Desmond's Steakhouse
Categories:
Steakhouses,
Seafood
513 7th AveNew York, NY 10019
Neighborhood: Midtown West
(212) 391-6900
- Nearest Transit Station:
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Times Sq - 42 St. (1, 2, 3, N, Q, R)Times Sq - 42 St. (7, 7X)Times Sq - 42 St. (S)
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 11 am - 3 pmMon-Fri 5 pm - 11 pmSat-Sun 5 pm - 12 am
- Parking:
- Garage, Street, Validated
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
- $$$
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Classy, Upscale
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
19 reviews for Desmond's Steakhouse
Review Highlights What's this?
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"The tomato salad was huge and came with both thick slices of..." In 1 review -
"We also chowed on the slab bacon app as well." In 2 reviews
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"...wife and I shared an espresso creme brulee, which was tasty, but in..." In 1 review
Rating Distribution | Trend
19 reviews in English
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Review from Momo C.
Woodside, NYMy friend and I went here with the LivingSocial voucher, where you pay $85 for a 3-course meal and a bottle of wine for 2. We made a reservation for 7:30 on a Wednesday night, so it wasn't really busy when we got there.
The restaurant is on the 2nd floor. The first thing you'll notice is the decor. There is a bit of a rustic feel to it and there are candles that line the staircase; the lights are dim, but not dim enough that you can't see a menu. There is a bar and seating consist of round booths as well as regular tables. We were seated at one of the booths.
At first, the service was a bit slow. Maybe it was because it was a Wednesday night, or maybe it was because we went in with a LivingSocial deal, but it took the waiter a while to come over the first two times. Whatever the reason, that changed quickly since we were very friendly to the staff. We ended up ordering a caesar salad, fresh heirloom tomato and buffalo mozzarella creation, 2 filet mignons (med rare), 2 bread puddings, and a bottle of Merlot (Francis Ford Coppola - Diamond Collection Blue Label). The wine was nice, better than I expected. However, it was the filet mignons that made the night. They were actually medium rare! It was tender and worked well with the wine. The bread pudding at the end was also good, where it was sweet, but not too sweet.
It is definitely a place worth checking out. I only gave four stars though, because the service could've been better.-
LivingSocial deal - Coppola Merlot, fresh heirloom tomato a…
Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 10/7/2013
Awesome photo, thank you for coming. We hope to see you… More » -
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Review from Rick W.
Marina del Rey, CAI was looking for a nice traditional steak house near Times Square that wasn't too touristy. I made the mistake of trusting a Yelp 4 star rated restaurant that only had 17 reviews. The ambiance was fine, except the restaurant was near empty, which should have been our first warning.
The waiter recommended the bone-in NY Sirloin saying it was by very tender but also mentioned it did not have an actual bone attached to it. I trusted him because usually good waiters will tell you if something is sub par.
We had some oysters which were actually decent, but when the meat showed up my night was over. My knife could barely cut through this piece of leather. They cooked it to the right temperature of medium rare, but the fact that I could barely cut it or chew it made it the worst steak I've ever had. And it was completely flavorless.
Also, my buddy had the surf and turf and his lobster was dryer than a scone. I will not go back to this place ever again. -
Review from Kerri G.
Manhattan, NYDelicious, delicious, delicious steak, potatoes (in several forms) chicken and sliders! No, sliders are NOT on the menu...they were an unrequested GIFT from the chef. Let me explain...there is no kids section on the menu, so we just ordered 2 extra sides and figured we would share our chicken and steak with them. What a pleasant surprise when the server brought them! Kiddos were HAPPY! THANK YOU CHEF!
The service I found to be excellent...albeit...somewhat relaxed in timing, which is probably on purpose--it was methodical.. Not sure how my fellow NYers are going to deal with that.
If I were to make any adjustments it would be...treat dinner guests with bybacks like you would with bar guests. We had a substantial portion of our bill as cocktails...not one on the house...bummer. but hey...GREAT DINNER!Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 8/26/2013
Thank you so much for the fantastic review. We hope you come… More » -
Review from Kristin S.
Brooklyn, NYWe went here using a Groupon deal, $85 for prix fixe meal for 2. The food was very good. I had the buffalo mozzarella/tomato appetizer, grilled salmon dinner and ice cream for desert; my SO had the Caesar salad, filet mignon and cheesecake. We were both very happy with our food. His filet mignon was cooked to the perfect medium rare temperature, though he found it underseasoned - this was quickly rectified with fresh black pepper from the waiter. The deal also included a bottle of wine (we got white), which they kept chilled for us at our table. There is a live pianist which we thought was a very nice, romantic touch and he kept coming over to us to ask for requests.
