One if by Land, Two if by Sea

Mixed reviews had me nervous about a reservation here. Restaurant had been recommended by hotel owner. I was not disappointed. Amazing experience. Would definitely recommend and will hopefully go back sometime. There was one child in the restaurant and she definitely needed to be called Dow, fortunately her party left shortly after we arrived. I would definitely not take a child to this restaurant.

One if by Land, Two if by Sea truly lived up to its reputation. The service is impeccable, and the atmosphere is intimate and cozy with a great historic vibe (without being stuffy), but the food is by far the star—and well worth its price. We had the beef Wellington, and it was butter soft and so flavorful. Do try the Horse & Carriage martini, with horseradish root, Tito's, olive brine and bleu cheese olives. Amazing. It was our anniversary, and they brought out a plate of macarons with "Happy Anniversary" written on it in chocolate with our desserts, which was such a sweet touch. I'll be dreaming about this night and meal until our next anniversary!

You need to manage your expectations and your experience at this restaurant yourself, as they will not do it for you.

We arrived early to have a drink at the bar but the hostess said she would seat us. She led us past the live piano player, past the main restaurant and up the stairs to what looked like their overflow room. Cheap chairs, bland decor, and even the flowers on the table were second rate compared to the ones in the dining room below.

It was essentially like being walked past first class on a plane and being seated in economy but still paying first class prices. If you are going for the 'romantic' experience call ahead and make sure you are sat in the main dining room.

If you are going for a fine dining experience, forget it. They don't have a sommelier, nor is the service up to fine dining standards - or perhaps this was also a result of ending up in 'overflow seating. The hostess barely spoke to us, as she chewed her gum, lighting the candle on the table, and they couldn't even be bothered to print out new menus, just pointing out to us that one of the dishes we chose was now done differently.

The food was fine and the old carriage house is very pretty but this restaurant is definitely a go to destination for the 'romantic experience' as they advertise on their webaite, which unfortunately they don't live up to.

Beautiful experience. Great menu (get the beef wellington if you haven't had it already) - be aware it's a prix fixe menu. Excellent service. Loved it.

waist of money , sweat jam with salt this food was the worst , isn't worth it a penny

Amazing anniversary dinner, lovely staff and ambiance. It was an experience to remember.

It truly is the most romantic restaurant in New York. Celebrated our anniversary and it did not disappoint. The pianist was wonderful, serving up the right blend of interesting bit not intrusive music. The food is delicious and the service was professional and friendly.

We’ve dined at other high end restaurants in the city, with big price tags and left knowing the cost was well worth the food/experience. We left this one feeling disappointed. Food was good; yet, not anything we couldn’t have paid for at any other restaurant for a lot less. Server was great, location is beautiful.

Beautiful ambience

This place was cozy but elegant. Beautiful white roses on every table. Chandeliers hanging high and stained glass windows to glare at. The food was outstanding. Dessert was the perfect finish so save some room and get the soufflé.

Great ambience/service and good dishes. Pretty expensive.

Maria the hostess is the best. Great food and ambiance. Many thanks!

The setup is good for a romantic date although tables are too close too each other for that. The fish was awfully tasteless, they don’t have any Pinot other than 2016 and younger... umm okay. Be prepared to be ordered to lose your jacket.

Great, romantic restaurant. This is only a place you want to take the "one." BE HEALTHY AND GO HAPPY>

Amazing Birthday Dinner!!! Everything was so good!!!

Perfect place to set the mood for something special

One If By Land Two I By Sea was the perfect restaurant to celebrate my friend’s special milestone birthday. I have been coming to One If By Land Two If By Sea in sporadic intervals over the course of the past thirty years. Everything about this place has only gotten better and better with time. The wine and food choices were wonderfully chosen and delicious; the service was very attentive and exceptional and the ambiance was as charming and timeless as always. There is no doubt I will be walking through their door again. Many thanks to each member of the One If By Land Two If By Sea staff that made our visit and my friend’s first dining experience at your restaurant so enjoyable and memorable.

