We usually choose not to review a restaurant based only on brunch, particularly if their regular fare is quite different. Around here there are plenty of Italian, Greek and other ethnic cuisine restaurants offering Sunday brunch menus filled with omelets, pancakes and other expected American favorites. And that brings us to the question of how popular brunch is in other parts of the country? Here in New York City it's practically required and all restaurants seem compelled to offer it. In Manhattan, Sunday brunch can be an impromptu, casual affair with patrons looking as if they just rolled out of bed (probably because they did). But brunch can also be an event where well dressed diners meet friends and colleagues at establishments that require reservations. Orsay is just such a place and we met an old friend there on a recent Sunday. Distinguished looking men in crisp shirts and blazers and elegant women in ruffled blouses filled the beautiful room and the noise level was deafening. We asked for a seat on the terrace where it was more peaceful and we could converse without shouting. With so many people in this city, restaurants typically begin serving brunch around 11:00 and continue until well past 2:00 and even 3:00 pm. At Orsay, we booked a 1:30 table and the crowd showed no sign of abating anytime soon. Brian and I are more typically in the casual and late brunch set. Our Saturdays are likely to be busy as we tend to errands and chores we didn't have time for during the work week. Typically it isn't until late afternoon that we mix up a batch of cocktails, ponder dinner reservations and settle into a slower pace. And we tend to stay in relaxed mode from that point on...at least until Monday morning's alarm clock rings! To us, Sundays are for sleeping late and lazing around. Even our pup is sound asleep at the foot of our bed at well past her normal hour. At some point, of course, we'll rise and eventually drag ourselves out. If the weather is lovely, we'll head to the park with the dog and then seek out an outdoor cafe for our late brunch. In inclement weather we'll head to our favorite local diner with the big booths by the windows. But for our date at Orsay we put on our Sunday best and went to join the well-heeled upper east siders for French cuisine. The service was good and the surroundings lovely. The brunch menu seems to stick closely to their normal menu although at a prix fixe of nearly $30 each, it was no bargain. That included our choice of juice, bread, an appetizer and an entree but typical brunch refreshments such Bloody Mary's and Mimosas were nearly $10 extra. For appetizers we chose the goat cheese salad with frisee, mache, yellow beets and apples with a walnut vinaigrette. We also had the house smoked salmon with watercress salad, creme fraiche, onions and capers. We found it interesting that the menu under-sells itself. The description for the goat cheese salad did not mention that the cheese is breaded and served warm. And the description for the salmon left out the generous mound of crispy shoe string potatoes piled on top. Both were lovely surprises but would have been selling features. A classic cheese omelet with hash brown potatoes rounded out our meal. Apart from our normal preference to brunch casually and with a dog under our table, Orsay is a delightful, if pricey, experience...except for the noise. read more

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What a disappointment all around. I wish I had read the reviews before we walked in. The staff could have written a book on "how to make customers feel uncomfortable". The food was mediocre at best. Now, we usually don't care about service, and we are not regulars, but talk about being treated as 3rd class citizens. We asked for a minor switch in the side fish and the response ... "that's extra" .. and we said yes and never got it! We were drinking tap water and they asked us 5x if we wanted bottled water ... The food was salty and lacked flavor. All of the entrees were overcooked. We ordered wine by the glass and the look of disdain was incredible. Never been to a restaurant where we were doing the owners a favor/privilege by dining! read more

This is my go to French restaurant in my neighborhood! I cannot say enough about this place. I always feel like I'm back in Paris. The food is amazing and I have had almost everything on the menu. I love the table side Crudités! If you are on the UES. This place is a must. Hidden gem! Merci! read more

There was a large water bug crawling across the dining room floor while we were having our desert.

