The Ribbon

Loved the food and the friendliness of the waiters. So far the best burger I ever had! Delicious desserts!

This place is excellent all around. I have visited this location several times already and will continue coming back As soon as you come in, you receive a warm, friendly welcome from the host. Waitstaff is knowledge and friendly. Ambient is perfect. Décor is beautiful.
Food is superb. I highly recommend from the raw bar: West Coast oysters, they are large and succulent. For dinner, the fried chicken (Sunday & Monday dinner), Amish chicken, Ribbon «Dip» sandwich are great choices!!! As for drinks, I highly recommend «Strawberry Fields Forever».

Originally directed to find a seat at the hightop tables, took our seat, we were abruptly told that we were sitting in reserved seats by the manager, who did not apologize for the misunderstanding. We were then offered seats in between another party. Plenty of open tables, yet management did not offer to accommodate. Manager also joked with the hostess and shrugged as we walked out. Not a great way to keep customers.

Great service, but food is just ok.
Appetizer: Berry Loaf, this was the highlight of the whole meal. I can eat three more loaves. Wish i didnt order the crappy chocolate cake and just ordered this again for dessert!
I had the corned beef hashed, it was ok.
We ordered the brunch bottle service with different juices, it was awesome! I had the bloody mary, it was good

Came here twice for brunch with friends. The first time we thought the service was a bit strange (waiter was pretty inattentive and had a hard time getting him to come over when we needed something), but we chalked it up to maybe a busy section, despite the fact that half the restaurant was empty.
Fast forward to my second visit here, again for brunch, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the service is just freaking strange. Maybe that speaks to why you can walk in and easily get a table sans reservation. We ordered the hummus appetizer — could this place be more stingy than the two pieces of bread that come with it? The waiter couldn’t have been more obvious that he wanted us to leave — brought the check over without us even asking for it, and then charged my card before my friend could even put her card down to split the bill.
This place is just plain weird, but their loss– we probably would have ordered a few more drinks had they not pushed us out the door beforehand!

Prime Rib and Sunday Fried Chicken — Amen! Mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and mac& cheese on the side. But wait! There’s more! Save room for dessert. I am a chocoholic, but I flipped over the bread pudding. Don’t miss it (have it with vanilla ice cream!)

Was there for lunch.
Their main entrees and salads are well priced. Their apps and drinks are pricey.
Great ambiance and great location. The place is cozy and fancy.
I had their butcher salad (w/​no bacon) instead I asked for extra prime rib, which was not very good. The meat tasted old (left overs) but their chicken and mushrooms made up for it. Their bread was warm and crusty with good unprocessed butter (interesting)
Great staff (good waiter), perfect location.

If you read all the bad reviews, you can see that they were written by fake profiles who have no friends and hardly any reviews, if you read the good reviews, you can see that they were written by Unilocalers with extensive profiles. Someone is obviously out to smear the Ribbon on Unilocal,which is a shame because a lot of people, including me, rely on these reviews to decide where to eat. Take it from me and my 600+ reviews, that I will be providing you a legit review.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the Ribbon — every time I passed by, I could just hear the loud and exuberant energy from here. The front room does get incredibly and uncomfortably loud (wish they could do something about the acoustics). However, there is a back dining room, equally elegant and charming that is much quieter and well suited for a nice dinner and conversation. I would suggest you reserve a table in this back room.
The cozy, woodsy interior is decorated in a library theme, your bill is presented inside the pages of an old book. Dim light bulbs add a romantic feel. You can even look through the windows to see into the kitchen. We had a well-​mannered and sweet waiter. The manager was also pacing (in a good way) the dining room saying hello and making sure all the patrons were happy.
Their food is probably one of the best I’ve had at any restaurant on the UWS. We started with a round of oysters. I highly recommend them — get a few of the East Coast — they’re sweet and delicious and fresh, they’re washed very well, no gritty sand in them. They also brought us a complimentary app (or an amuse bouche you might say) — arancini (stuffed rice balls) — delish. I ordered the bronzino — so well cooked and well seasoned. Perfectly flaky and perfectly crispy skin. And two good pieces too. It does not come with a side, so you can order one if you’re really hungry. My companion ordered the Ribbon steak, which he liked. For dessert, we had the Ribbon chocolate chip bread pudding, which was a little misleading because it contained no chocolate chips, rather melted chocolate sauce, and no pudding, but a piece of plain pound cake topped with vanilla ice cream. The cake was a bit dry, but the ice cream was really good. My cabernet was perfect.
Such a fantastic and lovely dinner we had here. I cannot wait to come back and try more of the menu. The pictures of their bloody mary look so good — I will have to come back for brunch.

