Great and elegant place for cocktails... Or mocktails if you don't drink alcohol like me. During shoes and performance time it can be busy, but if not it'll be quieter and more intimate. Variety of seating options. Looking forward to coming back.Oh and great staff. Thanks for a great night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jeffrey Ng
Nice and quiet when the shows are on and it’s empty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrew Warshaw
Wonderful menu and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jay160
The Library is an excellent restaurant and a great convenience when see shows at the Public Theatre or Joe's Pub. The food is great from the burger to the steak frites, and the cocktails are excellent. The ambience is nice and the service is good. Check it out -
Dotan
Everything was nearly perfect, especially for the price ($45 restaurant week 3-course dinner deal). The only thing they messed up was my wife's butternut squash soup, which was delicious BUT way too spicy hot. Like someone in the kitchen wasn't paying attention to the amount of cayenne going into the dish. I can tolerate super spicy food and had trouble finishing her soup. It happens but it's nice to get an apology and some sort of recognition that an error was made and that part did not happen. In any case, it was the only hiccup in an otherwise flawless meal. And once again a great value. It's also a beautiful restaurant. Not sure why it's not busier.
Beverly Fish
GREAT place to eat & drink - food is great - and atmosphere and service was awesome!Dietary restrictions: had a veggie diner - and plenty to choose from
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burgers
PatriciaB
I love the Library and really want to give it better ratings. The food is good, especially the steak frites. Nobody makes better frites!!! Awesome. HOWEVER, they really seem to not be able to get food to the table in a timely manner. We were seeing a show, we said we need to be out in time and the food was delivered 30 minutes before show time. PLEASE someone fix this - I have to ask for the food everytime and I have to keep asking. This has happened twice in one month.
Auburn sKai
Especiallyw Michelle and Sophia represented The Library at the Public super well (every employee there was lovely, truly). They were both warm and welcoming, and they majorly contributed to the beautiful experience that my friend and I had there.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
JohnH
Great service and such a quiet place to have dinner conversation before going to a show. So many restaurants play bad and loud music. Fortunately, the Library is a civil and jet place to enjoy a meal.
CaptainMikeSaysItsGreat
We ate on the "terrace" or "mezzanine" (library was closed for some reason), but it was just delightful. Our server, Beth, was super friendly and efficient. I loved it
If I could leave 0 stars, I would.I had a 5.30pm reservation for a 7pm show. My friend and I ordered two cocktails and two burgers, one medium rare and one medium. After we put in our orders around 6, waited 45 entire minutes for our food to finally come out. We were told that it would "be out shortly" about 10 minutes before it actually arrived, probably because the waitstaff heard us complain. We saw multiple tables who were seated after us get their food before us.When the burgers finally came out, we were appalled. My medium rare was fully rare and my friend's medium was on the medium rare side. The entire middle of my burger was inedible. My friend also felt uncomfortable eating hers. We didn't have time to send the food back, as our show was in 15 minutes. When our waiter came to take our plates, he asked how everything was. We explained to him that our burgers were incredibly underdone but that we didn't have time to send it back. We were SO nice to him, saying this in truly the nicest way possible. As we spoke, his reply was "word" over and over again. Then he said, "This is my first job in New York and I've noticed they do tend to cook things more 'pink' here. I would NEVER order hamburger meat medium rare. I always order mine well done." First of all, if he knows the kitchen cooks things on the rare side, he should have let us know when ordering. Second of all, why should he be telling me how to order my burger? I've very rarely had an issue with medium rare and it's usually how I eat my burgers. However this one was truly raw inside. I'm sure the kitchen just slapped some burgers on the grill at the last minute because they realized we hadn't gotten our food.The worst part was he was INCREDIBLY rude after this. He was continuing to be friendly to the table next to us (who are members of the Public) and gave my friend and I the silent treatment when dropping off/picking up the check and was very curt with us after our complaint. I have to emphasize again that we were VERY nice to him in our complaints and even tipped 20% on the food.The 45 minute wait for a burger was egregious enough (especially without a comped drink or dessert) but to be talked down to on top of that? Absolutely unacceptable, especially for that price point. Any other diner would have made a big deal about this at the restaurant, but my friend and I continued to be nice to our server. To then be treated so rudely afterward was shocking.I have never in my life called a restaurant to complain, but I did call the Public after this experience. We dined with them on a Tuesday. I called multiple times on Wednesday and left multiple voicemails. No one got back to me. I finally got ahold of the manager on Thursday. I explained the situation and she said I was not the first to complain about this waiter. She took down my email and said she would reach out about "two free drinks" at the restaurant. First of all, I never heard from her again and it's now Sunday. Second of all, I do not want free drinks. The appropriate response would be to comp this meal since I waited 45 minutes for a completely raw burger and then was belittled by staff. No matter, though, since I haven't heard a peep from the manager and don't have the time to make a million calls to try and speak with her again.I would have loved to discuss this in person on Tuesday, but after waiting 45 minutes for a hamburger, we had no time before our show.This is truly the last time I dine at the Public and I will highly discourage anyone from dining here. Horrible service, horrible management, horrible food.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Elizabeth M.
