Manon

This is a late review.
Came with two friends when this restaurant was newly opened. We had a very enjoyable time. The place had an A rating at the time of our visit and we used an insiders deal to get those off the menu lobster rolls.
The rolls were actually called: The Most Indulgent Lobster Roll of All Time. It consisted of chunks of Maine Lobster topped with sea urchin and osetra caviar (with a few other ingredients I can’t think of). My friend purchased a pasta that was very good but extremely small. I mean we probably got a noodle each and that was the entire pasta dish so that was a bit of a bummer. Two of us had champagne (which tasted like regular champagne) and one had beer which she said was pretty good.
For the three of us we were pretty comfortable. However there was a group there for a party and it seemed like they were a bit mushed together so I think that this place may be good for small groups, not really big ones. The atmosphere was nice and the set up it nice. I enjoyed myself and my friends seemed to as well. If you want to go for drinks or maybe a quick bite, Manon seems like the right place. If you are looking for a big dinner, then you may not be too satisfied with your plate.

My friends and I ate here late Jan this year. This review is late because I’ve recently determined that as consumers, we have the right to speak up when shit (literally) goes awry.
Anyway, the four of us ordered a variety of things including chicken liver mousse, scallops, and brussels sprouts. The sad part is that the food was really good. The brussels sprouts were some of the best I’ve had and rivaled Alta’s. From what I remember, service was good as well. So what went wrong? In the middle of our meal, my friend, who is a chef, starts gaping at a guy who just came out of the kitchen. «Oh my god, I think thats Clarence!» Clarence, a pastry chef, used to work with her at her previous job. «He got fired! He was DISGUSTING. He never cleaned his station, never washed his hands, was completely unsanitary, etc. I can’t believe he works here!» Upon confirming with out waiter that it was in fact Clarence, we all had a good laugh and ended our night after dinner.
Fast forward one day… Three out of four of us were completely sick from food poisoning/​stomach virus. I ended up feverish, weak, and had to miss 3 days of work. The review below stating that Manon has a grade C rating does not surprise me at all, and Clarence’s presence in the kitchen putting his hands all over everything whilst we were eating dinner is no longer funny.
When we were recovered, I spoke to my friends and we all decided it would be a good idea to get in touch with management just so they were aware of the situation. I went on their website and filled out their «contract us» form with a message that basically stated, «Hey, we dined here on XX date and almost all of us got sick, wanted to let you know in case other patrons also got sick.» I honestly thought I was doing them a favor by letting them know – no demands were made to refund us or anything like that. I never heard back. Seriously, guys? You couldn’t respond back with an apology or thank you? Is your customer service run by wild monkeys? Do you simply not give a crap about return customers? Either way, people can how read this review and see what to expect from you.

This place has a C Grade from the NYC Health Dept… Gross

This review is mainly for the food, but also the service. My girlfriend, who flew all the way from L.A. to join me for a lovely dinner out, chose Manon. She is French and we have a hard time finding good, fresh bread in the USA — the fresh, hot bread rolls at this restaurant are SUPERB. If the bread is that good, then you know the mains will be even better!
We had a reservation for 2 people on a very busy night, during NY Fashion Week. We were seated straight away, and our waiter was *very* attentive. This restaurant is beautiful, and we really had a lovely time here. I can see why some people would be put off by poor service, but we apparently got lucky, and the food really is fantastic if you get a chance to eat here!
It’s also an aesthetically pleasing space, so if you are a visual person, you will enjoy both the food and the ambience. I will definitely be back!

We went here for dinner on 10÷5÷13, and had one of the best experiences. The décor & ambience is beautiful, the service impeccable, the cocktails creative and tasty, the food brilliant and amazing.
The branzino was delicious and perfectly cooked.
The lamb was probably the best lamb dish I ever tasted.
The chocolate cake & cremeux was divine.
Loved this place, and hope to go again the next time we visit NYC.

I’m extremely frustrated by Manon. They took 90 minutes to clear coat check after my friend’s Charity event last night.
When they finally got my coat and bag back to me, they had lost my scarf. Their only solution seemed to be to offer me drink tickets. Maybe I’ll come back in Spring time when I (literally) have nothing to lose.
The restaurant is gorgeous and the bartenders are nice. But I can’t handle poor service. Especially when I’m there for a good cause! Jeeze.