Place was nice ...staff ok. ( but slow ) We were a big group but the food was pretty good but not sure I'll come by again it wasnt anything yo special that I'd want to come again. read more

I was looking for a place to just relax and have a drink after volunteering all day at AIDS Walk New York 2012. AT first I was hesistant to come in here as it looked fancy but I saw one person at the bar wearing shorts, so I knew I wouild not have a dress code problem in my jeans and t-shirt. I told the host that I just wanted a seat at the bar and he let me through. I was looking for the draft beers but then the bartender handed me a drink menu which listed the beer on tap. I ordered a SixPoint IPA from Brooklyn Brewery. It was served in a glass which according to the writing on it was .25 liters. It was very thick.. While I was drinking that, I was looking at the different vodkas and rum and I saw they had Absolut. So while I was chatting with the bartender that I wasn't sure I was dressed for this place, I decided to have a vodka with soda. It came in a very similar glass but a little bigger. A good amount of vodka was in the glass. read more

Orsay - One foruth liter glass of Sixpoint IPA from Brooklyn Lager - French Near Me - New York, New York

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Yes, this is a classic French bistro. The food is great and traditionally French. The service is great. We started with cocktails, all great. We had steak tartare and escargot and tuna tartare. We had the steak au poive and the duck... All of the food was terrific and our server was excellent. He was well informed and the service was perfect. Not sure why the reviews aren't better. Nothing to complain abut here.. So go.. And enjoy! read more

Don't be fooled by the 3 1/2 star overall rating. It should be lower. I can't speak to the quality of their food because I only had one dish. But the service was very subpar. I ordered my seafood dish with no extra salt and explained that it was for critical health reasons. When our orders came out the serving staff confused two of the same entree dishes and couldn't say which was the no-salt version. When I expressed my dismay, our waiter was defensive and rude about it, saying "I did my job" by writing it correctly on the ticket and told us to taste them both and figure out which one tastes saltier. When I said I thought his job was to deliver the right dish to the right customer and not make us guess, he got more surly. Finally, they grudgingly prepared a new dish for me in the kitchen (the absolute least an upscale eatety could do under the circumstances) but there's no telling what else they put in my replacement dish back there. (Given their attitude, I have my strong suspicions.) I was also surprised that the manager never came over to apologize or offer any words of consolation. What I did get for the rest of the meal was a lot of dirty glares from the waiter and manager. Frankly, I've seen better customer relations at a Cheesecake Factory. If you read down the other Orsay reviews here you'll note that my sour experience with their service manners was not unique. Clearly they have a poor customer service demeanor and have had it for quite a while. So if you want to dine at an over-priced, over-crowded, pretend "French bistro" with the standards of a common diner, this may be the place for you. But if you want truly five star service and quality on the upper west side, you can do much better than Orsay. read more

Very cute french restaurant. I tried the escargot, soufflé au fromage, and chicken with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and a white wine sauce. It was delicious, and it reminded me of a restaurant in France. It's on the pricier side, but it's what you'd expect from a nice French restaurant. read more

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We had a lovely lunch today at Orsay. I have been eyeballing this place for years, not wanting to go in because it looked like a "Ladies who Lunch"/Housewives of NY hang-out. Today, I got over my issues and had a great (expensive), quiet lunch with the hubby. We had: 2 glasses of Cote du Rhone - lovely Frisee salad - very tasty French Onion Soup - the hubby enjoyed Beet Salad - Delicious Steak Tartar - very good. Heavy on the mustard but tasty Rhubarb tart - very tasty Cappuccino & cafe latte - very good We would definitely come back. read more

Lots of polarizing reviews here -- but no way this is 3.5 stars. Lots of 1 star reviews comment on service issues, which was impeccable for me. I tried the French onion soup, tuna tartare, steak tartare, the steak au poivre, and the ile for dessert. Food is top notch classic (for the most part) French bistro (not "American" French as some idiot put it in another review). The prices are pretty much in line with any other restaurants (other than the burger, perhaps but why would you order a burger at a bistro?). This is a classic stalwart for French in the UES along with Le Charlot. read more

So here I was 3 months ago and my wife is like "hey, we are being induced tomorrow for our son to be born and I want an amazing dinner before! Oh and I want snails!" (She's 9.5 months pregnant). So she finds Orsay because they have escargot. So we go for dinner and it was spectacular. Of course we had the snails and they were devine. My New York strip was the greatest last meal before endless nights of newborn screaming I could have asked for and I long to go back for more. Just ask soon as we get a good babysitter... read more