If I could leave 0 stars, I would.I had a 5.30pm reservation for a 7pm show. My friend and I ordered two cocktails and two burgers, one medium rare and one medium. After we put in our orders around 6, waited 45 entire minutes for our food to finally come out. We were told that it would "be out shortly" about 10 minutes before it actually arrived, probably because the waitstaff heard us complain. We saw multiple tables who were seated after us get their food before us.When the burgers finally came out, we were appalled. My medium rare was fully rare and my friend's medium was on the medium rare side. The entire middle of my burger was inedible. My friend also felt uncomfortable eating hers. We didn't have time to send the food back, as our show was in 15 minutes. When our waiter came to take our plates, he asked how everything was. We explained to him that our burgers were incredibly underdone but that we didn't have time to send it back. We were SO nice to him, saying this in truly the nicest way possible. As we spoke, his reply was "word" over and over again. Then he said, "This is my first job in New York and I've noticed they do tend to cook things more 'pink' here. I would NEVER order hamburger meat medium rare. I always order mine well done." First of all, if he knows the kitchen cooks things on the rare side, he should have let us know when ordering. Second of all, why should he be telling me how to order my burger? I've very rarely had an issue with medium rare and it's usually how I eat my burgers. However this one was truly raw inside. I'm sure the kitchen just slapped some burgers on the grill at the last minute because they realized we hadn't gotten our food.The worst part was he was INCREDIBLY rude after this. He was continuing to be friendly to the table next to us (who are members of the Public) and gave my friend and I the silent treatment when dropping off/picking up the check and was very curt with us after our complaint. I have to emphasize again that we were VERY nice to him in our complaints and even tipped 20% on the food.The 45 minute wait for a burger was egregious enough (especially without a comped drink or dessert) but to be talked down to on top of that? Absolutely unacceptable, especially for that price point. Any other diner would have made a big deal about this at the restaurant, but my friend and I continued to be nice to our server. To then be treated so rudely afterward was shocking.I have never in my life called a restaurant to complain, but I did call the Public after this experience. We dined with them on a Tuesday. I called multiple times on Wednesday and left multiple voicemails. No one got back to me. I finally got ahold of the manager on Thursday. I explained the situation and she said I was not the first to complain about this waiter. She took down my email and said she would reach out about "two free drinks" at the restaurant. First of all, I never heard from her again and it's now Sunday. Second of all, I do not want free drinks. The appropriate response would be to comp this meal since I waited 45 minutes for a completely raw burger and then was belittled by staff. No matter, though, since I haven't heard a peep from the manager and don't have the time to make a million calls to try and speak with her again.I would have loved to discuss this in person on Tuesday, but after waiting 45 minutes for a hamburger, we had no time before our show.This is truly the last time I dine at the Public and I will highly discourage anyone from dining here. Horrible service, horrible management, horrible food.
Rosa
We have been here before (although not for several years) but will not be back again. We had to ask for sweetener three times; servings were extremely small; my food was barely lukewarm - clearly it had been sitting out for a long time before being brought to the table - when I asked to have it reheated, it was brought back in a very hot plate, but the food was still cold (and not very good). While it is very convenient to eat here when seeing a performance, there are many excellent restaurants nearby offering better food and service.
