The Pavilion

My friend and I went for brunch on Saturday. The service was horrendous. I got there early to relax and have a drink. It never arrived then our waiter took our order, someone else brought our food then I asked for my drink from THREE different wait staff as my waiter couldn’t be found. Finally he showed up saying I never ordered it. I finally get it and it has zero alcohol in it (I ordered the frozen strawberry tequila drink). The food was sub-​par — I had the lobster salad (which was incredibly light on the lobster and my friend had the eggs benedict, which were certainly nothing to write home about. The place itself is gorgeous but the staff is awful and not friendly — besides one nice bus boy. I wouldn’t go back and I live in the neighborhood.

Very good food with a slight European feel. Amazing outdoor atmosphere with a good summer breeze. Their hanger steak was tender and juicy, covering a layer of mashed potatoes and presented beautifully. Their side order of fries is with rosemary and sea salt with ketchup and a mayonnaise type dip that was surprisingly good. Good wine and spirits list. Once again, amazing atmosphere. Only downside is that it’s slightly pricey but still perfect for a place to bring your parents that are coming in out of town or a third date.

I wanted to love this place because it’s in a beautiful structure in a beautiful park, so in a triumph of hope over experience I went three times but on each occasion:
1. The food was bad. I don’t mean that the food wasn’t as good as the prices (which are the same as Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café, I kid you not) would suggest. I mean, if you got their $ 22 all-​batter deep fried chicken fingers for $ 4.99 in a sports bar in Times Square you would be disappointed.
2. The staff were not bad, but neither were they competent or friendly. They were just … there, except when you needed something in which case they busy chatting with the rest of the staff.
Bottom line: avoid.

This place does not even deserve 1-​star… The food & drinks take forever and are really horrible. The Manager has no class, and doesn’t even know what is going on in his own restaurant. He only comped the stuff that we had to send back and didn’t even care that the food was inedible. This is the worst run restaurant in the city. If you go here, you have made such a mistake. I am a New Yorker born and raised, not a tourist, and I do not write reviews based on just bad service, this was a combination of everything gone wrong and no remorse. There is no way they even read these reviews. The whole management staff should be fired on the spot and the menu re-​done. It is a big F in my book and everyone should avoid this place at all costs.
Highlights — AKA Lowlights
The Salmon was white in color — The manager is so ignorant he said its white because it was cooked on a cedar plank — Owner should fire him on the spot for this
Ribs taste like they were frozen and cooked from that state — BBQ sauce was fast-​foodchain
Hummus Platter — Never Came
Anchovies on the Ceasar — scary at best
Salads were put in a really small bowl like it was a side salad — They told us it was just in the wrong dish when we asked why it was smaller than every other salad we had seen.
Tons of mosquitoes everywhere
Real Highlight: Manager «thanked» me for not wanting anything else. I mean, «yup» he didn’t have to serve anymore of the gross food.
Wait-​staff and hostess people agreed that this happens all the time — So thanks owners for making them lose tips all day…
I beg anyone not to go here and please spend your money on the amazing places NYC has to offer in the area!

DO NOT GO HERE! Just got back from dinner with friends here. Let me tell you, this place is an absolute joke. I’ll make this quick. 845p res, sat down 9:10. Kept being told we had the next table as they continued to seat people before us. Finally sat, wasn’t asked if we wanted a drink until after 9:30. Another 15 till we ordered food. Apps didn’t come out right. My wife ordered salmon. This fish was straight up white. My salad was miniature. Called over the manager who could not have been a bigger dick.
He told us the salmon was white because it was «ala plancha». I guess this idiot didn’t realize that meant cooked on a wood plank, which this farmed albino salmon clearly was not. My friend ordered the ribs, inedible, sent back. My salad was half the size of the guy sitting at the table next to me. He assured me it was the presentation. The fact that my plate had two slices of tomato and the guy next to me a whole nice section of the plate told me enough.
The waitress however was quite nice and super apologetic. The manager is the worst I have ever dealt with in hospitality. He and the moronic hostesses should be working in other industries. Do yourself a favor and eat at the many other awesome restaurants in the area. Even the drinks sucked. And to think this guy didn’t even comp us a around of drinks. EAT ELSEWHERE people!

