The Round Table
“Once the meeting spot for the famous and acidic wits of Dorothy Parker, Edna Ferber, Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Benchely, Groucho Marx, and others, it seems to be calmer these days.”
“I am no "literary geek" (although my GF is, hence the reason for the visit), but I found the atmosphere in the place nice and relaxing.”
The Round Table
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
3 reviews
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I love the Algonquin and everything about it including this restaurant. This restaurant was a meeting site for famous literary elite to discuss their works. It is furnished beautifully and in a classic style but is right next to the very cool and chic Blue Bar across the hall. One of the things that I love about the Algonquin and the Round Table is the hope of getting a site of Matilda – the resident cat. As an animal lover, I love that this hotel has a cat as a mascot. Matilda and her predecessor Matildas is as old as the hotel itself! The signature drink the Matilda was quite nice and the service was impeccable as usual. Bravo Algonquin. Y
I am a literary geek. I mean it. I don't feel right if I don't have a book on me and I am usually reading at least three. So this place, along with the Hotel Chelsea, represents heaven for me.
Once the meeting spot for the famous and acidic wits of Dorothy Parker, Edna Ferber, Tallulah Bankhead, Robert Benchely, Groucho Marx, and others, it seems to be calmer these days. However, even just sitting, drinking coffee like I did (it was only 11 when I got there and just couldn't order a drink) you can almost feel the literary history and importance of the place. I felt wittier just sitting there. It was amazing.
This restaurant, located in the rear of the lobby of the Algonquin hotel near Times Square is best known as the location where a group of elite intellectuals started meeting at a round table for lunch on a regular basis (circa 1920). Dorothy Parker, Harold Ross, (editor of The New Yorker), the playwright Noël Coward, Harpo Marx and many others would meet. They were known for their cutting, sometimes vicious wit. If these names mean anything to you, and you want to glimpse a bit of a historic site, you might consider eating here, or at least sitting in the crowded lobby and having an overpriced cocktail. Keep in mind that while the round table is still there, the lobby has been extensively renovated and the restaurant bears little resemblance to the way it was in its heyday. The food also is overpriced, and uninspired, so I suggest you that if you're curious, you look in, but dine elsewhere. Being a New Yorker myself, I've never had breakfast here, so it may warrant a better review than the restaurant at dinner time. Unfortunately, the Oak Room, a former cabaret/ restaurant off to the side of the lobby, has been converted to Blue Bar–which is lit in neon blue–and whose light seeps into the lobby, ruins any historic charm the place has..