Patricia Vilá Trujillo
I came here with a few friends during restaurant week. I had a reservation at 7:30pm. The night before they sent me a message asking me to move the reservation to 5:30pm as they were going to have an event at 8pm... I agreed but we ended up arriving 55 minutes later... in the middle of dinner, at 7:30pm they asked us to leave! and they packed our already ordered desserts and literally Took us out of the restaurant in order to have their precious event... Of course they didn’t forget to bring the huge bill and the included tip... NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED IT!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jason Ibarra
A very cool bar is hangout at regularly if I could
Great and elegant place for cocktails... Or mocktails if you don't drink alcohol like me. During shoes and performance time it can be busy, but if not it'll be quieter and more intimate. Variety of seating options. Looking forward to coming back.Oh and great staff. Thanks for a great night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice and quiet when the shows are on and it’s empty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful menu and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The Library is an excellent restaurant and a great convenience when see shows at the Public Theatre or Joe's Pub. The food is great from the burger to the steak frites, and the cocktails are excellent. The ambience is nice and the service is good. Check it out -
Everything was nearly perfect, especially for the price ($45 restaurant week 3-course dinner deal). The only thing they messed up was my wife's butternut squash soup, which was delicious BUT way too spicy hot. Like someone in the kitchen wasn't paying attention to the amount of cayenne going into the dish. I can tolerate super spicy food and had trouble finishing her soup. It happens but it's nice to get an apology and some sort of recognition that an error was made and that part did not happen. In any case, it was the only hiccup in an otherwise flawless meal. And once again a great value. It's also a beautiful restaurant. Not sure why it's not busier.
GREAT place to eat & drink - food is great - and atmosphere and service was awesome!Dietary restrictions: had a veggie diner - and plenty to choose from
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Burgers
I love the Library and really want to give it better ratings. The food is good, especially the steak frites. Nobody makes better frites!!! Awesome. HOWEVER, they really seem to not be able to get food to the table in a timely manner. We were seeing a show, we said we need to be out in time and the food was delivered 30 minutes before show time. PLEASE someone fix this - I have to ask for the food everytime and I have to keep asking. This has happened twice in one month.
Especiallyw Michelle and Sophia represented The Library at the Public super well (every employee there was lovely, truly). They were both warm and welcoming, and they majorly contributed to the beautiful experience that my friend and I had there.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Great service and such a quiet place to have dinner conversation before going to a show. So many restaurants play bad and loud music. Fortunately, the Library is a civil and jet place to enjoy a meal.
We ate on the "terrace" or "mezzanine" (library was closed for some reason), but it was just delightful. Our server, Beth, was super friendly and efficient. I loved it
Restaurantji Recommends
If I could leave 0 stars, I would.I had a 5.30pm reservation for a 7pm show. My friend and I ordered two cocktails and two burgers, one medium rare and one medium. After we put in our orders around 6, waited 45 entire minutes for our food to finally come out. We were told that it would "be out shortly" about 10 minutes before it actually arrived, probably because the waitstaff heard us complain. We saw multiple tables who were seated after us get their food before us.When the burgers finally came out, we were appalled. My medium rare was fully rare and my friend's medium was on the medium rare side. The entire middle of my burger was inedible. My friend also felt uncomfortable eating hers. We didn't have time to send the food back, as our show was in 15 minutes. When our waiter came to take our plates, he asked how everything was. We explained to him that our burgers were incredibly underdone but that we didn't have time to send it back. We were SO nice to him, saying this in truly the nicest way possible. As we spoke, his reply was "word" over and over again. Then he said, "This is my first job in New York and I've noticed they do tend to cook things more 'pink' here. I would NEVER order hamburger meat medium rare. I always order mine well done." First of all, if he knows the kitchen cooks things on the rare side, he should have let us know when ordering. Second of all, why should he be telling me how to order my burger? I've very rarely had an issue with medium rare and it's usually how I eat my burgers. However this one was truly raw inside. I'm sure the kitchen just slapped some burgers on the grill at the last minute because they realized we hadn't gotten our food.The worst part was he was INCREDIBLY rude after this. He was continuing to be friendly to the table next to us (who are members of the Public) and gave my friend and I the silent treatment when dropping off/picking up the check and was very curt with us after our complaint. I have to emphasize again that we were VERY nice to him in our complaints and even tipped 20% on the food.The 45 minute wait for a burger was egregious enough (especially without a comped drink or dessert) but to be talked down to on top of that? Absolutely unacceptable, especially for that price point. Any other diner would have made a big deal about this at the restaurant, but my friend and I continued to be nice to our server. To then be treated so rudely afterward was shocking.I have never