The Red Cat

We went here and had their «restaurant week» menu. The ambiance is a little interesting– «Cape Cod»… Service was pretty good overall, drinks were good overall. The food– not that impressed. I had the Tuscan Bread soup which was below average– pretty bad actually. We also did the green bean tempura which was decent but oily. The entrees were better. My chicken was OK and my friend’s trout was actually quite good. The desserts were all better than the savory dishes.
That said, we wouldn’t come back here, but I understand, given the location, how this could be a local gem.

Came for Restaurant Week in Winter 2016. Awesome food, service and ambience. I tried:
+ butternut squash soup
+ beef tartare
+ trout with string beans
+ pork tacos
+ tempura fried green beans
+ chocolate torte
+ banana sundae
The tempura beans are a must, and I really loved my trout and chocolate dessert. I thought the soup was going to be creamed, but it turned out to be more like a minestrone — still, very good. I would return to try more of their regular fare!

Just up a few blocks on 10^th Ave from the re-​vitalized meat packing district with its glittzy (and rather pricey) eating establishments is a wonderful little restaurant that retains the quieter charms of a Chelsea of years gone by. Red Hat occupies the ground floor of a vintage 4 storrey apartment building. But let not its quaint appearance decieve you, the kitchen is skilled, using up-​to-​date cooking styles and methods with delightful results for the diner.
My experience consists of two excellent luncheon meals over a one week period. Our first visit was so pleasant we brought a group of friend for their Sunday brunch. Everybody loved their dishes: their burger won raves from two of our younger guests; chicken paillard was another winner; shrimp tacos also got good reviews; a cauliflower salad was a nice appetizer. My favorite was the tagliatelle with duck stew: rich and flavorful.
Service is very congenial and efficient. There is a bar that offers some interesting concoctions. (Historic note: a restaurant that preceded Red Cat at this location had some notariety as it had as its bartender, Bruce Willis during his ‘always auditioning/​starving actor’ period). The wine list has many interesting and affordable offerings. As a refuge from the slick and pricey establishments just south of here, Red Cat offers excellent alternative with great food at more reasonable prices.

I would give this place 3.5 stars. Ordered the burger medium and at $ 17 I expected it to be cooked to perfection but I thought it was a touch overcooked. The english muffin was definitely a nice touch but overall I have had better burgers.
The tempura green beans were the star of the show. I was not crazy about the dipping sauce but they were good by themselves.
Ambiance and service were good so I will probably be back to try brunch.

Really enjoyed having brunch at The Red Cat on Saturday. The first thing I noticed was the ambiance. The décor was quaint but not old feeling, and the lights were a little dimmed, making everything seem more intimate. The restaurant was filled with couples or small groups of friends.
We went for the Huevos Rancheros and the French Toast.
— Heuvos Rancheros: Possibly the best Huevos Rancheros I have ever had, and my dining companion agreed. A fried egg sat on top of two crispy tortillas layered in with cheese and sauce, all on a bed of black beans. The crispy tortillas were a good twist and didn’t get soggy easily the way the tortillas normally do through the meal. The black beans were in the perfect quantity and weren’t overwhelming or dominating the dish. The red and green chili sauce was the absolute best, and I was scraping the plate until I had eaten it all.
— French Toast: The French Toast was also unique, but I didn’t like it as much as the Huevos. Several pieces of baguette french toast were layered on top of one another, topped with a pistachio-​strawberry compote and lemon ricotta. The first thing we noticed was that the slices of french toast were pretty difficult to cut. Beyond that, I found the flavor to be unique, mixing the tartness of the compote and ricotta and the sweetness of the syrup. If I were to return, I don’t think I’d eat it again. It wasn’t unpleasant per se, but I think it was a little too tart for my personal taste (I like my french toast sweet!), and a little difficult to eat.
All in all good experience with good service, and a more intimate ambiance, which would be perfect for a date!
Perfect for: A date

Burger! Wow! Worth every dollar! My husband and I ordered the burgers for lunch. They burgers were cooked to perfection and had AMAZING flavor. The English Muffin was toasted to perfection and was a fabulous change to the boring hamburger bun. The only thing that could improve this meal is to serve with fries instead of potato chips. Thank you for the great service David.

Moved into the neighborhood recently and came here for brunch. The restaurant was upstairs and almost felt like you were in a small New England town or something. A bit of a «rustic chic» feel. We sat at the table facing the window.
All the dishes sounded delicious. It was so hard to pick. We tried the Nutella toast and fontina dip to start. Both were delicious. Although I prefer savory over sweet so the cheese was pretty fantastic.
I ordered the huevos rancheros and it was very good, a bit messy and sloppy to eat but very tasty. Overall, delicious meal. I can’t wait to go back.