A phenomenal experience with great food and wonderful service. I’ve wanted to dine here for over 10yrs and on my second visit to New York I managed to scoop a table.

Can’t wait to come to back again

Great food and service

Just lovely. Nicely serviced without hovering, delicious food if a bit larger servings than I wanted. The ambience is just great. Quiet enough for conversation but lively enough to feel a healthy energy in the dining room. The upstairs is perfect for serious conversation and yet you can hear the pianist downstairs and it’s really nice.

Was our wedding night dinner! This place was amazing. Was the best dinner that we’ve had. The service was amazing. The drinks delicious. The chefs tasting menu was beyond anything We’ve ever had. Loved it so much. Was a special night for us and they were so generous to surprise us with a congratulation final plate. ❤️ you guys made our evening magical and top our special day off!!! Thank you all so much!!!

As usual excellent. Definitely recommend for Date night or Speacial occasion.

Could not fault. A really beautiful experience. The house is stunning and has such history dating back to 1790. We did the 3 course pris fixe and the choices were all great, hard to decide - except for dessert: had to have the chocolate soufflé!

Soup to nuts, a gem of a restaurant. Everyone should experience this “fine dining” at least once in their life..........

Lived up to its romantic claim. Maria and team did a wonderful job. We started out sitting near the fire place by choice for about 20 minutes with an aperitif just to take in the ambiance. We were given our choice of tables and sat next to each other facing the Christmas Tree. Staff was helpful and attentive. My wife declared it the “most charming” restaurant she has been to. We had the 3 course prix fixe with the beef Wellington and ribeye steak. Overall a masterful experience which we will do again.

$200 for a five course tasting menu on New Years Eve with poor impersonal service left us hungry and cheated ,never again

Very nice atmosphere, food was good and filling.
Very romantic.

A very special place

I would not recommend. $500 dinner for the two of us which is not the problem but we did expect a better experience with that price tag. Was very disappointed. We did 7 course tasting, they skipped an entire course. We never were served the duck. When we told our waiter after we paid and left him a nice tip and he said he would tell manager but he never returned. I wasn’t thrilled over any of the courses we did have. One of the most basic meals I have had for a chefs tasting. There are way better options in the city. My tip would be go have a cocktail and sit at the bar and listen to piano. I will not be returning.

Wonderful. We come every time we visit New York

I would have rated higher. The main issue was the food came out too fast. We felt rushed and wondered if the food was prepared in advance.

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. It was a very romantic evening. Will be dining with One if by land, Two if by sea again.

Maria the manager, Dave the bartender and our server were fantastic. We don’t get to dine out a lot bc of our hectic jobs but we felt that time stood still and we were able to enjoy the moment. Thank you

Heartfelt thank you to all the staff (Jessica, Omar, Salvador, Nicolas, Gigi, Segundo, Wilson, etc) who with their hospitality added a very important part of an amazing culinary experience. Food was absolutely delicious. Meticulously prepared and served. Dessert sumblime. Thank you all again.

Ambiance and service 10/10.
The food is overpriced and nothing special at all. The beef Wellington was small and bland. The sides were mediocre at best.

We went for Christmas Dinner. The menu looked very interesting (prix fix $160, plus drinks) and the place is one of the New York restaurants to see.

And the ambience didn't disappoint. It is really a place to see, especially for dinner. And the service was pleasant, up to par, considering the long hours of Christmas.

The food, however, was reeeeeally disappointing. First course: My Roasted Cauliflower Velouté is the only dish I save in the whole dinner, but anybody can make a good cauliflower velouté. My wife's burrata was 'chalky' and without any creamy flavor. Second course: The Pan seared scallops were very basic (again: no taste) and the Foie Gras with churro not memorable (and not perfectly cleaned) notwithstanding the complexity of ingredients. Entrées: Beef Wellington with very bland/unseasoned meat (tender, but that is what you get with a filet) and the pastry had very little flavor (I left most of it in the plate). Lamb and venison, meh... again no flavor and the cooking was wrong (we had asked for the venison medium-rare but it came rare). Desserts: Clearly not the restaurant forte. The Bûche de Noël was a brown cylinder of chocolate ganache and pastry that didn't taste like chocolate. And the other dessert I don't remember how it was called: it was a composition that looked nice but had unbalanced flavors and we didn't finish. A final mention for my champagne based cocktail that tasted like... champagne.

