The Museum of Natural History is a staple of our lives. My kids love everything about it so we became members, and we find ourselves here a lot. And I am kicking myself for having eaten in the cafeteria downstairs for all of my prior visits, because the Restaurant at Gilder is a substantial step up. The Upsides: 1. Better food. If you're just going to get fries for your kids, the difference is negligible, but I had an actually delicious, cooked-to-order burger here, and I loved it. My wife says the fish she got was excellent as well. The kids menu has sliders, fries, butter pasta...and it's all fresh. 2. Table service, and the wait staff is so nice, and got us everything we needed with a quickness (mostly just extra ketchup). You don't have to navigate the lines, the cashier, and holding a tray of all the food while also trying to wrangle your kids. 3. Ambiance. It's comfortable. It's nice. It's not a cafeteria with flourescent lighting. 4. Alcohol. They have wine. And beer. And cocktails. And if you've spent the morning running around the museum, and you're about to spend the afternoon doing the same...you may need a drink. The Downsides: 1. It's more expensive than the cafeteria. But surprisingly, it's not THAT much more expensive, and it's totally worth it in this man's opinion. 2. It fills up, so make reservations. read more

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The Restaurant at Gilder is a nice addition to dining choices at the Museum of Natural History. Housed in a sleek modern space with a cute beehive-design dropped ceiling, the sit-down venue offers very good food at reasonable prices. Service is quick, a good thing since I wouldn't want to linger over a lengthy repast on their hard wooden benches with zero padding for tired tushes :( My smoked salmon plate was delish, although miscategorized under the "Salad" category of the menu. A large potato pancake draped with smoked salmon and chive cream, it's actually a hefty and filling dish. My partner's cheeseburger was thick and juicy, although delivered rare rather than medium as ordered. Homemade soup of the day (chicken veggie) was tasty but overpriced at $10 for a small cup. (I'd choose the much larger $14 bowl portion next time). Our server Giovanni was wonderful. I heard him replying to lengthy questions about food allergies at the adjacent table with a pleasant polite demeanor. It's a small space so reservations are a good idea, especially on busy weekends. read more

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Great location tontake break from the museum - right in the museum, open and airy, with super-friendly staff. We enjoyed drinks and desserts. The sandwiches were extremely overpriced, so we skipped them in favor of a sit-down dinner. read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - Afogato - American Near Me - New York, New York

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We were lucky and got in before they closed- thank you for seating us!! Service was good and attentive even while they were closing down. We didn't get a chance for lunch while we're exploring this huge museum so def glad we made it or else I would've been hangry. I got the burger- cooked to my liking and good flavor! My partner got the fried chicken sandwich and liked it too. Such a cute little space. We wanted dessert but didn't want to have anyone stay longer so we didn't get a chance to try it- maybe next time! We did not feel rushed at all, very thankful! read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - Gilder burger and the fried chicken sandwich - American Near Me - New York, New York

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The place was pretty nice.Our waitress kept coming to our table, but went to somewhere else, so we could ask for anything we needed. The food was delicious! But we had to wait for 17 minutes. The maximum time was around 35 minutes.( Was as estimated time) And I think it was AMAZING!!!!!!!! read more

The restaurant is in the museum. The waitress engaged in belittling a senior woman with no respect for the customer. The reason was a demand for gratuity ! This creates a very uncomfortable environment for everyone else and is a humiliation to the client'. It is part of the unprofessional behavior.. Is their pay so low that bully customers is excused? Gratuities are not mandatory! What is mandatory is elegance in the customer service, specially of a senior (who might live of retirement..). People who deal with the public need to have good social skills . Does the restaurant management condones this type of behavior? Apparently so! I just saw a review about the same exact attitude and behavior of a waiter to another customer six months ago! read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - American Near Me - New York, New York

I've been here several times and was finally motivated to put in a review after my recent visit. Every visit the hosts and staff have been so friendly and accommodating. Today we were 20 mins late for our reservation and they had given it away but took every possible action to seat us all, a group of 9 in about 10 minutes. Everyone was so kind and as always the food was great and location cannot be beat. read more

I think for a museum restaurant they've done a really great job. The beehive themed decor is well done, but the advertised overlook of the new wing is exaggerated. I had a lovely lunch here with my aunt and boyfriend. My aunt had made a reservation, which was likely necessary on a Sunday. I got the Beef Burger with fries and I thought it was well done. It was a thick and juicy burger with good accoutrements. The waiter told us everything was made fresh there, and I think that really came through. My aunt got the Heirloom tomatoes, which she said were excellent as well. I think this is a good lunch choice if you're hoping to spend a full day at the museum and want a real restaurant meal. read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - Beef Burger and Fries - American Near Me - New York, New York

