The Library at the Public

cozy restful place after or before theater at the Public.
Quite good food, not amazing but very very good.

Not only a super convenient restaurant for before/after Public theater venues, this is a great place to dine in that neck of the woods. Maitre d interesting as well as interested in guests. (Called to report 30 minute delay due to insane traffic) Menu creative, seasonal and delicious. (My husband and I had the Steak frites - prepared perfectly medium rare) Server nice disposition and courteous. Only complaint: although we each ordered a different wine by the glass, they tasted weirdly identical...) We will be back.

Excellent service, good food, lovely ambiance made for a pleasant meal that got us to the theatre in plenty of time.

When you enter, they ask you the time of your theater and time everything accordingly. Service was well-paced without being rushed. Menu was small but varied, and food was excellent.

Why would you eat anywhere else when you're seeing a play at the Public? Perfectly reasonable food, fun theatre crowd, better than average cocktail menu. Best of all you can sit down at 5pm, finish up 10 minutes before a 7pm curtain.

Excellent in all ways!

Service was attentive as always. Ideal for pre theater meal before going to any of the evening shows at the Public Theater.

Good food good wine good service. Expensive. We were able to take our time and eat which was nice, but still a little pricey

Excellent pre-theater dining. Cashew salad highly recommended - enough for 2

We were celebrating with our friends thanksgiving as we do ever year. Wanted to try somewhere new. Made a reservation at the suggestion of someone else. Had someone from the restaurant call and confirm and I spoke with them. When we got there at 8:45, we walked into not 1, not 2, but 3 large parties taking place and taking over all but about six tables as you walk in with a large buffet of food in the middle of the restaurant. We were not happy, yet we tried to make the best of it. We waited for a while to have a waiter noice we were there, finally took a drink order, we asked how long it would take, we waited a while and still did not get the drinks and decided to leave after sitting there for 30 minutes. I did speak with the manager who was very apologetic. If the person that called to confirm the reservation told me there would be three parties taking place, we would have made a different decision and gone to the library another night. I’m so disappointed. It ruined part of our night and that could have been taken care of with respect for your customers.

The management has put too many tables in the space so that some diners are shoehorned into uncomfortable and small space- the prices are a little high for the quality of the food and the service is spotty

Twice in a row have I had a disappointing meal that ended up spoiling the evening. How difficult is it to get food out in a reasonable time in a restaurant that announces that they will get you to your theatre on time. It really feel like there’s a big disconnect between the kitchen and your table. Food comes out initially quickly, then the long wait begins. You finally get the entree and then hope to have a quick coffee. Then coffee doesn’t come until you have to rush out to your show. It feels like there’s a premium on extracting as much money as possible from you for the least effort possible. Thank goodness the bar is skilled or there wouldn’t be anything to salvage of the evening.

The restaurant has good food and has a wonderful ambiance. It is also great to be able to eat there if you are attending an event at the Public theater. My dinner this time was not very good, however I have had better meals there. My friend ordered the hamburger and was very happy. I ordered the caesar salad which was delicious and a chicken and cous cous entree, which was dry and tasteless. Next time I might order the burger!!! But the service is great and the restaurant has a really nice vibe.

This restaurant at The Public Theater is an excellent pre-performance dinner place, and would also probably be top notch for a business lunch. My son and I both had fish, which was cooked perfectly and came with tasty though small vegetable servings. An intriguing menu...check it out online.

Terrific as usual

Did not know a private event prior to the reservation, they came by and asked if everything's fine for every 5-10 minutes for more than 10 times which means 'get out we have a private party, we don't care your date'. Not going again.

The host and waiter both asked if we were seeing a show. I told them both it was a surprise (for the guest I was with - who was standing right there) and they still proceeded in making me tell them the show (“so they could get us out on time”) thus ruining the surprise. I booked the time I booked b/c I can manage my own time and didn’t need the restaurant to make sure I got out on time. When I said it was a surprise that should have been the end of the discussion.

Food was pleasant albeit $35 for fish and chips is extremely ridiculous even for NYC standards. And someone’s dog was running around. The wait staff asked us if we wanted more to eat and drink about five times, so we just left. Will not be returning for after show eats.

Great place for pre-theater dining. Wait staff is friendly and accommodating and food is very good.

Tasteless fries
Small not great hamburger
Great soft serve frozen custard

Both the burger and the ribs were delicious. Nice service and your manager did a good job of taking care of a problem.

I enjoyed the atmosphere at The Library at the Public greatly. My friends enjoyed their meals and drinks as well. I was not the biggest fan of the ceasar salad as it was just large pieces of lettuce and the dressing had a very strong anchoive flavor. But the hummus, fries and drinks were great.

Convenient location for pre-theater. Servers are sensitive to curtain times.
Expensive and limited menu.

A bit expensive, but the portions are very large. Food is quite good.

Very nice ambiance and convenient before the theater. Food nothing to write home about and the service was very mediocre. Would only eat there when I am at the Public.

I'm not a beef lover, but that flat iron steak was wonderful. it's the second time I've ordered it, and it was just as good the second time as the first time, which was outstanding. All-around great experience – again.

Perfect for pre theater dinner when visiting Public Theater. Beautiful room, service geared to shows starting, 20% off for Public members and 10% for any ticket holder. So comfortable to dine and then see a show.

Really convenient

Unfortunately seated at small table with wooden chairs while other tables had comfy chairs. Had a reservation and know that someone with no reservation was better situated. Room was chilly, in past experiences I have been more comfortable.

Perfection!

Loved this nyc hidden gem! Was there for Kendall Thomas singing Nat King Cole songs w/friends. After a Sunday matinee we headed upstairs to The Library for dinner! On the pricey side. But what a lovely surprise! Beautiful room, great menu and wine selection. Coffee ☕️ was good! Attentive, nice staff, service! As old Public Theater members, it was our first time! We’re coming back! Thank you!

My food was undercooked - even after I specifically order my meat cooked well done. Our order was served incorrectly.

The room is quite charming, the service is good as was the food but sorry to say we found The Library very over priced for very little food. We would not likely return.

Food was mediocre.

food was served in 10 minutes
portions were very small for the price

What a great spot for terrific cocktails and food in a cozy atmosphere. Fantastic!

I neglected to mention my Public Theatre membership and get 20% off. Otherwise the food was very good, the service was friendly and timed nicely. I ate there because I was seeing a musical that evening. The noice level was warm because you could have a conversation.

My only ding on the library is the menu isn't great. My pasta was a bit repetitive and boring. but i Love the atmosphere and we had a fun night.

The calamari appetizer is enough to be shared by two. Nicely breaded and with a tangy/spicy topping which did not overwhelm the calamari.

The trout dish was very generous in its size. The accompanying beans were delicious. The trout with the skinned exterior was very tasty and hearty.

With the amount of food consumed, the dessert was the simple choice of chocolate/vanilla ice cream with pokey sticks. It had beads of chocolate that gave it a fun twist.

The service was very attentive and not intrusive. The hostess queried as to the performance being seen so the timing of the reservation and delivery of the food was spot on. The overall meal was not rushed with service or time.

If you are looking for a minimal cost, this will not be your choice. Nevertheless the overall room, staff and food was a lovely experience.

Was surprisingly delicious, comfortable and the service was great. What's better than eating in the same building that you are seeing a show in? Not much.