Bobby Van’s Steakhouse

This place offers a lovely bouquet of pushy upselling by waiters with a side of elegant overpricing. It comes garnished with midtown snobbery and a pinch of hope that the 80s are somehow not over.

Appauling meat quality. just worse than anything i have had in a long time. the prices are top but the meat quality is not. surprised it survives.
Go instead to «hairy animal& dangerous group of people».if you solved the riddle you found the best meat i have had in a long time.

Wonderful, attentive service and delicious food.
Great portion size and flavors for the Tuscan Salmon, Chilean Sea bass, and the Sesame crusted Tuna.
Very quiet, upscale atmosphere that allows for a nice client dinner.

Went here for a business lunch. It seemed that everyone in the restaurant was there for a business lunch.
I have eaten at other locations. I was not that impressed with the lunch. I know it is a steakhouse and should have steak, but my client stated that the tuna was really good. So, I ordered the tuna. Not so good.
My client ordered short ribs special. It was just ok.
The service was very good. The prices are expensive.

This review is for the restaurant week menu only. The service was very attentive maybe too attentive. We were offered the RW menu right away …(lol)
We started with salad and tomato with mozzarella it was a good combination of flavors. Most of us got the Medallions of Filet Mignon for entrée. Mine was cooked to my liking and it was good but the sauce takes away from the quality of the meat like it’s trying to mask something… Desert was good. I recommend chocolate decadence over the other options.
Overall it was good. But I enjoyed morton’s steakhouse more.

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 Unilocal 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 entrée, 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.

We went here during new year holiday. The beef is tasty. I like the red wine best, it’s smooth. The actor is friendly. Overall, everything is delicious, but I don’t think it worth so much money.

Wonderful place! Food is amazing!
We had a New Years party here and the waiters are super nice, they stayed until 1:30 am for us!
I’d love to go back again!

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 Unilocal… 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.

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.

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.

We were in the Big City on October 16, 2015. We ended up having beers at Bobby Van’s in Manhattan. Service — fantastic!
Décor — excellent.
The food is out of this world!
Fantastic steaks!
We loved it! Go to this place!

Came here because of a groupon deal. I was pleased with how courteous everyone there was. Although we arrive earlier than our reservation time, they accommodated us. The manager greeted us and kept us updated every few min with regards to wait time. Our server was attentive but not overbearing. We left a large tip.
Unfortunately for an upscale steak restaurant, the food wasn’t that great. My date enjoyed his sirloin but he agreed it wasn’t the best. I had the skirt steak and I wasn’t leaping for joy either. Our sides were Asparagus (which lacked seasoning) and creamed spinach (which was too runny/​liquidy).
Overall I don’t believe I will be returning to this establishment. But they do deserve 5 stars for customer service.

I came here for NYC Restaurant Week, as this isn’t typically the kind of restaurant I’ll visit in my price range.
I started my meal with their caprese salad. I don’t really eat salad anyway, but I wasn’t a big fan anyway. It seemed to be too bland – even the mozarella didn’t taste like much. Only the juice from the cherry tomatoes and the vinaigrette on the salad added flavor, but only a smidge.
Then I had the veal. The veal was delicious; it was cooked perfectly, had just the right amount of fat and tenderness, and was earthy and juicy. I would definitely eat it again.
To finish, I had the chocolate mousse, and it was divine. It was a little heavy on the stomach, but it definitely wasn’t too chocolately, which can always be a problem.
The meal wasn’t too heavy on my stomach, but it was filling nonetheless.

Nice steakhouse midtown.
I am usually harsh on steakhouse but the groupon deal was such a steal that I give an extra star. 129 $ for two for two starters, two entrees, two deserts and a bottle of wine was great.
With my 4-​friend party, we got the thick bacon and tuna tartare, the filet mignon with mushrooms, spinach, French fries and Mac and cheese, then sorbet and brownie. We got the Syrah and Pinot noir for the wine bottles.
Everything was very good and the portion right on point. The service was good. A pit disappointed on the quality of the bread but not a big deal. Would go back.

Come well Dressed to enjoy a «fancy meal»! We Walked right in, had reservations the host escorted us to the bar where are waiter would take us to the table. In less than 5 minutes the waiter guided us to our table and gave us the menu. He asked us if we would like a bottle of wine, we said yes. The appetizers, entrees and desert was quite tasty! I would def come back here!
P. S. amazing waiters, very attentive

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 entrée. 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.

Note this review is for their Restaurant Week Summer 2015 only. Also note that their 45^th and Park Avenue location was not participating in Restaurant Week, but this location is only a short walk from 45^th 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!

I had gone to the restaurant during restaurant week last Thursday and chose the restaurant based on other’s reviews. I was very disappointed in almost every aspect of the visit. When we were sat the waiter gave us the normal dinner menus and seemed very put off that we then asked for the restaurant week menus. We had stayed in the city for a few nights and had taken advantage of the event multiple times and this was the only restaurant where we needed to ask and felt bad for doing so.
The first course I chose was the beef carpacio and it came unseasoned besides the pound of grated cheese that came on top which was definitely not freshly grated. For the second course I got the filet which was over cooked and drenched in gravy. Gravy on filet? My husband’s mashed potatoes were so spicy they were inedible. The waiter offered regular mashed potatoes instead which my husband accepted and then when the bill came was charged $ 11 for.
We were really excited to try this restaurant after reading some great reviews, but it was an awful experience. I will never suggest this place or return. If they do not want to participate in restaurant week, they should not!

Another winter, another restaurant week visit… This year I decided on Bobby Van’s for dinner. My friends and I do dinners mainly to just catch up with each other, but when the food is good, that’s just a cherry on top.
I had their caesar salad which was well dressed so that was a good start to the meal. It was actually quite large so I didn’t even finish all of it. For the entrée, I had their skirt steak which was cooked nicely to the medium rare that i requested. Maybe my appetite shrunk because I had a hard time finishing that too. It came on top of a bed of chipotle mashed potatoes. That was a nice touch.
For dessert, I chose the chocolate decadence which was a very chocolate-​y slice of cake but surprisingly it wasn’t overly sweet. My friend had the sherbet which was super refreshing. I kind of wish I chose that now in retrospect. Very delicious meal and even though it was a Friday night, they didn’t rush us out after we paid the bill.