The Library at the Public

I love the Library; great ambiance, bartenders are fantastic (drinks + friendliness + attentive service). But this time the food was really mediocre — chickpeas in my fish dish were undercooked and sauce tasted a little burned; my friends’ dishes were o oh OK as well. Salad was huge, oily and bland. Unappetizing. Fries were spectacular as always.

We came at 8:00 in between the Public theater crowd leaving and the Joes Pub rush., so the kitchen should have been a little more attentive. Will totally come back, just hoping the food focus gets back to where it used to be.

This is an ideal location for dinner or a drink, pre or post Public Theater shows. You get the vibe of a private club in the small room which includes a bar. The service is excellent. You can check your coat and pick it up after your show and the food and cocktails good without being spectacular. My one one problem is the "Seasonal Menu"... I've been a member of the Public for a while and have dined here several times... It seems the chef here considers New York City to be a one season town, because I can't remember the last time they changed the menu! I've gone right through the menu, it'd be nice to see a revamp sometime soon.

Always one of the best burgers in town, cooked just right and delicious.

Love going to the Library before a show at the Public. Food is superb and service is excellent. They get you out with time for the show, but I wish they opened at 5 instead of 5:30.

Excellent food, service and ambiance. Can't wait to go back.

Very handy when seeing a show at the Public but worth going even if you're not seeing a play--cozy setting, delicious food, good choices and friendly, attentive service.

The food has recently improved, and this time the service was excellent. The trout was beautifully prepared, and the cocktails were excellent.

Nice space, similar to a clubby room at a university alumni restaurant. Good food, adequate portions, occasionally off. Chicken, salads, fish, fries all excellent. Stay away from.the lobster rolls... ridiculously small portion.
Service is pleasant and will certainly be mindful of your show time.

The Library is a lovely spot to dine and the service staff is excellent. We had a good meal and loved our dessert.

Came here for my birthday dinner. I had been once before and remembered good food and cocktails. The food again was good and the cocktails tasty (although very overpriced). The service, however, was abysmal!! Our waitress disappeared after the appetizers and we did not see her again the entire dinner! My fiancé ordered a second cocktail and it came as we were finishing our main course. We wanted to get dessert but decided against it because we didn’t know how long we would be sitting there. Despite the good food I will definitely not be going back!

Nice venue and convenient for a meal before seeing a show at the Public. Otherwise prices are a bit high and the portions somewhat small.

Good atmosphere. . Great food and service. You don't need to yell while still maintaining the privacy.

My wife snd I celebrated our anniversary with a show at Joe’s Pub and dinner at The Library at the Public. Both were terrific. The Library is a lovely restaurant and bar serving great cocktails and delicious food. We shared the tacos appetizer and had the burger and ribs for dinner with a side of Brussel sprouts. The burger is my wife’s favorite in NYC. Everything we excellent. Added bonuses: The Library offers a 10% discount for day of dining tickets for any show at the Public of Joe’s Pub and an additional 10% for members of the Public Theatre.

Excellent food is a quiet, intimate space.

Convenient for going to the Public. Food is just ok. In all fairness, several parties were going on, so perhaps the kitchen was distracted. Food was not hot. Large fall salad was missing shaved market veggies, just radishes with an indistinguishable dressing. Sent one dish back as one of the spices, clove, overwhelmed and it was cold. Considerate service.

Usually we get the same things when we eat at The Library - mini lobster rolls and burgers. This time I tried fish & chips. Chips weren’t hot and the batter on the fish wasn’t crisp, it was gluey. My friend had the trout - had to ask for lemon wedges because it was so boring. No salt, pepper or other seasonings as far as she could tell. The apple crisp had lots of nuts on it - we remembered it with more crumbs and less nuts. It’s a convenient place to go but we will stick to the tried and true going forward.

Dinner before a show at Joe’s Pub. Lovely ambiance. Warm welcome and service. Good food. Bear in mind that at Joe’s Pub they have the same menu and a requirement for a 2-drink minimum or a food order, so save room!

The service was poor-slow-we barely made our play! This has never happened to us before. I have dined there many times-our menus were taken from us before we had a chance to order-and we had to scramble to get into our seats.

The staff was very kind and courteous. Knowing that we were not going to that evening's show, they told us they would be more relaxed with our table, since there were other tables needing to rush out. We appreciated the heads up. The food and drinks were great. The ambiance was very old school, which I loved. The Library was a terrific find.

A twenty dollar martini is outrageous. Menu is not varied enough and in general to highly priced. We won’t be back soon.

Have the French fries!

The library was the perfect place since we were attending a play there. The drinks were very expensive but the food was good.

Dreary atmosphere. Name brand liquors such as Dewars Scotch and Grey Goose Vodka not available. Hamburgers were excellent altho the accompanying green salad was thrown together with a harsh dressing. With some effort with the decor and detail to food presentation could be a lot better.

Before theater it’s just right

Food was subpar and meat was undercooked. Nice restaurant in remote location but not worth the high prices.

Public Theater performance

Did never got seated

The Library is a great place to go, even if you are not seeing at a show at the Public. It is a cozy space with delicious food. Everything is nicely prepared and presented. I had a beet salad that was hearty and flavorful as well as fish that was served with a chick pea stew. For a cold evening, this was the perfect hearty meal. My guest enjoyed the caesar salad that was huge and a shrimp and pasta dish. Sadly there was no room for dessert! The waiter was attentive and friendly. We did have to ask for bread but I was glad we did as it was really fresh!

I love everything about The Library -- the food, the ambiance, the service. It's an excellent value in a beautiful room. I would recommend it to everyone.

Excellent!

I love that ambiance of this place, went on a Tuesday night during restaurant week, so it was pretty quiet but the food was delicious and the drinks were great too! I definitely recommend it!

Good ambiance. Food is okay, but nothing amazing. Prices are high. $18 for small cocktail. Joe Papp would not be thrilled by the expensive menu, but good oasis if you’re seeing a show.

I love the atmosphere and everyone is so nice. I've been here many times. However, it's just too expensive, and the menu needs to be changed up. The lobster roll used to be a bit bigger and better. Now it's absurd.
Please fix.

Crazy loud, but we only had an hour and our waitress took care to make sure we got our food quickly and got out in time for a show.

Convenience at a price. It just isn't a good value.

I really liked the understated but classy experience.

This is the Public Theater restaurant. The location is stylish and beautiful, the menu has nice variety and the drinks are above average.

The food did not come out as ordered. 2 x a return on a burger, 1st well done, 2nd raw! One and done!

Menu gets to be repetitive and boring. Portions are tiny so sharing is ridiculous. Ambiance is pleasant and waiter was very nice.
Same identical menu every time.

Very straightforward menu, revised periodically to keep matters fresh and flavorful. We had two pasta dishes -- one with mushrooms, the other with shrimp & tomato -- both strikingly good.