David Rozen

Review of The Russian Tea Room

We just stayed at the Park Hyatt and ventured to h...

We just stayed at the Park Hyatt and ventured to have dinner at the Russian Tea Room - or perhaps what was once the RTR but is no more.
My wife and I shared the space with a nice mom and her 9 year old daughter and with a couple of teenagers across the room. The emptiness of the space was painfully loud. What was once the place to see and be seeing, is nowdays a lonely and sad place. The staff, wearing old, seemingly dusty and unfitted Russian customs, looked redicioulus and knew it as well, and yet managed somehow to walk around with a chip on their shoulder (and I don't mean that as a compliment). The service was deeply below par and my mother in law makes a borscht that puts their version to shame. The food was average at best and without a doubt not worth the $150 we left on the table - especially with so many great restaurants around. What I want to convey to you, is how SAD the place felt, it felf like visiting a skeleton of what used to be a beautiful bear. One thing is nearly certain, you won't find any Russians dining there. And here is the thing to take away - we fell into the trap because we were staying at the Hyatt across the street... It was virtually impossible for us not to fall in... I mean, you are staying next door to the RTR and won't give it a try? Well, take our word for it and skip it!! It's not even worth going in order to place a "check mark" and say you were at the Russian Tea Room - it's not really there any more.