Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse

The prices are on par with expensive steakhouses elsewhere (wolfgangs, keens, etc.) but the food is awful.
Rubbery calamari, un flavorful steak, too crowded.
If you really need the connivence of going straight to MSG then by all means go here. But do yourself a favor and hit a real steakhouse then jump in a cab to your show.

I’ve been going to Nick and Stefs since the day it opened. The food is always outstanding. There are a lot of choices for steak and seafood all around MSG, but this restaurant is the best! Always seat me on time. Great service. They always make me feel like I‘m at Cheers.
Great atmosphere, great steak great drinks and GO NEW YORK GO. Maybe corny, but Nick and Stefs is the real deal. Miss the private entrance though. :)

I ordered a NY strip and it was as tough as could be. Hard to cut and hard to chew. Definitely not NYC steakhouse quality. I had some of the porterhouse two of my brothers were sharing and it was also poor quality. The appetizers and all the sides were good. There are a lot of great steakhouses in NYC and this place is definitely not in that class.

We were recommended this place from a good friend whom was here after the Christmas show. We went to see Chicago and then arrived 1 ½ hours early. It was not a problem to take us early, Great Service, Fantastic Food, Perfect ambiance. We Loved it!

Was really looking forward to my first time going here, but sadly the place was not very good, but yet just as expensive as a DelFrisco. They stuck us four right next to a party table of 14, it was so loud as these people had no respect for others around them. I would think it makes sense to place large parties away from the main dining area. Our steaks were not cooked as requested, and lacked favor as well, my large baked potato was not fully cooked nor hot, my asparagus lacked hollandaise which finally arrived after dinner. The only dish that was good was the onion soup, but overall I would not recommend this place.

Great place with a bar for a drink & a quick bite before getting on an evening train, the ‘secret’ entrance on 33^rd to AMTRAK is next door. :-)

I’m a veteran of New York steak houses. I’ve been all over the map. I will not be returning to this location. I felt like it was disappointing on MANY levels.
I didn’t pick this location. I was meeting a friend. She gave me the address and I showed up. Since I had a big night planned at another steak house the following day, I decided to opt out of beef and order pork.
I felt like our service was a bit lackluster. It was 6 pm so it wasn’t terribly early. I felt a bit forgotten at times.
My pork chop was completely disappointing. The restaurant I frequent the most in my area has two versions of chops that are 100 times better. I’m not exaggerating. They have spoiled me to tender, juicy chops. The one I received at Nick and Stef’s was dry and boring. My friend even commented that «it looked dry.» She was right. You’d think that for the money spent on this dish, they could get it right.
Now here’s the kicker: my friend was treating and she attempted to pay with a cc that had a chip. Instead of informing her that their machine doesn’t accept that kind of card, she was told «there is something wrong with the card.» This was VERY awkward. After a bit of wrangling, calls to her husband to come in with another card (he was picking us up), the front desk finally admitted that they couldn’t accept cards with chips yet. They COULD take her number down manually. Wow. How can you be so close to a location that hosts MAJOR events, and not accept chip cards? It’s not like you’re a little mom and pop grocery store where most people pay cash.
Thus, not a good experience overall. I won’t return.

Certainly not as good as Wolfgang’s. I would put this in the Ruth Chris category.
Location and Location…

I will just say that the food here was good, atmosphere was fine, but Lawrence, the bartender, was the best bartender in the history of bartenders. And that’s saying a lot coming from me, because I know a lot of bartenders. He is an awesome human being and a great soul. Everyone must go see him. Nothing else about the place matters. Just Lawrence.

This Nick and Stef’s Steakhouse is located right next to Madison Square Garden, right next to an entrance to Penn Station. Some athletes and celebrities stop by here before and after games, since the MSG VIP and employee exits are all within the same area.
Atmosphere: For the few times ive been here, its been fairly quiet. A full bar is toward the right and dining room is to the left. It has the feel of an upscale restaurant, but mixed clientele. There is not really a formal dress code, but a t-​shirt and sneakers is allowed.
Pricing: The bar is reasonably priced for being right next to Madison Square Garden. A full bar is available, with plenty of seating. The restaurant is also well-​priced, but expect steakhouse pricing.
Conclusion: To me, this location is more of a tourist trap. If you are looking for a legitimate steak house, go to Keens or The Homestead (Downtown.) Even though it was a pleasant experience, I couldn’t give any more then 3 stars to an average steakhouse in NYC.

Food. Great. Restaurant week so it’s always a tad downplayed but I ordered the lobster and it was pretty darn good. 2 clams. Half a small lobster but really enough. Some small potatoes and half a corn. All good though. Appetizer was tasty. Fried calamari with salad. I’m allergic to carrots and good thing I asked for none. While none were listed there were carrots. So would have had to send them back.
Dessert was ok. Peach cobbler. Should have been crispier I top.
Main complaint you wonder?
My trip to the bathroom. Ok. So when someone opened my door I may have responded a bit sarcastically. They were not apologetic.
But after that they used a phrase I won’t repeat here. What I could kiss actually. The fun went on. Even when I tried to smooth things over when I got out they had none of it.
Loved going to a nice place and being threatened in the bathroom.
While this isn’t the Norm it happened. Just saying. It is upsetting but wasn’t the restaurants fault.
But still.

