Vitae

I hosted a luncheon at Vitae for 45 clients and the event was flawless. This restaurant and their staff go over and above in every way. They think of every detail from customizing the menu to offering to go cookies in bags with my companies logo. The food is insanely delicious. I loved my experience, a Big Thanks to Liz and the entire staff. Go there now!

Interesting place. Great food and amazing staff !! Only challenge was it was very crowded on a weekday evening. Place is not that big and can feel little dull inside. Waiter will go out of the way to customize your food orders. Nice deserts and great cookies as you exit !!

Great appetizers esp. the pulled pork tacos, beet salad, and fried oysters. Served a delectable amuse bouche of king crab and unique potato chips. Both pasta dishes were excellent: the cavatelli and the red pepper fettucini. Duck and schnitzel entrees equally tasty. Edwin has a skilled staff in the kitchen, for sure. But the best part were the great desserts by Tony Marcos. The cheesecake, rhubarb, and strawberry desserts (yes, we had three) were deliciously decadent. Our waiter Tom was attentive and professional and we were given a nice goodie bag of chocolate chip cookies and a walking map to our theatre destination, the latter unnecessary but still thoughtful. Suggest arriving early between 5 – 6:30pm before the rush begins.

I work not too far from Vitae but had no idea it even existed before some friends picked the spot for a dinner last Saturday. Sometimes one must marvel at the sheer number of restaurants in Manhattan.
We were a group of 7 adults and one small child. The staff was incredibly accommodating to everyone’s needs throughout the meal. And yes, the classy interior impresses.
To start, I had an old fashioned, which was sweeter than most but still very good, and made with high-​quality ingredients. We also ordered a number of appetizers, two of which I tried:
–Rolls brushed with duck fat: Good, and the duck fat was a nice alternative to your usual butter or oil, but I don’t know that it did all that much for me.
–Pulled pork tacos (polenta tuille, tomato marmalade, avocado mousse, lime crème fraîche): Good but smallish.
My favorite part of the meal was my main dish, the chestnut agnolotti. From the cheesy chestnut filling to the prosciutto parmesan broth, each bite was a gift. The crispy prosciutto on top added a nice umami flavor contrast to each agnolotto.
We were also gifted with extras, including the «amuse bouche» potato chip, little after-​dinner (raspberry?) soda bottles, and a take-​home chocolate chip cookie. Gotta love those little touches.

We are having our rehearsal dinner here and I have never been so blown away by incredible staff, food and drinks. We met with Liz and she was super helpful, knowledgeable and also passionate about the restaurant. Not only that, we tried a few cocktails and appetizers and it was game over! Cabel made AMAZING drinks and I just still can’t believe how great everyone was! We booked on the spot and now I can’t wait!

I have walked by this place multiple times on the way to work. Decided to try today for lunch. I had the prix fixe lunch — roasted baby beets, soo good and fresh; lamb sausage cavatelli, great flavor and lamb was not overwhelming; and then the rhubarb crisp, also good. Service was on the slower side, in clearing the table and checking on us. Otherwise the great dishes and will be back to try other dishes. My dining mate also had the ultimate ramen, which she stated was the best ramen she ever had.

The place was empty due to the fact that I arrived for a late late lunch or an early very early dinner but it seems the place is busy. They were setting up everything and I just got to have lunch by the bar but I can say that was worth the walking and the searching for this place. I eat by myself, the only customer in the restaurant due to the hour but I enjoyed every bite. I had the fried oysters and the agnolotti as appetizers but they were both really good. Specially the pasta. I am happy I did 2 appetizers instead of main courses because I love them both.

