TAO Downtown

TAO Downtown Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: TAO restaurants are known for their immense menus, room size and over-the-top décor. Manhattan’s downtown TAO is no exception. Here, David Rockwell has designed a space that’s as much theater as it is a dining room. After entering through heavy doors with lion doorknockers and going down a long corridor flanked by cocktail spaces and overhanging private dining rooms, guests arrive at a set of stairs descending to seating terraces, nooks, and a grand dining floor. At the far end is the 24-arm Quan Yin statue which seems to beckon you to enjoy the experience.

Likes: Fun, theatrical dining experience.
Dislikes: Can be difficult to get a reservation and almost impossible to get terrace seating.

Food & Drinks: The menu is exciting pan-Asian cuisine with dramatic presentations of dishes, like lobster three ways, Wagyu beef and Chinese Five Spice short ribs, along with an extensive selection of sushi, dim sum and small plates. Desserts are dramatic as well – the oversized white chocolate fortune cookie stuffed with chocolate mousse and accompanied by smaller cookies filled with messages with provocative double entendre meanings is a prime example – as are cocktails. Servers are knowledgeable and encourage experimentation with some of the restaurant’s more unusual offerings, found only at the downtown outpost and available as specials. Saké is the featured beverage with several flight configurations. A smaller wine list includes American and European options. The adjacent bar and after-hours club add to the downtown party-club vibe, so you’ll want to dress to impress.