Park Avenue Tavern
“We were looking for a place for dinner near grand central, that wouldn't break the bank, and we found this lace on a Yelp search.”
“We got a wide variety of items from salads, to crab cakes, to fish, to turkey sandwich and more.”
“for all you single ladies, this is the place to be after work if you like men in suits.”
Park Avenue Tavern
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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For a long time, I've felt a tad intimidated to try out the PAT, despite walking past it multiple times, because of the stream of stylish, cork-heeled sticks stomping their way in past the burly bouncer. I like my places a little more on the low-maintenance side, with the exception of Shopsin's (where the proprietor will scream at you if you don't follow the house rules). But you can't beat PAT if you're in the Grand Central area and in need of a reasonably-priced, more than decent meal.
Just know that Thursday nights get ridiculously loud, even with the windows flung wide open. I can't imagine how much of a steel drum of volume this place turns into at the height of winter with everything buttoned closed. And I would make a reservation for anything later than 6.
Our waitress was awesome, letting me know discretely that the rind on the cheese is indeed edible. Her cat-eyed liner was also very enviable (if I wasn't such a weirdo, I would have asked her how she managed that perfect upwards flick, as I'm too much of a chicken to stick with anything except for an eye pencil, but I'm sure I would have botched that line of questioning).
4 drinks, 1 cheese platter, 1 veggie side, and 1 appetizer rounded out to about $45 per person. Still kind of pricey, but I've grown exhausted parroting that of anything north of Houston Street. At this point, "pricey" should just be in every restaurant review of mine.
The cheese platter could have used more of that delicious fruit-y chunk of jam – my favorite parts were the dried, slightly spicy dried raisins and apricots. Definitely ate a healthy portion of the brie. Tuna tartare was good; sautéed kale was … I think I'm getting sick of kale.
If you get one drink here, I highly recommend the strawberry prosecco. A regular glass of prosecco is $9 but for $3 more, you get practically a goblet of delicious, refreshing strawberry-infused bubbles. Do I hate myself a little bit now that I've used "bubbles" unironically in a sentence? Yes. But it's worth it.
NEXT TIME: Tavern burger, mac n cheese, spinach and artichoke dip
Food was good. Im writing this review a month after I actually dined, however I remember it was like the only kitchen that was open it was like 2am. I do remember we also ordered 2 drinks and sent them back because one was a titos, club soda, with a splash of cran. It tasted like there was absolutely no alcohol in it. The other was a Makers Mule, it also tasted like absolutely no alchol was in there. I by no mean like strong drinks, I like well balanced drinks. One thing I won't do is pay $18 for a club soda nor will I for ginger beer. The server did ask if we wanted different drinks I kindly declined as I couldn't go wrong with water. If it wasn't for that it would have been a 5 star. Kitchen is open late and food was delicious.
High End Tavern With Unique Cocktails and Great Food
I came here after work with a few friends to get some drinks and dinner and it sure did impress. When you walk into this high end tavern you will notice the large wood bar in the center and tables around it with a room in the back. There is also seating downstairs where you can get your own personal tap to continue to pour beer without having to wait which is awesome.
We got drinks at the bar while waiting for our table which were espresso Manhattans which came with an espresso ice cube. We got seating in the back room and when you open you will notice an awesome menu with appetizers you can't get enough of. We got the buffalo chicken dip and the mussels to start. The dip was the perfect amount of spicy and creamy with a great pita chip. The mussels were cooked with the most tasty sauce that we dipped the bread into.
For the main course we got the roasted chicken and the cowboy chop which were incredible. The chicken was drenched in an unbelievable tequila jalapeno sauce that made your mouth water. The steak has cooked perfectly rare as requested and was delicious.
in short:
– Great Food
– Great Service
Came in for drinks the other day and really liked the ambiance. They have this traditional classy bar feel to it.
They have some tables but you have to order food in order to sit at a table. Since I came in after dinner, we just sat at a bar.
Very nice beer and whiskey selections. Come enjoy variety of craft beer served here.
Conveniently located within a walking distance from the Grand Central station, nice place to come by for a drink or two. I see so many good reviews on food here, i would like to try their food at my next visit
Good spot in an area of town in need of one just like it. Great selection of beers on tap to get you started and excellent appetizers to choose from. The sesame tuna tartare is a standout but the lamb lollipops are not to be missed. Follow that up with the flavorful Park Burger with the chef's sauce, closest thing to a gourmet Big Mac going.
Went here for the first time on a Sunday afternoon and had a fantastic meal. First off the place itself is very charming. Huge bar in the middle with tables on the outside. A bunch of TVs by the bar, but wouldn't say they are a focus. There seems to be a party room or something similar in the back – but didn't check it out. Lots of light from the windows surrounding dining area. Bar seemed well stocked.
Menu is large and relatively varied. A lot of small plate offerings, salad, sandwiches, burgers and entrees. Drink menu is extensive as well. Also – half off bottles of wine on Sunday, so we were sure to take advantage of that!
As for food, I got the Caesar salad and the mussels, while my girlfriend had the tavern burger. The salad was very good, and a little different from a standard one. This one included bacon and capers which was a unique twist. As I said I really liked it. One issue I found was that towards the end, the capers all fall to the bottom of the plate because they are so small, this makes it so the last bit of salad is a little overpowered by capers (not that capers are particularly overpowering), but nevertheless a really good salad. The mussels were phenomenal. Mussels are found at similar restaurants all over New York, however their execution is typically lacking. These are not. The sauce is a curry based one, with a generous portion of chorizo as well. I couldn't stop dipping the bread they give you into the broth to get the last of it. Great dish. I also tried the burger. I don't like Gorgonzola, so I found it to be a little too much cheese, however the burger itself was very good, and they have plenty of burgers without Gorgonzola which I would be sure to try. If you do like Gorgonzola – this burger is for you.
All in all this is a great place. There are a lot of 'similar' restaurants to this in the area, and throughout Manhattan, however a lot of these 'similar' restaurants are overpriced and not very good. This place is an exception, and you'd be remiss to go somewhere else over here. Prices are decent too, with the meal above and a bottle of wine (half off) $40/person.
Can't wait to go back.
Park Ave was goin up on a Tuesday, so it took a stroke of good luck to get our party of two seated at around 7. I really liked the layout- there's definitely room enough for groups of people to hang out around the bar and for diners to enjoy meals away from them too. We briefly checked out the downstairs area too and that would have been fun to be in if it weren't at capacity already.
We decided to share a few small plates, ending up with:
– Mac and cheese, which was baked, crusty, and delicious; I'm a big fan of using corkscrew pasta
– Crabcake (1), which was huge and definitely enough to split; intense crab flavor was a plus but I would have liked a little more crunch/crispiness to add to the texture
– Chef's special flatbread, which had steak and spinach; it was just okay but I did enjoy the burnt edges
I also got an Okie Doke (whisky/ginger beer/honey/lemon), which was fantastic and probably the best part of the meal.
If I worked in Midtown I could see myself going to Park Ave Tavern more often after work to meet up with people, but for now I'm good with having tried it once. There's too much out there to try before coming back!
Classy and cozy enviroment and very welcoming service. They have also delicious wine. I got there turkey sandwich once and unfortunatelly it was not very good. On the other hand the caesar salad was fine.