I met up with a friend for lunch meeting at Vitae and was pleasantly surprised by the décor as well as the friendliness of the staff. We were seated swiftly after arrival and shown to a nice booth table in the middle of the dining room. We reviewed the menu and decided on the Prix Fixe menu ($ 35 each).
Before our initial course arrived, we were treated to an amuse-​bouche of a potato chip with crème fraiche and crispy prosciutto. It was basically an upscale potato chip but tasty nonetheless. We then both started with the roasted baby beets which came served over a bed of arugula and were served with goat cheese and pistachios. The dish was beautifully presented and we both happily cleaned our plates. For our second courses, I ordered the steak salad and my friend ordered the seafood crêpe. The steak salad consisted of a delicious medium rare steak served on a bed of greens, avocado, tomatoes, parmesan and crispy frizzled onions. It looked small at first but was very compact and I barely finished it. The seafood crêpe was a tight parcel filled with seafood and topped with a lightly creamy sauce and my friend cleaned his plate, so I can only assume it was delicious. We both finished our meal with the rhubarb crumble, having being convinced by our server that because it was in season it was the natural choice. It was served with a scoop of mouthwatering scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top and even being a disliker of fruit, such as I am, was absolute perfection. Our server was right.
Overall, our dining experience was excellent and I will happily return to this restaurant for lunch or dinner — a true gem in midtown east.

Really great spot that you might accidentally pass by on 46^th street. There is a lot of construction on 46^th so I normally try to bypass this street but it is a great option for lunch or dinner, business or personal lunch. Here’s what I like: When you walk in there is a nice casual seating area with couches where you can sit and wait for dining partners or for your table. There are also a few super comfortable booths in the front near the bar for casual dining. Waitstaff are friendly and very knowledgable about the menu. Food– spectacular and beautiful presentation. Each dish is presented in an inventive way. This is my new midtown go to spot.

A very good choice in Midtown just far enough away from the Times Square area to avoid the theater crowd and tourists.
And even though the two of us got there a little late (almost 9PM) still had delicious meals with very courteous and polite service. Started with the Burrata and cheese platter — very creamy polenta and a nice selection of cheese. Then on to our main courses — and just could not decide on one of the pasta dishes. But what an excellent idea — a tasting platter of three: Cacio, Agnolotti and butternut squash Risotto. Enough of all three to enjoy them and fill me up. The Cacio was just a touch dry but still good. Partner enjoyed the cod — a nice portion and prepared well.
And while everyone raves about the duck fat rolls — they are rolls with a glaze of duck fat. I guess OK, but not to die for…
Nice décor, good menu and very helpful staff. Makes it worth walking the few extra blocks

What a fantastic dining experience at Vitae! My family visited NYC this past weekend and this was our first restaurant of the trip.
I had read great reviews on Unilocal and loved the modern décor of the restaurant, as well as the eclectic menu.
Our meal began with a sampling of a potato chip with a sour cream and chive sauce. It was a great presentation and had even better flavor! We ordered the duck fat rolls, fried oysters, veal meatballs and the pork steamed buns for appetizers. I do not have a bad review about any of these choices! My favorite were the pork buns. They had a spicy and tangy sauce that truly made them delicious.
For dinner, I selected the lamb loin. It came with a sweet potato purée and heirloom tomato reduction. The lamb was cooked perfectly and so tender. Two other members of our party chose the ground lamb pasta, while two others chose the duck confit. The lamb pasta was the favorite of all! It was truly delicious. Everyone greatly enjoyed their meals!
I definitely would give this restaurant 4.5 stars if I could. My only complaint is that they were out of a few bottles of wine we had requested with dinner. Other than that, this meal was simply amazing! It was a great start to our NYC trip.

Great depth of flavor and service is awesome. Came here with a colleague who had the pasta trio, you can pick 3 pastas to sample. I had the cod with lobster and squid ink pasta. So good. Started with the burrata and polenta and a side of the duck fat dinner rolls. Finally when we got the check, no dessert but they have us these little fruity palette cleansers in a mini coke bottle with little almond biscuit and a chocolate chip cookie. The small things count. Bill was $ 97. Would definitely go back.

