Glass House Tavern
“Being that restaurants in the theater district can be hit or miss, I would say this is definitely one of the better options.”
“Popped in here last minute before a show and was pleasantly surprised, especially since we normally avoid restaurants near Times Square.”
“The cast of characters (including an opera singer) who got up to sing a tune with her was just as entertaining as a Broadway show!”
Glass House Tavern
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
TL; DR – Perhaps there are gems on the full menu. But how often are they prepared properly, as to be gems, when what I experienced showed a serious lack of quality control in chef's kitchen? If I'm spending $110 for four drinks and two appetizers, everything needs to be on-point every time I visit; from server etiquette and finesse, to space, to ambiance, to execution of every beverage and dish…and I should never feel that I'm receiving less than my fellow diners.
Full review:
I'm torn. So much potential for this to actually be an on-point, classy-though-accessible pre-show dining option. It is certainly an acceptable option for pre-show drinks (all four craft cocktails we ordered were either good or excellent). And the ambiance is built to easily be lovely. But the finesse needed to nail all these options just wasn't there last night, and has given me serious pause as to whether I want to give it another chance.
Comfortable bar seating. Lovely – and acoustically pleasing – space design. Though the bartender didn't really greet or welcome us, even while cleaning the area to start our service.
It took him about ten minutes to make two drinks (and he was only making ours). Worst of all, he would slam the shakers down on the bar, hard enough to shake it and us, loud jarring noise to boot (very LES dive bar style).
Then the manager set up a three-top directly behind us, in the only walking space there was….which led to us being unnecessarily cramped and frequently bumped…
Then we spotted a hostess dressed more casually than the same at Virgil's, which changed the tone of the place….
Still, a 3-star rating, until it came to the food.
The gentlemen next to us were watching their watches, making comment on how long their order was taking. When it came out, the tortellini in broth looked less than impressive (same as most other dishes we'd been eyeing at the bar), though the mussels and sesame-crusted tuna both looked quite good. The tuna looked especially tempting, since it was a perfect rare cook, and 7-8 generous pieces, with the end pieces not included on the plate.
We ordered one tuna for each of us. My friend received five pieces, but with a proper cook. I received four pieces, the two center of which were overcooked, and two end pieces to boot, all with burnt sesame coating. Clearly, no consistency in portion size, fillet weight, or quality, evident by three identical dishes served quite differently (two of which were for the same dining party!). This was even more off-putting considering the price tag, which is greater than the area high-end sushi restaurants my friend and I have enjoyed (I paid over $4 per piece of overcooked tuna with burnt seasoning; maddening).
Might pop in with this same friend, if he brings it up. At this point, not likely to try again on my own accord, or to recommend to any other of my theater friends.
A casual 4 stars, but I'll give it to them.
Food: I was there with one other person. Both of us ordered from the pre fix menu. Orders included the quinoa salad and the shrimp & mango salad to start, followed by two turkey burgers with sriracha slaw and fries and to finish, pineapple bread pudding. All for $25 per person. Everything was very good and also a great value play.
Service: polite. We didn't really test our server, but no complaints.
Atmosphere: casual, clean, not a whole lot of natural light, but no problem with the lighting, comfortable.
It's a fiver. Hands down. Terrific environment, great conversations(at the bar!), and a very NYC place to be. It's classy and chic and the food was wonderful! I had a Grilled cheese w/ bacon and tomato and husband had Seared Tuna and calamari. Foodies! This is right up your alley when in the city. Freddie was our bartender and he was great!
Very nice restaurant, sensitive to time and excellent service.
On a trip to see Lea Mis we needed a place to eat. The original place I called the day before said that no reservation would be necessary. So I didn't make one, when we arrived they could not seat us, undeterred we walked next door and had a great experience.
We were seated in the upstairs by the window, which is quieter than the ground floor with the bar. We were greeted quickly by a smiling waitress who took our drink order and the. Asked if we were going to the theater tonight, when we said that we were she said she'd make sure everything came quickly.
I had roast duck, my wife had a fish dish & my mother got pasta. Everything was delicious. Cooked very well flavor in every bite. Everything tastes and felt upscale. The food was certainly a quality, not quantity approach, but no one felt cheated wen the plates were empty.
The manager came over and said he felt like it took too long to get food to our table and he'd like to offer us desserts on the house. No one had complained or said anything, I honestly didn't even think it was that long, but I appreciate sentiment. I had strawberry shortcake with lemon creme, my wife got the bread pudding, and my mother got apple crisp. I liked mine best, but it was all pretty great.
Fun night and a great send off to the theater for $100 bucks plus tip. Worth stopping in if you're in the theater district.
Love this place for drinks and appetizers. The risotto balls are a must try! Energetic and fun atmosphere without being so loud you can't hear your friends. Service is friendly and attentive.
I made last-minute pre-show reservations here based on the decent-ish reviews on Yelp, and boy, what a disaster. I inadvertently gave my mom, who was visiting, a true New York experience — "getting screwed by an overpriced crappy restaurant in Times Square."
We had an hour and 45 minutes to eat, and the waitress asked when we sat down if we were on our way to a show. You would think this would mean some urgency in taking the order, serving the food, bringing the check, etc. — but no. In fact if anything it seemed to make everything move in slow motion. We did not get ANY food for over an hour, and after complaining to the manager, absolutely no effort was made to speed up the process (or at leas try to appease us with drinks or something.)
Speaking of drinks. We ordered 2 bottles of champagne at the beginning of the meal — clearly we were there to celebrate! Why, then, were we never given another opportunity to order more booze? Now we were sober, and hangry.
Adding insult to injury, once the food came out, it was a colossal disappointment. The veggies were undercooked and unseasoned. The steak was lukewarm, like it had been sitting under a burner for hours. Everything was "meh" or worse, and we paid $60/person for the privilege of nearly missing our show. Avoid this place at all costs!
Conveniently located in the theatre district. Glass house tavern has an open friendly ambiance and is not too noisy which is a nice feature for a Manhattan restaurant. We were there for restaurant week so had the $25 three course brunch which was for the most part delightful. The salmon with corn risotto was amazing and the burger that I had with my meal was wonderful and really affordably priced at $12.95. I thought that the pineapple bread pudding which a lot of people raved about left a lot to be desired though. Our waiter was pleasant and attentive. There were a couple misses like luke warm coffee and bread that was supposed to be warm but wasn't and the lady at the table next to us sent her bloody mary back three times for some reason or another. All in all a great place to go if you are in Times Square and don't want to get lured into one of the tourist trap restaurants there.
We stumbled upon this place when looking for something that would be open on New Years Day. If I had seen the three $ signs on Yelp, I probably wouldn't have chosen it but it turned out to be more affordable than I thought. We mostly stuck to appetizers but we weren't super hungry so that was just right for us. The boyfriend and I shared an Egg Nog cocktail which was amazing ($13 – not bad). The bar menu has some cheaper options for those looking to save a bit more money.
Surprisingly, the place wasn't crowded and we got seated immediately. The server was prompt and friendly. I had the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, which I misread on the menu so was expecting it there to be more than one, haha. It came with some zoodles (zucchini noodles) on the side. I thought I'd end up being hungry later but it was pretty filling! They also serve some nice assorted breads for the table. Overall, it's a good place if you're in the area and looking to have a quiet dinner/appetizer/drink!