A very cozy and welcoming place. We had dinner here on a Saturday night and loved everything from the food to the service to the décor.

Walking into this place… Massive signage, pumpkins out front and jazz music I thought this was going to be a tourist trap. Could have also been the hangover talking but I was worried… The food DID NOT DISAPPOINT!
Started with:
–Nutella and banana bread — the most incredible sandwich ever! If your a Nutella nut like me this tastes like a crunchy donut. Incredible! ⁶⁄₅
Brunch:
–Bacon cheddar and onion quiche — I’m not the quiche kind of gal but I never see it on a menu. It was amazing! My only complaint was I wanted more quiche and less salad ⁴⁄₅
–Sunny eggs with bacon polenta — a very unique dish, full of flavor runny eggs cooked beautifully with a balsamic reduction. ⁵⁄₅
Cons: portion sizes were on the small side and the salads were overpowering with dressing. But ey, we loved our meals and I’ll be dreaming about the Nutella toast forever.

Nice Ambiance with Quality Service.
Had drinks at the bar with friends while waiting for a movie at Bow tie Theatre in Chelsea.
The light and décor creates a classy scene that would be great for taking a date.
The music matches the vibe and brings it full circle together.

I came here last night for dinner and it was delicious. For an appetizer we ordered the light tempura of green beans and it was a-​m-​a-​z-​i-​n-​g. The sauce that comes with this app is so good. It’s the perfect balance of spicy yet somewhat Asian infused. For dinner I ordered the All Natural Chicken — the chicken was cooked perfectly, not dry at all. As a table we split the pumpkin cheesecake and it was fabulous. The pumpkin flavor wasn’t overwhelming at all. Lastly, the ambience was perfect for a group setting. It was noisy but not too noisy. I will def be back and recommend this place to any visitors who want to try something different.

I came here for dinner this evening. We had an 8:15 reservation. We got there about 30 minutes early and they were able to seat us immediately. There were a lot of people there, but some open tables. Although they were a side and not an appetizer we ordered the tempura green beans. They tasted just like french fries! But healthier! Yum! They came with a hot spicy mustard that was out of this world.
I ordered the pork entrée for my main course which was on top of a sort of salsa of diced tomatoes and a cake of polenta with a drizzle of balsamic to top it off.
For dessert, we were stuck between the pumpkin cheese cake and the Nutella crème brule but went with the cheese cake because it was seasonal. I enjoyed the dessert more than the entrée but doesn’t everyone.

Went for brunch on a Sunday. Very nice décor and friendly people,”. It was quite busy, but luckily they had a table for two without having to wait.
We ordered 2 of their most popular brunch dishes, the quiche and the fried eggs. Both REALLY good! We felt like we had to share something sweet to end our meal and we ordered some french toast. They were good but just warm instead of hot. That’s why I don’t give a 5 stars.

Another brilliant addition to my personal list of the intelligent things done with the last 30+ years. Red Cat doesn’t put the burger on its menu because, according to the bartenders, «it doesn’t have to.»
The Red Cat burger this afternoon turned my Seven Alarm fire /​Girlfriend screaming about the insensitive thing I did… hangover into a glorious warm and toasty, heavy contention that the burger enthusiast might compare to good heroin.
I walked out of Red Cat feeling like Charlie after he finds the last remaining Golden Ticket. I had a spontaneous explosion of love for my fellow humans; I gave a few dollars to a homeless man, I listened briefly to a street poet, and even thought (however briefly) that financial services may not be the worst thing that I could have done with my life.

Came here on a Sunday for Restaurant Week 2015– Brunch/​Lunch. Place is cute. It says «Food Hall» on outside before you’ll see «Red Cat» in the window. Despite a table behind us trying to stomp what they said was «the biggest cockroach» they’ve ever seen on the floor pre-​meal, I secured my bag off the ground, crossed my legs and hoped the roach didn’t hike up my chair. I ordered an iced latte and sangria. Wouldn’t recommend either– my friend got a regular iced coffee for $ 1 cheaper and twice the size of the glass as me. Cocktail tasted purely of apple brandy and just wasn’t worth $ 13. I got the steak tartare, shrimp tacos (2 in the order) and the chocolate crumb cake for $ 25 total (not including my beverages). My friend ordered the French toast. Food was ok but nothing was super memorable for me though we did finish the dessert. I wouldn’t come back.

