3.8/5 stars
So for this week’s passion blog I’m going far outside the scope of Philadelphia and University park as I haven’t been in both the past week. Instead I will be writing about a restaurant I visited in New York City on Friday night. It’s called Haven Rooftop and is a contemporary american cuisine restaurant located in midtown a few blocks away from Time Square.
When my friends and I visited it took us a little while to find it down on the street as it’s located under a bar with a different name. However once you locate the receptionist he leads you to an elevator where you’re taken to the rooftop patio overlooking much of midtown west. The atmosphere is elegant, there are shining lights strung from the overhead roof while shrubs and trees surround the outside of the perimeter giving a garden type effect. We were brought to our table which matched the aesthetic of the rooftop as it was a wooden picnic bench with foldable wooden chairs along the sides.
We were provided with the menus which were only a page, but the options seemed quite appealing with shrimp cocktail, truffle fries,tartar, etc. for appetizers; a selection of soups and salads, then the entrees which consisted of poultry, seafood, red meat, and pasta. I shared the calamari for an appetizer and then got the crabcakes for my main. The service was efficient and polite, they got all our food out in under twenty minutes.
The food was great for the price. The calamari was cooked well and had a crispy outside. The crabcakes weren’t too bready and contained a good portion of meat which wasn’t overwhelmed by the added in ingredients. The portion sizes were good as we had leftovers to take home and enjoy for the night when we got hungry. Prices weren’t cheap but not overly expensive to make it feel as if this was a five star restaurant. They knew what they were doing and at an affordable price.
Overall the food didn’t stand out but then again I think their true selling point was location and view of the restaurant. The entire experience was really quite amazing and held true to the New York City experience of eating under the skyscrapers of the Big Apple. I don’t know if I would recommend this restaurant as I have zero idea of the different options available in New York City but I would have to imagine that this isn’t one of the best. We made a reservation last minute and it seemed good for the price but if I had to make a decision again I would probably choose something else. I wouldn’t disway you from picking this option but I bet there are a ton of better places in New York City that you could go too, that are just as good and even better at the price point of Haven Rooftop.
At the end of the day, I suggest doing a lot more research than we did when choosing a restaurant but I am happy with our experience.
Sounds like the food was good but nothing terribly innovative or exciting. Although, a great view can definitely be a good remedy. I enjoy some brief googling about restaurants before I go but there is something to showing up and experiencing it.
I know the few times I’ve gone to New York City, there’s several restaurants my family enjoys going to and if we plan on trying anywhere new, we have to do a decent amount of research. There are definitely a ton of great places to eat at there and I really feel like experimenting different cuisines is the way to go.
There are a lot of great places to eat in New York. Truffle fries and crab cakes are always delicious. A rooftop view around Times Square sounds great too. With so many options for dining in New York there is likely always a better restaurant.