Just stopped in for a drink and light dinner. The food was delicious (burger and fries) and service was impeccable! Neither too little nor too much. We will definitely stop in again! We loved it!
On our next visit, still 5 stars. The restaurant has GREAT energy, food, and service!

Food is pretty good… Drinks are better… Wait staff is definitely great. A bit overpriced but for this area it is a pretty good spot.
Front of the house definitely needs a crash course in guest service. One person in particular — I think Kelly? — restaurant popularity comes and goes. I think you should remember that.
The place had many empty tables and she couldn’t accommodate my party of 5. I was told to grab space on one of the communal tables.

Short review: The bartender seems to have been recruited from a «Applebee’s» in Times Square or some Jersey Shore «club» that makes its money from second marriages: courting and nuptials. Being forced to put on a waist coat just isn’t sufficient training to make a solid mixologist let alone a decent bartender.
The bill was outrageously artificially inflated with «errors» but the attitude was worse. I’m just glad I was paying more attention than I would at a neighborhood place I trust and feel comfortable in. Like fore instance: Telepan, Luxembourg, Bar Baloud, or Christ even the Smith.
This recent addition to the neighborhood is all façade and zero substance. In short, a formulaic con that delivers neither quality, nor service at a competitive level.
New Yorkers eat, New Yorkers drink and New Yorkers know what to expect for their money:
«The Ribbon» is for the uninitiated.
That said, the manager (looks like Tony Stark) handled my disappointment with bar staff with superlative efficiency.
The sad thing is, both he and I had to deal with such shit.
I won’t be back and hope to save you the trouble.

IN SHORT: Part of the Blue Ribbon restaurant empire, this spacious New American outpost on the Upper West Side is surprisingly perfect for any meal of the day, and will easily become your favorite restaurant in the neighborhood.
THE STORY: From sushi to fried chicken, Blue Ribbon restaurants have managed to develop a portfolio as diverse and individualistic as the neighborhoods they call home, and somehow, from the Lower East Side now to the Upper West, quality is not lost among such breadth.
It’s ultimately a wise strategy, for if one brand of restaurant should fall out of favor or fashion, the empire is not left scrambling for survival. At The Ribbon in particular, this strategy can be felt within the restaurant itself. At both a brunch and dinner in recent weeks, it’s clear that The Ribbon’s appeal is vast and deep, ensuring its rightful presence in the neighborhood for a long time to come.
Craving an elegant piece of salmon on Friday, but would prefer to end your Sunday with a large portion of fried chicken and southern sides? The Ribbon offers it all, dressing up a wide range of American classics just enough to set them apart from the crowd of other so-​so restaurants on the Upper West Side, and to lodge them in your culinary memory until you just have to return again for more.
At dinner, the Sliced Hangar Steak is one of these dishes, whose thick, rich, green peppercorn sauce lends the perfect amount of vegetal acidity to the decadently tender cuts of beef. The delicate shoestring fries on the side are no joke either, somehow maintaining their crispy exterior even when soaking in the sauce for a few minutes.
The wide-​reaching menu also offers house-​made pâté and a butcher board of meats and cheeses, but the Beef Marrow with Oxtail Marmalade should be the appetizer everyone rushes toward. Sweet and buttery, the marrow is the perfect spread over charred challah toast topped with small leaves of fried parsley for an ethereally crispy, herbal finish.
While dinners at the restaurant can feel crowded and boisterous quickly, brunches tend to be more subdued, as families with strollers and friends sipping on Bloody Marys while watching the latest football game sit side by side in peace.
The eats at this nebulous weekend meal are also satisfying to all walks of life on the Upper West. Of course there is Avocado Toast with cherry tomatoes, radishes, chia seeds, and espelette pepper on a thin, sometimes too-​soft piece of whole-​grain bread, and of course there is Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon for a lighter, saltier, and brinier plate.
But there is also The Pig Club, a hearty sandwich with rotisserie pork, smoked bacon, pickled jalapenos, and provolone for a less traditional, arguably spicier brunch. The thick slices of pork find home here in a crunchy, airy hero bun, with perhaps a bit too much bread for the otherwise great pileup of ingredients.
And then there is the Prime Rib Poutine, featuring, obviously, a thick, tender, perfectly pink slice of prime rib topped with a fried egg over french fries, sauteed onions, and a thin cheddar gravy.
As my Canadian boo so eloquently put it, «That’s not poutine.» He’s right, it’s not, but I’ve come to wonder, is anything actually poutine? It seems the Canadians have such a monopoly on these gravy-​cheese-​curd-​fries, that it’s possible I’ve never had poutine in my life. I suppose I’ll have to go to Montréal to find out.
But like so much at The Ribbon, this poutine-​inspired plate is remarkably flavorful and satisfying, without feeling like a brick of carbs and fat was just dropped into your digestive tract. Against the backdrop of The Ribbon’s spacious, retro vibes, and next to one of the restaurant’s «design your own» Bloody Marys, there’s ultimately not much to complain about.
Sometimes there is an incremental cost to achieving and maintaining flexibility in restaurants, but The Ribbon shows no signs of struggling. A success across cuisines and times of the day, many restaurants could learn a thing or two from this American classic in the making.

