The Polynesian

The space is not as unique as it looked in the photos, it’s just ok.
Service was very slow.

If you want the old Tiki experience , this is a good place to go. Was crowded but not overly noisy. Everything (drinks and food items) run about $20-25. A fun place to spend the money. Have a very limited menu, even smaller than you see on line but the items we ordered were very good (coconut shrimp, crab ragoons, dumplings, fries)

Great place for drinks and bar food. Drinks were nicely presented and tasty. The food was great and as expected for bar food. Nice level is loud, but I was able to talk to those seating near me. Awesome place, great for people watching and just having cool looking and tasty cocktails.

I have no idea where the strong reviews for this place come from. Cheesy, terrible apps, poor drink selections. Just something low-class about it from the jump. I was handed a cheap cardboard menu that was sticky as hell and disgusting. Food was cheap - frozen grocery store quality and WAY overpriced. Service was decent. Would not recommend.

The cocktails were good and varied In sweet to extra sweet. There were not many options for food. The bar snacks were mostly the fried kind and left us wanting something healthy and substantial. The decor was the highlight.

Everything was perfect : the food, the cocktails , the ambiance, the music and the best of all : the waiter John !
Thanks for all
It was an excellent moment for my Birthday !

The Polynesian is a great place for getting tiki drinks - their drinks are interesting, flavorful, and they use a generous amount of alcohol. The vibe inside is very frenetic - music is funky and loud, and the interior is great. However, don't arrive hungry - the finger-foods they provide are generally fried and small in portions.

I LOVE tiki drinks. The Polynesian is a absolutely stellar example of the tiki arts. We had a wonderful time and will absolutely be back.

Such a fun place! The food is appetizer style and exists solely to keep people from getting too drunk. The drinks are amazing and potent. Warning... I’m 205lbs, and two of the specialty cocktails knock me on my butt every time!

The drinks are pricey but really good. However the food quality has declined since the past times I have been there.

Hmmm this place is beautiful but as it got closer to pretheatre was very crowded and noisy, and the drinks are super expensive--like $19 per. The special tiki cocktails themselves are delicious and beautifully presented. Food menu limited but tasty--dumplings, curry fried cauliflower, spring rolls, a few things like that. It's a nice concept atmosphere wise and excellent servers, but I think we were the only non-tourists there, and I'm not sure I'd return. I would recommend it to someone from out of town who has money and wants an over-the-top experience.

I love this place. High end tiki bar serving some of the best rum drinks I’ve had in NYC.

This a great and fun bar located close to the theatres and transportation The cocktails are on point and the food is really good. It has the authentic Tiki bar feel!

The coconut shrimps were the best I ever had!

Great drinks! We were sitting at the bar. Barkeeper were great and easy to talk. Try it! We did not try the food.

Delicious food, drinks and good music.

The reason why I give the food a one star cause I didn’t have a chance to try to there food... there drinks are strong but it’s sooooooo dammmm good to honest taste a cocktail with alcohol

Awesome tiki bar!

Experience was great. Drinks and ambiance were amazing.

Loved the place and definitely can't wait to be back!

Really wanted to like this place but just couldn't. First the good: decor and drinks, as all reviews have emphasized, are all that you'd want them to be. Cons: aspects of the service were painfully slow (waited 35 minutes for drink order to arrive) and delivered with the indifference one gets in a place serving primarily tourists. So don't arrive to this bar needing a drink or a bite any time soon.

Bouncer at the door the night we went suffers from an amusing Napoleon complex and beyond unintentional comedy provides no visible function. I'll certainly return but with more calibrated expectations.

Hello, I made a reservation for 4:30pm for a Sunday late afternoon early evening prior to our Broadway show.
We (3 people) arrived on time and was brought into the room a few minutes later and we were being ushered outside and we said to the waiter that we did not want to sit outside it was too hot that day and we wanted to sit at a table because we were going to eat.
He explained that the other seating area with tables and chairs was not opened and said we had a choice outside or in the area we were standing in with low chairs/couches and low tables. We said okay because we didn't believe we had any other choice. He gave us the menus and came back and filled our water glasses and proceeded to state that they were out of the Salmon sliders, Crab Ragoons and Egg rolls, whatever they were called and we said okay, weren't happy but we said okay we want to have the Poo Poo Platter and you can substitute and he said no because the items they were out of where suppose to be on the platter, I still didn't understand why other items could not be substituted.
Well, none of us were happy and the waiter was getting annoyed with us so I called the West Bank Cafe across the street to see if they could accommodate us and they could so we left and probably never to return.
How can you be out of so much food and it's still a weekend nite --------------- poor poor management / supervision.
Thank you.

