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Monday, December 2, 2013

Gotham West Market- Hell's Kitchen- Yelp

 This is a pretty new place...most of the reviews are good but there are of course some sour apples

Biggest objection is that it is overpriced

It is WAY over in Midtown West

Gotham West Market

4.0 star rating
17 reviews
  • 11/27/2013
    1 check-in here
    I am quite surprised at some of the low ratings/reviews that Gotham West Market has received.

    The food is pretty great -- I had a hot chocolate from Blue Bottle Coffee, which wasn't too sweet and was also decently priced. I ordered my meal, the fried chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries, from Genuine Roadside. The staff was very friendly, recommending me their favorites off of GR's menu. My only issue with this place was that I felt it was overpriced, but I figure that the average consumer from Hell's Kitchen/Midtown can afford the tab and that's the clientele that they (for the most part) are catering towards.

    I would love to come back in the future and see how popular this place gets.
  • 11/25/2013
    1 check-in here
    I am SO excited to have a little foodie mecca all the way over in the barren wasteland that I call home (11th avenue)!!! Its sheer proximity to my apartment had my sister and I visiting three times this last weekend. That's right. Friday night we just stopped by to check it out and ending up trying the Smoked Fish Donburi Bowl from Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop. Small portion for the price but tasty (served cold, you've been warned).

    Saturday we had lunch with another friend at Genuine Roadhouse. I really enjoyed the fried chicken sandwich and sampled the breaded fish sandwich that I thought was just okay. Then we got breakfast sandwiches from Court Street Grocers (veggie and sausage, respectively) on Sunday morning. The breakfast sandwiches were the best thing we've tried yet and also the best value.

    Both Friday evening and Saturday midday were busy but despite the crowds, our food was served quickly. In general, it is a pricey place. However, if this last weekend is any indication, it's a price I'm willing to pay for convenience and good food. I'm looking forward to making Gotham West Market my regular neighborhood spot.
  • 11/24/2013
    This place is great, lots of good food. If only it was a bit closer

    El Colmado (Tapas) the lamb meat balls were really good and baby artichokes. Not your simple food you'd expect in a "food court"

    Also had Ivan Ramen. Very good. You often expect a thicker broth and the noodles are more like soba but the pork was really soft and the egg was all great. I would definitely go here again.

    Also had the strawberry shortcake milk shake at the very end of the market (forgot the name of the burger joint). Also yummy albeit a bit much for this cold weather.
  • 11/23/2013
    1 check-in here
    Yay to a new and clean spot filled with restaurants (ramen, sanwiches), a market, blue bottle coffee, a bike shop, etc!

    I came here for the genuine roadside and Ivan's ramen. I'd definitely come back to try their other spots!
  • 12/2/2013
    5 stars w/ a caveat -- if you live in the neighborhood, it's great. It's basically unrivaled. Would I travel from Chelsea or UES on a regular basis -- no. It's too informal and not that much of an "event" to warrant the trip. That said, the range of cuisines covered is great. The prices are about right given the atmosphere. The quality is very good, excellent relative to the other option in Hell's Kitchen. The crowd is local and much hipper than expected. Absolutely thrilled to have this in the neighborhood. If you live in the area, def check it out!
  • 11/20/2013
    1 check-in here
    This is a really excellent new market way out in the middle (or west) of nowhere in Midtown.

    All the way over on 11th Avenue, the only reason this place won't be perpetually packed is because it is just too much of a pain to get to with no trains particularly close. If you make the trek all the way over here though, it is more than worth it.

    There are a ton of great food options:
    - Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop (no explanation needed)
    - Little Chef (salads and stuff from the people that run Saltie)
    - El Colmado (tapas)
    - The Cannibal (an outpost of the restaurant)
    - Genuine Roadside (American food with waiter service)
    - Court Street Grocers Sandwich Shop (another outpost serving their great sandwiches)
    - Blue Bottle Coffee (some of the best hipster coffee around)

    On my first visit, it was opening day and I made a beeline for Ivan Ramen after hearing the endless hype about his ramen. It was understandably packed at the area around this shop near the entrance, but there was nobody at all waiting to order. It was mostly people waiting for their orders. I strolled right up and ordered and waited about 20 minutes for the food, which isn't too bad considering it was packed and it was their first day in business.

    Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop is the place you must hit up here, and I also got an amazing sandwich at Court Street Grocers Sandwich Shop, but a ton of the other stuff looks great as well. Blue Bottle Coffee is always great for some amazing coffee to go with your food.

