Empire Steak House
“If I understood the history of Empire Steak House correctly, some of the people who opened this establishment can be traced back to Peter Luger.”
“My glass of Merlot, a California blend, was perfectly matched to the filet mignon which was cooked to perfection.”
“I had Caesar salad for the starters, boneless ribeye for entree and chocolate mousse cake for dessert!”
Empire Steak House
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Came here with a friend for restaurant week and we had a good time.
She was running late so I waited at he bar for her and had a glass of wine. I must say it was the most expensive glass of wine I've ever purchased, $14. I was at bit surprised for a glass of Resiling. However, it was an important lesson on how to order wine for dinner.
So we ordered appetizers, the thick bacon and the calamari. For the entrees we both got steak. There were many to choose from. I forget which cut I got but it was delicious. They were served with mashed potatoes. We ordered a bottle of white wine from the restaurant menu for $40, much better deal than buying it by the glass. For dessert I got the cheesecake which was also pretty good. By the end I was stuffed and happy.
The ambiance of this place is very romantic and more on the fancy end. Someone you come on a date or special occasion. Not your regular night out as it is pricey.
I came here for the final day of Restaurant Week winter 2016. The experience was just OK. Food was extra salty. A bit slow in service but our waiter was kind. We were seated right away after we announced our reservation. Front door area is tiny and can get crowded easily but as you walk in, it's a bigger restaurant than it looks. We sat at a comfortable side table and thank goodness we did because it was chaos in the aisles with wait staff going back and forth.
Oysters – were okay at first but left a fishy after taste. Not as fresh as I hoped. Looked like it had good potential though.
Mixed green salad – not bad but heavily doused in dressing
Lamb chops – salty. Asked for medium well but came out to medium rare and medium
Carrot cake – nice, hearty thick piece of cake. It looks like a scoop of vanilla ice cream but it's really whipped cream. It was good though.
Tiramisu – decent but heavily drenched on the bottom
Chocolate mousse cake – nice texture. Love the crumb layer on the bottom.
Overall, it was just okay. Disappointed that the lamb didn't come out the temperature I was hoping for and the extra saltiness made it hard to eat.
Another great choice for steak in Manhattan. I've avoided this place as it adjoins Hilton Garden Inn and several really good steak houses in easy walking distance. Bar menu offers 8-ounce filet with 2 sides for $26, deal in the city maybe. I opted for the 16 ounce which was as good as you can get, served perfectly as ordered, sides excellent. Sautéed mushrooms above average. Like so many NYC steak houses, Empire has their own proprietary bottled steak sauce and so sugary it's not for my steak. Hard to beat Smith & Wollenski's or Peter Luger's steak sauces. You won't find Empire steak sauce at Kroger anytime soon. All-in-all Empire is excellent product at city prices, great service and presentation. I'd eat here again especially in nice weather with the open bar and tables open to 54th Street.
I give this place a solid 3.5, but thanks to the Yelp system it rounds up to 4 stars!
It would be good to preface by saying, this isn't Peter Luger. But in terms of a holistic experience relative to the great lunch prices, I still recommend this place for any of my fellow meatheads who simply enjoy a decent cut of steak.
I've been to the original location, so I was eager to give the new branch a try. Restaurant Week was a good opportunity to do so, so I checked out their well-priced $25 three-course meal option. Despite the low price point, the menu offering was pretty solid. I tried the canadian bacon – and it was well-prepared and not different to what you'd get say at Wolfgang's or PL.
The sirloin was rather tasty. As expected it wasn't huge, but it was still decent enough to be satisfying. The cut of meat wasn't amazing in terms of quality compared to the top-notch joints, but it was still good enough and well worth the price. The chocolate mousse dessert was actually quite tasty and the heavy whipped cream was a great compliment.
I also got to try the caesar salad, which was tasty as well.
The service here was decent and the place was packed, no doubt helped by the great price point offered during Restaurant Week. However, based on my overall experience I'd definitely come back since they also have a great $30 three-course option outside of RW during lunchtime.
In short, I was happy with my experience. Just make sure you don't walk in here expecting Peter Luger.
I was celebrating my birthday in the city and had walked all over town in the rain. I couldn't get what I really wanted to eat because it had gotten too late so I decided to try Empire since my hotel was right upstairs. The food was OK although I did get quite sick about 4 AM. I'm not blaming it on them , but it was all I had eaten that day. In any event I found the service extremely rude. The man who seated me was not welcoming then he seated me all the way in the back of the restaurant. Literally all the way in the back. Then once my food was delivered I was left unattended for 30 minutes at least. No exaggeration. Then the waiter says well why didn't you tell someone instead of being apologetic about it. I spent a nice chunk of money because it was my birthday but I never plan to return because of the shoddy service. They didn't offer to comp part of my bill and I didn't ask because I was tired and disgusted. Such a huge disappointment.
Came here for restaurant week but just can't bring myself to go back to try their regular menu.
Decor: About a half a star went here. It's warm, VERY cozy, but kind of looks like a mess. There are huge bottles between the booths that look like they could fall at any moment.
Service: I must have gotten bumped by waiters rushing at least 7-8 times. And no joke, they took away my salad plate as I was still eating it. Like my fork had lettuce on it and I was chewing. They were rushing to serve us the steak round. And the waiter forgot about one of our side of creamed spinach.
Price: SO OVERPRICED for what you get.
Food: I do not know what came out on my plate with my filet? I think it was a chunk of fat that they thought I might want to eat? They served it with steamed broccoli and some mashed potatoes. Didn't mind the sides, just felt a little HS steak plate to me with your well balanced meal. Actually the little sized are the reason for the second star half.
Special Notes: Nothing here.
We were here for New Year's Eve dinner and while the food was decent, the ambiance was really off as was the service. They hired tribute singers that blasted music right next to our table, making the entire meal uncomfortable and difficult to have a conversation. They desperately need to figure out a different set up. Also, the staff here had to be flagged down for every little thing. On the plus side, they were not sticklers about the reservation time and were able to accommodate us despite the delay caused by the barricades.
I visited Empire during restaurant week, February 2016, and they did not disappoint! The place looked real upscale and the lighting made the place real intimate. The service was great from the time we walked in until we left. Our waiter was on point, attentive, and answered any questions we had. So we obviously did the prefix menu – I'm a non-pork eater so I couldn't order the Bacon appetizer, just a salad for me! – But for my entrée I had the T Bone steak and it was cooked perfectly, great seasoning, good char, I was in heaven! I was even sad when my food was gone but it was extremely memorable. For dessert we had the cheesecake which was pretty good too.
Overall we had a great time, the food was fantastic and the atmosphere was on point. Only downside was that there's no bathroom inside the restaurant, you have to walk out into the hotel next door to use the facilities and hopefully it's available because it's a single stall or you'll have to go to the other one in the basement. Either way I would definitely come back, it's a great date night spot.