L’ybane Restaurant
“Dolmas, hummus, yogurty dips, and I forgot the rest…”
“Friendly affordable cozy a must go visit if your in NY, nice friendly staff, close to Times Square”
“Tapas were great (and reasonable), wine selection was excellent, and service was above average.”
L’ybane Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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My mom and I and her friends went here for dinner before the show, On The Town. We were in a rush, but the food wasn't too bad. I had the lamb lollipop and it was so flavorful and tender and tasty. We also had the calamari, which was amazing with the sauce on the side that they give. The chicken salad dish wasn't too bad, it's a big piece of chicken underneath the salad. We were rushing, but we got the creme brulee to share and I really liked it with the strawberries, not too sweet. Service was just okay, especially on the time crunch we were on, they didn't accommodate to that.
Why in the world would I eat in this part of town? Broadway, Duh. It's pretty much impossible to find good food around musical row. I have been here 2x. Once for brunch (deserves 4 stars), once for dinner (deserves 2 stars). So far, the quality and flavor of the meal has predicted the quality and flavor of the musical to follow.
Two Theories of L'ybane: 1) You should only go here for the pre-fix all-you-can-drink brunch, which is a great deal, good quality and tasty OR 2) This is a mystical place, where your meal will serve as a crystal ball and foreshadow how your show will be (let me know if this theory works for you).
KINKY BOOTS BRUNCH:
My spouse, mother-in-law and I were starving and knew we would need a meal before our show. We decided to just look for something, *anything* that was palatable and close to the theater. L'ybane's Pre-Fix, All-You-Can Drink $18.95 Brunch looked fine and the decor was Broadway-Bohemian-Funk – so we entered.
All you can drink mimosas + a SURPRISINGLY delicious mac n' cheese with truffle oil before Kinky Boots? Best idea ever. The mac n' cheese was baked in a ceramic dish and was perfectly browned on the outside and was decadent without being overwhelming. My spouse had an omelet that was tasty as well. It was like finding gold – a good brunch spot in the theater district?!
The show was fabulous. It was the last performance of the first-run cast (Annaleigh Ashford, Stark Sands, Billy Porter). We all cried during Not My Father's Son… it was a true Broadway day.
SOMETHING ROTTEN DINNER:
Fast forward to the time I went to L'ybane for happy hour/dinner with my friend, her mom and her mom's friend. We had tickets to see a preview show after work – so we needed a restaurant that was uber close to the venue.
Upon entering, the wait staff was standoff-ish. The happy hour is *only* at the bar, FYI. The dinner food was just not great. I felt like I was at a *completely* different restaurant. I ordered assorted food from the small plates (middle eastern). It was ok. My friend said her food was pretty good, nothing to rave about.
Then we saw the show… It was rotten, like its title -so bad I wish I had some tomatoes to throw at the stage. How did Brian D'Arcy James leave the cast of Hamilton, where he was the King (I saw that at Joe's Public) to headlining this piece o'crap show?
ALRIGHT if you have people in town and staying in this area, defiantly hit them up to chat, mingle, talk, converse about the city, and what is within walking distance (there is a lot). Also if you want a PRE funk spot go here for their specials and HH.
Just keep in mind that this is a touristy spot.
I went with three friends had a glass of wine and some nibble food. It was perfect. We then looked around in the area for a spot and landed at a karaoke bar.
this wine bar really hit the spot.
check it out.
Meh.
Ordered just a few appetizers for a quick bite before a Broadway show.
Sat for a long time, hummus came out,no bread, no vegetables nothing. Oh, well that must mean everything else is coming out…
Mussels came out
And then I watched as our food was delivered to another table each time the woman was like "oh. I guess we did order this" and took the food.
So now I'm sitting with a plate of hummus, so naturally I begin to eat this with a fork because I'm an animal and starving and I haven't seen our waitress.
7:50 our food finally begins to come out (25 minutes later) she explains it went to the wrong table. Eh, forget it wolf down my meatballs, we gotta go.
Eh. I've had better food and I've had much better service elsewhere.
Ugh, three stars and I'm being generous. If you want a Yelp Elite review perspective, here it is.
I walk into L'ybane Wine Bar & Restaurant and they have a happy hour sign posted. I love a good happy hour!
Lets talk about my happiness.
I ordered a California Cabernet glass at happy hour pricing. My waitress was saying hmm, yes, hmmm and taking my order.
What comes out and she was quick to pour what was a really sweet Riesling. I tell her I ordered a Cabernet (I mean, one is white and the other is red) She leaves the glass and I drink this yuckky wine. My Cabernet comes out, not too bad.
I ordered a Escargot starter and a Goat Cheese salad. Both items come out quickly.
The escargot was overcooked and they gave me these wooden forks to take out the snails. The shells are hot! Did you ever see the Julie Roberts movie where the shell flies in the air?
Its because you don't want to touch a hot shell!
My salad just looks off. A buncha greens topped with a rough onion cut, it wasn't too appealing. Now picture cuts of Italian bread, topped with goat cheese. Yuckk..
I'm not done with my salad and my entree comes out. Okkkkkk….
I ordered a Lamb Sausage platter with hummas and falafel.The pita chips were hard and over cooked. This dish wasn't too bad but I'm done at this point.
My waitress? No where to be seen, never asked how was the meal, nothing. I am so not a fan. The part that sucks, I was going to Aldo Sohm Wine Bar and the sign got me.
Nice wine selection at affordable happy hour pricing. I'll pay more for better everything. The sign got me….. Never again.
Good Mediterranean place, they have small tapas portions you can share, recommend pita pizza
Great place for a late night dinner. Their DJ was good on a Friday night (he said it was his first time there) and then there was some belly dancing. We had the chicken skewers, falafel, hummus, tabbouleh, and kefta. We also had cabernet and margaritas. People were doing the hookah thing but we were not there for that. Cool place to hang out with friends though it is not a place to have a conversation once the DJ gets going.
Decided to go here for a weekday lunch.
Appetizers:
Onion soup – Even though the bowl looked small, it was a good portion for 2 people. The bread on top was toasted and topped with mozzarella cheese. The soup was very flavorful – a sweet onion taste, with a chunks of cooked down, soft onion pieces.
Mussels Mariniere – This was very good, in a white wine sauce. Again, this appetizer was good for 2 people.
Entree:
Lobster Ravioli – 7 very large pieces of ravioli. It was stuffed with lobster pieces. The sauce was very good. Just a little bit chewy.
Overall the food was good, but just a bit too salty for my taste. I was very thirsty after the meal. The service was very slow. There was only 1 other table in the restaurant. It took a long time for the food to come out. Would I go back? Maybe for dinner. Maybe there was less people working in the kitchen during lunch time…