Bobby Van’s Steakhouse
“For our main course we had the porterhouse for two, mac and cheese, creamed spinach and a baked potato.”
“I ordered it Medium Rare, and each medallion (there were 3, decently sized ones) were perfectly cooked and juicy.”
“Can't remember the name exactly but it was fillet Mignon (medium well) topped with crab meat.”
Bobby Van’s Steakhouse
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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So we came here in celebration of Christmas and more so for our good performance. As a carnivore, entering into Bobby is more like stepping into a paradise with gems everywhere.
We had ordered a bunch of appetizers for sharing, but what I liked the most was for sure the petite filet cooked medium rare – so juicy and marinated perfectly well! The broccoli and mushroom sides were also delicious. My colleagues were also ordering lobster roll and lamb chops, which looked tasty as well.
Ambience was perfect and very good for business lunch. Well received.
I went here for lunch during restaurant week. Yes, it was quite some time back, but I just logged into my Open Table account and noticed I never wrote a review for Yelp…so here it goes. For whatever reason, when we showed up my reservation did not show up on their end, but I was eventually seated.
The server seemed bothered when we inquired about the restaurant week menu. I hate restaurants that participate in restaurant week, then proceed to show disgust when you want to participate. Anyhow, I had the ceasar salad to start which was not very good… I then had the steak and mashed potatoes, the steak was not much more than ok, but the mashed potatoes were good. I finished off the meal with their cheesecake which left a lot to be desired.
Overall, I will not return to this location. The food was not very good, the ambiance wasn't much better and the service surely left a lot to be desired. I expected a lot more because I previously ate at their downtown location, which faired a lot better.
People often make the mistake when dining out that paying a high price will mean better quality. At Bobby Van's Steakhouse expect to pay an exorbitant price for an above average steak. A dinner for two cost us $188 for 2 entrees, a side of sauteed mushrooms, 1 glass of merlot, coffee and dessert. We ordered the bone-in aged rib eye medium. It was cooked to my liking, but too much fat and not tender enough. The Lamb Chops were a good choice. You get 5 chops for $55 with a side of Rosemary-mint jelly. If you are looking to spend $95 person, there are definitely much better steakhouses in this metropolis.
Note this review is for their Restaurant Week Summer 2015 only. Also note that their 45th and Park Avenue location was not participating in Restaurant Week, but this location is only a short walk from 45th street.
It seems a little small in the front, but don't underestimate – it's huge! It's nicely decorated, has all the picturesque large bottles of wine, paintings, and dim lights you would imagine at any good steakhouse in Midtown. Highly recommend making a reservation, as it did get a little full during lunch. Very friendly to big parties, especially in modifying our reservation – they honored it, even the day before.
The waiter was super friendly, but for some reason, we had to ask for restaurant week menu's. I hadn't had to do that at any of the restaurants I went to for Winter 2015 Restaurant Week. Obviously, not that I mind, but like many of the other reviewers, I still found that strange. Nonetheless, it didn't make the food less tasty.
Start off with bread – lots of bread and lots of butter! I started off with the caesar salad (tossed lightly in dressing, really great croutons, but nothing too special). Then, went on to the medallions of the filet (v. the $10 upcharge if you got the whole filet), however I felt like the medallions, if put together, would make up an entire filet. I'm actually kind of glad they were medallions… it made it much easier for me to cut and enjoy! It was absolutely delicious, like meat's never been my favorite food, but if I had to eat filet for the rest of my life, I don't think I would mind. The mashed potatoes were also a delight, super creamy, no chunks, do they put it through a strainer or something? Mmm!
And to finish off… their brownie with vanilla bean ice cream. Pretty simple, but a good way to finish off the meal. I would definitely recommend coming here, not just for restaurant week! The burgers also seem to be a big hit here, maybe that's something I'll have to try next time!
Wonderful place for a fancy dinner. I came with a Groupon deal – $115 for a prix fixe dinner for two. It included a bottle of wine, appetizers, entrees, two side dishes, and dessert. Great deal, and it gave me a chance to pretend to be much fancier than I really am.