So I get all the meatpacking qualifications… I’ve been in NYC for 12 years now and had plenty of meals at places in the neighborhood. Let’s start with the +‘s:
Amazing Brussel Sprouts — but who doesn’t serve solid brussel sprouts these days?. Good Hamachi and Strip Loin but nothing particularly stood out. That’s about it… The crowd did start getting good around 11:30, which was really the 1 redeeming quality.
Now to the -‘s:
Ambiance was nice but half empty during my 8pm Fri reservation for 4, which is where the real problem lies: We had to wait an hour at the bar to be seated. We had a 8pm reservation. There were more empty seats than full ones. Had to walk up to the hostess 2x before they finally got around to getting us seated. The plan was to have dinner and party thereafter. After an hour wait and a 2.5 more to eat all we wanted to do was leave.
My 2 cents — eat dinner elsewhere and just show up at the bar.

Nice décor, nice food, but oh, the loneliness. Where’s everybody at this restaurant/​lounge on a Friday at 9pm. I get it, they must have been crouching under the tables in a twisted game of hide & seek! No? It’s just empty (ish)? Ok, fine. Put your promoters at work, because the mega-​restaurants down the street (TAO, Buddakan, Colicchio, etc.) are going to shut you down in a matter of weeks. The food isn’t bad — a bit more classic (branzino, fish crudos) than the other options around here — but also doesn’t stand out particularly. But hey, it’s the MePa you don’t come here for amazing food.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect from the reviews but I actually had an amazing time here. The food was excellant, sercvice great, and gorgeous ambience w/​good music. I went w/​one of my best friends and she loved it as well. It’s def a little pricey but we ordered a lot & besides we knew it would be going in & figured once in awhile you’ve just gotta treat yourself! We went on a Fri night, I think our reservation was around 9 & were seated right away.
One thing which I did that I hadn’t before was read the reviews carefully in terms of what ppl recommended to eat & actually made notes of which dishes were mentioned the most that I thought I’d like (kind of nerdy but it worked!).
First off I’m not a drinker but they made me this amazing non-​alcoholic drink (I don’t even think they told me what it was called, I just said make it sweet).
It was also the 1^st time I took pics of a meal so I’ll include them as well if I can figure out how. The bread they brought before the meal was even amazing. For appetizer’s my friend got the Grilled Japanese Eggplant which she liked and I got the Viking Village Scallops which I loved (yes it’s a small portion but that’s fairly normal for this type of restaurant). For dinner I got the Amish Chicken Breast which I HIGHLY recommend. Usually when I go out I order seafood or fish as my entrée but I’d read so many good things about the chicken I really wanted to try it & it didn’t disappoint. My friend had the Lamb Loin which she also enjoyed (though I think she wished she’d gotten the chicken as well after trying mine!). We also got a side of the Brussel Sprouts b/​c of the raving reviews but neither of us ate that much of them. Not b/​c they were bad but b/​c we’d already ordered so much & I for one was trying to save room for dessert!(I have a huge sweet tooth). So glad I did b/​c I was absolutely blown away by the Brazilian Carrot Cake. OMG! If you like carrot cake, pineapples, & marshmellows you’re in for a rare treat. I’ve eaten a lot of carrot cake in my life & this was definitely one of the most memorable. Actually I’d say it was THE most memorable but my friends got me a huge carrot cake for my baby shower b/​c they know how much I love it. So that’s more of a nostalgic memory lol. Taste wise I’d say Manon’s was the best (I also REALLY like marshmellow & whoever thought of putting them together was a genius).
Aside from the food, you def want to get dressed up to go here. It’s on the trendy side for sure & all the women who work there look like super models. I’m a total fashionista so that was part of the appeal. Although I was pissed b/​c I had this great dress I was going to wear (we were going out after too) & had a wardrobe malfunction at the last minute so had to quickly switch to a crop top & jeans. We were actually hoping the lounge area downstairs would be a little more happening. We had a LONG dinner, about 3 hrs so when we were done it was close to midnight. But although they were playing good music, there wasn’t that much of a crowd. So we stayed for a bit, my friend drinks like a fish so she drank lol…& then we headed to another lounge. All in all, it was a great experience & I would highly recommend checking it out!