The ambiance is beautiful, great for date night. The service was great, the manager himself came over to ask how everything was. We will definitely go back, even without a deal. -
Review from Chris D.
Rye, NYTo make it as a steakhouse in NY, you need to not only have a good product but good service - Desmond's serves okay food, but service is subpar and overwhelmingly overshadows the food.
I have been twice now to this new-guy-in-town steakhouse and the service has been extremely disappointing both times. Each course took too long (and was lukewarm)....and desserts never even came out to us! Having to ask 2x at each course, "is our food almost ready?" is unacceptable. I would say that they were busy, but with 6 other people in the restaurant, I would think the chefs and waiters would be more attentive to their product.
They were out of BACON (really, a steakhouse out of bacon?) and they have no cappuccino, but you CAN order a room temperature coffee if you would like.
Unless they get their act together, I would suggest going to one of the myriad other steakhouses in Manhattan......Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 8/20/2013
Chris, we're sorry to hear about your experience. We truly… More » -
Review from Sean S.
Alexandria, VAAs I'm sitting here stuck at Newark Airport trying to figure out if there is anything good to eat and my brain keeps harking back to the fabulous meal we had at Desmond's steakhouse this past weekend. We started out with cocktails and oysters Rockefeller at the gorgeous wrap around Carrera marble bar. Our trio of cocktails were expertly concocted and the oysters, although not my preferred style of preparation, were perfectly cooked and quite tasty.
After our cocktails and the quick app we headed over to our table where we were greeted pleasantly by our waiter who recited off a couple of appetizer and entree specials, and then ran off to get the bottle of wine we ordered.
For apps we had a buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad, as well as the artichoke special. For entrees we had the beef wellington special, veal chop, a rib eye, and Chilean sea bass along with sides of hash browns and mashed potatoes. Everybody tried a bit of everything, and while everyone was very pleased with their selections, the stand outs were the beef Wellington, the sea bass and the hash browns.
Beef Wellington has to be done just right to be good, and you really couldn't get any better than the preparation at Desmond's; the filet was rare, the mushroom duxelles expertly seasoned, and the exterior browned as it should be. The sea bass was moist, flavorful and everyone agreed one of the best versions we ever had. The hash browns were perfect and reminded me how much I hated my last steakhouse meal at Porterhouse NY, where everything, excluding the creamed spinach, was under seasoned, especially the hash browns.
Desmond's broke my string of recent visits to steakhouses where I left full, but disappointed. When you are paying five start prices, you expect five star service and food and Desmond's delivered.Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 8/20/2013
We couldn't be happier about your experience. Thank you and… More » -
Review from Franny A.
Desmonds tries hard to please and it does please. It is a second floor steakhouse nearby and I dined at the bar recently and had quite a good experience. Shoutout to the bartender who was super friendly and nice- she also lived in Brooklyn growing up..
Breadsticks- housemade came over to me- as well as olives- love it! I ordered a steak quesadilla which at $15 was huge with good steakhouse steak.quac. and sour cream I hear there's an in house butcher and I felt so welcomed here, I will definitely go back!-
Lovely quesadilla
Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 7/1/2013
So happy you had such a pleasant experience, please join us… More » -
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Review from Danielle S.
ROCKAWAY PARK, NYWent here for a business dinner with my company. I have never been so disappointed in my life. out of all the places i have ever been to, this is probably one of the top 3 worst restaurants in NYC.
We sat down at 7:35. About 10 minutes later, we were greeted by our waiter. He was an older, timid man. it took 25 minutes to get our drinks. 4 manhattans and 3 martinis. We ordered our appetizers around 8:00 (crab cakes, oysters, grilled shrimp and two bacon slabs) they arrived 35 minutes later. Besides the fact that it took so long to come out, it was disgusting, NOT fresh, and lacked flavor. The seafood tasted old, the bacon was under cooked and chewy. it was one of the worst crab cakes ive ever had in my life. I wont even get into the oysters, thats how bad they were. How can you screw up oysters?! all you do is shuck em!
Salads came out 30 minutes after the appetizers, and our entrees arrived as the salads were still on the table. the service was so slow, one of my co workers had to leave to catch his train, missing his entree. Another one of my coworkers entree came out 25 minutes after every one else, he had to take it to go. With only 8 tables in the restaurant, it didn't make sense that everything was dragging.
during this dining experience, i never seen a manager, our waiter remained MIA through out the night, the side dishes looked like something you would get from a diner. No one greeted us at the door. everything was extremely disappointing.
i do not recommend going here, there are plenty of other great steak houses in Manhattan. -
Review from Diane C.