Get yo *life*, Vitae!
Two points to those that get the Latin reference there.
Anywhoo. After Tommy Bahama was packed to the seams, came here with a work colleague to catch up. There aren’t tons of options in central midtown, but I remembered coming here for lunch and it was nice. It was busy here too for a Wednesday night, or maybe Wednesday is the unspoken «hang out with work peeps» night and I missed the memo.
The hostesses were pretty nice. Despite the fact that we didn’t have a reservation, they assured us that the two businessmen at the bar would be leaving soon and we could take their seats. 15 min later we were still waiting even though there was one empty chair and one chair full of coats from a group of girls who were waiting to be seated. Rather than ask the group if they would like their coats checked and giving us the seats, the hostess asked us to wait. Ten more minutes go by and we are seated. She apologized and we kept it moving.
From there things were splendid. Our bartender/​server had all the Cs: cute, courteous and chop-​chop service (totally just made that up but it works). He remembered my allergy from the one time I had come here months ago! We ordered sparkling rose, two appetizers, two entrées.
My dishes were great. Tuna crudo was cut very thin and the hijiki provided a nice contrast to the mellow flavors. I got the lamb sausage cavatelli which was creamy goodness with a hint of spice. My friend enjoyed her pulled pork tacos and agnolotti. We scarfed down those naughty duck fat rolls too.
And to top it off, they gave us the cutest lil coke-​bottle palate cleansers!
Yep, we *lived* at Vitae. Ok I’m done.

Really terrible service for most of the meal. I waited a ridiculous amount of time before we were given water, then another fifteen minutes before getting the menu, then waiting forever for every step of the meal from then on. The server was completely over her head. A Thursday night meal should not be that busy.
I would’ve been happier if the food was really good, but I was disappointed by the udon noodles I received. They were bland and the soup was thin. The pork slices were nicely seasoned but the rest of it flavorless. I asked for red pepper flakes to give it a little something, but on par with the service for the meal, those didn’t come for 20 minutes (I timed her), at which point my meal was cold and there was no salvaging it.
The décor was nice and the menu had cool stuff on it that sounded good, but they really need to work on execution of the food and better service. Definitely not worth even half the money (and the prices aren’t cheap!) and I’m probably never going back.

Vitae is a great spot for a business lunch in midtown. it is upscale without being stuffy though it can be quite crowded. we snagged a spot at the bar since we didnt have a reservation.
food it good though i found some of the flavors to be redundant throughout different dishes. i really enjoyed the tartare and crudo. also the warm rolls were nice. the king crab was only ok unfortunately.
one other minor issue we had was with service. even sitting at the bar right in front of the bartender we had a hard time getting water and my main course (crab) was completely forgotten. we had to ask about it and it was then rushed from the kitchen.

«Stuffed, satisfied and drunk is no way to go through life» momma once told me.
Just kidding. She always claimed the opposite: «It should be the only way. Live your life and surround yourself with great friends.»
Last night, my wife, my friends and I (total group of 7) dined at Vitae and were pleasantly surprised. We left drunk, bellies stuffed and satisfied.
The entire staff whom we encountered were all fantastic; front of the house, the bartenders, Molly and her manager Liz (Elizabeth) were friendly, courteous, polite and warm, while providing attentive service. A+
We chose the chef’s tasting option, which was a wise choice (please see my camera phone pictures). We were not sorry, except that it proved TOO MUCH food for us. I put my ego aside and waived the white flag. That homemade bread with duck fat? You had me at hello. That duck dish. Oh lord. Foodgasm in mah mouth. Some of the amuse bouche were «redonkulous»: rich bites of umami heaven. Too much to recollect now, but our chef’s tasting was topped off with decadent desserts.
Molly and Liz were our servers and they answered all of our questions and made sure the wine kept flowing… IN VINO VERITAS? Indeed. Let’s wine, dine, laugh and create new beautiful memories for the rest of our lives.
Thank you ladies for a great time. Molly, we can continue our debate on which Justin Bieber song is best suited for dancing. Also, if I miss you, good luck to you and your husband on your future endeavors. Something tells me Vitae will lose one of its MVP employees very soon. *groan*
Dearest «Lizzie» if you continue to sweet talk me (even with my wife right beside me) with your Korean vocabulary the next time I return, I will have no choice but to kidnap you and introduce you to my family. You have been warned.
I will come again with my wife for a date night. This restaurant is TOO GOOD to be overlooked.
Thank you Vitae for your hard work and perseverance. It has paid off and manifested itself in a beautiful symphony of great taste and service. Amen.

