Allison Eighteen

I wanted to like Allison Eighteen.  I loved the story behind the restaurant.  A chef making her comeback with a new restaurant.  A few of our friends went for dinner at Allison Eighteen recently and said it was great so we decided to check it out.  Don't waste your pay check readers.

On a Thursday night at 7:30, the restaurant was only a little more than half full.  We were probably one of the only tables under 40 (the average age was closer to 65).  The bar and dining room areas are well decorated but there is something sterile about Allison Eighteen. 

The service was average at best.  One of the appetizers most likely was never ordered because it showed up almost ten minutes after every one else's appetizers.  After one of our courses, we sat with dirty plates for ten minutes despite the fact that our server walked by our table and saw we were long finished.  Because the restaurant was not very busy, there really was no excuse for these kind of mistakes.

The cuisine at Allison Eighteen is nouveau American.  The food was tasty but nothing amazing.  I think NYC boasts much better restaurants in this food genre.  And at this price point, the food and service should be better than tasty and average, respectively.  The food and service should have been great and near perfect.  Allison Eighteen fell short of my expectations so I won't be back.  But if you find yourself there...

What to Eat:

Start with the Fettuccine with tomatoes, garlic, basil and parmesan.  I liked that it was offered in appetizer and entree portions. While this was delicious and perfect for an appetizer, I think as an entree it would have been unsatisfying without a protein in it (e.g. shrimp, scallops, etc).

None of the entrees were anything special so maybe stick to the Fettuccine and wine at Allison Eighteen.

Too harsh?  I hate giving bad reviews,

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