Manon is a Michelin star to be, period. From decoration to service to plating to food to drinks, everything was just flawless during my first visit there celebrating a special celebration.
complementary bread — freshly baked, puffy, warm and tasty
Scallop — so flavorful but a but small in portion
Chicken liver moose — amazing
Steak — not steakhouse quality but pretty good
Cocktails were awesome as well. The biggest drawback is definitely the portion, I feel like everything could be a bit bigger.

Some of the people I was with raved about this place, but it’s just not really my scene (so please as you read consider no one will ever confuse me for the trendy Meat Packing type). 8 – 11 on a Friday night and it was never really that packed. The servers were very good and the food was tasty, but everything was «modest» portions. Presentation was very nice on all the dishes, but as far as taste (and almost everything on the menu) and value proposition (I expect to pay for a great meal, but I also expect to receive a great meal), I wasn’t wowed.
We shared just about everything; oysters, tuna tartare, beef tartare, scallops, snapper, branzino, lamb loin, ribeye special, fingerling potatoes, wild mushrooms I’d rank as above average though not exceptional; some people loved the hamachi, roasted beets and carrot cake, and my opinion was the brussels sprouts (best ever?) and chocolate cake were the stars of the meal.
Certainly enjoyed the meal and wouldn’t throw a fit about returning… but probably won’t rush back either.

Came here for my birthday with 10 friends in June 2013. Was treated so well by the server that we were in a good mood and decided to pay for dinner for all my friends.
The food tasted fresh, and simple but with depth of flavor. My favorite was the pasta dish with corn and Vietnamese-​inspired grilled fish. There wasn’t anything ground-​breaking about the food but execution was good.

Pros: ambiance, lighting (very cool), accommodating for a large group (8), location next to SL night club.
Cons: a bit loud, hard to talk to friends around 11ish pm.
Came here on a Thursday night around 10 pm, and my friends had nothing bad to say about our experience.
Overall: Great place to get the night started.

Had a reservation for dinner and walked out before eating. Therefore I can’t really comment on the kitchen, which may be great, only on my deliberately short experience.
We checked in with the girls on the front of house but the table wasn’t ready so we waited at the bar. and waited… and waited. Seems we were forgotten about because everyone else coming in was being seated upstairs but no worries because we could have a drink at the bar. It’s 9pm on a Saturday night in the beautiful part of the city so seemed like a good place for a beer and an old fashioned.
They ran out of beers, served a dreadful old fashioned, and all of the staff bar one had an aura of ‘we’re too good for you’, and we were completely ignored on our table downstairs waiting to eat. Sorry, but if you’re too good for me then you’re too good for my money. Time to leave.

The food is probably only worthy of four stars, but the service is worth five, and the ambiance is definitely worth five. Hence, the five star rating and a place in my Manhattan All-​Star Line-​Up list.
I’m not entirely sure how to define the cuisine at Manon, but the menu has a compilation of modern American and French styles. There is a great selection of wines and cocktails, although during my first visit two of the cocktails that I really wanted to try weren’t available. Get your sh** together, Manon; a man needs his drink.
The beef tartare was a delightful surprise. Instead of ground beef, it was actually little slices of beef squished together. The texture of the beef made the dish even more enjoyable, and that quail egg on top certainly doesn’t hurt. The branzino was a great choice in my opinion. It was cooked to perfection and seasoned lightly enough that you can appreciate the taste of a good quality fish. A cold salad made with jicama, green apple and cilantro on the side was a perfect complement to the fish.
Lastly, I want to mention the ambiance again. My friends and I dined here starting around 8PM, and did not depart until 11PM. Throughout this time, the music started out as a calming smooth jazz with a soft bass, and gradually morphed into full-​on electronic dance music by the end of the evening. After a few cocktails and bottles of champagne, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any restaurant DJ manage a mood so effectively. Also, the mezzanine seating is a fantastic experience, as you get a great view of the tall bar shelving décor.
Hit up Manon! I actually don’t know how to pronounce it. Do you think it rhymes with «cannon»? Or is it pronounced like at the end of «phenomenon»?