Appetizers we got were avocado-crusted tuna tartare (me) and french onion soup (boyfriend). The tuna was incredible – generous portion for an appetizer, with an interesting tangy sauce that I wasn't super keen on at first but actually really grew on me. The soup was smoky, but pretty good as well. We both got the filet mignon for our entree. One thing that was a little frustrating was that I ordered medium rare, and then the waiter advised me to go for medium, saying that the medium rare would be "too bloody" for me. So I switched to medium and I really would have liked it a little rarer. So if your waiter tries to push you away from a rare meat, don't do it! Boyfriend got the medium rare, and it was exactly what you expect…not what I'd call bloody at all. So don't let them scare you off!
Side dishes were mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. The potatoes were awesome – very buttery and smoothly whipped. Spinach was a little underwhelming, at least in my opinion. Something was just a little off about it…can't put my finger on it, but it was a little bland. So maybe go for something else.
Finally, dessert. I got cheesecake. Delicious. Boyfriend got a brownie, which he enjoyed until he realized it had walnuts in it (allergies…). There were no nut warnings on the menu (management – maybe you'd want to address that?). Luckily, he only had a few bites so he was fine. But it made for a slightly off end to the meal.
Despite brownie snafus, I had a great time, ate like a king, and felt like I got a great deal out of the Groupon. I'm not sure if I would come here for a full-price meal (hey, I'm not as rich as I'd like to pretend), but if I could afford it, I'd certainly consider coming back.
We went here for dinner during a recent business trip to NYC and decided to have dinner at Bobby Van's. My coworkers were teasing me for ordering the chicken parmesan for my entree…until it came out and they had food envy. Lucky for them the portion was enormous so two of my coworkers helped me finish it. Everything about the meal was first rate – the soup, salads, sides, entrees and the complimentary dessert platter the staff offered to our table – nice touch!
I am never a fan of rustic, old school style steakhouses but this establishment is an exception. Pedestrian escargot paired w. an excellent crab cake was a pleasant surprise. Tomahawk ribeye is a must as it was perfectly cooked and some of the best I've had. Subpar sauteed spinach & roast corn along w. a very simple but really good mash potato could not outshine the excellent steak. Service was slow at first but redeemed quickly. Can't wait to go back!!!
I came here with a dear friend of mine for restaurant week. I had no issues making a reservation on OpenTable the week before. Upon entrance, we were greeted by the lovely young hostess who offered to check in our coats (we politely declined) and were seated immediately. This restaurant definitely has an old world charm and quite fancy as well. Pretty much all the patrons were suited up, or at least wearing a nice sweater or a button-down shirt. Thank goodness I looked up the attire on Yelp before coming in.
Interestingly we were only served the restaurant week menu when we were seated. That's cool because that is the reason why we were there but should that really be assumed? I haven't done restaurant week a whole lot, but when I did I always remembered being handed both the restaurant week menu AND the regular menu… especially since sometimes people like to order additional items that is not on the restaurant week menu. I did not get the sense the waiter was trying to be rude or judgmental or anything like that because he was anything but. We were served cold water as requested and a nice little basket of complimentary bread paired with soft butter.
I ordered the beef carpaccio as a starter, the skirt steak with chipotle mashed potatoes for the entree, and the New York cheesecake for dessert. The beef carpaccio really lacked flavoring as a whole – all I did taste was the olive oil. I think it could've used some sort of an acidic element. The skirt steak was cooked nicely and was very tender. It was packed with bold flavors (almost like teriyaki) but in this case, I felt like it was a touch more than I would have liked. Perhaps a lot of sugar was used to act as a meat tenderizer since skirt steaks are generally more tough. At first taste, the chipotle mashed potatoes packed quite the punch. I did not expect it to be that spicy but I love spice, so that's fine. After a few bites, it wasn't noticeable anymore. I've never had anything like it so I do appreciate its uniqueness. It's kind of strange how the steak and the potatoes were paired together since both have such strong flavors. Either way, I thought each individually were pretty good, although I've definitely had way better. The New York cheesecake was unremarkable. It was just alright, I did not have more than a few bites and trust me, I hate wasting food – even when I'm full.
I thought the service was very good and I like how we were not rushed to leave even after we finished our meals so it's a great place to catch up with friends.
Honestly, it's really hard to rate a restaurant based off from a restaurant week experience because of so many factors. Sometimes, foods from the restaurant week menus aren't even on the usual everyday menu. Plus there is limited selection, so perhaps their best known item is not even on the menu (additional supplement or not) because it is much pricier. Overall, I thought the food here is okay based off from what I was able to try from restaurant week but unfortunately not memorable enough for me to want to come back. 2.5 stars for the food and an additional half star for the service.