Mr Chow
“Also – some dishes to absolutely try- Prawns w/walnuts, potstickers, Mr. Chow noodles Crispy Beef, and above all their Green Prawns- heavenly!!!!”
“So I came here for restaurant week and having been already introduced to the chicken satay at Philippe's I was very excited.”
“Sloppy but amazing drunken fish, Some amazing concoction of noodles and pork, and finally Bejing chicken that is both sweet and spicy…”
Mr Chow
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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IN SHORT: A splendid fantasia of Chinese food and glamour.
THE STORY: Mr. Chow is not your ordinary Chinese restaurant. Indeed, the eponymous chef Michael Chow opened the restaurant on East 57th Street in 1979 believing that there was an opportunity to redefine Chinese cuisine by serving it in a dramatic, elegant setting that had previously been reserved for the less exotic canons of the French and the Italians.
This is Chinese food without the take-out boxes, without the orange chicken, without the greasy clumps of chow mein. This is Chinese food that is presented with hyperbolic splendor, swollen prices, and a stateliness that has yet to be rivaled in the cuisine. This is Chinese food that is extraordinary, simply because it has been declared to be.
But there is one question for which Mr. Chow must do some soul searching to find the answer: can the food possibly live up to the incredible expectations its elegant setting has created? And at the end of the day, does it matter if it doesn't?
Indeed, the restaurant is so formal and fabulous that it's easy to forget Chinese food is on the menu until you settle down to order. But when service does finally come around in the clubby, sunken dining room with walls of antique mirrors, there are a few classic dishes not to be missed.
Chicken satay is an original favorite with an appealing dose of spice, though its tenderness is the result of an exceptionally ethereal and buttery sauce, rather than some technically proficient execution. The Green Prawns, bright and colorful after a spinach "bath," have a sweet yet earthy bite, and almost seem to pop with a burst of flavor.
A recent preparation of beef with shepherd's purse, however, suffered from an excess of oil and clumpy fats that rendered the herbal elements of the dish virtually invisible. In fact, many of the flaws found in the dishes coming from Mr. Chow's kitchen can be attributed to this over-reliance on fats and oils, and a neglect of salt and heat.
Perhaps most indicative of the strained balance between the buzzy showmanship of the restaurant and the food coming out of it are Mr. Chow's noodles, prepared daily in the middle of service to an adoring crowd. As the chef whips the noodles back and forth, guests think they're getting something truly authentic in this lustrous, fabulously decorated bubble, but when the noodles arrive in a pile of thick sauce, they are limp, mushy, and profoundly flavorless. It would be a tragedy at any other restaurant, but at Mr. Chow, it's swept under the rug of everyone's combined glamour. After all, if you have to ask if the food is actually good, you clearly aren't in the know.
How much longer can guests leave the restaurant without questioning the quality of their high-priced meal, instead simply basking in the sumptuous splendor of the dining room, that one excellent shrimp dish, and the impressive, dazzling wine? Well, Mr. Chow has been entertaining his starry clientele for nearly 40 years now, so perhaps he doesn't even know.
What I had: Restaurant Week Summer 2015 Menu
Would I go back: No
Story:
Arrival:
Went here last night with an 8 o'clock reservation. Granted my friend was 5 min late but they made us wait an 25 min while they sat other parties. Once we were seated it felt very much like the second the staff heard the 4 of us would be doing the restaurant week menu that they were machining through us.
Food Quality:
To be frankly honest i am extremely disappointed to have spent restaurant week here. I can honestly say the only thing i really enjoyed eating was the sorbet at the end of the meal. I have had FAR BETTER chinese food in hole in the walls in chinatown and even at the chinese fusion take out restaurants in Long Island. I am not sure how this place still has a crowd but based on what i assessed from the dining room this is an old timers place this restaurant is resting its laurels – on a scene rather than the quality in food, for if it was ever good, those frequenting have terribly unrefined palettes or just deal with the lack of quality in food due to the scene they are looking for.
Ambiance:
I felt like i was walking into a time warp it looked like some seriously dated catering halls i went to for bar mitzvahs in LI or a bad 70's movie I cant decide all in all though it- felt like a place where the wealthy people would go eat before they went to the disco. Needs a serious update if not some serious cleaning/polishing. At the bar area – the leather seats for waiting were quite old and tethered. The ends were peeling. Lamps were dirty and dusty.
Service:
Food was brought out at a rapid speed. We were never asked throughout the course of the meal if we wanted another bottle of wine or how the meal was.
Bad Idea: Coming here early on a friday night during restaurant week. NO JOKE, with a reservation, we waited for 45 minutes to be seated.
Good idea: Restaurant week menu with options for the whole table. Mr. Chow's noodles are only okay, a bit overhyped. I loved their fish dumplings and their prawns appetizer. For dinner we had the beef, which was very good, the chicken special which tasted like General Tso's only better, and the amazing drunken fish.
