BLT Steak
www.bltsteaknyc.com
Well structured service, a good crowd and a well polished decor were unable to overcome uneven food quality
September 30, 2017
www.bltsteaknyc.com
Well structured service, a good crowd and a well polished decor were unable to overcome uneven food quality
September 30, 2017
This nicely appointed steakhouse is part of the Esquared Hospitality Group and is meant to represent the flagship restaurant of the BLT Steak brand. It has a black and tan color scheme, good lighting along with some nice original artistic paintings. The bar area, along with a cozy seating area by the front, are quite separate from the dinning area and has its own vibrant feel, especially after work where it attracts a well-healed business crowd. The noise level was moderate even when full, and this was despite the fact that the ceilings were low. Also spacing between the tables was reasonable, which provided ample room to have either a casual meal or a serious business dinner.
The service structure at first seemed a bit too old school, with its four tiered system consisting of a captain, manager, waiter and bus boy. However, it did work as we neither of us felt smothered with people or abandoned to the masses. While we did get very good meal presentation and clearing, our waiter seemed very young and perhaps a bit awkward. Clearly there is some turnover in the wait staff, although perhaps I am comparing it to that old steakhouse we can all remember where the waiters were as old or older than our parents. We did get a bit of attention from one of the managers who was quite knowledgeable about wine and food, so over all I think the service rated a B+.
We started with oysters and shrimp cocktail. The oysters were good but not memorable, the shrimp cocktail was very good as it had nicely sized shrimp and came with extra horse radish and a good cocktail sauce. For the next round out the starters I had a lobster bisque soup that was very flavorful, thick and spicy. The soup also had a good amount of lobster in it, which was very fresh. For the main course I had a 12 oz Wago Rib-eye and my wife had the venison. Unfortunately, I felt that the Wago Rib-eye was a touch under cooked and was not as tender as I would have thought for $90. It had a lot of natural flavor and was paired with truffle mashed potatoes. The venison was much more tender and appeared to be properly cooked. The venison was gamey and a little spicy, very good. It came with roasted vegetables and was well sized.
For dessert we had carrot cake, which was flavorful and not too heavy. It came with little carrots, which was a nice touch.
The cork fee is $35.00/btl.
The service structure at first seemed a bit too old school, with its four tiered system consisting of a captain, manager, waiter and bus boy. However, it did work as we neither of us felt smothered with people or abandoned to the masses. While we did get very good meal presentation and clearing, our waiter seemed very young and perhaps a bit awkward. Clearly there is some turnover in the wait staff, although perhaps I am comparing it to that old steakhouse we can all remember where the waiters were as old or older than our parents. We did get a bit of attention from one of the managers who was quite knowledgeable about wine and food, so over all I think the service rated a B+.
We started with oysters and shrimp cocktail. The oysters were good but not memorable, the shrimp cocktail was very good as it had nicely sized shrimp and came with extra horse radish and a good cocktail sauce. For the next round out the starters I had a lobster bisque soup that was very flavorful, thick and spicy. The soup also had a good amount of lobster in it, which was very fresh. For the main course I had a 12 oz Wago Rib-eye and my wife had the venison. Unfortunately, I felt that the Wago Rib-eye was a touch under cooked and was not as tender as I would have thought for $90. It had a lot of natural flavor and was paired with truffle mashed potatoes. The venison was much more tender and appeared to be properly cooked. The venison was gamey and a little spicy, very good. It came with roasted vegetables and was well sized.
For dessert we had carrot cake, which was flavorful and not too heavy. It came with little carrots, which was a nice touch.
The cork fee is $35.00/btl.