This is really one of the prettiest restaurants in the area. Cool and inviting. Their menu is diverse and well cooked.
I’ve been here twice, and each time I just think the food is great and the waitstaff is lovely and helpful. They don’t have notations on their menu about what’s gluten free, etc, but they really are incredible about making something in a way that I can eat it. And I really appreciate that. It’s definitely not inexpensive, so I wouldn’t go often. But definitely check it out. FYI, I went at 4pm and they had an in-​between menu, which was fine.
Here’s the problem, it’s inconsistent. I went for lunch today, and although there was only 1 other table there, it took over an hour to get our entrees, and then mine was wrong. I say it’s worth checking it out. But dinner is definitely a better menu.

Fantastic ambiance, food, drinks and service.
The ambiance: somewhat dimly lit, a good amount of energy, contemporary and with warm decorative details. Seen at the bar, down the steps to the bathroom, and even warm contemporary details in the bathroom I liked with very cool bathroom stall doors and faucets.
Service: Bartender was attentive and friendly. Table server was knowledgable about their menu items and oysters, and made great recommendations.
Drinks: My dirty martini was super with fresh plump olives. I tried the Mezcel drink «Bet on Cincy» off their specialty menu, and it was wonderful!
Food/​what we had:
— Oysters. Must have the copps island oysters! Mmm ! I think these are my new favorites over blue point. According to the server, the Ribbon has a special agreement, and this Oyster is only distributed to them. Sizable and wonderful.
Only negative is the oyster dish/​stand is too high; I couldn’t see the oysters and had to extend my reach too much to access them. I am only 5’2 but hey petite women like to see their food too :)
— Chicken. The server recommended this as did my friend, and it was delic! So tender, perfectly flavored and with a light broth that was fantastic.
— Burger. My friend ordered their burger and loved it.
— Mushrooms side. These were wonderful, great on their own, and also paired well with both the chicken and burger.
Highly recommend as a restaurant to come with friends or a date.

Brunch was delicious: the salmon Benedict was savory without being too much. The appetizer special of warm pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling was simple but spectacular. The service was friendly (hot chocolate wasn’t a menu option, but our waiter was nice enough to make one for my friend anyway).

Please allow me to direct your attention to the center of The Ribbon’s menu, where you will find something called The Shroom Burger. It is truly psychedelic and will make you hallucinate visions of beefy joy.
Seriously you guys, this is a top-​notch burger of doom. The bun is squishy but sturdy. The patty is slightly bigger than the bun, thick but still a little floppy, charred outside, dark pink inside, well-​seasoned, very juicy and full of rich meaty flavor. Atop the beef we have a quilt of funky gruyère and a thick cap of roasted portobello and some slices of smaller shrooms, and below the beef we have a little garden of lightly wilted arugula to deliver a peppery bite. All in all, it’s pretty great!
Now I will caution that this restaurant is damn expensive. Think $ 15 for a basic Caesar salad or $ 35 for an 8-​ounce hanger steak. But the burger, which comes with fries and pickles, is a relatively modest $ 20. Pair it with a craft beer and you’re out of here for $ 35 or so with tax and tip, which is a little splurgy but nothing you’ll regret after tripping out on this groovy burger, I promise.