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A wonderful place for a lunch party. Tables in the front feel like a private room and the service is fantastic. Of course I was with a group of ladies who have been going for years (women over 60). But the steak tartare may be the best I've had. You can get appetizer portion (big!) for 14 or an entree for more. The special appetizer today will remain with me for days: squid ink crab/lobster ravioli with mascarpone. Three large ravioli. Not a low fat /cal dish! Bread great. It's been around forever and now I know why. Big thumbs up. read more

This used to be a favorite special-occasion place. Used to have excellent, if pricey food. Terrace is wonderful if you ignore the snooty clientele. BUT today's lunch was a mediocre tuna tartare for $40. Best items all gone. No soufflé. No Niçoise salad. Not a single really appealing dish on the menu despite sky high prices--the burger is $29. Another post(?)-pandemic NYC disappointment. (The two stars is for attentive service & the aforementioned lovely terrace...) read more

I want to amend a previous very negative review, posted about a year ago at the height of all the unpleasantness. We ate at Orsay again the other night, and things had improved immensely in the service department: back to full strength more or less. Orsay really is a sort of perfect fake French bistro when it's firing on all cylinders, which is what it seems to be doing once again. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could: the only deficiency now is the slimmer menu and the pricing. But it's pretty great for what it is. read more

I just had an absolutely delicious lunch at Orsay. I had the shrimp salad with little gem lettuce and my friend had the smoked tuna salad. My dressing was light and very interesting and was beautifully presented. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, a nice size and very fresh. The portions were more than ample. Sadly, our side of fries were a bit limp. Better next time. Service was extremely attentive and friendly. Orsay continues to get better the older it gets. My lunch was one of the best that I have had in a very long time. read more

My friend and I had lunch during restaurant week. We definitely love it, food and service was fantastic. I love the restaurant decor and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the weather. The 3 Melon Salad was delicious and I never finish an appetizer but I devoured this dish and it was refreshing. For my main dish I had the Duck Confit which was also delicious and quiet filling the sauce was perfect and portion also. For dessert we had the Profiterlles which was heavenly. We each had Rose as our drink of choice. I'm definitely returning and I'm dying to try the Prime Rib on the Wednesday dinner special. I totally miss the east side and it's hidden restaurant gems which Orsay is. read more

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Decided to skip this long time local after calling ahead to see if they had non-alcoholic wine explaining that I was bringing a guest with Alzheimer's disease who could not drink alcoholic wine, but was not in a position to understand why. I was told that they did not have any and when I suggested that I could bring a bottle, I was then told that there would be a $50 corkage fee. I was shocked by such an insensitive response. I was so upset after I hung up the phone that I decided to write a review (something I seldom do) to let the community know the type of people they are dealing with at Orsay. It doesn't speak well to their character. I won't be visiting again. Oh and everyone else in my party would have happily drunk the aggressively marked up wine from the wine list. read more

When I want to be certain to have a nice meal, with little fuss I choose Orsay. There are many French restaurants in New York, but I have no problem going with Orsay over some of the more trendy newer places downtown that do not offer better food but often charge much higher prices. Orsay is a solid four. The food is good and it's quality is consistent; and this has been true over years. The service is strong. The ambience is enjoyable. read more

Walked in on a Friday evening with my girlfriend - no reservation. We were seated right away and promptly forgotten. Had to ask for menus, had to ask for water, had to ask to order cocktails, had to ask to have extra place settings removed. When appetizers came, we had to ask for plates. Our server was disinterested at best, engaging with us only to try and up sell. At no point did our server check in on us; when I was able to get his attention, he apologized, saying he "had some difficult tables". Not my problem... Service was nowhere near commensurate with the lovely space, patronized by a well-dressed, lively crowd. Food was above average (escargot, hanger steak, sole meunière), but unfortunately completely overshadowed by an extraordinarily poor service experience : / read more

It is perfect for what it is. A neighborhood gem of a French bistro where you can enjoy classic french cuisine without too much pretension or fanfare. read more

