Tuesday, September 10, 2013

La Mediterranee

Been awhile since we have done any French restaurants..

May do two tonight, both calling themselves "bistros" but this one larger than the other.

Let us see..seems to average out about three stars...so nothing stellar...a few sour apples vs. those who feel it is just great


La Mediterranee Bistro and Wine Bar

3.0 star rating
52 reviews Rating Details
Category: French
947 2nd Ave
(between 51st St & 50th St)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 755-4155
Nearest Transit Station:
Lexington Ave./53 St. (E, M)
51 St. (4, 6, 6X)
Grand Central - 42 St. (7, 7X)
Hours:
Mon-Sun 12 pm - 12 am
Attire:
Casual
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Price Range:
$$
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
Yes
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
Yes
Wi-Fi:
Free
Good For:
Dinner
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Noise Level:
Average
Ambience:
Romantic
Has TV:
No

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "They also have a piano player playing old time show tunes." In 5 reviews
  • "The Foie Gras was brilliant but the creme brulee wasnt." In 3 reviews
  • "The excellent food -- steak frites, Sole Meuniere, Croque Monsieur..." In 3 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
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52 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 37 reviews
    Escondido, CA
    4/11/2013
    Loved this place.  It is very old-timer, but I like that.  Love the service.  The Saturday brunch has $5 drinks--wine, champagne, mimosas, bloodies.  That alone adds a star
  • Review from

    • 17 friends
    • 61 reviews
    New York, NY
    7/7/2013 1 check-in here
    My boyfriend and I bought the Diner's Deck a while back which offers $10 off $30 meals at 52 restaurants throughout the city. We both had the day off Friday and wanted to try a new place in the deck and felt like brunch. Most of the cards offering brunch specify the brunch as either being weekend brunch or a Sunday brunch, but La Mediterranee offered weekend brunch or lunch and both happen to be the same menu so we did not feel like we would be wasting the card by using it on a Friday.

    When we first walked in there was only one other couple in the restaurant. The waiter offered the only table next to the window - yes please! We shared the Omelet Basquase and the Mediterranean Sandwich and two orders of gazpacho soup. We both thought the food was good, but nothing amazing. I noticed a sign saying they had live piano music at night, which sounds interesting. I would come back to check out the dinner menu, but given how many great restaurants there are offering lunch/brunch I would rather try something new.
  • Review from

    • 23 friends
    • 39 reviews
    ASTORIA, NY
    Updated - 6/12/2013 1 photo
    Memories aside, each visit to this place has proven progressively worse. While the food has greatly improved, due to new management and a revamped menu, the service is abominable. Our greeter, who we later learned was the owner, showed himself to be your stereotypical flippant French man. He was rude and un-accommodating, despite an empty restaurant and the two elderly women in our party. He only perked up a wee bit when one of the women spoke to him in French. An insect would probably have been treated better. We felt singled out and somewhat exiled, as other patrons received their menus, dishes and you name it before us. Never again, my "Mediterranee" ...only your food runner was an absolute sweetheart and adorable, smiling and serving us sans attitude; however out of place that might be in your establishment.

    1 Previous Review: Show all »

    • 4/24/2012
      I was taken to this darling innocuous place one Friday evening by an elderly friend who had been… Read more »
  • Review from

    Calgary, Canada
    11/11/2012 Purchased a Yelp Deal
    Came here for a quick brunch....saw the yelp deal and thought why not?

    It is a bit dated, old school and the waiter is a little bit lost when it came to working out how the yelp deal went.

    The food was average, nothing special. Eggs are hard to miss on. Service was a bit slow but the coffee was decent.

    If you happen to be passing by....
  • Review from

    • 48 friends
    • 95 reviews
    Brooklyn, NY
    7/26/2012 Purchased a Yelp Deal
    I had the scallop salad, which wasn't anything what I expected, but it was good none the less. Slightly too much oil from the capers, but overall, really great.

    The wait staff was nice, but it seemed like no one was sure who was supposed to have my table. I was asked if I wanted wine by two different people and at the end of the meal I said no dessert and then a different waiter came by and gave me a dessert menu and then later came back and again asked me if I wanted anything.

    But the real reason why I am giving this place 3 stars is because I bought the yelp deal on a whim, $15 for $30 and strolled over to the place, book in hand, looking for just a quite night with a good book and good food. I got wine + scallops + tax came out to $30.50. I'm thinking I calculated that pretty well. But the waiter comes by and says that he cant accept my coupon because it is only for .50 cents more. And he was like maybe you can order another glass of wine ($11 for the first one I got) or something to increase the price to $35 +.

    Ummmm no, I've had many yelp, groupon, etc. deals before. Sure it would be nice for the restaurant if they got me in spending $15 but I ended up spending $50, but that isn't how these things work and you shouldn't make me feel bad or cheap for just spending the $30 that I purchased. In the end I still tipped the guy 20% off the original bill, which is what you are supposed to do, but only because it was the manager who seemed really pissed at me and not the waiter (he was pretty sweet).

    That was the last transaction I had and it left me feeling slightly annoyed. Hence, if you want to over pay for food, sure try this place, the atmosphere is nice.
  • Review from

    • 3 friends
    • 72 reviews
    New York, NY
    5/23/2012
    This place is sooooooooo cute!

    But then again, I am not a typical reviewer.

