Forty Four

Very fashionable spot for midtown cocktails and nibbles.

Prices are what you expect from a midtown Manhattan swanky hotel bar. The reason to come here is the best smoked old fashion I've ever had in my life. They light a real hickory stick and let the smoke infuse on the spot. Must try!

The restaurant has a good menu and delicious execution. TOO BAD that they do not handle carry outs at lunchtime. They could do a whole lot more business.

My husband and I had a late dinner here and enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Very lounge-like vibe, comfortable seating, good service. Try the meatballs with the cheese or the lamb entree.

How the mighty have fallen. A menu that looks closer to a bar menu than a fine dining experience. This is not the Forty Four of days gone by, this is just mediocre. There were two other tables when we ate there that had customers on it. When we left at 10:45 we were the only ones. Somehow service took ages. Without any exaggeration, we had to get up and find the waitress four times to get service. It was shockingly slow. They gave us two menus for five people, when we asked for more they made a big joke about finding five menus. Really? You they couldn't print enough menus to have one with every place setting? One waitress followed the other around but really didn't do anything.

Food: The burger tasted like the patty had been defrosted. For $20 I expect a burger to taste good. The fries were soggy. Everything on the menu was over fried or over grilled. Seriously, there are better burgers all over the city. The branzino was over cooked. I could go on... But why? You get the point. This isn't fine dining. It used to be. Oh the Forty Four used to be the place once upon a time. Now it's just hackneyed. Take a look at the menu online and then

Really, if you eat in midtown find a good place. There are tonnes. To say this was disappointing is an understatement.

The cocktails were excellent and the bartender was the only good part of the experience. She was really good at her job and her cocktails were excellent.

The place avoids a one star rating because I have memories of days past when they really were a fine place to entertain.