David Burke Garden and Treehouse Bar

This review is so over due.
DB Garden was amazing! If you are looking for a space to host a semi-​private event and have a flexible budget, this is definitely a great option. The event planner is great and very responsive via email. The venue looks kinda blah on the outside but amazing on the inside. It’s how we do in NYC.
We had use of the back section of the garden, with the option of using the treehouse in case of rain. We lucked out. It was a beautiful night. The garden is just a little above street level so views are nothing special. But when you’re chatting, eating good food and drinking, that does not matter. We had about 70 people at one point. It was a little tight but still comfortable. Not a lot of seating options but for cocktail receptions, where the main focus is on mingling and drinking, people don’t do a lot of sitting. The back section also has it’s own bar which was great since this place gets pretty crowded on a Thursday night.
Drinks were great but as others mentioned, very overpriced. Food was amazing. I clearly remember the bacon. Oh gawd the bacon. The fried chicken was everything people said it was. We good a few other things that were good but the bacon and fried chicken were the most memorable.
The final bill was a little outrageous but well worth it. It was a great event. People loved it and the wait staff went above and beyond.

Meh, Honesty nothing to write home about, except that they had one of my favorite Belgian beers. Had the Short ribs, which were dry, the salmon tartare was OK, and the chocolate dirt was thick chocolate mouse (ganache)

Came for dinner with my bf for date night on a Friday night. We made a reservation for inside however the weather was so nice we really wanted to sit outside and dine in the garden. The hostess was super nice and accommodated us.
Ordered the tequila mockingbird special drink which was delicious. For sharing plates we ordered the ricotta (OmG) and also the chicken bbq dumplings which were really good.
Wasn’t a fan of the soft shell crab appetizer so try something else in that section…
For the Maine we got the lobster and rock shrimp spaghetti which was good and had a kick to it.

As evidenced by Fishtail, Townhouse, and fabrick, New York is David Burke’s playground. The restauranteur’s most sought-​after endeavor is his three-​story establishment in Soho. Raoul Whitaker utilizes the eager palates of his patrons as a canvas, innovatively painting a strikingly vivid masterpiece of flavors. Whitaker’s mixing tray consists of vibrant pigments of techniques, ingredients, and textures.
David Burke executes a full spectrum of stimulating American fare at an affordable price. His whimsical imagination is consistently reflected from appetizers to desserts. DBK houses two experiences under one roof. I would recommend beginning downstairs for a full meal then navigating upstairs to the Garden for great cocktails and dessert. David Burke Garden is filled with sets of intricately laser-​carved oak bistro chairs. The heavy heat and thick humidity are subdued; each countertop is shielded with polyester, mustard umbrellas or draped with gazebo-​styled canopies complete with mosquito nets.
Their Maine Lobster & Rock Shrimp ($ 34) is quite a heavy dish. Flat, thick ribbons of black garlic fettuccine are dressed with a creamy, sundried tomato sauce. The sauce is seasoned with savory parsley, fragrant garlic, and piquant lemon zest. The entrée playfully utilizes lobster and their mini, the rock shrimp. Both crustaceans are coaxed out of their shells and generously sprinkled onto the plate.
DBK dessert is my favorite part of the meal. Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake ($ 14) is pretty much a molten chocolate lava cake. It is topped with a slender sheet of homemade toffee. Then, adorned with a streak of melted caramel and heavy-​handed dollop of chantilly cream. If this dessert is not indulgent enough, it is served with a perfect sphere of mint ice cream.
Customer service here feels dramatically insufficient than that of DBK’s. A handful of staff we encountered here were unfriendly and impolite.
Some Pro Tips: Keep your fingers crossed, the DB Garden is open depending on weather. Even on brisk chilly days, heat lamps adequately dot the space. The only draft offered is the Ommegang.

Horrific service. We had a horrible server, rolled her eyes at us as we ordered. The hostesses who sat us were rude and condescending. We waited over 45 mins for our entrees. and my order was wrong. Food was subpar, service was grotesque. I’m in TriBeCa with business clients regularly and I would never bring them here. Lost my business forever.

Perfect for Saturday happy hour. Drinks outside. Fun location. Seat yourself outside bar. Very cute location.