This review is for Summer Restaurant Week 2015.
This was, quite honestly, an awful steakhouse experience. We chose to come here because the options on the preset menu looked good and the restaurant has an entrance straight to Madison Square Garden so it seemed like a convenient place to meet up with some friends working in NYC.
Unfortunately, the food was terrible. We started off with the fried calamari salad and the lobster risotto appetizers. The salad was unimpressive, a few pieces of unappealing looking calamari over lettuce, little to no flavor. The lobster risotto was actually the best part of the meal, but overly heavy, it was again nothing special.
For our entrée we both got the NY Strip Steak ordered rare plus. The steaks came out and were obviously overdone, the temperature I would’ve expected from a steak ordered medium well. They were almost inedible.
Lastly, we ordered the peach cobbler for dessert. By that point we were so turned off by our meal we weren’t really sure what to expect. There was no surprise here, the cobbler was so sweet it was unpalatable and the crust was so dry, it was like eating sawdust.
Needless to say, I will not be returning.

It’s sorta hidden in a weird location. The staff was welcoming & friendly. My co-​worker & I went for lunch on Wednesday — it wasn’t that busy — I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. Good for us because it was quick & we had good service BUT bad because if it’s good why isn’t it busy? Can never please us New Yorkers haha. For apps, I had the Summer Roll — Shrimp, Mango, Green Papaya with a Lime Chili sauce & he had the Barbecue Short Rib with Polenta & Grilled Peaches = both were delicious & the presentation was artful. For lunch, we both had the Hanger Steak with Chimichurri & Yucca Fries = the steak was cooked medium rare just like I ordered it, the Chimichurri added spice & flavor (I usually only like my steak cooked with salt & pepper. I’m a firm believer if it’s a good cut of meat it doesn’t need much. The simplicity of a well prepared protein is all you need). The Yucca Fries instead of the traditional french fry I really enjoyed & appreciated their creativity. For dessert we both had the Dark Chocolate Ganache with Raspberry Sea Salt sauce = this was my favorite part of the meal. The cake melts in your mouth. If the cake that Bruce had to eat in Matilda was this cake I could’ve easily eaten 2 of them. I will DEFINITELY return just for that cake.

I have been to Nick and Stef’s a few times, and each time I have been underwhelmed. The restaurant is nice, the service is pretty good, but the food is just not NYC steakhouse quality. I compare everything to Luger’s, the gold standard in my honest opinion for steak.
We ordered the porterhouse for two, and it had a lot of fat, in fact I’d say it was 20−25% fat, very disappointing to say the least. I know that people say fat=flavor, but solid blocks of fat in a steak =less steak for me to eat… Besides the fat, the steak was underseasoned and lacked that meaty taste you expect, it was just bland. I ordered a side of Bernaise sauce and it tasted kind of «old» and bland as well.
The only highlight were the sides, we had the french fries and the roasted mushrooms both of which were good, but not good enough for me to return just for them.
If you are heading to MSG and want to grab a quick steak before a show, I would stop in, just don’t expect anything mind blowing.

I went with a friend for lunch during Restaurant Week. It was empty, but then again it was 2pm and snowing pretty hardcore outside. I imagine that during peak hours, it’s packed here given its prime location right next to the Penn Station entrance and the Garden.
I got the arugula salad and the hanger steak. The salad came with apples and pecans; it felt like it was missing something like cheese or cranberries, but otherwise, it was light and enjoyable. Steak wasn’t the best steak I’ve had but it was tasty and filled me up. It was sliced up and came with potatoes. My friend got the gnocchi and steak salad and she said they were both great.
Dessert was the true winner of the night, so much so that it gets its own paragraph. I got the cheesecake and it was arguably the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. On the menu, it said that it came with raspberry drizzle, but it didn’t have any when it was served. I didn’t mind at all! My friend, however, got the bread pudding and it. was. incredible. Warm, gooey, salted caramel chocolatey. It was absolutely one of the best desserts I’ve ever had in my 25 years of life.
Service was great — our waiter asked us too many times «how is everything?» (not that I minded). I guess this was because we were the only ones there so we got all his attention :)

A great choice before going to the Garden, but probably even better after 8 when it seems to get very quiet (at least the night I was there).
A very good steak New York Strip, but the sides were superb. Good, but not superb, mashed potatoes. Fabulous Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Bacon.
We also ordered the Seafood Plateau as an entrée and it was superb. Great choices of delicious seafood.
Nice cheesecake for dessert.
The service was very friendly.
Only complaint is that (as I remember), the prices seemed to be slightly higher than on their website. Assuming I am correct, they really need to fix that (and may have been done by this time).

I had the Steak Frites and chocolate mousse cake.
Steak Frites. (What else would you get at a Steakhouse?) The skirt steak came already cut up for our convenience, and was herb marinated with pesto sauce. The steak was delicious and full of savory flavor. The fries were thin and crispy, just the way I like them.
Chocolate Mousse Cake. Rich, chocolate layered cake that melted in my mouth was sweet, soft, delicate and delightful.

Good service. The food was of high quality. We had oysters and lump crab meat for appetizers and the hangar steak as the main with mushrooms, mashed and pan fried potatoes, and asparagus as sides!
The food came out in a timely manner. I chose this restaurant for two reasons: close to the venue at MSG and because it’s a steakhouse!
Would I go back… maybe. It is in a convenient location; close to the subway and MSG for concerts and sporting events.
I’m giving it 3 stars because of the serving size and the pricing. But what would you expect given the location!

We had a casual dinner here and went with the restaurant week menu. The appitizer and dessert was great, especially their strawberry cake which was icy and tasty. However their strip was probably a bit overcooked as it can hardly be cut into pieces. Even though I ordered medium, it felt like medium well… service was attentive though.

I went for restaurant week 2014.
I have mix feelings about the food.
We went as a large group of 10, we were seated right away and the service was good.
all the choices I made, (octopus– steak– strawberry shortcake) was pretty good! except for the cake because I have had something much better.
But my friends who had the lobster salad, or the chilled soup did not enjoy their food that much. They either said it was too bland or salty!