The décor here is outstanding. It was above and beyond what I was expecting. The bar seemed nice but it wasn’t stocked quite as well as I’m used to at other places of this caliber. We had a reservation at about 10:15 but didn’t get seated till about 11PM. They did offer us some seating earlier, but it wasn’t quite as nice as what they had originally allocated for, not a big deal at all. Time went by quickly at the bar and we were very happy with our corner of the restaurant seating.
The menu here is nice and it’s not overwhelming by any means. Overall the food left a bit to be desired, though the presentation was stunning. One of our friends was a vegetarian and they promised to make her something «special’, but she ultimately ended up getting a massive plate of warm vegetables (not even kidding when I say massive). That was a bit upsetting.
The service here was outstanding and our waiter was a pleasure to work with. I work a few blocks away from this place and would probably give them a second shot if it was convenient.

Absolutely nothing negative to say about this beautiful and delicious place!
We came here Valentine’s weekend and showed up thirty minutes before our reservation. We were accommodated and able to sit down basically right away.
Their menu was filled with variety for all preferred tastes and their drinks were all simple ingredients (nothing overwhelming) yet sounded so delicious!
We started with the steak tartar and a cucumber beverage and the house mule
Our main course included the cod, and the fettuccini pasta
Our dessert was the berry dessert which was absolutely delicious!!! We were so full, but it was a must!
Almost forgot! They serve this delicious bread in the beginning!
Save room!
The service was great
Ambiance was beautiful
Price was what you would pay for any good New York restaurant

Oh lord, this place and my server was so amazing it has brought me out of early retirement and back to Unilocal!
My server Jason was the most amazing person ever. He was so excited and energetic it made me excited to have him as a server.
Our food from beginning to end was awesome. We had a seat atop overlooking the rest of the downstairs dining room and it was a good vibe. It’s definitely a hidden gem in the area for sure!
We had the crispy pork belly and the octopus to start. Pork belly was amazing!
For dinner I had the Lamb it was perfectly cooked and seasoned!
The cocktails here are well done, definitely check one out!

This is such a gorgeous place; love! I met up with one of my friends here for lunch and they sat us on the edge of the second level, overlooking the restaurant. Service was fabulous and the food was amazing! Wonderful spot for lunch, date night, or celebratory meals.
Amuse Bouche: Sweet potato chip with Crème Fraîche, Bacon, and Scallion. What a tease. Although I regard most amuse bouche that way. Either way, very tasty and I could have had a few more chips.
They also butter you up with these amazing bread rolls baked in a mini cast iron pot with duck fat and topped with sea salt. Oh my. These rolls are so, so, soo yums. Yeah. Eat these.
Burrata ($ 16): Wild mushrooms, polenta, garlic chips, parmesan. The burrata itself was creamy and delicious, but I loved the combination with polenta. Although both are creamy, the polenta added a different texture. Plus, it was nice with the crispy garlic chips and mushrooms.
Tuna and Hamachi Crudo ($ 20): Hijiki seaweed, Holland chile, sea beans, and Sriracha vinaigrette. This was definitely one of the best crudo dishes I’ve had. Besides the fact that it’s really, really beautiful, I was blown away by the flavors. The fish were fantastic, too.
Maltagliati ($ 26): Lamb sausage, broccoli rabe, and roasted tomato. The maltagliati itself was all right, but I really enjoyed the dish. The broth was additionally lovely.
Risotto (Half order; $ 16): Butternut squash, kale, chorizo, and duck confit. Delicious risotto! I don’t typically enjoy risottos with an additional starch, but this was creamy and the other elements worked well to add some richness.

Muito bom restaurante, adorei tudo, desde o atendimento até a conta. Lugar agradável e cheio de gente bonita.