Orsay - French Near Me - New York, New York

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Went here for a work luncheon on a Monday. The service was very attentive which I really appreciate, the food was good and the options seemed endless. For an appetizer each of my coworkers and I got a jumbo shrimp which was served with a side of two sauces: one was a red hot sauce sort of thing, and the other one was orange and thick, I'm not even sure what it was but it was very good and the shrimp was fresh and had a great texture. I ended up getting the salmon tartare and potato tartine (I can't remember the exact name) as my meal. It was the potato tartine as a base, layered with crem fresh, salmon tartar, fresh greens, chopped cucumber, and capers. Very good, the salmon tasted very fresh and had a great texture. I just wish there was a little more added flavor to the dish but did appreciate the plate. For dessert the table split some sort of mini ice cream sandwich type thing which was good but the bread that was used was kind of tough. I wish it had been softer t would've been easier to eat. We also split a flan-type dish which was amazing! I loved the texture and the flavor! Really enjoyed my time at the Orsay and will gladly recommend to friends looking for a French restaurant. read more

Great place Just mini Paris Wonderful experience ! Definite coming back soon and will recommend ! read more

Went last week for "restaurant week" menu. On website stated $21. For two courses. When we asked for it they said it was $39. For three courses only. They misrepresented their offer. The manager refused to give us the $21. Stated on the website!! read more

A friend gave me a gift card to this restaurant. It was okay..I was not very impressed and probably won't go back. I had the baked artichoke as a appetizer and it was weird I'm not sure if I was even eating it correctly lol. The fish was also just okay. read more

Food 3 .5 stars service 5 stars excellent French onion soup 5 stars main dish 3 stars at best Nice atmosphere if I could give the restaurant a 3.5 star rating I would There are many better French restaurants in Manhattan but if you are in the neighborhood and in need of great French onion soup stop in read more

I selected Orsay as the venue for a special evening to celebrate the birthdays of two dear friends who are well traveled and love French food. And I am happy to say that our small party of seven people loved the food and overall dining experience. The food is excellent. The foie gras was creamy and outstanding, fully deserving of 5 full stars (it was one of the main reasons I chose this restaurant). Other guests at the table had oysters, squash ravioli, and artichoke for the appetizers. The quenelles were delicious! They were well seasoned and perfectly cooked with a very tasty lobster sauce that paired so nicely with the jasmine rice. The lapin braised in a wine and mustard sauce was equally superb. I especially liked the sauce because the mustard did not overpower (these nuances always matter!). My guests also loved the cod as was seen by their empty plates and positive reviews. For dessert, we had chocolate mousse, baba au rhum, and profiteroles drizzled with chocolate sauce. The birthday guests blew out their candles and we all shared these really delightful sweets as the wonderful end to this evening. I would be remiss not to mention the excellent wine selection, which enhanced the dining experience tremendously. We went with Bordeaux and a Sancerre Pinot Noir, both absolutely lovely. Every single one of us raved about the food on the ride home and I was so pleased. Picking Orsay for this special evening was one of the best decisions I've made this year thus far. In fact, the birthday guests were so pleasantly surprised they plan on coming back soon. I do have to say again that the foie gras was REALLY good. Thank you Orsay for excellent food, service, and an overall dining experience. read more

Crap! If you want a slice of the pretense and expense of traveling to the most touristy of French bistros, this is your place. Here - just steps from American soil - you can be treated like an imbecile, have your pronunciation scoffed at, receive nouveau cuisine portions, be derided for requesting 'tap' water, wait inordinate periods of time AND be grossly overcharged....Yea Orsay! This place was terrible, to be fair the food was not bad, but the service and price make it a NO-GO for me. I can get the same or (MUCH) better for less money and get standard NY snotty service..not the souped -up turned-up nose crap this place ladles out.... Je dis Non! read more

I've never had such a horrible dinner. I went there to have a nice dinner with a friend, and our steaks came out overcooked (mine) or undercooked (my friend's). I asked our waiter to take my order back to the kitchen. No biggie, right? WRONG. The manager, OLIVIER (remember that name), came out and ARGUED with me for over thirty minutes saying that my steak was not overcooked and refused to take it back to the kitchen. He was outright rude and confrontational right from the beginning, and I was MORTIFIED in front of my guest and other patrons. I don't understand why he was being such a bully when all I asked was for my dish to be prepared to my liking. You will not believe what Olivier does next -- he PICKS MY STEAK UP WITH HIS BARE HANDS and proceeds to tell me that I WILL NOT be getting a replacement dish b/c I had the dish for 30 minutes (I had exactly two bites of the steak) and that he'll just take my order off of the check and proceeds to walk away. THIS WAS THE WORST DINING EXPERIENCE THAT I'VE EVER HAD AT A RESTAURANT. PERIOD. I would have NEVER expected to be treated so poorly at a "nice" restaurant. I was so upset b/c I left hungry and angry that a manager (OLIVIER!!) felt that he could treat me that way just b/c I'm a woman? EAT HERE IF YOU WANTED TO BE TREATED LIKE A SECOND CLASS CITIZEN. read more