in my life called a restaurant to complain, but I did call the Public after this experience. We dined with them on a Tuesday. I called multiple times on Wednesday and left multiple voicemails. No one got back to me. I finally got ahold of the manager on Thursday. I explained the situation and she said I was not the first to complain about this waiter. She took down my email and said she would reach out about "two free drinks" at the restaurant. First of all, I never heard from her again and it's now Sunday. Second of all, I do not want free drinks. The appropriate response would be to comp this meal since I waited 45 minutes for a completely raw burger and then was belittled by staff. No matter, though, since I haven't heard a peep from the manager and don't have the time to make a million calls to try and speak with her again.I would have loved to discuss this in person on Tuesday, but after waiting 45 minutes for a hamburger, we had no time before our show.This is truly the last time I dine at the Public and I will highly discourage anyone from dining here. Horrible service, horrible management, horrible food.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
If I could leave 0 stars, I would.I had a 5.30pm reservation for a 7pm show. My friend and I ordered two cocktails and two burgers, one medium rare and one medium. After we put in our orders around 6, waited 45 entire minutes for our food to finally come out. We were told that it would "be out shortly" about 10 minutes before it actually arrived, probably because the waitstaff heard us complain. We saw multiple tables who were seated after us get their food before us.When the burgers finally came out, we were appalled. My medium rare was fully rare and my friend's medium was on the medium rare side. The entire middle of my burger was inedible. My friend also felt uncomfortable eating hers. We didn't have time to send the food back, as our show was in 15 minutes. When our waiter came to take our plates, he asked how everything was. We explained to him that our burgers were incredibly underdone but that we didn't have time to send it back. We were SO nice to him, saying this in truly the nicest way possible. As we spoke, his reply was "word" over and over again. Then he said, "This is my first job in New York and I've noticed they do tend to cook things more 'pink' here. I would NEVER order hamburger meat medium rare. I always order mine well done." First of all, if he knows the kitchen cooks things on the rare side, he should have let us know when ordering. Second of all, why should he be telling me how to order my burger? I've very rarely had an issue with medium rare and it's usually how I eat my burgers. However this one was truly raw inside. I'm sure the kitchen just slapped some burgers on the grill at the last minute because they realized we hadn't gotten our food.The worst part was he was INCREDIBLY rude after this. He was continuing to be friendly to the table next to us (who are members of the Public) and gave my friend and I the silent treatment when dropping off/picking up the check and was very curt with us after our complaint. I have to emphasize again that we were VERY nice to him in our complaints and even tipped 20% on the food.The 45 minute wait for a burger was egregious enough (especially without a comped drink or dessert) but to be talked down to on top of that? Absolutely unacceptable, especially for that price point. Any other diner would have made a big deal about this at the restaurant, but my friend and I continued to be nice to our server. To then be treated so rudely afterward was shocking.I have never in my life called a restaurant to complain, but I did call the Public after this experience. We dined with them on a Tuesday. I called multiple times on Wednesday and left multiple voicemails. No one got back to me. I finally got ahold of the manager on Thursday. I explained the situation and she said I was not the first to complain about this waiter. She took down my email and said she would reach out about "two free drinks" at the restaurant. First of all, I never heard from her again and it's now Sunday. Second of all, I do not want free drinks. The appropriate response would be to comp this meal since I waited 45 minutes for a completely raw burger and then was belittled by staff. No matter, though, since I haven't heard a peep from the manager and don't have the time to make a million calls to try and speak with her again.I would have loved to discuss this in person on Tuesday, but after waiting 45 minutes for a hamburger, we had no time before our show.This is truly the last time I dine at the Public and I will highly discourage anyone from dining here. Horrible service, horrible management, horrible food.
We have been here before (although not for several years) but will not be back again. We had to ask for sweetener three times; servings were extremely small; my food was barely lukewarm - clearly it had been sitting out for a long time before being brought to the table - when I asked to have it reheated, it was brought back in a very hot plate, but the food was still cold (and not very good). While it is very convenient to eat here when seeing a performance, there are many excellent restaurants nearby offering better food and service.
I came here with a few friends during restaurant week. I had a reservation at 7:30pm. The night before they sent me a message asking me to move the reservation to 5:30pm as they were going to have an event at 8pm... I agreed but we ended up arriving 55 minutes later... in the middle of dinner, at 7:30pm they asked us to leave! and they packed our already ordered desserts and literally Took us out of the restaurant in order to have their precious event... Of course they didn’t forget to bring the huge bill and the included tip... NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED IT!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 1
A very cool bar is hangout at regularly if I could