This is truly a laughable subject. We got a reservation for 4 at 8pm. My three friends and I arrived to the beautiful Mediterranean structure in the middle of Union Square during an amazing sunset (approx: 8pm) and they said our table would be ready in «2 minutes.» After 20 minutes we got worried and inquired, they said only a few more minutes, after ten minutes we got impatient and asked again. Finally at 8:45pm (45 minutes later) we were seated.
We put our drink orders in and appetizers too. Then some of the drinks came. And none of the appetizers. We asked and the waitress finally told the chefs 20 minutes later. We got some of the appetizers after a prolonged period. Then we ordered our entrées. When they finally arrived, they were the smallest portions I have seen in my life. And let me tell you, I’ve been eating my whole life, I’ve seen some meals. My buddy ordered a salmon tar tar and it was literally THREE slivers of frozen fish with some soupy mangos and onions on top. The food was all below average and my friends were beginning to blame me for even choosing this jalopy of an establishment. After my meal, my stomach still had plenty of room and the food wasn’t even good, it was SO EXPENSIVE!
I decided while I was waiting for them to bring my check I would go to the McDonalds across the street and get some real food and a treat myself to a frappé. So I did. Then I brought it back to my table and devoured the juicy Big Mac. The ice cold Mocha Frappé felt so refreshing as it slid up my straw and into my young, naturally supple lips.
The manager and waiters had a huddle off to the side and they were deciding how to handle the awkward situation. The manager came up to me and scolded me to leave the premises and told me he was gonna charge me for my behavior. I reacted like a total champ and asked for my bill. I stayed in my seat and kept eating my McDonalds in peace, to his demise.
As expected, they completely screwed up the bill. And needless to say, I will never be back to this Ponzi Scheme of a restaurant. Never go. Trust me.
Luckily we met this foxy Minx of an Asian lady who saw the whole thing and totally sympathized with us. She told the manager and waitress how bad our experience was and the staff embarrassingly apologized. Ugh the things I’d do to her… Anyways,
PLEASE NEVER ATTEND THIS RESTAURANT!!!

Staff was attentive and cordial, the outdoor seating was delightful (even with a stray bagpiper playing in the square), and the food was great… my burger was juicy and the bun was beautifully toasted. The drink special was nice but smaller than I would have liked for the price, but that’s NYC for ya.

I was looking for an outdoor space for a company happy hour of about 50 people. I spoke with Dunja (who was incredibly helpful) and met with Salim (the General Manager) who showed me the space and assured me the event would run smoothly and he was right!
Service: We had 2 dedicated servers who were on top of everything. Even the bussers & hosts helped make sure our party was getting served quickly.
Drinks: Fun and refreshing options.
Food: Delicious! I ordered a lot of food but standouts to me were the beef sliders & hanger steak. The calamari and avocado shrimp were pretty tasty too.
Atmosphere: Beautiful space in the middle of Union Square. The pillars and light bulbs gave the right amount of casual class.
Location: Union Square, centrally located. A fun gem to host an event in the middle of the city.

This place was excellent. The staff was very accommodating, we started at an outside but quickly had to move out of the sun. Very charming décor and a great menu complete with tasty cocktails. I was shocked how quiet and laid back it was for a Saturday afternoon in Union Square. Can’t wait to go back!

I started working in the Union Square area a few months ago and was looking forward to dining at The Pavilion when the weather warmed up. I quickly learned that the amazing atmosphere is the only thing this restaurant has going for it. Despite all of the negative reviews on Unilocal,I still wanted to give it a try.
I was shocked at the terrible service, which overshadowed everything about the meal. My concern was peaked when the waiter took our order without writing anything down. After that, everything went quickly downhill. First, our water glasses were never refilled. Despite there being just two of us, our food was brought out at different times. We had to ask to order after sitting there for 30 minutes. I ordered the head of roasted cauliflower without the tahini sauce, and it came literally in a pool of tahini. Since we had already been there for 45 – 50 minutes at this point, I didn’t ask to have this rectified because I didn’t have another hour to wait. My dining partner ordered the avocado toast with a side of fries and never received the fries. Even when we brought this to their attention, they said they would bring out on order of fries but never did. Finally, after twenty minutes trying to flag down our waiter to no avail, we asked another waiter for our check and reminding him about the fries. After receiving our check, the table next to ours received the French fries that we were supposed to receive.
I had to leave my dining companion with the check because by this point we had been at the restaurant for two hours and I needed to get back to work. This was by far the worst dining experience I’ve ever had a restaurant and cannot speak more poorly of this restaurant. Very disappointing.