Nice eatery in the new Gilder wing at the Museum of Natural History for standard fare with good ingredients. The restaurant is located near the current butterfly exhibition. It has a kind of Scandinavian architecture type of vibe without being too cold. The staff is friendly and checks in on you often. They also change plates and silverware frequently. The Caesar Salad was great with good quality greens and the right amount of dressing. The Steak Frites came sauced in chimichurri and with a fresh watercress salad. The cook on the steak itself was good but I prefer a more charred steak frites with chimichurri on the side. It came with fries as well but we ended up ordering another side of fries because the waiter said it would not. That said, I kept the side order since they were quite good, kind of like a larger size McDonald's fry. No complaints about the Bloody Mary either (though I do like mine more briny). Overall you could do much worse for food in a museum and I can see coming back next time I visit the museum. read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - American Near Me - New York, New York

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This restaurant is located inside the American Museum of Natural History. I was reluctant to go bc these types of establishments are usually very overpriced and underwhelming. Alas, I was getting hangry after a few hours at the museum and my wife suggested we give it a try bc the museum food court was apparently awful. Had to wait 25 mins for two people but time goes by quickly when you have museum exhibits to explore. I was surprised to find the food was quite tasty. We got the fried chicken sandwich and burger. The chicken was crispy and moist. The burger was juicy and perfectly seasoned. Both were well portioned and came with respectable fries. The restaurant has a nice modern decor with a large honeycomb lighting fixture overhead and wood paneling. The staff were also very friendly and checked on us often. If you're at this museum and hungry, I'd definitely recommend giving this place a try. read more

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This restaurant makes freshly prepared items. You may want to reserve a spot on busy days. The service team was very attentive and even customer made a kids meal for us. The items are tasty and many healthy options. It's not fast but we sat down ordered paid and left in time for our big screen film in less than 45 min. read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - Broccoli dish - American Near Me - New York, New York

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The decor was nice. Honey comb designs were an interesting touch. Food wise it was quite flavorful. The dry age burger was pretty tasty with a good meat to bun ratio. Was a bit more well done than we had asked for (medium was more like medium well) but still moist. Fries were standard. The Hawaiian fried chicken was very good. Surprisingly moist for white meat boneless fried chicken pieces. Very crispy and flavorful coating on top of a bed of mac salad with the juiciest grilled pineapple. So thumbs up on the food. However the one drink we tried was disappointing. The butterfly pea flower tea lemonade (what a mouthful) was beautiful as expected. Served in glass so you may observe the beautiful color along with a flask filled with a shot of lemonade. With such a presentation you'd expect there to be some sort of gimmick to wow the customer. Well the color was already purple! Really no point adding the lemonade in. As you can see in the video, there was no change in color. Now if only the flavor can be the saving grace. Nope. Didn't taste like anything. Actually had to add two shots of that lemonade to taste like lemonade. Aside from that, service was okay. Took a little while to be seated even when there were plenty of available tables. Also took a while just to pay the check so we can make it to the next exhibition we had planned. However the waitress was very nice and attentive while we were eating. read more

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The food is great, the servers are very nice and it is inside a museum so we can walk around before and after and get a discount. We ate the crab cake and grilled chicken sandwich, our son had the slider kids meal. Everything tasted perfect, portions were perfect and the servers were attentive and explained everything to us. We will definitely come back. Highly recommended. Next time I will try the burger. read more

I went at lunch time on a Sunday, and it was about a 20m wait for seating for just 1 person The staff at the front were very friendly/pleasant to interact with The decor and style of the restaurant was very unique. I really enjoyed the hexagonal structures on the ceiling and the wooden boards lining the walls I ordered a few things since I wanted to try a variety of what they had to offer Peppermint tea - I'd asked if the peppermint was fresh leaves, and was told yes, but it was actually just tea bags. I didn't really care to complain, but I think she realized at one point and asked me if it was what I expected. I said not really and she apologized. At the end she comped it without me saying anything Lentil soup - it wasn't really anything special in my opinion. There wasn't all that much flavor or seasoning to it, and it was very thin, compared to something like middle eastern lentil. The carrots, onions, and red peppers were something I'd not had in lentil soup before Roasted broccoli w hazelnuts and almonds - I wish all vegetables tasted this good. The broccoli was cooked perfectly and the little bit of sauce they put on it had a tiny amount of heat that was perfect. Would definitely get this again Short rib - The meat itself was very tender and cooked well. Unfortunately the sauce used was extremely salty and the rib/carrots were covered in it. The carrots weren't cooked as much as I would expect, partially because the sizes varied so much. The larger ones were closer to raw, the smaller ones were cooked just right. The mashed potatoes were pretty good I wasn't able to finish all of the broccoli/all of the mashed potatoes, so there's a decent amount of food here The desserts were fairly cookie cutter. NY cheese cake, chocolate lava cake, and passion fruit yogurt. Nothing that I felt was worth the price All in all, with the tea taken off of the bill, after 20% tip it was $75. This felt quite steep, and there are many other restaurants I would much rather go to in NYC for that price. I'm glad to have had the experience but will personally not go again unless they make significant changes to the menu/pricing read more