Great for drinks - but definitely on the pricey side. Plenty of seating. Our experience with the food was not good. Reheated frozen aisle appetizers.

Incredible! Food and drinks were delicious. Very friendly staff. I will definitely be going back!

Nice bar with very good drinks, nice staff, a bit too expensive.

Excellent service and drinks! Sliders were delicious. Great spot to hang with friends or for date night.

Sat outside and while the Polynesian theme isnt very obvious outside (theres a few palm trees and wicker chairs) its a beautiful rooftop with great times square views. Had the Notorious POG to drink and it was fantastic and our group ordered the pupu platter and all the food was incredible (we were especially obsessed with the coconut shrimp, ribs and spicy cucumber). Would definitely go back!

Best Tiki bar in manhattan for drinks, barware and ambiance!

Date night at the Polynesian! It was really nice - we split up our time here, first round outside on the rooftop seating area, 2nd round and food inside. The rooftop was really nice but unfortunately they can't do glass/ceramic/fire outside. It was still early on this Friday evening, so there was no problem moving indoors. My biggest concern when checking this bar out online was that it's pricy. We were pleasantly surprised as 1 drink at the Polynesian = 4 elsewhere. Delicious and Strong! 2 rounds and we were set!! Food was quite amazing (curry rubbed wings and Hawaiian ribs) - really wish there were options for bigger plates.

Loved the location, even though I thought it would be a little higher up. Nice open area, not too crowded so you could actually hear each other talk. Great service and good food. Only weakness was the drinks. A few were really just not pleasant. I know with the whole Polynesian vibe that you want to do fancy tropical drinks, but maybe offer less options and make sure they are delicious. Simpler drinks would be better, but it's a really great spot if you pick the right drinks. (Also - they are totally not served in the fun glasses that they picture in the menu and that we saw on Instagram. If you're going to do a tiki vibe, DO the tiki vibe. The coconut shrimp was delicious and we all loved the tuna sliders.

This is definitely a destination location. Small plates, served nicely and present well. Drinks are the thing here and make no mistake, they are premium drinks at a higher price. But beyond question, the best Mai Tai in the city!!

Great post show drink spot. Bring back the purple daiquiri!

Cool concept. Some drinks were really good.

Still some kinks to work out.

Went here for drinks only, but it’s my second time and I loved it. Large venue with impeccable decor; inside and out. We sat outside and it was beautiful with great seating for groups or a cozy date. Waitstaff was very attentive and on top of it for how busy it was. The drinks are unique, fun, follow the theme completely, strong, and most importantly taste delicious. Our view was of Times Square and downtown which was dreamy. Really just a lovely place that I would highly recommend to tourist or local alike.

Really fun place and a great retro feel. Service is pleasant if a bit slow but the cocktails are complicated. But definitely a great place for a festive night out.

Hi, I booked for a surprise birthday party and after I came earlier twice one hour before (to leave a cake for the birthday), the same man that was at the entrance, although he just saw me few minutes before, he asked me under what name is the table taking into consideration that I was next to the person who s surprise should be for! So even if I tried to make at Polynesian a special occasion, they almost revealed it. Unprofessional. Even if it was the security guy who was there when I came twice and measured me from head to toe.
Secondly, the charge of $4 per person to slice a cake considering the fact that anyway you have a check of over $600 is also not a good taste (even if they told me from the beginning). The waiters were very on fast forward mode and neither very friendly.
In the end the probably manager tried to do his best but overall the place is not sure an option in the future.

The view is spectacular and being outdoors on comfy couches can't be beat. The food is tasty, and the drinks delicious, but every time I have been it takes way too long to get a drink. The wait staff works so hard yet it takes forever to get drinks.

Great drinks

I felt this place was over hyped. The theming was okay. Nothing exciting. The only thing we wanted to take a photo of was our drinks. They were VERY strong. Almost to the point of not tasting pleasant. We got 1 drink each (2 total), one French fry and one salad. The bill came to almost $70.00 before the tip. An okay experience, but not interested in going back.

The food was delicious, the service was very quick and accommodating, and the rooftop was super cute with beautiful views of Manhattan. The waitress sat down with us to answer all of our questions about the food and drinks.