Overpriced and basic, far from extraordinary food.
The drinks were bland. (I ordered the Pink Sangria. Could barely taste the wine in it) And the portions of food were small.($ 16 dollars for an octopus appetizer) Nice ambience but not worth it at all.

I wanted to love this place. Really I did. However Admir, negatively affected our whole lunch. Generally speaking hospitable means to be warm, friendly and welcoming. He’s none of those things. Flat. Lethargic and uninterested would be more apt. And arguing with us about the restaurant’s policy to give patrons a «taste» of the wine? I get that the Pavillion’s management is short sited, and wants people to spend $ 68 on a TERRIBLE bottle of rose (get the $ 60 one, it’s much better «Journelle» or something similar) but don’t lecture us and tell us we clearly don’t know how to run profitable companies. Clearly Pavillion will be under new management before the end of the year. Who’s taking that bet? Calling @DannyMeyer !!!
The food was fine. IT looks amazing, but no one was raving. Time to rebalance. The zuchini pesto was thin (Admir insisted there was cheese IN the sauce, I’m going to bet again there isn’t. That sauce was as watery as can be. Skimping in the kitchen? You betcha.) And then avocado toast was under seasoned. The fries were fried in oil that was well below temperature (oil clearly absorbed) … I could go on.
The location is amazing. Atmosphere charming. So if we could up the reception and kindness a little (Props to the bartender «Nesh» or something similar for being awesome and the super sweet hostess) this place is going to eventually lift it’s rating. Til then? Skip the food, and accept you’re over paying for booze thanks to the great location/​atmosphere. I’ll do likewise. Next time!

I had yet to try The Pavillion so was so pumped when NYC finally warmed up and I was able to go for drinks and apps. My friend got a table for 2 around 615. We each had 2x glasses of wine and split the quinoa salad and a hummus plate. The ambiance is really nice but the prices are not. I guess this could be expected but we each spent nearly $ 70 and were sharing everything. Probably should have just got a bottle of wine instead of glasses — but still, very $$$. Our waiter was very attentive though and the service was speedy, too. Just be prepared to spend some money — you’re paying for the scene.

Food: Awesome
Service: Not
Seating Options: Awesome
On the first over 85 degree day, I decided to search for a place that offered outdoor seating. The Pavilion has indoor/​outdoor options including shaded or non-​shaded areas. Located right in Union Square, its perfect for a beautiful day. TIP: It’s across the street from Barnes and Noble — I obviously had a difficult time finding it because the back of it is a playground with what looks like boarded up building.
I sat down with a friend, it took 10 minutes for the waiter to come over and I get that it was really toasty outside but he was clearly not digging the weather. We ordered, another 20 minutes to get our food [which our waiter didn’t bring out]. I’ll describe food in a bit. After food, our waiter was no where to be found which was frustrating because it’s not like I had all day to sit and bake in the sun. People work. Finally find him and getting the check to us was way too long especially for the computer to be right behind us. Oh also, prepare to die because they only gave us water once and it was 92 degrees outside.
Food.
We got the whole roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce, it was delicious and I recommend it. Zucchini noodles in a pesto sauce — nom. The organic chicken sandwich with grilled onions and gouda — tasty.
I would definitely recommend this place for the food, and it’s probably 4 – 5 stars if you have more patience or time to waste.

The Scenery was beautiful.
Wish the service was better, after a discussion with the manager she offered us drinks for the inconvenience. There’s a kids park behind the bar and could get noisy at times.
Overall pleasant experience with my coworkers. Nice place to go for lunch on a nice weather day.

