We had dinner for a family birthday at Limani in Rockefeller Center. We are big fans of the Limani in Roslyn and the Limani Taverna in Woodbury. We thought this was a sure thing for dinner for our party of 8.
Limani stuns with its restaurant decor. The dining room floor is done in blinding white marble, and the leather seats are a softer white. In the center is an infinity pool that keeps changing from blue to violet, the colors glinting off the small metal fish on a mobile that hangs in a double helix from the ceiling overhead. The overall effect is to create a sleek comfortable atmosphere for dinner.
With this décor, I can see as a great spot for business lunches and romantic dinners. They have a private room for parties that add to the experience. We did not find the restaurant noisy but then again, it was Labor Day weekend.
From our past experiences at Limani, we found that they excel at their Char-grilled Octopus, Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes, The Greek Spreads, the Zucchini and Eggplant Limani Chips, Lamp Chops and of course, the Whole Fish prepared Mediterranean style.
We started with the Greek and Prasini Salads. The Greek Salad tasted good while the taste of the Prasini Salad was off, I think too much dill was in it.
We followed it up with the Octopus, the Greek Spreads and the Limani Chips. The Greek Spreads was hit and miss. The Red Pepper Feta was the star of the dips. The Tarama was beyond bland. We actually did not know if the served us the Tarama. We had to ask.
I will have to say that the Limani Chips met or exceeded expectations. They were light and tasty. We absolutely loved them. But the Octopus disappointed us. It was chewy and bland.
We were hoping that our main courses would salvage our mediocre meal. But we were to be disappointed. We ordered the Scallops, Crab Cake and the Big Eye Tuna.
All three of these dishes were bland. The biggest issue that we had was with the Big Eye Tuna, we ordered it Black and Blue and confirmed with our waiter that they served Black and Blue as rarer than Medium Rare. Unfortunately, they served our entrée as some where between medium and medium well. They basically killed the tuna.
As to the Crab Cake, they failed so miserably. It was dry and flavorless. They also missed on the Scallops. They were small and tasteless. I was so surprised with these dishes especially since I have had them at the other Limani restaurants on Long Island. These are staple items that they excel at (on Long Island) but failed so miserably here.
We were also disappointed in the service at the restaurant. It took a really long time for them to provide menus, ask what we wanted, drinks to be served, appetizers to be served, entrees to be served and dessert and coffee preparation. They seemed to forget about us. We kept looking for our waiter for our water to be refilled but he was nowhere to be found. When our entrée was overcooked and we wanted to discuss, it took another 15 minutes before we could flag our waiter down. When we ordered dessert, they forget about the coffee and took 30 minutes to serve the chocolate cake. For a high-end restaurant, this lack of service was beyond surprising.
The prices were in line with our expectation. Limani is known as a premier restaurant. The issue we had was the experience and the food were not premier so there is a disconnect there.
In summary, Limani NYC does not provide a premier experience. The Long Island Limanis provide a superior experience with the quality of their food and the first-class service. We would be better off to have eaten at a different restaurant.