Desmond's is a surprisingly well decorated, friendly, delicious steakhouse... a diamond in the rough ("the rough" being the gritty neighborhood in the west 30s). As with most steakhouses, the decor here screams MAN but there are actually some nice decorative touches that may appeal to the ladies. The bathroom was surprisingly impressive with Morton Brown soaps and lotion and cool Toto toilets. Those are some expensive toilets! Also, thumbs up to the beautiful bar... I hope to have a bar like that in my house some day!
So the food... the food was great. I did not have high expectations since there were not many reviews on Yelp. The only disappointing thing was the cold bread... which they "saved" by giving us super soft butter. They should really heat the bread though!
I ordered the NY Sirloin rare. At first glance, I was not happy b/c my steak did not have a good sear on it. However, that impression quickly faded away when I tasted how delicious my steak was. Serious flavor! Definitely up there on the list of best steaks I've ever had. What I didn't like is that I got the Horseradish sauce on the side and it was so thick and not nearly horseradish-y enough. They should really thin it out.
Aside from that, all of the apps and sides we ordered were wonderful and the bar was super generous. I especially loved the slab bacon appetizer because it wasn't as fatty as usual steakhouses and had a good crunch. The hash brown side was delicious and caught me off guard with it's deliciousness. Thumbs up. -
Review from Larry H.
Astoria, NYVery satisfying experience overall! We ordered porterhouse for 2, it came a bit undercooked (but we ordered med-rare, so made sense), but the waiter asked and very quickly fixed it for us. The steak was huge and with two sides we ended up having to box it.
This place is totally new and big, so if you want a nice and quiet place to bring a date, this is it. It's very comfortably decorated and I don't see it getting packed any time soon. -
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Review from Philip B.
Midtown West, Manhattan, NYA Supreme Court justice once asked to define pornography replied, "I know it when I see it." He could have also replied, "dinner at Desmond's."
Thursday, April 4th, a day that will live in infamy, and hopefully not too long in my intestines, myself and six co-workers decided to forgo Wolfgang's and try the new steakhouse up the Avenue.
Things were fugazy from the very start. As we were led to our table the piano player, hand on tip jar, shouted over to us that he plays requests. It's nice that he plays requests, however his demeanor came across as that of a two bit panhandler who's just stumbled out of a Port Authority restroom.
We're seated at our table and while waiting for a waiter to arrive, a very l-o-n-g wait, the piano player again, like some crumb bum, comes over to our table again and solicits that he takes requests and will even accompany should one of us want to sing. I told him to play "Far, Far Away while wishing I could stick his hands in a bug zapper.
Finally a waiter arrives to take our drink order. Here we are: a party of seven and not once, not ever, did anyone offer a wine list.
Drinks ordered, a waiter arrives holding a tray of plain white bread that can only be describes a "faux Italian" along with some grain rolls. He asks us to make our "selection from the breads." Selection? Are you kidding me!! There was only one type of bread! Slices of bread or rolls were removed from the tray with tongs. Just a single slice or a single roll. I suddenly had the sinking feeling we had made a wrong turn and wandered into a Weight Watchers meeting. One slice, one roll ! More requested (several times) but none delivered -ever. You get more than that at Guantanamo.
At but at last! - a reprieve, my Martini arrives with three olives (I had stipulated one, but let's not quibble). Glass to my lips. Pain to soon be diminished. This grueling start of what was supposed to be a fine dinner put in gentle numbing soft focus. WRONG!!! The vodka had a peculiar orange flavor. I never tasted a Martini quite like this one and never want to again. The olives, all three, were what I can only describe a radioactive green. Just plain weird.
The olives looked and tasted as if they were runoff sludge from the Fukashima nuke plant. The toxicology report is due next week.
At this point if Desmond's were a baseball player, he'd be walking to the dugout. You know why? You only get three strikes!!! Oh, but I forgot there nine innings! "Damn. I left my Vicodin home."
But wait! Order now and you'll get another lousy course - plus shipping and handling and another l-o-n-g wait.
I ordered three east coast and three west coast oysters. Desmond's must study of compromise because these oysters didn't look east or west coast. They looked and tasted as if they were dug up from a dung filled Kansas City stockyard.
And now for the main course- the "Coup de Gras." Porterhouse for two with sides of horseradish and au poivre sauce ($96). Hey, where's the au jus? Just dry looking steak, thick cold horseradish sauce and au poivre sauce supremely bland and tasteless.
