The Library at The Public
“I had enough leftover to bring home (still good the next day) and the apple crumble dessert is FANTASTIC.”
“They have a good amount of top shelf liquor, and a wide variety of inventive cocktails and shrubs.”
“The prices are on the high end, but that is to be expected at a speakeasy-ish bar with as great of an ambiance as this.”
The Library at The Public
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I came here with my mom and sister who were visiting from out of town. We had tickets for a 7PM show, so I thought it would convenient and nice to eat at The Library for restaurant week and as a pre-show dinner.
I don't think I've ever had better service than what we experienced tonight at The Library. Lizzy was GREAT. She was courteous, friendly, and totally made our night memorable and fun. THANK YOU!!
We had the calamari, corn soup, and baja fish tacos for appetizers. The corn soup is phenomenal!!!!!! All our apps were wonderful, but the corn soup really stands out.
We had steak frites for our main entrees. SO GOOS. The meat was cooked perfectly, and it was so tender. Really yummy!!!
DO NOT SLEEP ON THE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRUMBLE. OMG. I am gonna be dreaming about it for days. The chocolate and vanilla soft serve was great as well!!
For RW, our dinner was a steal. It was relaxing. The ambiance was really lovely, and the whole experience definitely made my time with my family sweet and special.
** NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2015 Review **
We arrived very early but they were nice enough to seat us anyways (I think this is a trend for us!). The Library's Restaurant Week menu offers three courses divided into three "Acts" – just like a play. I thought this was really cute and clever of them. Act I, the appetizers, offered five options. Act II, the entrees, had four options. And lastly, Act III, had three dessert options. I was pleased to notice that their RW menu features items that are on their regular menu.
For Act I, I opted for the Burrata with green market vegetables. The burrata was very nice – moist and stretchy. I just wished that there was more! The Boyfriend had the Crispy Calamari with shishito peppers and chipotle aioli. The portion size was huge and this appetizer is definitely made to be shared! The calamari was crispy and crunchy – fried perfectly. The best part was the chipotle aioli, which was super tasty.
For Act II, I had the Flat Iron Steak Frites with bitter green salad and Maitre D'Butter. The steak was cooked perfectly to my requested medium rare. The best part, though, was the huge portion of fries that we were able to share. It felt like they were never ending! The Boyfriend chose the Steamed Branzino with Madras curry and summer vegetables.
For Act III, I had the Vanilla and Chocolate Soft Serve with Pocky sticks. They had me at the Pocky sticks! The ice cream was such a huge portion ice that I couldn't finish it. The Boyfriend had the Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with Vanilla Soft Serve. His dessert was also huge – it's definitely shareable between 2-3 people at least. The crumble was served warm, which contrasted nicely with the vanilla ice cream. But alas, we were too full from dinner to finish it.
Service was attentive and our waitress was super nice. I must compliment the Library for serving their regular menu at regular portion sizes for Restaurant Week. A lot of places often create items that aren't on the menu or downsize items that are on their menu for Restaurant Week. Props to the Library – I'll definitely be returning!
Great atmosphere to have drinks with friends and do some people watching! The setting is beautiful and intriguing.
i came here with a group of 6 for restaurant week 2016. its definitely in a weird spot, you have to go upstairs to the second level of this large event space. the restaurant itself is super cozy and really does feel like you went back in time to an old library.
for Act I we ordered calamari, beet salad, butternut squash soup and burrata. the portions were very generous considering it was off the restaurant week menu. the calamari was seasoned perfectly and came with a great chipotle dipping mayo. the beets and soup were also super tasty and colorful. the only miss was the burrata, it was served with apple slices, shaved celery and walnuts. it was just kind of a random mish mosh. the burrata itself was very good.
Act II, the majority of us got the grilled hanger steak with creamed kale and carrots. the portion of hanger steak was a bit underwhelming, but cooked nicely. oh and the creamed kale was so yummy! i want to make at home!
Act III, all of the desserts were delicious. i got the apple crumble, it was warm and reminded me of my mom's apple crumble. i do wish it had a bit more crumble. the cheesecake and chocolate walnut cake were also very good.
the only reason i did not give this place 5 stars was due to how pricey the booze was. the cheapest bottle of pinot noir was $60 and it was very very mediocre.