Scathing review alert! Disclaimer: this is for the Garden and Treehouse Bar, not the restaurant itself. I am reviewing it separately.
We just ate at the David Burke restaurant and spent a couple of hundred dollars on food and wine. When we inquired about getting access to the roof garden, we were told we would need to go through the doorman on the other side of the street. So off we went trying to get into the Treehouse Bar. It was after 9pm and the bouncer did not like our jeans. He said, «I can’t let you in because of your attire». Really? It’s after 9pm on a Tuesday. It wasn’t even busy and we just wanted to check out the view. Well so much for trying to get in. If this place is that picky I’d take my business elsewhere. There are other places that will welcome me with a dress shirt and jeans. It gives David Burke a very bad name, especially if this is any indication of how he runs his other bars.
This bar does not have my stamp of approval. Avoid at all costs unless you want to be disappointed. At no time did I tell him I was a Unilocal elite. Not that it would have made a difference what we said that night.
Review of David Burke Garden is here:

The quality of the food and drinks here do not justify the exorbitant costs of dining here. That’s pretty much the headline for what you need to know about this place.
$ 18 cocktails are obscene, even for this part of town. And the drinks are just ok. All of the wine is ridiculously overpriced. And the food isn’t even all that good when you consider what you are paying for it. We were a large group and opted to eat upstairs and outside instead of the stuffy and cramped dining room that is David Burke Kitchen.
The peanut butter-​filled dates with the fried grapes are cute and all, and have some nice flavor, but are otherwise cloying and obscene if you eat more than one. The beef heart soft tacos were as chewy and gross as you’d expect heart muscle to be. Chicken dumplings were overly sweet, making them a terrible follow up to the dates. The only dish that I have less to complain about was the chicken breast with tortellini. The chicken was served with a perfect crisp and was wonderfully seasoned. However, the tortellini and the rich broth it was served in didn’t seem to pair up as nicely with the chicken.
I’m not going to tell you what the final bill was, because it was offensive by any stretch of the imagination. To be clear, I am ok with paying big bucks for a really memorable meal with friends. But this just felt like a complete hit job on our wallets. And although the service was excellent, there are just too many better restaurants in this City to pay this much money for a mediocre experience.
We will not be coming back.

Decent menu offers for a RW line up I think. Perhaps its bit overhyped, the outside garden seating area was amazing though. On a nice day its perfect spot for lunch. Unfortunately I think I had higher expectation of the food after hearing glowing reviews about it but I think food was only decent for the prices.
I visited with a friend for an early Friday lunch at 11:45. When we arrived the place was really empty which was great :) by the time we were done place was packed around 1ish. So definitely early bird is rewarded here. Service was decent nothing remarkable, it was bit of slow when it started getting busy though and that’s understandable.
These are what we got here
App
— Salmon Tartare —
Its pretty good but maybe a little too sweet, portion felt kind of light
— Crab Cake —
Probably my favorite, interestly they didn’t serve it in a patty shape like regular crab cakes. Although the price supplement is kinda lame though but we knew that before going in the restaurant so it didn’t come as a surprise. However I do recommend it even with the additional $ 6 – 7.
Entrée
— SHRIMP & ASPARAGUS PAPPARDELLE —
I had a taste or two it was quite good, the shrimp was really fresh. The sauce is creamy but not overly done.
— Short Rib —
Overly salty I thought especially with the mushrooms. Definitely could pick something else better for the entrée
Desserts
— CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CRUNCH BAR —
Very sweet and not really enjoyable for me. its good to go with the ice cream though otherwise wouldn’t have finish it for sure
— Cheesecake —
Quite possibly the best cheesecake I’ve had here in the city. Very creamy but not overly sweet like most cheesecakes I’ve had.
Overall it was a good experience but I don’t really see myself back here other than perhaps RW again. At regular prices definitely feel its bit overpriced but that’s exactly why Restaurant Week are for, to try the restaurants we normally think are too expensive and not worth the dent in the wallet :)

