The Lobster Club

Lovely dining room! One of the best in NYC. The art and furniture are so well curated! We are gluten-free and even though we mentioned in reservation we forgot to call ahead. However, they were above and beyond accommodating! (On Christmas Day!!) While the choices are less than whole menu, the selection truly left some of the best options to choose from! The Tuna Rossini is to die for, but safe to eat!! We also had some of the tastiest wagyu! Absolute heaven! I would recommend this wonderful place to anyone!

I wouldn’t exactly call this fine dining. Upscale maybe... For my 35th birthday last weekend, my wife brought me to NYC for a show and dinner at Lobster Club. She made reservations well in advance, called ahead and noted on our reservation the she has Celiac. She was diagnosed last year but prior to that had experienced many great places to eat. She raced to me about her experience at Lobster club on a business trip. Many places we go are more than accommodating with notice as little as 24 hours. It’s incredibly easy to make gluten free ponzu and other sauces from tamari. Upon arriving 5 minutes or so before our reservation @9pm, we had to wait an additional 20 minutes before we were taken to a table. We informed the hostess again about the Celiac and gluten free request. She seemed surprised. At most higher end restaurants it’s typical that reserved covers are reviewed before prep, seemingly not at Lobster Club. While waiting we purchased two bottles of Premium sake, ready to celebrate and enjoy. Upon being seated we informed our server of the Celiac and GF needs, he checked on a few sauces and basically nixed the entirety of the menu, save about three or four items. Usually we order ALL of a GF menu or available items. We decided on what we were going to have, I’m not GF and don’t have Celiac but hate when my wife is told she can have “just a salad” or a protein with no seasoning. That’s a gross misunderstanding of what this disease is and how easy it can be to modify food. She settled on her main which was about the only thing she was told was okay for her to eat, then about 20 minutes later, with no refills on water, no apps and almost completed bottles. We were informed that the only item she could have was 86 and there were no other accommodations that could be made. We spend over $200 on just bottles of sake and had a cover that would have amounted to over $700. Because nothing was read nor communicated to us on the front end, with the ample notice provided. We asked for our check and left. No manager came to the table, not a chef, only our confused and unapologetic waiter. We paid and left. Happy birthday to me... Now, with my wife upset that I was somehow disappointed in her choice, we scrambled to find somewhere to go at 10:30pm to enjoy a Birthday celebration. We enjoyed a great accommodating meal at Quality Italian. I suspect this will fall on deaf ears and because we live out of town there isn’t much you can do to remedy this. You could add and mark gluten free items or read your reservation notes before hand and try to be an upscale restaurant that cares about its guest.