Harry’s Cafe & Steak
“The best brunch I have managed to have so far in NYC, and it's in the financial district!”
“The crispy cornflake and coconut french toast (which I was anticipating thanks to prior research) lived up to it's name.”
“It's in FiDi, so it is a classy restaurant on a quiet enough street, and it's discrete so not bustling or noisy.”
Harry’s Cafe & Steak
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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One of the best boozy brunches I've had. And I booze a lot. Such a good price, delicious filling food, and not skimpy with the refills! Perfect brunch trifecta. Get the benedict, you won't regret it!
Really like the feel of this place.
Brings old New York back with modern cuisine.
My husband had the steak that he liked and I had a fish which was delicious.
Great as an upscale option in the area that isn't cheap but won't break the bank either.
Harry's Cafe & Steak is a Gordon Gekko/Don Draper hang out for sure! The main dining room looks very high end, like a very clubby steakhouse. No wonder they use Harry's Cafe & Steak as a focal point for movies and other fictitious character hangouts.
Me? I'm on a mission. To find quality hamburgers and libations, not in that order. I walk in and sit at the bar. Awesome by the way, the bar inventory is fully loaded. Just one thing, do you think your ordering a Pina Colada at this bar? Heck no! You want a power drink, a drink that Don Draper would approve. However, for me its lunchtime so I ordered the Harry's burger and a beer.
My burger comes out, topped with an english muffin bun. Oh heck yes!
Lets break it down:
The burger patty tastes freshly made, its a good meat blend.
The english muffin is working with the other toppings.
This is a New York burger that just made my the top 10 in my burger list.
I'm very impressed with Harry's Cafe & Steak. If you're looking for a NY spot that's been used for both movie & TV spots, come to Harry's Cafe & Steak.
Don Draper gives this place the nod.
3.5 stars. Supposedly good steak was overly chewy but can't expect too much from a steak salad anyway. Blue cheese in that dish was too much and too pungent. Portion overall was huge to justify the markup. Friends enjoyed their kobe beef burger (def not kobe beef) and steak sandwich.
Yes, their brunch is amazing. I promise.
I came here with 2 of my friends this past Saturday – (12:30). Make sure you have a reservation. This place is CLASSY and beautiful. And our waitress was a sweetheart.
My table went with straight champagne, which wasn't an issue. If you do want juice it's $7 for a carafe.
The menu was AMAZING – literally anything you could want for brunch or lunch. My one friend got the cornbeef hash, I got the smoked salmon scramble and my other friend got the steak sandwich – everything was delicious and presented beautifully.
The unlimited champagne was quite unlimited – we had our glasses full consistently almost the whole time.
My only issue is that there was a full house by 1:15 and not many people working. This slowed down service and the champagne…more importantly, it also slowed down getting my check and my change…I wasn't impressed with this part at all.
Next time I will make a reservation for 12 on the dot and hopefully more people will be working. The food is so god, there's no way I wouldn't come back.
Would give it 4.5-Stars if I could.
"Harry's of Hanover" as it use to be known on Wall Street, is the only place in the Financial District that's close to 5-Stars, primarily because of it's rich history.
Well, Delmonico's a block down is in that bucket as well. I mean, any steakhouse that's been around since 1837 and was JP Morgan's, Theodore Roosevelt's and Mark Twain's favorite, has to be on that list. But that's for another review.
Sometime in the late 2000's, "Harry's of Hanover" became "Harry's Cafe & Steak" or just "Harry's" and went through an interior renovation to make it more hip & casual to some degree. It used to have more of an old school/old boys network feel to it, and well, stodgy as well.
In fact, two famous books (and later movies) which epitomized old school Wall Street, had scenes depicted at Harry's of Hanover – 'Bonfire of the Vanities' and 'American Psycho'.
But, as the Financial District has changed over the last 5 years with younger people and more women moving in, Harry's has tried to change it's image to attract that crowd. And they've done a good job at it.
It's a good spot for drinks, albeit pricey, and my co-workers and I come after work for drinks and appetizers at the long bar, and on occasion have dinner at the restaurant. Great place to take clients as well.
Here's my breakdown:
– Bar (4-Stars): has a nice, old charm and cozy feel to it, and the bar food is pretty good, but your tab can get expensive real fast if your'e not careful. And, if you come after work, it's mainly a mecca for older, balding and overweight/"dad bod" finance guys in suits or khakis/sport coats, lol, just being honest. Only reason I mention it is cause I took a date there and she was a little uncomfortable by all the guys staring at her, haha.
– Restaurant (4-Stars): has an intimate feel with a mix of old NY steakhouse combined with some modernity to it. Great place to take clients or for a guys dinner, or for a large party/special occasion dinner, possibly dates as well, as the interior design is really nice now.
– Food (4-Stars): I do think that Harry's has very good food, especially steak, as well as very good sides – creamed spinach, potatoes au gratin, mac & cheese, etc.
– Service (4-Stars); have a lot of waiters who are prompt and fast.
– Ambiance (5-Stars): great feel and History as mentioned above.
– Wine List (5-Stars): you can find exceptionally good wines at a fantastic price if you stick to the European (Old World) section of the list.
As most Wall Street guys only know Napa Cabs and only order wines to impress clients (like Opus One, Caymus, Jordan, Shafer, Silver Oak, etc), those wines will be priced with 4 to 5x markups on the list, versus some French greats like Burgundy & Northern Rhone, which will have little-to-no markup, or at most, a 1x markup, as no one orders them.
We found a 2006 White French Burgundy (Meursault Premier Cru) just a little over cost at a wine store…AND a 1999 Red French Northern Rhone (Cote Rotie from Patrick Jasmin) actually below cost (yes, below cost) at $98 a bottle.
IF you could find this 1999 bottle at a wine store, the price would be around $180, and IF you could find it at a restaurant, the price would be around $600 a bottle!
So, when I saw that $98 price on the list, I immediately asked the waiter how many bottles they had of it, at which point he said "we have 4 left in the cellar", and without hesitation, I said "we'll take them all, bring 'em up!"
Point is…pay attention to the wine list and stick with the French stuff, you'll get great wines and save a ton of money…at Wall Street guys' expense, lol.
Overall, Harry's is a great place with great history and very good food. Can't go wrong here if you're in the Financial District and wanna do a nice dinner with co-workers, friends, dates and large groups. Highly Recommend!
I really like Harry's. It's definitely a go-to lunch spot for when we have clients come in and the waitstaff is always very friendly and attentive. Lunch time there tends to be crazy busy though, so if you intend on bringing people, definitely make a reservation. I normally go with the hanger steak whenever I go for lunch, the last time I was there though the steak was a little too rare for me (I had asked for medium rare), perhaps that's how medium rare is cooked, but I tend to think of medium rare as being a little more done (temperature to color of meat isn't explained here though). This time I ended up going with a skirt steak salad. I asked for medium and it was cooked exactly the way I like it, so I will just need to ask for medium next time. Other than that, I have no complaints, food is delicious, great flavor and char on the steak and a good time is always had.
Stopped in for a quick drink while bar surfing through Stone Street. Hit a few bars around the area and stumbled into this restaurant. Bartender was very professional and thorough in making our drinks.
I ordered the Old fashioned since I love trying different drinks. The drink was pretty strong but was extremely tasty so I will come back again as a first stop so I can enjoy the entire cocktail .