Meh Idea: On the RW dessert they had two scoops of sorbet and one measly scoop of ice cream, when this place has desserts other than that. Dessert was a disappointment, despite the fact that the vanilla ice cream was really tasty.
Squid ink noodles are very good, albeit messy. The satay chicken is not that special. The entrees I had were the Dungeness crab which is mixed with egg whites. The fillet mignon was nice but not life changing. The green shrimp was fun because it's green. The music playing included the Footloose song which I found odd. The ambiance is where all the stars are for this place. It's very trendy looking and as one review said, it's like being in a James bond film. Way overpriced.
I was undecided between Mr. Chow or Philippe and I decided to go with the original. Chow's cuisine is really good and extraordinarily better than your best take-out however, I'm not sure if it commands $62 per person on the prefix. After tax and tip with three cocktails and four bottles of still water–dang! how are you charging me $10 a bottle for Fiji water–pure robbery! (I digressed) our bill totalled $617.
So, our table went for the prefix menu which gave us four appetizer selections and four entrees accompanied with jasmine rice (with edamame) and a vegetable (sauteed string beans) that would serve six. For appetizer, we ordered
butterflied salt and peppered shrimp–seasoned really well I just wish they removed the outer shell
pork spare ribs–tender
Mr. Chow Noodles–an interesting dish the looked like spaghetti with a dark red meat sauce but taste pretty good.
The servings were just enough for us to be prepared for our entrees.
Crispy beef–sugary sweet batter but couldnt distinguish that I was eating beef
Ginger (?) lamb–VERY tasty dish and did not taste game-like at all
Sauteed Chicken–one of the best dishes followed by the pork
Spicy Pork–yes, the spices were present and this dish was yummy.
Mr. Chow was a nice dining experience and the service was perfect however, if my bill is to total $600+ it has to include a good WINE and dessert. For now, I'll order take-out from my local Hunan/Szchehuan restaurant and crack open a bottle of fine red while serving myself.
I have to say, I did not expect to like Mr. Chow. I walked in thinking, "This is going to be one of those oxymorons-high end Chinese fusion."
The dining room is large and spacious with high ceilings and art deco themes all around.
I was the first of my party to arrive, so I ordered a lychee martini at the bar. It was delicious and refreshing, and I watched the hand pulled noodles being made much as I often do in Chinatown.
Once my friends arrived, we were seated at a round table and served water. Alejandro wanted the Peking Duck and so we had to order the prix fixe menu for $75 a person to be allowed to get that.
We ordered dumplings, the squid ink pasta, the handpulled noodles and the spare ribs as our four starters. For the three mains, we got spicy pork, the filet mignon, and the drunken fish. We were offered green beans as a vegetable and shrimp fried rice as well.
The ribs and the squid ink pasta were my favorites of the starters. The hand pulled noodles were disappointingly bland and uncreative. As for the mains, I liked the filet and the pork.
The duck finally arrived and it is definitely the piece de resistance. The fat is completely rendered and the skin is crisp and laquered. We were quite full by this time, but we applied ourselves and were able to eat some more.
I cannot, however, get myself to justify $125 a person with 1-2 drinks each for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Ultimately, most places in Chinatown make pretty good food- and I couldn't really think why I would come back.
Glad I tried it, not sure I'll repeat it.
Mr. Chows came off to me a bit overrated to me. The food was good, the experience was great but was it worth it?.. ehh.
As a birthday dinner for my aunt we had a prefix menu of our own selected appetizers and entrees for the table to share; basically everything was family style. The quality of the food was good but I wasn't blown away like I hoped to be. The drinks were expensive, $18 for a Bellini and while it was good and this is Mr. Chows in midtown (I get it..), it's slightly excessive. Water was offered with 2 options to my knowledge- bottled or sparkling. We choose bottled and received Fiji priced @ $10/liter. Yes that's the same size that's 2 for $3 at Duane Reade on the corner… Go figure.
At the end of the night for a party of 6 we had a $700 tab. Now while price isn't a concern, when debating on whether the experience was worth it even for a birthday- I say no. I feel the food should trump all and I wasn't blown away here. The ambiance was nice, the decor was beautiful and the staff knowledgable and attentive , however with no one having any real libations and mediocre fare Mr. Chows didn't have the "wow factor" I was hoping for.
I know this restaurant has been around forever and seems to be in a major time warp- think late 80s early 90s- but, if you allow yourself to be transported to a different time it kindof works. To start, and let's make no bones about it, its expensive. But the service/showmanship and food are good and are worth a trip back. We got the famed squab lettuce wraps, which are not actually squab, fortunately it was chicken, and it was fresh and delicious. The pot stickers were served beautifully, covered by an edible lace top and there were many of them. The appetizers were on the larger size and 2 appetizers would be plenty for a meal. I also got the filet mignon, which was expensive and a modest portion but was really delicious. I would come back for that. The noodle making show made us smile, even though it was a little cheesy.
While Mr. Chow's is not the place for a lot of occasions, it fits the bill if you are seeking a fun/cheesy night with good food.