    Atmosphere - 4/5 - I tend to like casual, but quiet and friendly places.  I can do without the inauthentic passing trends (but note that I do like finer things) and loud music.  This place made me feel like I had stepped into a little French restaurant miles away from NYC.  There are these cute scenic paintings all around, and by the bar, is a piano where an old man sang oldies so it took me back to a time before I had been born.  (I happen to like classic movies / music / books so this was right up my alley.)  My friend and I (in our late 20s) were probably the youngest customers there.  I loved seeing all the old people out and about and being social - observing their mannerisms - it was like a retirement community smack in the middle of Manhattan and I LOVED IT!  Just adorable!

    Food - 3.5/5 - I had the fig salad and whole wheat pasta with meat sauce.  The fig salad was pretty good.  The whole-wheat pasta was OK.  Prices were very reasonable too.

    Service - 4/5 - Our waitress was very polite and the rest of the staff was very attentive as well.

    I want to go back to watch them sing the oldies again!
  • Review from

    • 9 friends
    • 1 review
    Hewlett, NY
    3/18/2012
    So I Finally have a reason to write a review on Yelp. Worst brunch EVER how does this place exist? This restaurant was horrible from top to bottom. First they made us wait 25 minutes before a waiter came over. that was nothing compared to the rest of my experience.

    so after we ordered they took 20 minutes to bring us bread and that was after i had to ask the waiter. 10 minutes later he come out with our soup... but get this we orderd 3 soups, 2 SOD and 1 french onion. He brings 3 SOD so we tell him that we ordered a french onion. So instead of leaving the 2 soups and replacing one he takes all 3 back into the kitchen. During our service i must have heard the waiter say "sorry" to the diners the restauarent  about 100 times. 5 min late he come back with the soups and the salad we ordered...NOW the best part!!!!!!!

    so after another half our b/w our apps and entrees and the food finally come. My girlfriend and I both ordered the chicken Pesto sandwich. I shit you not this tasted like turkey all the way.. so i tell the waiter because at this point I'm so pissed with this guy that "the chicken taste like turkey"   R U READY FOR THIS?????

    The waiter goes into the kitchen and comes back with a piece of chicken breast sliced and Turkey that you buy at the super market!  and I'm not talking the turkey from the deli. This shit was in the plastic like trader joe style. So trying to prove his point about the chicken. i say to him thats "its fine and i don't care."
    So i continue to eat this Crap sandwich and again he comes back with the turkey but he brings with him a F$&^ing chicken in the plastic pre made oven roasted chicken from some food company...  Honestly don't know how a restaurant can serve that crap and i will never eat in this shithole again that r serving canned food and pre made meats... i hope every single  person can read this review because no one should pay for crap like this in NYC there are thousands of restaurants to choose from and to serve junk like that... street vendors serve better food
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    3/27/2012
    The tired decor of this restaurant does not detract from the quality of the experience.

    The food is generally quite good at this price point.

    You can count on some high quality French staples i.e. Steak Frites, etc.
  • Review from

    • 20 friends
    • 5 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    8/20/2012 Purchased a Yelp Deal
    They did take our Yelp coupon for lunch instead of dinner. Very accommodating in that way.

    The service was rather slow. I assume the waiter was new. He also didn't speak english very well.

    The food was nothing amazing. Nothing was out standing. We enjoyed it, but probably would look for some where else for the same fare.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 33 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    11/3/2012
    I have never been treated so poorly just for asking for a table for two. We asked for a table as another party was asking for a table for 3 and the host/bartender/possible manager freaked out on us and started hollering in the middle of his restaurant that he was "running out of food, staff and completely out of patience". Dude, we just asked for a table in a seemingly half empty restaurant. Maybe take down your brunch sign and menu from outside if you don't want any interested diners walking in. Better yet, CLOSE if you can't serve people.
  • Review from

    • 11 friends
    • 85 reviews
    Chicago, IL
    5/28/2012
    We went here for Sunday brunch (late, after 1) because it was near our hotel. It wasn't very busy. They also had $5 drink specials- not terribly strong drinks, but the bloody Mary was good and they offered mimosas, Bellinis, and screwdrivers.

    Entrees come with a cup of the soup of the day and fries. They also brought out fresh rolls- they were very good. I had the omelet caprese, which was good. My boyfriend had the croque madame though which was AMAZING. Therefore this place gets 4 stars. We finished with cappuccinos which were good too, served with a little cinnamon on top.
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    12/17/2012
    I loved this place! I came here on a rainy Saturday for brunch with a friend. We were seated in a cozy booth, served warm bread and left alone for the appropriate amount of time to catch up. The waiters are attentive without being overbearing. They took drink orders, let us know the specials, and then disappeared again to let us pour over the extensive menu. We both started with a delicious (and complimentary!) carrot ginger soup, which was velvety and rich without being too heavy. I had a decadent croque monsieur which definitely rivaled the one I had just had in Paris only a week earlier. My friend had crepes florentine, which was equally delicious (although I do think I had the better meal). A wonderful meal, wonderful service, and great price. Will certainly be back soon!
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 29 reviews
    Washington, DC
    1/2/2012 Purchased a Yelp Deal
    My girlfriend and I ate here Dec 30.  It was a wonderful atmosphere, not loud, not packed, and the piano player was great.  We started with the stuffed avocado (Is that French? Who cares!).  It was superb, with this sauce around it - plenty of it - which was probably also avocado.  The seafood inside was cooked well.

    I had the beef bourguignon which fell apart with my fork and was awesome.  She had the skate, which was like butter.  We finished with coffee and they let us sit as long as we wanted.  All of this with two glasses of wine for under $100 (plus we did the yelp deal).

    As my girlfriend said, if I would be a regular if I lived near NYC.

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