Beacon Restaurant

This restaurant has been placed for collection by one of it's seafood suppliers. According to chef, Waldy Malouf, he acknowledges the debt but states he doesn't know when he can re-pay it.

Pros: None

Cons: Debtor

Posted 08/30/09

I had dinner at Beacon last night with family members from overseas. I was impressed with the service first and foremost. The staff (waiters, hostesses, bus boys, bartenders) were all very friendly and extremely attentive, which I think is exceptional and rare at most of the restaurants in that area. The food was tasty and the courses well timed. I would definitely dine at Beacon again and would highly recommend it.

Pros: delicious food, great service

Posted 08/04/09

Ate there for Mother's Day yesterday with wife and 3 daughters. The food was amazing. The service was great. Good value as well. Would highly recommend. Mom was very happy.

Pros: Food, ambience, service

Posted 05/10/09

This place was so romantic; I took my boyfriend here for Valentine's Day and we had such an amazing time. The food was great, just a bit pricey!

Pros: food, atmosphere

Cons: price

Posted 04/26/09

First ...the good. The oysters. Shallots, verjuice slightly smoky flavor with lots of juice and oyster texture. These went very well with a sparkling wine and I would assume would go well with a fizzy Belgian ale as well. This is the food I think about when swimming with disrobed models or driving a Bugatti.

I also really enjoyed watching the kitchen. They have a fire there so it looks nice and I did not see anyone sneeze or pick food off the floor. I like being able to watch the people who handle my food.

The bad is not really that bad. First the waiter told me I was missing the best part of the oysters by not soaking up the juice with my bread. The thing is that he never gave me any bread. That was corrected though. The cocktails were too strong before dinner and we had to send them back. I mean like Liver Transplant strong. Even the weaker versions that arrived were too strong and I could not finish them. They also had trouble realising that food came in stages with drinks. The cocktails came at wrong time. The dinner wine came during the appetiser and the dessert wine was not brought for dessert.

I had reservations for two and the hostess seated me at a table for six. I asked to be moved and about 20 minutes later I was but I could not figure out why I waited so long. The hostesses seemed confused by the computer system and that made them ignore customers.

Give it a try but do not expect it to be a quiet romantic place and you might have to "remind" the staff a few times as to what you want.

Pros: food (their oysters), looking at the kitchen

Cons: confused hostesses, awkward servers

Posted 04/03/09

I stopped by for a quick lunch at the chef counter, the burger bar, it was featured as a must try in NY Magazine this week. The small mini sliders were soooo good. I will be back soon. They are running a crazy sale, 20% off all menus, wine list featuring $30 wines and healthy sized cocktails for $10! Plus they are still running restaurant week menus

Pros: Great Value, Delicious Food

Cons: Reservations not accepted at burger bar, first come, first served.

Posted 03/01/09

This is a great place to eat. They have excellent service. The servers as well as the manager constantly checked to see if everything was okay. They oysters are to die for!!!! My friends and I had their prix fix dinner menu and they had plenty of choices for the apetizer, entree and dessert. I would definitley go back here again!

Pros: Great service and food!

Posted 05/03/08

Overall I was disappointed in my experience. The service was friendly and attentive, but the food was below average. Salads were tasty but overly seasoned. I ordered the filet mignon medium and it was literally burnt on the outside and rare-raw on the inside. I had to scrape char from the sides of the meat. The sauces were heavy and again, too salty. Nothing original or inventive in the menu. I had the sorbet for dessert and they were light and refreshing, and probably the best part of the meal. The ambience feels like this was probably a nice restaurant when it opened, but hasn't done much to keep itself up-to-date. For the money, you can do much better than Beacon.

Pros: Friendly service

Cons: Poorly prepared food

Posted 02/17/08

We made reservations at Beacon for Restaurant Week- for which they have a very strong menu. We were seated according to reservation time, and were placed on an upper level overlook so that we could see the entire restaurant. That part was nice, but the acoustics were a bit loud- we found it difficult to chat. The wait staff was fantastic, and all of our food was delivered promptly, hot. The oysters were AWESOME. Our main entrees (second course)- the filet and the salmon- were undercooked. I would venture to say that was due to it being a full crowd on restaurant week....However, the accompanying sauces, greens were fantastic. Desserts were very good, and very fresh. I would recommend that you pick your own wines instead of doing the wine pairings. They were unremarkable... All in all it was a good experience, but a bit loud and with slightly undercooked entrees- perhaps this would not be true on a night other than a RW night?