    My only beef here is that there are not nearly enough sweets. I saw a cookie at Court Street Grocers and there are some sweets at Blue Bottle, but not much else. Get an artisanal ice cream shop in here, and they'll make a killing.

    I'll definitely be back soon - in enough time that these places iron out their opening issues, and hopefully before the crowds catch on and it gets too packed.
    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    11/21/2013
    Absolutely loving this market! I came in with the intention of grabbing a quick bite today and ended up leaving hours later after enjoying a few bites, a glass of wine, and then booked into a cooking class at The Brooklyn Kitchen.

    I ate the clean slate at Little Chef which is a fun concoction of quinoa, humus and pickled vegetables on homemade naan bread. Then I went over to El Colmado and had a glass of red wine with some really tasty smoked cheese. After that I grabbed a  salted chocolate brownie from Genuine Roadside for my walk to the subway.

    I even wrote a postcard to one of my friends - they supply postcards and promise to mail them for you!

    Such a great place, will definitely be back!!
  • 11/21/2013
    4 check-ins here
    Gotham West Market resides on the far west side of Hell's Kitchen on 11th ave. Reminiscent of Chelsea Market you'll find a variety eateries, a grocer, and seating areas. It'll range from breakfast to dinner.

    Some standouts are the Blue Bottle coffee stand, court street grocers, genuine roadside, and ivan ramen slurp shop for ramen. It runs pricey in my eye but the facility is definitely top notch. If not for the pricing i'd give it a 4 star for a better value.

    I'm interested to see Velo bike as well when they open as they take up a big corner of the ground floor.
  • 12/1/2013
    The food was delicious and service was excellent at El Comado, one of the many restaurants in the market. It's worth the walk to 10th Avenue...xoxoxo
  • 11/19/2013
    First to Review
    HUGE fan of many of the folks in this market-  A+ for Genuine Roadside ummm best ceviche taco ever and best mushroom burger I may have ever eaten, seriously and Seamus Mullen tasty, tasty large shrimp which may have been poached they were so juicy. Those are my top picks so far.  Great spaces, cool atmosphere, only wish the market spread across the whole block so they could fit a larger natural grocery store.
  • 11/20/2013
    The ramen place was the worst I've ever tasted. And i am a huge fan of raman. Never given a review negative or positive before but this was so bad and so new i felt like i had to contribute. Save yourself the trip and goto toto ramen  located just a few blocks away for authentic Japanese ramen.
  • 11/20/2013
    Awful Day 1. I know of 8 people from our nearby office who were underwhelmed, most swearing not to return.  Do you want non-seasoned, burnt cheeseburgers w/ few toppings, unsalted fries, soda, taking 25 min for take-out, for $15? Then this place is for you!  Sunac still reigns supreme.  Such a shame too, because for all the time this place spent prepping for opening, creating social media pages, etc; it sure forgot to operate as a worthwhile restaurant for business people headed out for lunch.
  • 11/20/2013
    Went to El Comado for lunch. Great tapas! High prices so it's more of a treat than an every day thing. Nice attentive service. The owner/manager (I think) chatted with us while he manned the jamon iberico.

    We originally wanted to go to Ivan Ramen but we were like 5 minutes before they opened and there was already a huge crowd waiting to order. Looking forward to try to find the sweet spot so they are not as mobbed.
  • 11/21/2013
    Good spot/ambiance; food is nothing special.  Prices are moderate to high for what you get.  No need to go out of your way for Gotham West.
  • 11/25/2013
    The best words to describe Gotham West and its restaurants (so far) are: over-priced, underwhelming, trendy, and slow. This is really too bad because I want this place to succeed.  The lunch options over here far on the west side are very few.

    To summarize my review in just a few words - there's currently nothing here you can't get a few blocks away, for 1/3 the price. I leave an open mind and hold out hope that the purveyors at Gotham up their game and lower their prices - soon.

    In fairness, the market did JUST open last week AND the level of anticipation (and expectations for its opening are high - especially for those of us this far west - 45&11.

    I've now been to Gotham West on three separate occasions. I feel like I can give a fair review at this point.

    First - THE BROOKLYN KITCHEN. I stepped in to check it out and did an immediate about-face when I saw the $118 price tag on the turkey. Who in their right mind pays $118 for an uncooked 10lb turkey? Perhaps this market is intended only to serve the wealthy folk who live upstairs? But, I don't think any of them have moved in yet. My guess is that this place doesn't last - at least not in its current incarnation. In NYC, you can buy a larger organic fully cooked turkey - and have it delivered - for less. The rolling pin I looked at for $29 is available on Amazon for $9.