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The restaurant at Gilder is located inside the American Museum of Natural History and your only option for a sit down restaurant in the museum (there's also a food court option). The restaurant is OK but certainly wouldn't survive at their price point as a standalone restaurant. Would highly recommend making a reservation if you plan to dine here as there will definitely be a wait if you try and put your name down on the weekend. Food 3/5: The food is better than I'd expect for food at a museum, but don't expect the food to be good if you're looking at the prices! Carrots with beet hummus: this was easily the best dish in my opinion. It was cooked and flavored well Cold soup: This tasted bland to the point of bad so I'd skip this option Avocado toast: missing a lot of flavor but not a bad option if you like avocado. Pasta: The pasta was overcooked but this was one of the better dishes we ordered and as a plus tasted fairly light / healthy. Service 2/5: Service was pretty spotty. On the plus side they took our order quickly and food came out quickly. However, there were lots of sloppy mistakes. 1) they took my water cup for some reason and never came back with it. I had to ask a different waiter for a new one 2) we ordered fries that they forgot to put in so we got them after we were already done with everything 3) they took my fork + knife and didn't give me utensils with my main so again had to ask for new utensils read more

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I would give them zero stars if that was an option. The service was extremely slow. The food had no taste and was very overpriced. We paid $168 for two chicken sandwiches and a burger. McDonald's has better food. If you're at the museum and get hungry, pick up toilet paper from the bathroom; it might taste better. read more

Dined here in September. This review was about to become a 1 star because of the rude waiter working here. He was rude to me twice. He made a smart remark "is this your first time ordering a burger?!" Then I asked for restroom and he put his hand at my face and said I'm with a customer. I got really angry at that point so to piss him off I changed my order and that did the job. He got angry and gave a lot of eye rolling to the point I thought he was going to pass out. I headed to the restroom and on my way out I told the staff at the front what happened and that when I come back I'm leaving with my family. On my way out I heard them talking to my waiter. My waiter was whining like a man baby saying "but she changed the order and I put the order in already, waaahh." When I came back to my table, Jason the manager, apologized and said he will be taking care of us and everything will be comp. It took me a while to think about staying because I have never been treated like this ever in all my years of dining by a waiter. He way beyond rude! We stayed and we had a nice conversation with Jason, who was very friendly and kind. Surprisingly the food was delicious and the mimosas were okay. If our waiter behaved like Jason I would have given 5 stars but since the restaurant hired an unprofessional man child, I took away a star. read more

the food was fantastic. i loved the steak with mushrooms and the service was fantastic.the ambiance was fantastic. and the cosmic hibiscus was delicious. read more

The Restaurant at Gilder - The cosmic hibiscus. - American Near Me - New York, New York

I like the pretty butterflies and bees designs with the teas, chicken sandwich and New York cheesecake. Do make a reservation. read more

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$100 for 2 people and service was terrible. The blond female server had a comment "No tip is not acceptable". Your terrible professionalism in hospitality is not acceptable. read more

Fabulous experience! The food was excellent and the service was top notch. It really added to the museum experience. Make sure you have a reservation. read more

I had an awesome milestone bday lunch at the Gilder Center restaurant. Kyle the manager had an awesome attention to detail. The space was conducive for talking, the food was delicious, the purple tea was cool and the desserts were amazing, esp the cheesecake with a white chocolate lady bug on top. My friends want to return and so do I. Thank you again Kyle and staff! read more

The waitress felt angry and criticized us for only giving her 10% fee. And she said we had already got 15% membership discount so we need to pay her at least 20% fee. But I don't think so. 20% fee is suggested by restaurant but it is not a rule. If I have to pay 20% fee for lunch, the restaurant should tell us when I step into the restaurant rather than after the lunch. We finally gave her 20% fee which is $17 (only fee) under the pressure that she gave us. And you know what. I found that they charged us $19 when I check my bank account for debits! read more