Came here with a gf for brunch today, and was seated in the garden area. It was pretty nice away from the hustle and bustle of the street. Nice atmosphere. I ordered the legs and eggs that came with sausage polenta, and it was good but it wasn’t outrageous. My gf had the blt, she said it was good and fresh & light. The waitress we had was very accommodating and she kept on checking that we were ok.
I would probably come back here again maybe for dinner

I only had beers at the Treehouse Bar, but it was a nice and relaxing experience. On a sunny day it is a quiet escape from the bustle of the city streets. We sat in the bar area, which was nice, except for the first two wooden stools I tried to sit on were broken. Most of the other seating was a different style, so probably would not be an issue for most.
We shared a bucket of beer and I really liked that you could mix and match the kinds of beer for the bucket. They were out of one of the beers we wanted, but not a big deal. Our server was nice and attentive.

Summer 2014 RW review:
Pretty place for a summer brunch but food and service were just OKAY. The staff members were polite and professional but the service was a bit slow even for a late lunch. Drinks were quite overpriced even for NYC standards.
Appetizers:
tuna tartare — good but nothing compared to Nougatine at Jean George’s amazing tuna tartare
lobster dumplings — my favorite among everything we tried
deviled eggs — pretty good
Entrees:
Salmon — okay, nothing memorable
Steak — overcooked for me
Eggs Benedict — I seriously can make way better eggs benedict than this restaurant can. It was heavy like any eggs benedict but it wasn’t good at all.
Desserts:
After the eggs benedict, I seriously did not have room for dessert. I still had to try the strawberries and cream tarte, coconut trifle, and chocolate hazelnut crunch bar. I loved the coconut trifle and crunch bar. The strawberries and cream tarte. not so much.
Would I return? Nah.

We went to DB Garden & Treehouse Bar to celebrate a friend’s birthday last week. Loved the outdoor space in this quaint venue. The bartenders were awesome — super friendly and helpful. Also the HH Sauvignon Blanc and desserts were delish. Will def be back!

When you couple the food with the fact that you are dining in an outdoor garden in NYC, this place is awesome!
Prices are reasonable considering location and quality. The appetizers are in mostly in the $ 12-​$ 18 range, entrees $ 30-​$ 40, and drinks run you about $ 15-​$ 20.
We started with the Kale Ravioli and Peanut Butter Maple Bacon Dates. The ravioli was served like a hybrid between a pasta and a salad. It was alright, but I was expecting some unique taste or texture because of the kale, which wasn’t there so it just seemed like normal ravioli but green to me. The dates very good! I think the date was dipped in peanut butter, than wrapped in bacon. The sweetness of the date, plus the peanut butter, and the salty bacon was a very nice combo.
The Bronzino entrée was good. Very light tasting. The onions and olives that topped the fish added a lot of flavor, but I think the onions were cooked in a lemon juice, which added a bit of an overpowering citrus taste.
The ribeye was excellent. It did set you back $ 55 compared to other entrees, but it was a 22oz piece of meat so well worth the spend. Cooked to perfection, the saltiness of the meat, topped with a bit of the horseradish sauce, made for a good combo… Yet I enjoyed most of my meat without the sauce. I ordered a side of marinated beets with the steak. They were so-​so, definitely nothing special… The color was a nice touch with red, yellow, and pink beets, but the taste was a bit bland.
For dessert, go with the drunken doughnuts because they come with 3 sauces you can use to either top or fill your own doughnuts. It’s fun to share amongst the table because you got about 6 of them.
A few good cocktails one can order that weren’t bad, but nothing fantastic where I felt they should be a bit cheaper.
I’ve also been to David Burke’s Kitchen which is the inside venue and the food was good at both, so I’ll definitely be back.

This review is only for the Treehouse Bar.
Very nice and cozy space, probably 8 – 10 tables at max in front of the bar. I got a Heineken so I can’t speak about the other drinks or food.
The ambiance is very nice! You don’t feel like you’re in NYC as it’s so quiet and intimate in this space. I love the décor of the bar and it’s a really good place to chat with your friends.