Way way way too loud. My god it’s loud. You spend the whole night shouting. Your throat aches. Your head throbs. It’s TOO LOUD!!!
.The food is really good tho. Especially that bone marrow dish. Amazing.
But you know it’s also pretty darn expensive. However, it does attractive the most beautiful people of the UWS. So I’d say if you’re single and under 35 on the UWS, with good hearing, then it’s a good vibey bar to hang out in. I guess the older you are the more the noise is going to bother you. Maybe this is a smart strategic decision — keep the old people out by making it too loud. I’d def go back for a drink and the fried oyster deviled eggs at the bar.

BONE MARROW AND OXTAIL MARMALADE. ULTIMATE WIN. But. But, that’s all I can rave about for The Ribbon.
Service here was cute. Good, but not amazing as I felt like the staff tried so hard to be friendly, but deep down wanted to get their shift the hell over with. I’ve also never been a huge fan of dining anywhere uptown. That snooty uptown old people vibe just isn’t meant for a soon to be 26 yr old me. The Ribbon is LOUD though. When I walked in, I felt like I was at a bar. But a bar with the elderly, and some snootz. It’s so loud that you need to talk over your friends to make sure your voice is heard. The location, environment, people, and staff didn’t set a great tone for me for me to even think twice about giving this place more than 3 stars. Would’ve been downed to a 2 if not for that bone marrow.
Food wise — Everything was average except for yes, the bone marrow and oxtail marmalade. The bone marrow was the definition of perfection. My favorite bone marrow by far has been from Toro down in the Meatpacking, but The Ribbon’s has me a little confused as to which I like more now. Our table also ordered their flatbread with broccolini and bacon on top, lots of fries, mushrooms as a side, lamb chops, and steak. The mushrooms were a major letdown. Such earthy mushrooms were destroyed by the massive amount of salt used. Same for the lamb chops. My poor lamb chops were barely seared and SO SALTY that my underlips were tingling.
This place isn’t cheap either. Not overtly expensive but I expected more for the price. Steak and fries at $ 36 tasted more like $ 25. My lamb chops at $ 39 tasted more like $ 29. Our bill for 5 people + a wee bit of alcohol for 3 of the 5 came out to around $ 400. The fact that it was a birthday dinner for me had me appreciate this meal a little more, but I wouldn’t come here again and wouldn’t want any of my friends coming here either.

Location location location– down the block from the famous Dakota, the Ribbon has all the bells & whistles. Americana redux is represented here. Starting with their AMAZING bread service which is bread from their Blue Ribbon bakery plus Vermont butter– fab
This is a pricey spot on a tony block. I went with Scottish salmon in a leek sauce and added mashed as a side. Most mains don’t come with sides. The leek sauce was ridiculous, but the salmon was cooked more medium than medium rare. All in all, I will be back for more!

I’m a fan of Blue Ribbon Restaurants and this latest establishment did not disappoint. Enjoyed the décor that pays homage to the former Hotel Franconia and the cozy round banquets.
So many dishes that I wanted to try from house made pates, raw bar to prime rib. Lots of great dishes and definitely a place to go back to.
Beef Marrow & Oxtail Marmalade ($ 16.50) — one of my all-​time favorite NYC dishes and so excited to see it offered at The Ribbon. The bone marrow was large with a hefty amount of marrow. Not as much oxtail marmalade provided than I remember getting at Brasserie, but still meaty, rich and really delicious. Maybe they are reserved on the appetizer to have enough for the Ox Burger? Nonetheless, always happy with this dish.
Foie Gras Torchon ($ 21) — great portion of foie gras. Rich and tasty. ‘Nuff said.
Striped Bass ($ 26) — large portion of bass with lots of crispy skin. Flesh was tender and flaked nicely. The fennel and orange salad was bright and refreshing and made for a lovely summer dish.
Harlan’s «Chicken Fried» Short Rib ($ 26) — I had to try this because it’s short rib but I wouldn’t order again. The short rib is pounded very thin and the breading was nice and crispy. But the short rib shrunk from cooking to about ²⁄₃ the size of the breading, so the crust was loose and came apart from the meat while cutting through it. The white sausage gravy was delicious and the tastiest item on the dish. And the pickled dilly beans provided some needed tartness for the fried food and rich gravy.
Layered Coconut Rum Cake — this was SO good! Just the right size portion to end the meal and served with coconut ice cream. The cake is light with layers of fluffy cream and toasted coconut on top. A coconut lover’s dream!