Yesterday (12/13/11) I meet with 3 friends at Orsay's for lunch, as it was our wont every 2-3 months. Some of us often meet up there with others for dinners or for lunch. Our reservation was for noon, this time a 'Holiday' meet. We always sit at a table in the bar area since the din of the dining room is a little too loud for our liking to enjoy conversation. I ordered the prefix lunch, wanting fish. I chose the salad, skate fish, followed with a desert. My salad, quite good, arrived in a timely fashion. When I finished my salad, my friends orders where delivered. My order, however did not, I waited...and waited. I asked our waiter 3 separate times 'Where is my food?'. 'It will be out right away.' It didn't come. After a bit, I asked yet another waiter and was told the same..'right away'. Still no food arrived. Then the Maitre D' came to our table & assured me it was coming out, momentarily. I waited. Still, no entree. I was trying to the attention of our waiter who I noticed was at the register at the Maitre D' station. While waiting for him to looked up, he sneezed...4 times...into his bare hand. As he approached our area I got up from my seat, approached him, telling him, 'Before you touch my plate, wash your hands!'. I told him this in a stern yet quiet tone. He apologized...'Yes, yes of course'. One of my lunch mates summoned the Maitre D' as he passed our table letting him know they all had finished their meals & I had yet to receive mine. Again..'Oh, oh..it will be right out.' I waited. Finally my plate was delivered..a rather small piece of skate fish wrapped around a small portion of sauteed spinach & a portion of mashed potatoes. The spinach & the potato were fine however the skate fish was far too salty...inedible. I asked to have it wrapped to 'doctor' it up a home. (I later disposed of the fish. which was irretrievable...'leaving a bad taste in mouth' from my experience at lunch. I am not a desert person & suggested to my lunch mates we order 1 desert & 4 spoons. I did request a cup of coffee along with our collective choice, chocolate mousse. We didn't finish the mousse. After few minutes a plate of assorted cookies arrived along with our check. My meal was listed at it's full price not giving any consideration for the unpleasant mealtime I & my friends were subjected to. As we left, one of my friends spoke to the Maitre D' of the less then enjoyable lunch experience we had...then being charged the full amount for my meal. Adding insult to injury, his response?... 'Oh, I sent over a plate of cookies'. Hello...4 people who did not finish one serving of desert are not interested in 'a plate of 'cookies'. How would any experienced, knowledgeable host at any decent restaurant think this would be an appropriate apology to appease their customers for ruining what should have been a lovely afternoon. We will never return to Orsay nor will we recommend it again. We are planning our next lunch at the Gramercy Tavern. If a minus one star was available, that would be my rating. Stay away from Orsay. read more

In a word- harumph! The sybaritic overflow of the Upper East Side concentrates in one place, and that place is Orsay. The decor was enjoyable in an old-fashioned French way (do they have palm trees in Nice?). My date and I both agreed: reminiscent of Rick's in Casablanca. The human decor was a smorgasbord of douchery. There were plenty of trust fund babies in their early 20's (wearing designer t-shirts, self-satisfied grins, and gaudy Rolex Daytonas or Audemars Piguets), executive types doing business, and executive types there with their mistresses. It was packed and LOUD- perhaps all the better to ensure that the sweet nothings meant for your mistress's ears are drowned out to everyone else. Living in the neighborhood, I have passed by Orsay so many times, yet never really found a reason to go there. I've gone to more expensive restaurants in the area, but always felt there was a value proposition that made sense in those cases. Even after the $35/person NYC Restaurant Week prix fixe, I'm not sure I got my money's worth. The food in a single two-person meal: buttery delicious (onion tart), tasty but unremarkable (smoked salmon and horseradish cream), a lardy mess (veal), and a fishy mess (skatefish with green beans). Dessert was unremarkable- sorbet's pretty much sorbet anywhere, and my strawberry rhubarb tart was little more than a stale cookie with some fruit on it. The wine list looked well-constructed, but even for the area, prices ranged from overpriced to very overpriced. I'm glad that I got to try it, but still fail to see the value proposition. There are definitely better options in the area. read more

