Russian Tea Room

New York, New York, United States

The Russian Tea Room

The Russian Tea Room is a well-known restaurant in midtown NYC. It's located next to Carnegie Hall and they always have a doorman dressed up in a recognizable 'costume' to open the door for patrons. We visited during the Winter 2012 Restaurant Week where they offered a limited menu. The appetizers and desserts were OK, but the entrees were pretty good. The atmosphere felt a bit rushed and crowded - it felt like they were trying to get through as many people as possible during restaurant week. Our experience at the Russian Tea Room wasn't good enough to make us want to go back to try their full menu. There are many other better places in NYC for the same price.

Dress

Business casual. Jackets aren't needed, but you wouldn't look out of place in one either.

Cost

It's usually quite pricey, but during restaurant week it was $35/person.

Service

The service seemed a bit rushed, but that may only be because we visited during restaurant week

Reservations

Reservations are strongly recommended.

Items Ordered

Tea Room Market Salad

Tea Room Market Salad

The market salad was quite disappointing. It was very dry - just some pieces of lettuce with a bit of cheese and pear. The pear was nice, but the salad was otherwise very bland. It's possible they forgot to put the dressing on our salad.

Goat Cheese and Wild Mushroom Blinchik

Goat Cheese and Wild Mushroom Blinchik

The mushroom blinchik was pretty good, but also quite small - much smaller than the salad. It was just a bit or two. The cheese and mushrooms were wrapped in a small crepe and went nicely with the light sauce it was served with.

Chicken à la King

Chicken à la King

The entrees at the Russian Tea Room were quite good. The chicken was a bit on the dry side, but the cream sauce helped keep it moist. The spätzle was excellent, although I thought there could have been some more peppers and mushrooms.

Filet of Beef

Filet of Beef

The beef was also very good. They didn't ask how I wanted it cooked, and was served medium-well. Despite that, it was still fairly tender. The red wine sauce added a lot of flavor and also made the mashed potatoes taste excellent.

Chocolate Pyramid and Traditional Cheesecake

Dessert

The desserts were just OK. The chocolate pyramid was dry and had some weird gummy candy in the inside (the 'raspberry filling'). The cheesecake had a very strong cheese flavor, but also had a decent texture. It wasn't really 'covered' in fresh berries - there was one raspberry and one blackberry, same as the chocolate cake.