    My first meal was at GENUINE ROADSIDE. This was the best of the 3 spots I dined at. I ordered the fried chicken sandwich and fries. The flavor was great - delicious actually. I really love the coleslaw on the sandwich. It adds texture and a coolness that lightens up the all-fried meal.  I definitely suffered some sticker shock at the $14 price tag - that's with no beverage at all. The price is also seemed steep for the quantity of food - think just slightly larger than a slider bun and about 30 shoe string fries.  Prep time for my lunch was 15 minutes.  All things considered - while the sandwich was good, for the price, the wait, and quantity of food, there are better diners in the neighborhood for a tasty chicken sandwich.

    My second visit was to COURT STREET GROCERS SANDWICH SHOP.  I came in for take-out breakfast and ordered the Mr. Victor (2 Scrambled Eggs, Hickory Smoked Sausage, Cabot Cheddar, and Arugula on Ciabatta) and a coke. The price for my breakfast sandwich and 12oz soda was $13. The wait for my sandwich was 17 minutes. The most disappointing part, however, was just how messy it was to eat.  Every ingredient seemed to work against every other, slipping and sliding between and across itself - so much so that I ended up eating my sandwich with a spoon. It may be that the folks at Court Street are still working through some kinks. I'll give another shot in a few weeks. Hopefully they'll have things figured out by then.

    Finally, today I tried IVAN RAMEN SLURP SHOP. I do not recommend it. I am a big fan of Asian noodle dishes but not overly knowledgeable about Ramen specifically. If you're not familiar either, the menu doesn't help (http://www.ivanramen.com…) I asked behind the counter for some help. The nice young woman essentially recommended every dish on the menu (individually) without being able to tell me much about how each was prepared.  I ordered the Roasted Garlic Mazemen (nori, chicken + dashi double soup, pork chashu, rye noodle), thinking pretty much anything would be tasty on a cold winter day.   I still don't know what nori is, there was no chicken in my ramen, double soup - again, no idea what that means, and pork chashu apparently means they chuck a hunk of soft pork fat in with your noodles.  I expected my meal would come in a steaming hot broth. Instead my noodles and pork fat were smothered in grey brown pepper gravy - and set me back another $14 - no beverage or side of fries this time. My guess is that what came out in my bowl is not what the chef who prepared the menu intended. I think this may be a training issue. Suffice it to say, I won't be trying Ivan out again unless I get word that things have improved.

    Some pluses about Gotham - Free Wifi. Tidy bathrooms. Everyone who works there seems friendly and eager to share a smile. Unfortunately, those great things do not make mediocre $12-$15 breakfast and lunches anymore appetizing to me.

    Perhaps Gotham West doesn't consider me their target audience and others will love it. My guess is that the love affair will fade quickly without some mighty improvements.
  • 11/21/2013
    Gotham West Market is AMAZING! It's a completely new concept that has everything you could want and more. I'm definitely going to come here at any time of day and for any occasion. I feasted with a couple of friends tonight, and everything was fantastic- Cannibal has an incredible beer selection; El Colmado's tapas are super delicious; Genuine Roadside's Strawberry Shortcake milkshake is divine; Court Street's patty melt melted in my mouth; Little Chef had such gorgeous plates of fresh food that made me feel less bad about devouring all of the above. I also poked my head into Brooklyn Kitchen, which was fun! Can't wait to sign up for a class there soon, and to enjoy Blue Bottle's coffee first thing tomorrow morning! MUST-TRY!!!!
  • 11/21/2013
    Was very excited for this place to open, because we have needed better food options in this hood for some time now.  But sadly I was disappointed.  WAY OVERPRICED for what you get.  I am a big fan of ramen and have tried it all over the city, so I couldn't wait to try some here.  I got a small bowl and it was $16  and was pretty average compared to all the great ramen shops I have experienced in the East Village and Brooklyn.  It was also extremely salty.  In the E. Village or Brooklyn a bowl would cost you around $7-$10 - here $16.  As I walked around the rest of the market, I couldn't believe the price points they were charging for things.  Beer and wine were at hotel  prices, but the difference is at a hotel, or a nice restaurant you get some ambiance....not an overly fluorescent lit food court.  I am so tired of the assumption that because there are a bunch of high rise residential buildings ( I live in one) and some advertising agencies (I worked in one) in the neighborhood, that people will be willing to spend and never blink $4 for french fries and $6 for shakes.  I actually think this will hurt them in the long run.  If they brought the prices down just a tad, it would do very well because they do have a lot of nice options under one roof.  Just don't be so pretentious with the prices people.

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