The Pavilion
“They have outdoor seating (perfect) and the inside seating is semi-outdoor as well.”
“Oysters were great (though you only have two choices – East Coast or West Coast at $3 each) and the cocktails are AMAZING.”
“Luckily the complimentary bread was delicious too, so we used some of that to enjoy the rest of the hummus.”
The Pavilion
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Came here with friends because it was noted to be dog-friendly. It certainly was, and the food was pretty great, but then I saw a garden mouse climb the facade of The Pavilion and suddenly my stomach sank. I'm keeping it at 4 stars, because I feel like you can't expect to sit outside and not see something unseemly.
With all the organic market in union square, fresh air after a raining afternoon, a few bubbles with garden-ish decor… it can't get more summer and romantic than that.
But the drinks and food are meh. What a coincident those are the most important things to a restaurant / cafe.
Came here for some lunch dessert, ( yes I had dessert after lunch, no I'm not ashamed, yes it was a good choice…) and ordered the s'mores and it was fantastic! It's like s'mores for a'dults! One thing though is that it was so sweet not sure I would do it again. The gram cracker to chocolate marshmallow ratio was way underdone and off balanced, but damn it was still good! I would recommend doing this because it's super cute, the location is beautiful, and I absolutely love the outdoors people watching of this place! Location is perfect for a beautiful day and it's a perfect date spot, the only thing I have to say is that while the dessert was super interesting, it was underwhelming by the end. There needed to be more crackers for dipping
Did y'all know that there is a restaurant in that building on the north side of Union Square? Psssh I've walked through this area dozens of times and I swear I just noticed it today. Actually I probably would have continued to not notice it had a friend not said "I made reservations for lunch at The Pavilion!" The what?
The Pavilion, my friends, is a absolutely lovely open aired seasonal* restaurant that allows you to forget for just a moment (or an hour for lunch) that you aren't even in the middle of Manhattan anymore.
Lunch was great. First up was [non-alcoholic] Pink Mint Lemonade ($7). Not only was this drink super pretty in pink but so refreshing. A little more lemonade than mint – but still really nice. Next came the main meal – the Organic Chicken Sandwich ($13.95) an open faced sandwich with a heaping pile of seasoned shredded chicken, white onion strips, melted Gouda and avocado slices. Oh my. Between the chewy bread soaking up all the juicy goodness from the chicken and the freshness of the avocado and the melted cheese – this sandwich was just so good! I could have so easily have eaten another one. It should also be noted that sandwiches come w/ fries or a salad. The fries are also very good – golden and seasoned nicely. But the sandwich remains the winner here.
Ambiance is also pretty awesome here. The decor is beauuuutiful and made me feel like I was dining alfresco in Europe. The beautiful rattan chairs. Cloth napkins. That huge bauble chandelier. Loved it.
The one thing I did not love so much – the price tag. $13.95 isn't outrageous for a sandwich, I know. Butttt I did wish it was a little bigger. Lets be real here – an open faced sandwich is kind of half a sandwich. For the $$ I would have loved a full sandwich. And $7 for a lemonade? Yeah that could have been a couple dollars cheaper. Minus one star for that.
I started working in the Union Square area a few months ago and was looking forward to dining at The Pavilion when the weather warmed up. I quickly learned that the amazing atmosphere is the only thing this restaurant has going for it. Despite all of the negative reviews on Yelp, I still wanted to give it a try.
I was shocked at the terrible service, which overshadowed everything about the meal. My concern was peaked when the waiter took our order without writing anything down. After that, everything went quickly downhill. First, our water glasses were never refilled. Despite there being just two of us, our food was brought out at different times. We had to ask to order after sitting there for 30 minutes. I ordered the head of roasted cauliflower without the tahini sauce, and it came literally in a pool of tahini. Since we had already been there for 45-50 minutes at this point, I didn't ask to have this rectified because I didn't have another hour to wait. My dining partner ordered the avocado toast with a side of fries and never received the fries. Even when we brought this to their attention, they said they would bring out on order of fries but never did. Finally, after twenty minutes trying to flag down our waiter to no avail, we asked another waiter for our check and reminding him about the fries. After receiving our check, the table next to ours received the French fries that we were supposed to receive.
I had to leave my dining companion with the check because by this point we had been at the restaurant for two hours and I needed to get back to work. This was by far the worst dining experience I've ever had a restaurant and cannot speak more poorly of this restaurant. Very disappointing.
Food: Awesome
Service: Not
Seating Options: Awesome
On the first over 85 degree day, I decided to search for a place that offered outdoor seating. The Pavilion has indoor/outdoor options including shaded or non-shaded areas. Located right in Union Square, its perfect for a beautiful day. TIP: It's across the street from Barnes and Noble – I obviously had a difficult time finding it because the back of it is a playground with what looks like boarded up building.
I sat down with a friend, it took 10 minutes for the waiter to come over and I get that it was really toasty outside but he was clearly not digging the weather. We ordered, another 20 minutes to get our food [which our waiter didn't bring out]. I'll describe food in a bit.. After food, our waiter was no where to be found which was frustrating because it's not like I had all day to sit and bake in the sun. People work. Finally find him and getting the check to us was way too long especially for the computer to be right behind us. Oh also, prepare to die because they only gave us water once and it was 92 degrees outside.
Food.
We got the whole roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce, it was delicious and I recommend it. Zucchini noodles in a pesto sauce – nom. The organic chicken sandwich with grilled onions and gouda – tasty.
I would definitely recommend this place for the food, and it's probably 4-5 stars if you have more patience or time to waste.
I had yet to try The Pavillion so was so pumped when NYC finally warmed up and I was able to go for drinks and apps. My friend got a table for 2 around 615. We each had 2x glasses of wine and split the quinoa salad and a hummus plate. The ambiance is really nice but the prices are not. I guess this could be expected but we each spent nearly $70 and were sharing everything. Probably should have just got a bottle of wine instead of glasses – but still, very $$$. Our waiter was very attentive though and the service was speedy, too. Just be prepared to spend some money – you're paying for the scene.
I walk past this place almost daily, since I work a block off Union Square. it's one of those places I know is there and would never think to go to. Eating "in the park" seems touristy to me. But we had a work lunch scheduled there, so I was obliged to attend.
The venue is beautiful. A little oasis in the middle of the circus that is Union Square (love it!). We were there at 11:30, so before the lunch rush. Service was acceptable. The menu has lots of deliciously worded options. The plates come and it all looks good. Ultimately, though, the food fell flat for me, and sound like the same held true for my colleagues. I had the chicken sandwich, which is served open faced and looked delicious, but lacked flavor. Overall, while a good meal, the food lacked "the love" to make it special. The one exception is the rosemary French fries, which were delicious.