Secret little spot – like a speakeasy (I adore speakeasies) service was spectacular, the staff were attentive and friendly. The menu was your typical American but I love the concept of how it is hidden inside the library. Perfect date spot!
Had a great experience here for restaurant week. The place is in a strange large event venue but when you walk upstairs to the actual restaurant it really feels like you are in a library – think dim lighting, books on shelves, and big leather chairs. Went to get a drink at the bar while waiting for my friends to arrive. The bartender was super friendly and they had a great drink list. I got "The final derby" which had four Roses Whiskey, Honey, Lemon, Grapefruit Soda and was so tasty and refreshing !! Great recommendation by the bartender.
Next onto dinner… We started with the beet salad and the calamari both very LARGE portions which was surprising for restaurant week. I loved the beets they were marinated perfectly and the calamari was also pretty tasty. I ordered the steak for my main, served with creamed kale and carrots. It was cooked to my liking and salted just right. On to dessert… the APPLE CRUMBLE was so good.. HUGE pieces of apple still a little crispy and the portion was so large enough to share for three, I would have only wished for a little more crubmble and ice cream but that could be my sweet tooth talking 🙂 . I also tried the ricotta cheesecake which was SO GOOD and light. Last but not least, the walnut chocolate cake was also good but the two prior trumped it for sure.
I would recommend this place for a date or if you are in the east village area wanting a good dinner !!
Came during RW 2016 with an unusual set up for their RW menu in that they left the price tag on the menu, a bit unusual but perhaps a ploy to get people to feel like they got their money's worth?
Great ambiance – lovely space. While service was good, they were rushing my friend and I through dinner because there was an event here. I don't particularly like being rushed but they also were semi-subtle about it. All in all, you be the judge: we finished a 3 course dinner in an hour.
Crispy Calamari, Shishito Peppers, Chipotle Aioli: I really enjoyed it, but not a crazy standout dish. Big enough to share between two people. The Chipotle Aioli sauce was good though.
Grilled Hanger Steak, Creamed Kale, Carrots: Fairly good. Now if I paid $38 dollars for this, I would not be very happy about it. However, since it was part of the RW deal, it was semi worth it. Hanger Steak was cooked pretty well ( I asked for Medium Rare on the Rare side, which is a precaution I usually take since most places will overcook it otherwise.) However, when the star of your steak dish are the creamed kale and carrots, it may not necessarily be worth nearly $40 dollars. However, all it all it was pretty tasty.
Chocolate Walnut Cake: Pretty good, but nothing amazing.
I enjoyed my time here but I don't necessarily believe it is worth the money on the menu. However, RW menu was pretty good. Worth it for RW, not sure it is worth all your money during regular times.
This is surprising a really nice spot for dinner and or drinks. It's located inside the big event space(?) I don't know what this building is. But it's the restaurant inside it and there was some reggae band thing happening when we went.
Our waitress was great!! Super kind and helpful, and the bartenders were pretty fast. We had a 9pm rez, came at 9 exactly, and they said to "wait by the bar and have a drink and we'll come get you in 10 minutes"… Quite the obvious up sell. But I'm glad they did because I ordered the Rosemary shrub drink and it was perfect! Like a fruity refreshing mojito.
The ambiance is very ~romantic~, they have a bunch of those date type booths, luckily me and my Yelp mooching boy toy sat next to the date type booth and got the entertainment of watching the couple next to us in the date booth take full advantage. I think they were famous the chef kept coming out and giving them more drinks and food… Anyways…
RW 2016 winter –
Burrata- vrrry good, refreshing and light
Calamari- generous portion and super crispy
Trout – cooked really nicely
Cassoulet- huge portion, had a nice smokey flavor, would actually really recommend, it was very much comfort food.
Apple crumble – sooooo good, the brown sugar crumble mixed with the melting vanilla ice cream was the best
Pocky self serve – good, tastes just like childhood haha.
Overall, would totally recommend as an excellent date night, birthday dinner, dinner out with friends.