Came here for some lunch dessert, (yes I had dessert after lunch, no I’m not ashamed, yes it was a good choice…) and ordered the s’mores and it was fantastic! It’s like s’mores for a’dults! One thing though is that it was so sweet not sure I would do it again. The gram cracker to chocolate marshmallow ratio was way underdone and off balanced, but damn it was still good! I would recommend doing this because it’s super cute, the location is beautiful, and I absolutely love the outdoors people watching of this place! Location is perfect for a beautiful day and it’s a perfect date spot, the only thing I have to say is that while the dessert was super interesting, it was underwhelming by the end. There needed to be more crackers for dipping

Summer is coming to NYC and with it the best outdoor brunch place. The pavilion just opened and we had a great brunch today. Kir Royal and Bloody Mary to start. We shared frittata and avocado open face sandwich. Excellent. Perfect spot and professional staff.

With all the organic market in union square, fresh air after a raining afternoon, a few bubbles with garden-​ish décor… it can’t get more summer and romantic than that.
But the drinks and food are meh. What a coincident those are the most important things to a restaurant /​café.

I had a confusing dining experience here and the only reason this place is not getting one star is because the wait staff was excellent and friendly while the view of the majority of Union Square from outside seating, during the daytime, was a memorable sensory experience. Unfortunately, this was not a park bench we were visiting to people watch, this was a restaurant in which we paid money for almost low-​end food experiments.
We were given water immediately and requested bread, which were dry cubes of sandpaper with a really odd combination of hummus and cheese wiz. Although my sirloin was almost medium rare (it was a few different colors but by far the best food-​related item on the table), my fries had visible chocolate chip-​sized pieces of salt that were overwhelming.
However, Karen and I were immediately confused when her meal was placed in front of her. Although she ordered short rib, spinach ravioli, both what her and I saw was not what we expected. Instead of small, individual pieces of ravioli she was almost given a large amount of short rib mixed with ricotta placed in between two large crêpe-​like pasta circles topped with crème fresh in a beef sauce. It’s almost like the ricotta and short rib flavors muted each other and the taste was alien-​like and indescribable. As a result, I gave Karen some of my steak and fries and prayed for the best.
Of course, I ordered a sundae because how can you screw up 3 scoops of ice cream with some toppings? Of course the sundae, while big enough for two, was topped with brussels sprout-​looking microgreens because that is an obvious accompaniment to brownie and cookie pieces. I shall likely never return.

I’m renaming this place «il’Conceived». This is where food combinations go to die.
All the stars go toward the service. The waitstaff was very friendly and we never wanted for water for a single second. Though we did have to ask for the free bread, which was a mistake anyway. Maybe they were trying to save us from ourselves.
It was dense and dry as the Gobi. It came with a very orange spread.
«This is fancy French Cheese Wiz» — Eva T.
Pretty much. But I’m not going to hate on it too much, it was actually tasty.
Eva ordered the steak. I took a chance on the Short Rib Broccoli Rabe Lasagna.
*sigh* I don’t know what I expected, but this was not it. It had to be the strangest flavor combination I’ve ever had in my life. The ricotta was a lie someone told the chef tasted good with short rib. I never send food back. Never. This was a close call.
Eva’s steak was the best thing put on that table, despite the Dead Sea salty fries.
«Do you want dessert? How about the sundae?»
«They can’t possibly mess up a sundae.»
Holy crap. They put microgreens on the «Sunday» as garnish! At this point we couldn’t stop laughing. Everything else about the «Sunday» (It’s a day of the week on the check. Yet another fit of giggles.) was fine. Actually the brownie was dense and quite good. But dammit! It’s like someone with a traumatic brain injury was left in charge of the menu here.
I feel terrible for choosing this place. I owe Eva a do-​over big time! Anyplace you want, girl! On me!
But the location is perfect. Right in Union Square, nice and breezy, great people watching. The attractive bar area was probably the best thing about the place. You could take a chance on a drink here, but do not order the «I got sent home after the first elimination round on Chopped» entrees. Jesus, no.