skating and looking at the big christmas tree and watching all the people.