Rhone

Rhone is located in the restaurant-busy section of the trendy Meatpacking District right next to one of the first restaurants in the area, Florent. From the sidewalk one can see the entire restaurant, from front to back, and the second floor through the glass wall. The restaurant is medium-sized and most space, about two-thirds, is devoted to the bar and adjacent drinking lounge area. There are about 4 dining tables in a small loft space in the rear and the rest of the dining tables are in the front of the restaurant on view for pedestrians.

The atmosphere is one more associated with a bar, crowded, loud music and people shouting over the loud music, than a restaurant suited for dinner conversation. The lighting on the first floor is dim and this makes it difficult to read the menu. The small loft space on the second floor is a little brighter.

The menu tilts towards French cooking, but is much like the combination nouveau American and Continental cuisine. There is no vegetarian entree option, and one vegetarian appetizer. The kitchen however, accommodates customers with alternatives.

The wine list is extensive but only offers Rhone wines, white and red. The cheapest wine was $35 while many were in the $80 plus range. And then there are the beer and cocktail options from the bar.

The average cost per entree is $25 and an appetizer ranges in the teens. Per person with wine will cost one approximately $70.

Service was attentive and polite.

Overall:
Food:
Ambiance:
Service:

Go for the bar, not the food 4 / 10

I was looking forward to Rhone because I had read that an alum from Gramercy Tavern was a part of the restaurant. Since Gramercy Tavern was an exceptional dining experience, I was eager and made a reservation a few weeks in advance. Rhone, about six months old, is in one of the trendy new restaurants in the growing restaurant neighborhood in lower Manhattan's Meatpacking District and sits right next to Florent, one of the pioneer restaurants in the area. On approaching Rhone, its slick newsness is apparent. The front wall is all glass, the ceilings are high, it looks dark and cozy and the staff bring a welcome greeting. But I soon found out that I would lose my reservation in 15 minutes and may not be seated at all during the evening if I didn't fit into their schedule. Since my dinner partner was running late, this worry brought my first disappointment of the evening. It was also my first time confronting such a strict policy from a recently opened restaurant. I waited at the bar with a glass of Lirac, a Cotes du Rhone, since all the wines are from Rhone. The bar was already crowded and I found a lounge seat that was constantly bumped by passers-by and wait staff. After my dinner partner arrived in the nick of time before we lost our table, we were seated in the upstairs loft with a view of the restaurant below. Now I could see how the bar dominated the restaurant. Later I realized this did not bode well for the dining experience. The menu was creative, in the standard New York City way, combining interesting vegetables with a variety of meats. However, the options, for one who doesn't eat much meat, were limited. There are only meat entrees, three of them with fish, but one fish entree turned out to be half ox tail, which the menu did not indicate. There was one appetizer that was a salad without any meat. The beet salad appetizer was delicious. The beets were thinly sliced and dripping in their juices with crispy frisee on top. The striped bass entree was very fresh but the portion was small. The accompanying veggies were tasty but overwhelmed with salt and the olives were the saltiest I have ever tasted. The wine selection is extensive but for a restaurant started by some Rhone wine lovers, the wait staff was not helpful in selecting a wine. I asked for dry, but the response was they are all dry. And when asked to recommend a wine in the price range we were looking at, the waitress was at a loss. We ended up getting a slightly sweet wine that we did not enjoy. Granted, choosing wines can often be hit or miss, but when prompted there was no assistance for diners asking for help so we ended up guessing and missing. The friendly service helped soften the disappointment in the food. But overall, at the end of the night, I was in a hurry to get out because the music was so loud that it was difficult to have a conversation, and we were far away from the bar crowd. It became clear that the restaurant, in the space it devotes to the bar, is primarily a bar hangout. With four bartenders working busily, the lounge chairs packed, and a 2 to 3 person deep layer around the bar, that this was not a place for those looking for a dining experience, including dinner conversation.

Rhone
63 Ganesvoort Street
New York, NY
(212) 367-8440

NYC Restaurants

Greenwich Village

American

Rhone