Drum roll please. First bite! Lord please, "let my palate go." First bite not too bad. Second bite stringy fat. Chew, chew,chew to no avail. Oh Lord I haven't done this since mom and dad made me sit at the dining table until I finished my beets. Napkin up to my mouth, steak to spit out. A quick fold and drop, so as not to embarrass my host. Napkin on my lap. Strippers use a spit glass. At Desmond's we use a spit napkin.
A happy ending to this sad tale? Yeah, when we got up to leave. Somebody tell the piano player, to keep playing my favorite song -Far, Far Away. -
Review from jim s.
Southampton, NYWhat a transformation from an OTB to a great steakhouse in midtown. Service was excellent and the food was top-notch. We split a porterhouse for two and it compared to the better steakhouses in NYC. The decor was beautiful, tables were spaced out perfectly and the rest rooms were very nice as well. Although it was a rainy Monday night the restaurant had a decent crowd and a piano player played throughout the night. We will be back and wish the owner luck in the new venture.Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 7/1/2013
Jim, thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a… More » -
Review from Lawrence Z.
ELMHURST, NYAmazing experience! Stopped in with my friends prior to a Knicks game for a meal. The space is immense, and the decor is very tasteful. Food and drinks were both delectable. Absolutely recommend the crab cake, and the cowboy ribeye.-
Desmond's steak topped with foie gras and a red wine reduct…
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Review from JohnnyPrime.C. C.
Manhattan, NYFlavor: 7
Desmond's did a great job getting a crispy sear on most of the cuts we ordered, locking in the juiciness. I had the cowboy ribeye, which was tasty, but lacked a little seasoning. It was also 2-steps undercooked from what I ordered (I ordered medium and it came rare), so that's why the score seems a bit low. The undercooking didn't bother me too much, but a ribeye needs some heat for that nice fat to melt away properly. If you want to order your steak rare because you feel like you aren't supposed to cook the meat, then order a filet. But unless the beef is serious kobe or wagyu quality, you should not feel funny ordering anything medium. On the other hand, the others in our party enjoyed their steaks very much, so that balanced it out better. The steaks all come with a complimentary sauce on the side. I tried the horseradish cream, but it was a little thicker and heavier than I had anticipated, and not "horseradishy" enough, so I didn't dive into it all that much. Some of the other sauces were better though.
Choice of Cuts & Quality Available: 9
They hit everything that is required here. They have a NY sirloin (which is their strip), they have a t-bone, a porterhouse for two, a boneless ribeye, a cowboy ribeye (bone in), and a filet (which they don't even put into the red box on their menu that lists the steak cuts - awesome - it's a reminder that a filet is not a real steak, but, instead, something for women). The menu says that all meats are aged and grain fed, and of prime quality.
Portion Size & Plating: 9
My steak was 24oz, bone in; but the regular ribeye was a boneless 20oz. As such, you might get more meat for your buck by ordering the boneless cut. They offer the strip in two sizes: 12oz and 16oz. The t-bone is 20oz. The porterhouse is 48oz for two. And the filet comes in 8 or 14oz portions. Those are good-sized slabs of meat. Plating was basic: beef + plate + complimentary sauce (either on the side of right on top). Aside from the steak sizes, everything else was pretty big too. The wedge salad was enough to give all 6 of us a try, the tomato salad was huge, and the sides were good too. Most impressive was the seafood plateau, which, for $49, was a huge bargain.
Price: 8
Prices here range from upper $40s to mid-$50s. I thought my steak was a little overpriced at $56, but not a deterrent. If I go back, I will most likely order the regular ribeye or try some other cuts and save on cash in the process. The seafood platter here is an incredible buy. For $49 you get so much shit from the sea - awesome.
Bar: 10
The bar here is really awesome, and I can definitely see it being a good place to hang out. There is a massive wrap-around, marble-topped bar, and the bartender Danny mixes some incredible cocktails. Great guy. They also have these really great cheese-baked bread sticks to nibble on while you sip. The martini was made just right, and was topped with delicious pitted castelvetranos. My favorite.
Specials and Other Meats: 10
I didn't pay much attention to the specials, but the waiter did read off a few (fish and pasta if I recall?). As far as alternative meats goes, they have braised lamb AND rack of lamb, short ribs, veal, and chicken. A wide selection! Only thing missing is pork, but you should be eating bacon in the appetizer round anyway.