Manon was a pleasure to stumble upon!
So many great things about this place from the décor to one of the best DJs I have ever heard. They keep the music fresh and fun just like the atmosphere here.
Our bartender Aria (Spelling?) was so nice he really made our night. He took requests like give me something with tequila and cucumber and made us something amazing every time. It was the perfect place to start our girls night out.
The management was also very helpful and nice and made it feel like they really would enjoy having us back again. I can’t wait to go again!!!

Came here for a birthday dinner with 8 of my girlfriends this past Saturday night. Manon is exactly what MPK offers, a really stylish, sexy swanky eatery. So why the low stars? The food at best is just mediocore.
We sat at the dining room on the third floor, luckily they have an elevator so we didn’t have to walk up three flights in our heels. We sampled a large amount of the menu. The best dish was the side dish of brussel sprouts. The hamachi starter was bland. The cod was terrible and tasteless. The only upside was that it wasn’t over cooked. I was truly disappointed in the uni + caviar lobster roll, which is very sad as this was the main reason why I wanted to come to Manon. All the fine ingredients of this dish should make for something amazing, but upon your first bite you’ll realize it’s just like the resturant all looks and nothing substantial to offer as far as taste. At least it was drenched in mayo.
Next time I would only go for drinks. If you’re only into having a great ambiance then Manon is for you.

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience at Manon. I’m not into the Meatpacking scene at all. But, the UD voucher for an off-​menu lobster roll and two glasses of sparkling wine was just too good of an offer to pass up. So, we made a Tuesday night trip on the L across town.
It’s a nice space; right on 14^th between 9^th and 10^th, one can go shopping then grab dinner. I liked the ambiance. It was cozy chic.
In addition to the lobster roll, which I knew to be small from earlier Unilocal reviews, we got the beef tartar and the brussel sprouts. Everything was excellent. The lobster roll, while tiny, was not overloaded with mayo. It was mostly lobster, with a light dressing. The beef tartar had a nice kick to it due to the Worcester sauce they included. The brussel sprouts were AWESOME. They were sautéed in a honey glaze with pecans, so had just enough sweetness to make you forget you were consuming brussel sprouts. I knew I had hit a home run ordering those when my fiancé, who is by no means a supporter, let alone fan, of brussel sprouts, ate half the bowl. And the rolls with the lemon tarragon butter they bring you are incredible. They’re half roll, half pretzel or something like that.
Service was exceptional as well. The voucher allowed us to get two glasses of sparkling wine, so we each had one. My fiancé finished it before I did, so the waiter brought him another on the house since, «a lady should never drink alone.» They were attentive without being overwhelming, and when they gave us the bill without the voucher deducted, one of the waiters immediately came over and said, «We made a mistake! Be right back!»
My one reason for docking it one star is the limited menu. I think it would be hard for people who are picky to find something they like. Then again, it’s relatively new, so perhaps the chef will be expanding it.
I could easily be dragged back to the Meatpacking District if one promised me a meal at Manon.

Came back and finally got to use the urban daddy certificate. The second experience at Manon was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Our waiter was very sweet and attentive and so was all the other workers. One of the guys even remembered us from the first time!
I do hope Manon keeps the off menu item from urban daddy and add it to the menu. The uni lobster roll is to die for. I would love to come back to eat more of these. Everything is a winner here. From the first visit to the second all the dishes we ordered was top notch. Even the free bread is by far the best bread I’ve had. It’s quite addicting.
This visit we ordered oysters — very fresh! Fluke: small but also very fresh. Scallops were also one of my favorites of the night. The cod and the lamb loin. I highly recommend the lamb! It was cooked perfectly and had amazing taste.
The first visit here we tried the salmon head which is amazing and so was the hamachi. Both dishes is highly recommended. Beef tartare with quail egg. Chicken breast is also delicious but I prefer the lamb loin as my top entrée.
My second experience was phenomenal. Lukas is great, and I will be coming back for dinner and drinks soon.

Spectacular. The physical space is eye-​popping. The service was superb. The food?
Oh. My. Home run. Salads with soft-​boiled eggs deep fried like a hush puppy. Foie. Ravioli. Salt cod. Gnocchi. Lamb loin. Berkshire pork chop. Brussel sprouts. Whipped potatoes.
One after another… winner. Not a single bad dish the whole meal. Not a single one.
The fresh, hot, salted butter rolls were RIDONKULOUS.
Go. Go early and go often.