Let me start the review by saying that after all the below occurred, and after speaking with two different managers, my entire $ 200+ bill was comped. This is the reason for the 2^nd star, as opposed to 1 star. Once I spoke to the 2^nd manager, she did what she could to make up for our poor experience; she was very nice and apologetic and I appreciate her comping the bill — though, ultimately, it was the right thing for them to do.
I made reservations at DBK (not the Garden Bar) for brunch on Mother’s Day. On both the day I made the reservation, and the the day before the reservation, I called to confirm my table for brunch would be OUTSIDE. They confirmed and even told me that while some tables have umbrellas, not all do, so we may or may not have direct sunlight, but we would be outside. When I showed up for my reservation, they informed me they had me down for brunch INSIDE, with no notes requesting an outside table.
We ended up sitting at an open high-​top table near the bar and decided to just make the best of the situation from there — after a waitress informed us we could order brunch from there. After that, it got far worse. Drink order took 20 minutes (clearly our waitress forgot to put it in), water glasses sat unfilled for 20+ minutes (mind you this place is small they can clearly see the glasses are empty and it is hot outside), the food was poorly cooked (one poached egg under, one way over with no yolk), EXTREMELY under-​seasoned, and cold…
When we placed our order, the 3 of us ordered the Mother’s Day 3-​course prix fixe. We weren’t sure what we wanted for dessert, so we didn’t place that order originally. I also put in another appetizer that was on the regular menu. FORTY FIVE minutes after placing our order, our entrees were walked out by a very confused food runner who clearly had no clue where they belonged… Not only were we being served our 2^nd course before our 1^st, the extra appetizer I ordered never even came! They brought our 1^st course 3 mins after our entrée, and now we are cramming plates onto a small high-​top with very little space to even attempt to enjoy.
At this point our waitress knows things are a DISASTER and completely stops coming to our table… All of our plates sat dirty on the table for 15 minutes before they were cleared. It was now that I got up and asked to speak to a 2^nd Manager (the first one was just the Beverage Manager and didn’t do anything to help fix the clear problems I had just explained to him).
Again, April was sincere & apologetic as she could see the frustration and disappointment on my face for ruining my Mom’s special day with this disastrous brunch. She brought a smörgåsbord of desserts, asked us if she could get us any additional drinks, and comped the entire meal.
I have been to many amazing restaurants around the world both for business and pleasure and this was by far the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. The only thing that made up for it was how nice April was, but unfortunately it was not enough to keep me from writing this review. As a NYC resident who reviews heavily on sites like Unilocal,I felt compelled to share my experience here.
Best of luck to future diners — maybe it was a result of the Mother’s Day rush — but, in my opinion, no excuses for a restaurant of this supposed caliber.

Wow, what a hidden gem. This place was fantastic!!!
Stopped in Saturday afternoon for brunch/​lunch.
It is on the second floor roof and is outdoors.
We started at the bar and the cocktail list was great. We then moved to our table. We had 6 people and were sat at a 4 top with two chairs added to the edges. We started with a few appetizers — pretzel crusted crab cake (amazing) and bread board (AMAZING! You must get this). They were delicious! We all loved our entrees. I had a cheeseburger which was great and my fiancé had the raspberry pancakes. They were fabulous! Everyone else loved the food as well.

Everything was thumbs up. The meal got better & better with each bite & sip. I was eager for next thing. Staff was VERY attentive, knowledgable of the menu & how the food was prepared, they gave great suggestions & everything was like clock work. The staff made the meal better by keeping it at a good pace.
Try:
— Potted Duck & Foie Gras Jar
— Peanut Butter Maple Bacon Dates
— Kale Salad (was a special)
— Pork Chop
— Lobster (was a special)
— White Peach Sorbet

Delicious
Wow! Already restaurant week and caught by surprised. My good friend was visiting from Orange County, California and decided to splurge on David Burke’s Kitchen. It was three picks for $ 25. What a steal!
It’s my second time here at the restaurant and will come back anytime.
It was girl’s lunch and of course, it calls for sharing.
We ordered the sea bass, salmon and soft shell crab quesadilla. The presentation was marvelous and food was scrumptous. The appetizer, we ordered the pretzel crab cakes for extra $ 5, salad and prosciutto.

Drinks are pricey, but this is a great place for an outdoor Happy Hour session.
There are so many places to sit, its ridiculous (in a good way). Always nice to have options.
The view is nice too.