Gabriel’s Bar & Restaurant
“Manfriend and I came here one evening before seeing War Horse at Lincoln Center (which was fantastic, by the way).”
“My sister and I had a delightful evening dining at Gabriel's. The location is easy to get to – right off of Columbus Circle.”
“Gabriel himself presides over an elegant but comfortable setting.”
Gabriel’s Bar & Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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This was my local for a couple of years and I have been back many times since. It's warm and friendly, they always have a table and the food is exquisite. My favourite dish has been on the menu for years – the fettuccine with sausage, tomato and hot sweet peppers. It's delicious – but a HUGE portion!
I love sitting at the bar and people watching while having a cheeky cocktail or two! The only problem with this otherwise lovely restaurant, is the price – it is always surprising how much pasta and wine can cost in Manhattan!
Still fantastic, they haven't lost a step!
Pretty delicious place to go after a walk in the park or Lincoln Center. Gabriel himself seated us and told us he was the owner! How cool is that.
We ordered raw tuna and calamari for an appetizer. The latter wasn't that cheap frozen stuff you get soaked in batter but served uncovered with onions. Delicious. Same with the tuna. For dinner, we had linguine with sausage and the tagliatelle with veal. Both delicious and just the right portions, so we didn't feel over or underfed. Also not a ton of grease/oil like so much so-called "Italian" food. Desert we had chocolate truffle cake, which was sublime. (Yes, we ate a lot but we hadn't eaten much of a lunch, so sue us since we barely spend on anything else.)
Why a star off? Service could use a little work. Although everybody is super nice, we had like 4 different servers, and it took a while to flag them down when we needed something, especially the check. Come on: I'm trying to GIVE YOU money. SMH.
Located right across from TWC in Columbus Circle, it was perfect for a late lunch and was accommodating our large work group of 18. The waiter was friendly, efficient and took great care of such a large group on a 5 minute notice. I opted for the soup of the day (vegetable lentil) and an arugula salad, which was the perfect size. The soup was well made and not overly salty, which some mass produced soups tend to be in restaurants. Skip the bread that arrives at the table and go for the burrata app.
Don't let the bold Seinfeld-esque sign outside fool you; you're walking into a world of class, pasta, dark wood, and red velvet abound.
My office recently had their holiday party here. Past the vast spread of tables in the dining area, a sizable alcove sits to the left, perfect for our private function of approximately 30 people. We had passed hor d'oeuvres of all sorts, and the service did not stop! I couldn't walk or sit without almost bumping into a server, and that was certainly a good thing. Among some of the items I tried were the lamp chops with truffle honey (…out of this word amazing!), toasts with herbed cream cheese and a slice of rare beef, crab cakes with pepper aoili, Chicken Milanse (served in adorable Chinese soup spoons), shrimp and beef on skewers (presented stuck into a pineapple), and scallops. Though I avoided the seafood, all that tried it loved it. My favorite were the lamb chops, which were nothing short of perfection. The Chicken Milanese was excellent with the perfect amount of tomato and cheese, and the toasts with cheese and beef, well, I ate a good half dozen, I'd say! The meat was a little hard to chew through, so I had to take big bites and chew well! (Haha.) The only letdown was the skewered meat; though the first batch came out marinated in a sweet citrusy sauce, the second batch was flavorless and dry as a bone. Eh.
As for the wine, which we had a unlimited supply of for about two and a half hours, really flowed, like…well…wine! It was bottomless and delicious. I'm not even sure what I was drinking. I'm just of the school of "any red wine adds in digestion". It' the Italian in me.
At one point, a gentleman came into the room and spoke to a few people; I was told it was Gabriel himself. It was very kind of him to come out and thank us. One person stated she was a little off put because she claimed he was merely out to brag that Tom Brokaw was eating dinner in the dining area that night, but that's hearsay. Heheh. Regardless, he was nice to acknowledge us and it was appreciated.
It was an all around pleasurable evening, from the food to the wine to the service. After the past few years of so-so holiday parties (especially last year's abysmal one at the now-closed Maria Bonita on the Upper West Side), I can say they hosted the best one I've been to. Cheers to that!
My high school is located just a few blocks away from here and after school, I would walk past this restaurant, always thinking that it was some kind of pub. Several years after I had graduated from high school (fast forward from the early 2000s to last week), I actually get to walk in since my boyfriend's father's office was holding their holiday party here.
Now, my thoughts on this restaurant will be kind of skewed since I did attend a special event here as opposed to just a regular dining experience. There were numerous attendees to this event, so the servers seemed to get slightly overwhelmed. Nevertheless, a tasty pre-fixe menu had been set aside for each attendee and the servers managed to be on the ball with everything. I had their portobello mushroom appetizer (very tasty), their ravioli zucca (good, but kind of too sweet for me), and their tiramisu dessert (delicious).
If I was in the area, I would consider coming back here. My dining experience had been pleasant and I had no complaints at the end of my meal.
Had early dinner pre NYCB show on a Saturday night. Food was very good! Service was friendly, from hostess, coat check, server, and even the owner. I'm pretty sure my bff and I were the youngest people there by about 30 years, but no matter, we enjoyed ourselves and I would return again.
I first visited Gabriel's the week it opened some 25 years ago and I have been a fan ever since. For many of those early years Gabriel's was an "oasis in the culinary desert that was the Lincoln Center area". The quality of the cuisine around Lincoln Center has improved over the years, but Gabriel's continues to stand out as offering the finest dining in the area.
After several years of absence from the city, I recently returned to the restaurant for a dinner. The dining experience, I can report, is as wonderful as ever. And it is as crowded and popular as ever, Three things account for Gabriel's populararity: 1) top quality ingredients and food preparation; 2) an excellent well-trained staff; and, not to be overlooked 3) the winning personality and charm of the owner, Gabriel Aiello. People-watching can be an added dimension favoring Gabriel's as celebrities are known to frequent the place.
You can generally trust the specials that are off the menu. On the menu I can recommend the Buratta (the Vidalia onion jam makes it) and the Tuna Crudo. The Roasted Beet Salad sits on a flavorful cauliflower puree and is also recommended. The pastas are all good, but a standout is the Ravioli Zucca, with its delicious butternut squash, browned butter and sage filling. The fish entrees are always worth a try. For an entrée I enthusiasstically suggest one that many might pass up: Kid Arrabiato. Yes, that's goat. If you like goat or have never had goat, this is the one to try. It is the best goat dish I have ever had: not at all gamey, it is literally fork-tender reflecting its long braising time. The taste is very similar to beef. The brown sauce is rich and savory. It has a spicy kick. And if that doesn't suit your palate, you can ask for it to be toned down a notch or two. The wine list offers some very nice wines are relatively moderate prices.
All-in-all, you can't beat Gabriel's in and around the Lincoln Center area.