Adam Cohen

Review of Rainbow Room

My wife and I had Sunday Brunch here, and walked a...

My wife and I had Sunday Brunch here, and walked away somewhat disappointed. Our friend works in the kitchen, and it is our tradition to have a meal at every one of his restaurants, or to treat him to places he aspires to work. Usually, we have a very pleasant experience. However, at the Rainbow Room, we were unfortunately underwhelmed.

The pricing at the Rainbow Room seems very good on paper. $125 per head, not including drinks, tax, or gratuity. The menu is all-you-can-eat, with a bevy of buffet and a-la-carte options. However, we found ourselves disappointed.

First, the positives, as there were a few. The views from the reception area where you wait before your table is ready are extraordinary. You get breathtaking southern views of Manhattan, with the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and Freedom Tower all on full display, as well as the Statue of Liberty, downtown Brooklyn, and the Verazano Bridge. If you have the fortune of getting an "outside" (meaning close to a window) table, you get to enjoy a great look at the city. We were not lucky enough to be near a window.

Second, the bacon bar is amazing. Slow-cooked pork belly, smoked turkey, a lightly candied bacon, and a great cut of Canadian bacon were all delicious and available in heaps. Unfortunately, the one server gets a bit overwhelmed by everybody swarming him.

Sadly, it all went downhill from there. The juice bar was good, though the "fresh squeezed" orange and grapefruit juices tasted suspiciously like Tropicana or Simply Orange juices. Still refreshing, but you can taste "fresh squeezed" and this was either packaged juice that was rebranded, or had been squeezed a few days ago and preserved.

We ended our visit on a low note. The cheesecake we had for our small dessert was some of the worst we had ever eaten. It was flavorless, with a bitter aftertaste that was very unpleasant. It placed a damper on the meal, as the bitter aftertaste was cloying and hard to get out of our mouths.

The final reason for the 2 stars though is the poor value. We have no qualms about spending on food, but taken as a whole, the Rainbow Room was bad value. For $125 per person, the food was mediocre and the experience forgettable. The restaurant felt like a white-collar tourist trap, where we were paying the mark-up just to be there.

All things included, we paid $350 for brunch; that amount of money, even in the NYC fine dining scene, goes a long way at some other top-caliber restaurants. Unless you really, really have to go to this restaurant, pay $80 to go to the top of the Freedom Tower with the luxury passes, then go out for a great lunch nearby. It'll be the better experience.