This was my first time at Orsay, despite living on the UES and walking by on a near daily basis. I came for lunch with my mother, for her birthday and we had a very pleasant time. The menu has many of the typical French Bistro Items, such as Onion Soup and Croque Monsieur/Madame, but they also have many other nice entrees and salads. My mother and I both had the French Onion Soup, which was flavorful and all one would expect from this classic dish. We also had the Chicken Salad with green Lentil, butternut squash, organic carrot spaghetti, and cranberry dressing. This salad was nice and light and fresh. I really like the lentils and butternut squash, which really added interest to the salad. Overall, I wasn't blown away, but I did find Orsay to be a pleasant and yummy lunch experience. The menu is pretty large and I am certain that there are other nice choices to be made. There is also a prix fixe for $25 (lunch only) but I found the entrees all too heavy, as it was lunch, and I planned on doing some shopping after. read more

Delicious 3-course prix fixe $24.07 today. Not sure if it's because of Restaurant Week or if they have that menu every day. I wish I had asked. The cold asparagus soup was very flavorful and refreshing, with diced potatoes, grilled pepper and ginger. The salad nicoise was served differently than I've ever had it: instead of anchovies, it had fillet of pickled herring; and instead of seared or canned tuna, they served marinated tuna in a pickling jar, which was very tasty. I would love to have that again. This is such a pretty restaurant inside and out, with Art Nouveau decor. The lunchtime crowd was much quieter than their dinner clientele. When it is crowded, I prefer to eat outside because it can get noisy. I've always found the service attentive and professional, albeit somewhat casual. The restrooms are up a beautiful staircase, where there is a very attractive mahogany-paneled room for private parties. Probably seats approx. 40 - 50 people. read more

Not as good as before Freedom fries were thick and tasteless and hanger steack indifferent. read more

Came here on a whim with my family for a late lunch after we were at the Met... it definitely wasn't our first choice but it was pouring rain so we just really needed to get indoors. We were greeted as they took our coats which was nice. The service was a bit rushed and the menu itself was very limited in my opinion. We all ended up just having french onion soup and some apps plus beer and it was $200! In my opinion that is ridiculous for some appetizers... I won't be back here as it was definitely not my style of restaurant (or price range) read more

The menu was as boring as the "been together too long but they will probably end up getting married because it's time" couple who didn't even look at each other sitting at an adjacent table. As for the food, the escargot was not flavorful, the house salad was under dressed and the wine list was lacking... HOW IS THIS A FRENCH RESTAURANT? The service also (for the lack of a better word) sucked. read more

Came here for drinks and snacks yesterday afternoon. Was greeted by the lovely bartender Elena who mixed is fantastic drinks and made us feel incredibly welcome. Menu is a bit overpriced, but the restaurant is beautiful and the service is good. read more

Orsay - French Near Me - New York, New York

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Steak tartare, salade Lyonnaise, dry rosè, a beautiful, light, dreamy Art Nouveau dining room, and you'll feel like you're on vacation. I always pay a visit to Orsay when I'm in NY, for lunch or for dinner. I like to splurge and feel ladylike once in a damn while. read more

Walked in for lunch. Very nice ambiance, we sat outdoors. The food is upwards of $20, and a lot of the choices looked very enticing! The food came within 10 minutes. The coq au vin was plated beautifully, and was absolutely delicious! The waitress was very kind, and this was overall a perfect lunch. read more

Orsay - Le coq au vin - French Near Me - New York, New York

Always our go to place on our first nights in NY. Everything is good, especially the chicken and frites. A classic French menu with something for everyone. Service is also top notch. Go, you will be happy. In addition pricing is reasonable for the results. read more