Empellon Midtown
Chef Duncan Grant creates an ever changing menu that focuses on seasonality and keeping things fun amidst an upscale environment.
Our beverage program showcases a selection of wines by unique global producers with an emphasis on small production. Our cocktails focus on precision and the use artisanal Mexican spirits. All of our beverages have been designed to pair with our cuisine.
Private Dining
Book your next event with us
Popular dishes
Corn Ice Cream Tacos
17 reviews
Skirt Steak
with Onions
11 reviews
Avocado
with Lime, Olive Oil and Eucalyptus Yogurt
7 reviews
Overpriced and tasteless. Waiters were great.
Great food and service even gor a big group. Nice drinks and wines. Keep coming here !
Wonderful food. Great service. So aware of our dietary restrictions.
Location somewhat difficult to find - It is not on Madison but around the corner. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our meal and the service. Strongly suggest that items be shared since flavors are BIG and it might be hard for just one person to make use of the generous (not inexpensive) portions. Will happily return if opportunity presents itself.
Fantastic the chef was hitting on all cylinders . I had pastrami tacos they were sick goos
My husband and I would like to especially thank the hostess for giving us a table in the back where the noise level was manageable to have a conversation. The food was more like a nouveau riff on Mexican food but every dish was delicious in an individual way.
Nice experience with an interesting menu. I was dining with people that had dietary restrictions, but it was no problem for them to modify the entrees to fit. Friendly staff in an interesting environment.
The cocktails were a bit pricey but again, very interesting.
Small portions, the salsas were good.
Aged prime rib made me sick after. Wayyy too expensive. Wouldn't go back. Not worth it at all
Super noisy and loud - can they put some noise dampening cloths around??
Amazing! Glad to come back after a year! Can’t wait to be back !
Incredible desserts, creative genius by the chef and generous manager.
Love Empellon!
Tortilla chips with 7 salsas delicious!! (All but 2 most spicy which I couldn’t eat...). Brussels sprouts and yams - would order again! Cucumber margaritas were awesome - glass rim coated with spicy salt - really good!! Masa-stuffed clams were quite good - although not a lot of clam flavor. And the halibut was good, although a little over-cooked.
We forgot it was restaurant week, but ordered of the restaurant week menu, and had a great meal. The presentation was excellent. The portions were a little on the small side, but were very tasty.
Friendly, well dressed and professional staff; busy but not uncomfortable (it was a Thursday, so weekends might be more crowded); delicious food and unique cocktails; lighting and music/conversation levels were perfect. Highly recommend.
The food was very tasty but too over priced. The service was good. But it was not worth the price.
I arrived here with no real expectations and was so pleasantly surprised. Despite the noisy bar scene ( good bar for single ladies😉) I enjoyed the quieter seating near the kitchen where I got to see the chefs working in harmony. It was my belated birthday celebration and started off with the salty, spicy red salt rimmed cucumber margarita. The presentation alone piqued my curiousity for the meal to come. We had A LOT of food .. cabbage with toasted nuts.. not my favorite as dressing was too thick.. shishito peppers.. perfectly salted and roasted... pastrami taco with mustard... highly recommended extremely tasty... and short rib, just lovely in texture and taste made with jalapeño and raisins. For my birthday, they brought a guava cheese cake with red raspberry flower shaped cookies .. definitely a work of art.. and we had the chocolate mousse with a dollop of ice cream on the side.. my real favorite with tried and true familiar flavors. I would highly recommend empellon and am definitely returning soon. BTW, try it because it’s restaurant week in nyc and they are a participating restaurant!! Enjoy!!
Despite having a 1230 pm reservation, we didn’t get a table until 1 pm. Very inconvenient during a working day
Couple of great dishes for sure, ok service and horrible coffee far away from what expected
Hi he absolutely best tuna tartare (not the usual) and pastrami tacos that challenge Katz’s. Topped only by the avocado dessert.
Love this place!
Such a good value in midtown.
Not your usual business lunch food
Overpriced; service was below average
I was annoyed we were sat 30 minutes late despite having a reservation, but appreciated the complementary drinks provided by management to make up for having to wait so long for a table. Myself and another friend had the restaurant week menu which was great. Our other friend loved her steak. Service was excellent, staff was friendly and attentive. Good drink selection. Would definitely return.
The food & service was excellent. We were seated immediately and the waitress made some very good recommendations from the menu.
The food and service are very good. I really enjoyed it, the only issue I have is that it is very expensive. In other words the value per dollar is a bit askew. But if you do not have a care for cost you will certainly enjoy it.
The food is ok but the drinks are wildly overpriced. $19 for a classic margarita that, if I weren’t in midtown, would be $12 anywhere else. We were there for a special occasion, arrived right on time for our reservation and still had to wait 15 minutes for a table.... next to the bar. I guess because we weren’t wearing the finance bro uniform, like everyone else in this place, we were deemed unworthy of a seat in the actual restaurant. This whole place is a great reminder that the best dining experiences really are below 14th street.
Restaurant week was a great deal, but would go back regardless. Great portions and the guacamole + chips we ordered was refilled three times. Surprised by the generous portions and overall amazing staff. Ambiance was great - felt lux and clean. The food was delicious. I would highly recommend the fish tempura tacos - they were hearty, filling and tangy. The drinks were great too!
Our table of four dined during restaurant week. The waiter was really helpful and attentive. THe tortilla soup and clam appetizer were enjoyable and tasty. We tried different tacos the fish tempura being our favorite. The chocolate dessert was excellent. Limited gluten free options.
Great, innovative midtown lunch that’s a refreshing change from the usual expense account fare.
Don’t miss the Chips and guacamole, tacos, and “avocado” dessert! 🥑 😋😋😋
Food and service was excellent - waitress extremely accommodating. But the bar area was freezing! We were sitting at the innermost banquet of the bar area and there was a draft the whole time!
However I did have my first food allergic reaction. Hives! Smoked black cod? And I loved the cod sooo much. No regrets
Will surely return. Great place!
Food great. Dessert was off the charts amazing.
The atmosphere is dated, the space and decor a little middle-America and lacking in sophistication.
Good food for its location which is generally a food desert. Nothing outstanding to write home about.
Food was excellent. Great vibe. Loved the margaritas
Our server Kristin was wonderful and made the evening a fantastic experience. We enjoyed the salsas, the tacos and the dessert was fabulous
Good was good, service was fine. Crowded and loud. Expensive for what you get - both the food and the atmosphere. I will not return.
Very over priced with poor ambiance. The siete salsa guacamole was decent but aside from that would pass on the entire experience.
Everything was very good as usual. I thought it was a little bait and switch to have ribeye on the menu then when I ordered it I was told it was switched to skirt steak. I was charged the same as the ribeye was on the menu, I think the price should have been adjusted for the lower cut of meat. That being said the dish was still very good. I would also like if I could use the opentable pay function here.
FAQs
Empellon Midtown is rated 4.6 stars by 1011 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.