Pros: Decor, oysters, desserts

Cons: Acoustics

Posted 01/27/08

My husband and I were looking for a restaurant not far from our jobs (W32nd) and close to Rock. tree this past Friday 12/21/2007. Found Beacon thru Opentables. We plan on going back very often. The oysters were delicious. We had the beef filet and salmon. Perfect!. Our table was on the second level and it enabled us to view the entire restaurant happenings. Amanda, our server, was delightful and professional. We ordered a bottle of wine and since we were at a small talbe for 2 they put a small wooden table next to us so that we would have more room for wine and bottle water. I like those types of touches. Thinking about the ricotta cake and the chocolate souffle makes me want to head back there now, this minute.

Pros: Great place to meet after work and have dinner with friends and your spouse

Cons: Didn't find this place sooner

Posted 12/23/07

Had a top-notch meal at Beacon on a busy Thursday night during Restaurant Week. Friendly staff, starting from the pleasant greeting by the hostess who saved our table while we sat at the bar waiting for our friends to meet us. The bar drinks were great (though pricey) but they gave us free grilled cheese with our drinks! Our table was a show in itself, in the back of the restaurant watching the open kitchen. Far from being the worst seat in the house, we enjoyed the music the chefs listened to while making the amazing appetizers. Highlights of the meal: wood roasted oysters, vegetable risotto, filet minon, herb roasted chicken, side order of mashed potatoes with crusty baked top - yum! and the BEST chocolate chip souffle - light and delicious! The only downside was the service was a little slow, but extremely courteous. Clearly it was a very busy night in the kitchen. This goes on the list as a great NYC standard. Compliments to the chef and staff!

Pros: Generous portions with restaurant week menu

Cons: Food took a long time to come out during busy night

Posted 07/18/07

A good friend of mine recommended Beacon. We are young professionals so eating out is an event..
7 years later, I eat at Beacon whenever I'm in New York.
Favorites.. wood roasted oysters, lobster soup, pizza, wood roasted salmon, lamb, gratin potatoes, spiced spinach.. MUST HAVE THE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE..WOW!!!
Take your time.. this will be one of your favorite new york restaurants.

Pros: SERVICE

Cons: VERY CORPORATE

Posted 04/25/07

I took my boyfriend to Beacon for our anniversary last week and we could not have had a better meal! The host greeted us with a smile and gave a secluded seat in a quiet corner. We started with their famous oysters and Waldy's famous pizza. Both were incredible! For my entree I got the filet mignon which was cooked and seasoned perfectly, while my boyfriend got the trout which he loved. The semollier was very helpful in picking out fantastic wines to go with our entrees. Although we were stuffed, we couldn't leave without having a souffle or two. I fell in love with the pecan souffle...you HAVE to get it. Our server Colby was amazing. He made great recommendations and was very attentive. Throughout the meal we watched him make cotton candy with the children at his tables, and they loved it. We can't wait to bring our kids back! We left stuffed and incredibly satisfied. We will definitely be back!

Pros: Service, Food

Posted 04/03/07

Last night i went to Beacon restaurant with several friend for the first time and what a find. From the moment we walked through the door everyone was so wellcoming and warm to us as we were their regular customers. Even though several larger groups were in the room we were able to have a conversation and their staff was very attentive to our every need. Make sure to try roasted oysters, pork chop and whaterver you do do not leave without having a souffle.

Posted 03/22/07

I had an exceptional dinner at this midtown gem. The roasted oysters are heavenly, the wood roasted trout is heavenly and the bourbon souffle provided the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. The service staff was attentive, friendly and knowledgeable. You must try the pineapple mojitos at the bar - they are out of this world.

Pros: Spacious tables, friendly staff, excellent service, great food

Posted 03/13/07

I work in the city and my wife came in from Jersey to meet me for our monthly dinner ritual.
We chose the Beacon at the suggestion of a friend. To say that we were pleased would be an understatement. The food was exquisite, the service was flawless and the wine list impressive.
We will most certainly be back.

Pros: Wood fire cooking, friendly staff and unusual but delicious cocktails

Cons: I couldn't find any this trip. We'll be back to try again.

Posted 08/10/06

I went to Beacon with my gf for restaurant week july 20, 2006. i was hoping it would be good given the high reviews here and in the NYTimes. However, i was sorely disappointed. my gf's filet was oversauced and the chicken i had was much too dry. the deserts were also subpar. the only decent dish was the oyster appetizers. the atmosphere is nice. but given the poor quality food and mediocre service your money is better spent elsewhere.

