Butter Restaurant

This "restaurant" is run SO poorly I can not fathom how it is still open. I tried to give it another shot as my first visit was deplorable, And now I marvel at who they pay off to stay open. The GM? pressured us into a bottle of wine and when poured the description was completely wrong- AND was 30 dollars more then the wine we had wanted. His response was the server was an "idiot" and did not allow it to breath. Then to make it up to us he told us to go downstairs to the "private party". How sweet, until the doorman informed us "you will never go down your whole party is ugly" And to top the evening off when we went to find the GM to ask him why he would have led us to believe we were being treated somewhat special, He told us to please leave him alone as he was having a terrible night. Never again. I wonder how no one asks about the intense smell of smoking coming from the downstairs? Is that why we are not allowed to use the restrooms? The food was pleasing if tiny portions, everything else was poor and misleading.

We went for restaurant week. We had been meaning to try this place forever. It is hard to find and very inconspicuous from the street. The entrance was quiet and mostly empty on a Wednesday night. We checked in early for an 8:30 res and went to the bar for a drink. The cocktail list is nice and I had an awesome blackberry margarita. Slightly depressed bartender. The decor is cool and interesting, sort of like an underground space age ski lodge. Noise level and the almost empty bar was perfect, but upon entering the dining room the drone of loud techno music is quite striking. You will be yelling or speaking very loudly for your entire meal. Lighting is subdued and nice. Table spacing not too generous but I've seen worse. For reasons unknown to me the restaurant was filled with about 90% young women traveling in groups of about 4-5. Our server was friendly but not terribly knowledgable. She got the job done pretty efficiently but lacked critical info about the menu and food. The food was excellent - cavatappi pasta with lamb sausage, grilled pork tenderloin over smashed potatoes with "house made" pancetta - which I only wish there were a lot more of - and some nice green veg underneath it all. Green veg is definitely lacking from restaurant week menus! Dessert was to die for - some kind of sandwich of rich chocolate cake and creme fraiche and a salted caramel sauce - YUM in the extreme. My dining companion had braised short ribs with some kind of squash puree which was really great but it came with some stringy nasty green veg thing that was inedible. I could not idefntify it and it was like a long piece of yarn that never ended. They offered some specially priced wines for the event ($33) which was nice, I always appreciate that. There are the requisite weirdo bathrooms - unisex, dark, can't tell if people can see you peeing through the frosted glass doors. I'm getting sick of those! Overall I would return again for dinner.

My girlfriends and I really enjoyed this place. From start to finish it was a great trendy New York fine dining experience. We made reservations at peak time so we did have to wait a few minutes at the bar which was actually quite fun because we loved our bartender. The specialty cocktails are pricey but very seasonal and tasty. The hosts were helpful in making suggestions as to where we should sit to make the best out of our night. They were right about us liking the downstairs more for this occasion. Girls night out was perfect with a perky male server and a great DJ. The downstairs definitely has a more casual relaxed feel. The food was delicious and portions much bigger than we had expected. Must haves: steak tartare, squid appetizer, filet, and the breaded veal. We were too full to order dessert but really liked that they give you miniature chocolates when delivering the hefty bill that is well worth it.

I have been looking forward to go to butter for a long time. When i called i asked a table for 11 they said they can only do 10.30 because it was PACKED. When i got there they made us wait 30min FOR A TABLE I RESERVED!. Then the hostess kept feeding me lies " the people are paying the bill" first of all the table should be cleaned out and ready by 10.30. Then they placed us in the lamest spot downstairs , well that doesn't go by me. I demanded a table upstairs and a decent spot. The hostess gave me a rude look and looked me up and down , realizing I'm wearing labels and diamonds she smiled and said it will be done. I found that very disgusting . Then we ordered a round of drinks and the waiter forgot what the drinks were that we wanted. After he brought a wrong drink for my friend . The food is not bad but not amazing. My duck was OK. The salmon is juts not what i like but my friend enjoyed it. The funny part was that we had to wait 50min for our food after the appetizers. Oh and one more thing at 11 half of the restaurant was empty!.

It is inexplicable how this place is still in business, bad food, bad service, high prices. NY is filled with beautifull restaurants. Dont waist your time here.