Apps, Sides & Desserts: 8
All the sides and apps we had were good. We started with a wedge salad (great chunks of thick bacon are involved - a must have). We also did a dozen east coast oysters. They were basic - good and crisp, creamy - and that's all you can ask for, aside from Tabasco sauce. The tomato salad was huge and came with both thick slices of beefsteak tomatoes and sliced marinated grape tomatoes. The mozzarella that came with it was really great too - soft, hand-made, delicious. All it needed was some charred onion. We also chowed on the slab bacon app as well. It was different from what you would expect, but really good. At a steak joint you usually get a legit slab of bacon - basically breakfast but extra thick. But here, it was sliced in the opposite direction, no grease or fat at all, and served with an interesting apple sauce underneath. Great, but completely unexpected - also a bit small. There was also some chowing on creamed spinach (basic - nothing off the charts or memorable to me), "exotic" mushrooms (which, to me, looked like hen of woods or cloud ears - more earthy than your tyical buttons or shitakes), and hash potatoes. For dessert my wife and I shared an espresso creme brulee, which was tasty, but in some parts the sugar brulee on top was too burnt.
Service: 10
The service was incredible - really - fantastic. The staff took this score from what would've been an 8 back up to a 10. Our waiter, David, made excellent suggestions in terms of what to order, what to drink, etc. He even graced us with an amazing impersonation of Liam Neeson's badass monologue from "Taken."
(review cu1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/10/2013
Flavor: 7
Desmond's did a great job getting a crispy sear on most of the cuts we ordered, locking in… Read more »
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3/10/2013
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Review from Darrell L.
Great Neck, NYI have eaten here twice now and have thoroughly enjoyed both meals. First time we split a porterhouse and second time had the Sirloin. Both pieces of meat were outstanding - I'd say a notch above most of the other steakhouses in the area and comparable with Wolfgang's. My wife had the Chilean sea bass and thought it was excellent as well. Both times we found the service to be fine. It's a pretty space but it's a large one so they have a tall order but I hope they make it because the food is quality and at no higher prices than anywhere else in the area which aren't as good.Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 7/12/2013
We're glad that both of your experiences were enjoyable.… More » -
Review from John B.
New York, NYAt 6:30, with half the restuarant empty, it took 20 minutes for the waiter to come so we skipped our cocktail order and just ordered dinner. But let me back up, waited 10 minutes at the hostess station for the hostess to come back and seat us. Salads and food came timely, and that went reletively without incident but something is very wrong at this restaurant and I suspect it's about to go out of business. Waay understaffed and no manager in sight. Don't go there. What a shame. -
Review from Theresa B.
Manhattan, NYI came here for a group networking event around the bar area and found the food and decor to be great! The restaurant has only been opened about 8 weeks and I was impressed with how good everything was. Each appetizer we had was fantastic (some of the best steak sliders I've had) and the drinks were also made to perfection. Unlike most restaurants in NYC, they don't push you out or rush you; the staff is very welcoming and friendly and they make you feel at home. There is live piano music 7 nights a week. Karen the piano player with a 17 year history at the rum house was friendly and did a wonderful job taking requests and creating a wondering ambience. Also the bathrooms are beautiful. Molton Brown soap and lotion and flowers in the ladies room, very clean, unlike most restaurant bathrooms in NYC. This place exudes quality and is a great example of what a great steakhouse in NYC should be.Comment from Shelley C. of Desmond's Steakhouse 7/1/2013
Theresa, thank you so much noting our hospitality. We're… More » -
Review from Jared K.
Los Angeles, CAEverything was incredible, especially the cocktails! Drink up!!! -
Review from Mary M.
Norwalk, CTLike the 5 stars says "As good as it gets"...... My boyfriend and I wondered in expecting a nice time along with dinner since it was recommended to us by fellow colleagues. We were very pleased by the ambiance of the restaurant right away. It's handsome and elegant at the same time. We had had our usual mixed drinks and liked what we tasted. They had our favorite vodka which is always a plus. The bartenders at this tremendous wraparound bar were attentive and engaging. We had some apps that they wanted us to try which was a nice touch since we were hungry. It was great to have a little something along with our drinks before be sat down to dinner. When we were seated for dinner they suggested we sit at the romantic table so that we could sit next to one another. We love that rather than being across from each other. To me right there that put a feather in their hats. Obviously, they saw how much in love we are and were able to read peoples preferences. After that the meal and waiter seemed to do nothing but accommodate our needs. My steak was sizzling good! Cooked just right and I loved the creamed spinach! We were too full for dessert but saw plenty of them being ordered. I felt content. Oh, I need to mention the clean ladies room with it's scented hand wash and creams. It smelled wonderful. It made you feel like a special woman! A great way to end the evening. I have already told other fellow workers and friends about Desmond's Steakhouse. I wish them all the best....
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