Pros: ambience

Cons: food, service

Posted 07/20/06

I have eaten at Beacon several times and have never been disappointed. The service is very professional and they greet you at the door with a smile, which made me feel welcome, and like they were glad I was there, which is unusual in so many NY restaurants. The food is interesting and the portions are quite large. I have found the steaks here to be much better than the ones served at some of the big name steak houses. Overall, the food is very interesting and tasty.

Pros: Good Value, Beautiful Room, Great Cocktails

Cons: Can be Noisy

Posted 04/26/06

Our food was fabulous! Pizza was the best in town, oysters were fantastic, spinch was cooked perfectly, trout was out of this world and cocktails were so great we asked for the recipe! Met the chef and he was pleasant and answered all of our cooking questions. Hostess was friendly and polite (which you don't usually find in NY) Definately found a new favorite in Manhattan!

Posted 04/09/06

My Husband and I had purchased a theater package which included dinner at the Beacon on 1-28-06. BEWARE when ordering drinks! My husband was charged $16 for one glass of wine (he didn't order anything special and he does know his wine!) and to get an extra side vegtable was close to $20 for overdone asparagus that had no taste. We left the Beacon feeling taken advantage of. The food was average. We would not recommend the Beacon to anyone!

Pros: clean

Cons: location, expensive, food average

Posted 01/29/06

if you go as a large group demand that you be allowed to order off the menu. our group of 14 had the very bland and boring (1 chicken, 1 beef, 1 fish) prix fixe option. none of the entrees were up to par for a 4-star joint. the smoke oysters appetizer was out of this world, but few other dishes gained positive feedback. the staff was very accommodating for our large group.

Pros: smoked oysters

Cons: prix fixe menu, steaks, very pricey for value

Posted 01/20/06

I went here for restaurant week lunch and was so pleased to see they had a veggie entree on their 20.12 menu. then when my friend's meat was overcooked (a filet mignon) another, correctly cooked, dish was quickly supplimented. (yes, not substituted). the support staff were like samurai- your water was refilled, dishes were placed and removed, etc without you even noticing, which is good because when you looked up you would realize how frantic these guys were just to serve you!

Pros: efficient service, great, pricey wines, open brownstone feel

Cons: midtown locale

Posted 06/28/05

Lucky for me, I didn't read most of the reviews below until after dining here. I don't know if the staff has perhaps changed over or if other people went on a bad night (or maybe I went on a great night). Anyway, the space is absolutely beautiful but not in a pretentious way. I felt very comfortable dressed casually. The service was very friendly and professional. There when needed, but not overly fussy. The menu is very large and very interesting. The steaks are amongst the best I've had and the suckling pig that they roast in the open kitchen on the rotisserie was tender and flavorful. Some below were saying that this restaurant in pricey, but that may be a clue to their poor reviews. I found the prices to be reasonable, especially for the large portions.

Posted 06/23/05

We were seated at a table upstairs, which overlooked the first floor dining room. This is fine if you like to people watch, although having a bird's eye view of watching people eat isn't particularly appealing, nor very intimate. We started with a $16 crab cake appetizer--quite small and average tasting. For our entrees, the lamb was excellent--very flavorful and tender. The rib-eye sounded promising with the onion herb relish but it was less than tender and the relish didn't seem to do much to enhance the flavor. Side dishes were an additional $7--the au gratins were good but the asparagus tasted bland. In general, the service was good (the busboys were particularly attentive) but the food (with the exception of the lamb) was average, especially for the prices. Although the restaurant is beautiful, I wouldn't recommend it for a romantic dinner--it seems better suited for larger groups.

Pros: Best for groups of 4+

Cons: Price for the quality, Not intimate

Posted 02/14/05

My boyfriend and I went here for restaurant week on a Saturday night before a show. The pre-fixe menu allowed us a three course meal for $30, which is much lower than what you would normally pay at this place for a three course meal. Plus you had to pay for sides. A side of spinach cost $7 extra!
The food was average and NOT WORTH the prices they charge. The soup appetizer was an interesting one. The Rib eye steak (which cost $4 additional) was charred on the outside and rubbery on the inside. My salmon was decent but drenched in oil. I could get that dish anywhere for a much cheaper price. The coffee cheesecake was pretty good to end things with but we left feeling pretty much disappointed.
This place is not for the young crowd.

Pros: pre-fixe, location, great service

Cons: , average food

Posted 02/01/04

Not for young people like us (around 30): we were 10 years below the average patron age. Although the restaurant wasn't nearly filled, we waited about half an hour to be seated, despite having a reservation.

First, we were seated at a broken table. Upon moving us to another place, they forgot to give us butter and water. I am not picky about such stuff, but this place claims to be a high-end steakhouse/seafood restaurant.