The bill came with tip included (very surprising) at about $500, but we just wanted out because of the long day. However, we will never give this restaurant another chance.

What an utterly disappointing evening. For just under 500$ for two, you'd expect way more!

First off, the pictures you see advertised everywhere are for the main dining room which is absolutely stunning. When you make your reservation, it doesn't tell you that you might be seated in either The Constitution Room (still cozy and oozes charm) or The Mezzanine (Above main dining room. Unless you're sitting by the windows looking into the main dining room, you could be in any other restaurant).

When we arrived we weren't greeted with a welcome nor a smile, we just stood at the entrance with about 5 other couples, coats in hand. 2-3 min later we were asked which table we had reserved and were told that it would be 15-20min until the table is ready. No mention of where to put the coats, I had to ask for it.

We were finally seated 35 min later, at a table in the back of the Mezzanine. No view, little space, air con blowing out of the fans, cold. We asked whether we could move and were told "no". No smile, no warmth. After a long pause, the waiter proceeded to explain that the tables downstairs are generally for regulars who have been coming for years.
I say the waiter because we had three different ones and none of them introduced themselves by name.

We still wanted to have a good evening so decided to let go of any negative energy and just focus on the hopefully delicious food. But it didn't deliver:

The Italian milk burrata was nowhere near as fresh as I'm used to, served with two Italian crackers so hard to cut that I had to use my hands.

The Duck Confit Cavalli was essentially overcooked pasta with so much garlic that none of the other flavors came through. Not even the duck.
My gf's Tuna Tartare tasted nowhere near as fresh as it should have.
The Beef Wellington, their signature dish was delicious hence 2 stars for food.

The Chocolate Bouche de Noel tasted stale and cheap.
Where was the finesse?

I will not return nor will I recommend. A real shame!

Spectacular on Christmas!

The food was delicious but our service was horrible. For the price of the $160 prix fixe meal, we would have expected amazing service, but our waiter was pushy, arrogant, and clearly did not want to be there on Christmas (understandably so, but don’t bring everyone else down with you). One example: my mother ordered a drink and it was delicious, she finished it and I ordered the same one and it tasted completely different. We sent it back and upon return, the drink was half empty like it had been spilled. We mentioned this to the waiter and sent it back again. On the third time we received it, it was so obviously watered down to make it look full and tasted just as it did before, only watered down and not sweeter like we had asked. All in all, it was okay, but I would not recommend this expensive of a meal to anyone for mediocre service and a bad attitude at Christmas.

We were very disappointed by our dining experience on many levels. As this was a Christmas Day Dinner the menu and pricing were pre-set at $160.00 per person! We anticipated a wonderfully prepared meal from soup to nuts. Instead the food was cafeteria quality at best. In my opinion no special attention was given to making the eating experience special or elegant in any way from pallet to presentation. I have dined in NY city at many other fine restaurants where much attention and care is placed on the menu and artistic presentation of the food served, providing the consumer with pleasing extravagance. On this special day of Christmas, I would have expected as such. I was served sliced slabs of flavorless Capon on red cabbage with a few gnocchi for a main course. Instead of a choice of wonderfully baked breads I was served one piece of a plain type bread with no special oils, butters, or dips. The kale salad was plain and regular even though the menu stated burgundy cherries to be included. No pallet cleanser was served between courses. No speciality desserts or on the house drinks or chocolates for the table for the holiday were served. The servers did not take any extra steps to make the dining experience special. There was no “wow” factor and the red roses on the table were wilted and brown on the edges. I could go on but think the message is clear. The one positive was that we were seated at our table of request and the maitre d was lovely! We walked away from out dining experience feeling extremely unsatisfied...not anywhere near worth what we spent!