Island

Very nice dinner - tables are pretty close

Always great!

Always reliable. Hard to beat. Neighborhood gem. Been going for 15 years. Love the place....

Excellent sesame crusted tuna! Do order medium rare. And the house Cabernet is perfect. Always consistently good food and service here.

Island is my neighborhood go-to for good food, reasonable prices and friendly ambience. I go there about once a week. Never disappointed.

The ambience and the service were very good. The food was good but there was not a lot of variety in the main courses. It was somewhat noisy but not terrible. I would recommend it.

This place used to be great. The food was just awful all the way around the table this time. No one enjoyed their meal.

Lovely “grown up” atmosphere, especially near the fireplace. Very good food. I had the bass special. Which was hearty and cooked well. No Michelin experience, but excellent upper east side, up scale, fare at reasonable able prices.

My problem with Island is consistent: through the years the food is only average, nothing “tastes” as well as it reads. The food is sort of in a time warp: early 1960s, with a few concessions to modern cuisine. My grilled cheese sandwich was skimpy on the cheese, bacon was dull, bread looked wonderful but had no “bite.” French fries limp, undercooked. And why?

Does it matter? Yes and no. No, because Island is a mainstay of the UES; yes, because there were even empty tables over the weekend, which would not be the case were the food better. (Island’s neighbor, Sarabeth’s, was fully booked.) So in all, it’s pricey for not much quality. Even the people who bus the tables are distracted and hurried.

I’d love to see Island raise their game, and I can only assume the owners are content to coast along...

Enjoyed the food Interesting menu Tables too close together Could not have a private conversation

Food was much improved!
Ambience warm and Christmas -y.

Timothy, the maitre d' is exceptional. She should be a politician. Adrianna is attentive and always has an eye to be sure you're comfortable and satisfied. Flavio is a new addition and also exceptional. You'll enjoy!!

As always, the staff warmly welcomes one and all! The food as always is delicious! I prefer dining in the bar area and I always meet delightful folks with interesting stories to tell!

Fantastic menu selection, service and ambiance. We ordered the crab cake and kale salad. Both were delicious!

Grabbed my family (6 of us) to sneak a nice brunch before the Christmas Rush and we couldn’t have had more fun at Island. Always know the service/food and ambiance is exactly - exactly what want. A great neighborhood brunch/lunch/dinner stop.

Great service, excellent food and a relaxed ambience

As always, Island provided consistently delicious food in a neighborhood restaurant that I have visited many times

Staff was very accommodating as I told them we were bringing a baby in a stroller. Food is always very good.

This was our second dining experience at Island. Our waitress kind of ruined the evening with her attitude toward us. After we placed our order of appetizers and entrees with her, I had forgotten the Brussels sprouts side. So as she was leaving our table, I said oh can we add the side of Brussels sprouts too!! As I have been there before and they are delicious! They are on the menu as a side along with all the other vegetable sides which normally come with the entree. BUT our waitress, who was polish thought that because I said it last and after we had ordered our entire dinner, she thought for some bizarre reason that meant we wanted the Brussels sprouts as an appetizer! Hahah ans then she actually was arguing with us about it. Wow!! Yes mam I would love my creamed spinach and string beans as an appetizer as well hahah what a jerk! Set a bad tone for the ref of the night. Didn’t even ask if I wanted another glass of wine. Just took my glas away. She was so rude. The chicken meatballs we horrid and the plum tomato sauce had no taste. The tune poke was very tasteless. I’m done with Island

Utterly delightful, lively neighborhood restaurant. Food, service and vibe are out of the ordinary. It’s a bit of a splurge but always worth it!

Have been coming here for years and it is our favorite nabe restaurant however...they stopped having the Caesar salad and the mussels for Lunch???? only for dinner? That is a mistake. I would specifically come by myself for lunch just to have the caesar and the mussels. PLS PLS GET THEM BACK ON THE LUNCH MENU!

Fantastic dinner. Not too noisy but it was busy. Such a pretty restaurant. The food was spectacular!

Waiters and restaurant very unaccommodating

Good food but awful service. There seemed to be only wait person for the entire restaurant plus some bus boys. One of our dishes was not prepared the way we requested but no one ever came to check on us through the meal so we were not able to send back.

As in the past, food and service great. More words necessary to fill the box are not necessary.

I have been going to Island for close to 30 years. It is one of our fave neighborhood restaurants, and I like the current redecoration of the interior which has brightened the interior. It is very much a family restaurant and children are brought in of all ages, and they are welcome. The food is good, and the menu has not changed much over the years. I love the mussels especially. However on this visit, the maitre dess, was very standoffish and not gracious at all. She barely looked at me as she brought me to my table. The specials were not available for a solid hour once the restaurant opened. And the waiter looked like he would rather be anywhere but there. The restaurant has always had problems in that regard, even though the support staff, the busboys are wonderful.

Frustrating dining experience for a friend get together. Table wasn’t ready for our reservation, whole party needed to wait outside in the cold while waiting 20 minutes, as no where to wait inside. Weren’t offered any sort of apology by the disgruntled hostess. Orders kept getting mixed up and wrong food was brought to several tables. Took over an hour between appetizers and entrees. No one cleared the table between courses. Shockingly horrible service, again with no acknowledgement or apology. I was embarrassed I brought my friends here. Will not be returning

Island is warm and wonderful as always. It's a perfect restaurant in which to enjoy friends and delicious food.
We were there for a casual lunch and continually return to Island when we are in the neighborhood, despite there being other restaurants on the same block. It's a good value and friendly place!

Lovely setting for lunch with friends before a visit to a nearby museum. The selection of dishes was excellent and each of us found a number of dishes we wanted to try. The food was presented well and was tasty. Only two drawbacks: the sushi grade tuna poke bowl would more appropriately have been called tuna tartare: a small portion of tuna atop smashed avocado and a smattering of greens. And our waitress should have been more attentive.

An excellent place for lunch in Carnegie Hill. In addition to lunch standbys, the menu has become much
more diversified with dishes for those interested in grains and veggies. Prices are standard for the neighborhood, perhaps a little lower than some. The room is quiet pleasing visually, but all the chatter from tables that are quite close together can overwhelm voices at one's own table.

I took my young adult children for an early dinner and had an enjoyable experience. I started with the arugula salad, which was very large and could easily be for two. The dressing was so light it did not overpower the delicate lettuce. Next, the filet was perfectly cooked to order and was a generous cut. I have to mention the wine by the glass is a generous pour.

The service during weekday is really bad and I did not like the move they took entering by default a 20% of gratuity on top of my check. I would have given less ... we had to ask for water refill, wait for bread and then waiter was taking my son’s plate while he was still eating. I’ve been there in the past, this supposed to be an upscale place but there was nothing upscale today.

Terrible service - maitre D treated us like dirt and 4 tables were served food before our order was even taken, even though they sat down after us. We mentioned this to hostess and she just made rude faces.

As always going to Island is a pleasure. The food is consistently good although the tables are a little close together. Service and Staff r I lovely. I’ve been here many many times and highly recommend it.

A bit too Saturday Night, alas, but the case at most restaurants. Menu could be broader. Two salmon dishes on one short menu?

Lovely lunch before the museum!

extraordinary. Great community atmosphere. Thanks you

Excellent food, drinks and environment. Will definitely be going back.

Delicious, fresh seafood. Service could have been better. Our waitress was spread thin and forgot about us several times. Tables are tight so not much privacy if you’re trying to have a conversation. But it is a cute, lively atmosphere.

Great food in a wonderful atmosphere.