Now, the entrees were what completely spoiled our night. I do not know if asking for 32$ veal/venison chops well-done means: bloody inside, charcoal outside, but that is what we got. Burnt beyond recognition, camouflaged with overly strong sauces. Though the mashed potatoes side was excellent, it could not help my and my wife's feeling of having rocks in our stomachs until mid next day. I guess charcoal is hard to digest.

Pros: ok appetizers, nice location, spatious

Cons: bad entrees, average decor, overpriced

Posted 12/25/03

Venison from Millbrook, Duck from Long Island, Catskill Trout, Little Necks, and the list goes on and on. Kudos to Waldy Malouf for incorporating NY's bountiful harvest into the delectable menu at Beacon. As a NYer and Marist College Alumn, its great to see the Hudson Valley get its due, but its even better to taste it. The meals at Beacon are portioned just right and there is always something that I want and that my girlfriend wants. Good for friends, family as well as clients. Validated parking is a HUGE plus.

Pros: Food, Space, Parking

Cons: Little Dark, Busy=Slow Service

Posted 12/21/03

The alcoholic milkshake that is served with one of the chocolate desserts was pretty good. The food was OK, but out of 10 us who went there, 4 became ill with an adverse reaction around Xmas time. Read into that what you will. The place is darker than I prefer, I like to enjoy the colours of a good plate presentation. Having a lavatory attendant in the men's room was a bit of a peeve as well.

Pros: good desserts, nice beef

Cons: over priced, dark, lavatory attendant

Posted 04/10/03

It has been my pleasure to visit Beacon several times at different seasons over the past few years. The quality of the food, atmosphere and professionalism of the staff is constant. I highly recommend Beacon to anyone that enjoys excellent atmosphere, food and outstanding cocktails.

Compliments to Chef Waldy Malouf!

Pros: Atmosphere/decor, Great Service, seasonal cocktails

Posted 01/01/03

What else can you say but Waldy Malouf. His Food and ambience sets you it the right mood. You walk out of there feeling like you just a the meal of your life. Staff very friendly and Chef make's his presence. Go there hungry leave satified.

Pros: Comfortable, Excellent Food, Nice Portions

Posted 11/21/02

I have eaten at Beacon twice in the past year, in two different seasons, to try different menus. I found that everything there is fabulous. There were no problems or slowness, and the one night I was in a rush to the theater, my food was served quickly and still with high quality. Their meat dishes are fabulous, extremely tender and cooked to perfection. Your server is always close by, and they can sense if someone is unsatisfied or has a question. And the bathrooms? Tres cool and trendy!

Pros: price, cleanliness, food quality

Cons: parking, variety in dishes, reservations

Posted 11/11/02

Food was good, especially our fire grilled pizza. Ambience is fine, although the rooms are somewhat dark for my taste. They don't appear to have anything to hide, especially with an open kitchen, so light a couple of candles! Service was friendly but somewhat slow. Our waiter appeared somewhat overworked and had to be reminded about several items regarding our order. Drinks and steaks were excellent but the mushrooms were so salty as to be inedible. Wine list was broad without being pretentious. management was helpful and pleasant. The portions a very large. Altogether a good experience and I would recomment Beacon to friends.

Pros: open kitchen, excellent pizza, friendly staff

Cons: dark rooms, watch the salt!

Posted 10/15/02

Sorry, "SaveYourMoney," you must've been there on a VERY off day! I've been dining at Beacon since 2 weeks after it opened, and after many dinners, I can truthfully say that everything on the menu is sublime! Even when the chef is not in the house, the food and service are right on target. Since I cook for a living, I'm very fussy about the food I eat in restaurants. Chef Waldy's always measures up. Be sure to try the Smoked Trout...Lamb Chops, Veal Chops, Rabbit, the potato gratin, on and on and on...

Posted 09/17/02

This restaurant is characterized by 2 stories of tables with a bar located downstairs right by the entrance. The wait staff will attend to your every wish with style and grace. The menu can give you price shock but the food, service and drinks are worth every stinking penny.
This is perfect for business dinners or pre-theatre dining but NOT romantic at all. The dining areas are pretty noisy and tables are very close together.

Posted 06/27/02

Not to be rude, but my entire family and I were very unimpressed with this restaurant. The prices are ridiculous! Completely off the wall for very mediocore food. We went in a party of 10 and I don't think one person enjoyed their dish. My aunt's steak had to be cooked three times until it was satisfactory. Restaurants like this one give dining in Manhattan a bad name. Please look into going somewhere else. Anyone who gave this place a decent review does not know food at all.

Posted 06/11/02