Fantastic find right by the Hi Line. Got the pulled pork sandwich and the cherry chocolate ice cream sandwich. Every bite was better than the last. I can see why this place gets such great reviews!

This place would be a 4, but given the high price point and the hype I really would have to downgrade to a 3.
My overall impression was that the food and service were all quality, but something was lacking about the ambiance — the place was a bit small and it was crowded and super loud the night I was there, at least comparing to restaurants of this tier (based on price). The food also lacked distinction/​flavor; still quality nonetheless.
I think for the price I paid for my meal ($ 65 – 70), I would have gotten much more bang for my buck at one of the higher end places in Midtown or Tribeca.

Came last night (Thursday) around 6 PM, because it was freezing and we just popped in to escape the cold. I just peeked on Unilocal and saw they had 4 stars and that was good enough for me! They were able to seat us right away, but did tell us we would have be finished by 7:30 – which wasn’t a problem. We sat down and that’s when I realized how pricey this place was :/​
My friend and I ended up splitting the special app of fingerling potatoes with a leek sauce, topped with parm and bacon bits. This was an interesting dish, and the sauce had a great oniony garlic taste. The garlic taste was strong! Still had it in my mouth even after brushing.
We then split the burger (which is on the bar menu and you have to ask for it for $ 17) and an order of the tempura green beans. The burger was very good! It was recommended to be medium, but it was still VERY juicy, and the meat tasted better than other burgers I’ve had. It came on an everything bun that was cripsy on the outside but chewy instead – reminded me of a bagel!
The tempura beans were unique and interesting! I was expecting it to be completely fried to crisp – but it was very refreshing. It was a nice balance of healthy and deep fried goodness. I also think the wasabi sauce complimented it well.
The waitress was great, very attentive and nice – she also gave no judgement in us splitting everything. However, the dinner ended on a very awkward note. We knew we had to finish up before 7:30, but the food took fairly long to come out. So, by the time we were done eating, it was about 7:15. The waitress automatically brought us the dessert menu without asking, so we looked and the dessert options sounded great! We assumed if they brought the menu, that meant we still had time to order one before kicking us out for the next reservation. We were going to ask first if it was okay just to check. The hostess then made his way over to us and asked «would you like to order a dessert» and we then asked if we still had time because we knew we had to leave by 7:30 — he then really awkwardly said «yeah, sorry, you’re going to have to go»
We knew we had to leave, and we were fine with it – but why offer us the dessert menu? Why ask us if we wanted a dessert? Just say, «sorry ladies, we need the table by 7:30″ – don’t offer us things and then deny us.
Despite this awkward encounter, I think this place is overall good. The dishes were unique, service (for the most part) was great, and the environment was very nice. Would be a great place for date night. It was also completely packed by 7, even on a weekday!

Read all the amazing reviews, so decided to try for restaurant week. Nothing was amazing or bad (should’ve known better than coming here for restaurant week). However, our waitress was really sweet, so I added a star!
My friend and I both started with steak tartare (it was that or lettuce salad or lentil soup), which turned out to be the best course of the entire meal! The beef was tender and fresh. Although, the most of my potato chips were burnt! For entrée, I had the trout, pretty tasteless. My friend had the grilled chicken, which was cooked well, but the quinoa was pretty bland. There were only 2 choices for dessert, key lime tart and chocolate peanut butter mousse. Naturally, we ordered both. The key lime tart was so sour, tho I’m not a key lime fan. However, I am a huge chocolate peanut butter fan! The mousse was good, but nothing spectacular… basically, was def disappointed in the restaurant wk menu, but I haven’t given up! Def will be back for their regular menu!

I came here for restaurant week and was rather disappointed, especially after seeing a lot of good reviews. Nothing was bad, but it was for the most part unremarkable. The feel, service, and food were all resoundingly average. Our waiter was perfectly attentive, but not very friendly; I’m not sure if he smiled once the whole night.
I’m a vegetarian, so I only had one choice each for the appetizer and main dish. This wasn’t a problem, I don’t at all mind having few choices as long as there is something I can eat. The appetizer was a bibb lettuce salad with pears and goat cheese. It was fine, not terribly exciting. Goat cheese is yummy, so it’s hard to really screw that up, but it’s hard to make a simple lettuce salad stand out, too.
Main course was grilled sweet potato with swiss chard and mushrooms. Again, it was fine. The sweet potato did have a very nice texture– cooked just the right amount. But there wasn’t anything particularly special or interesting about the dish. I also found the swiss chard a bit difficult to eat. I finished the whole thing but wasn’t sad for it to be done.
Dessert was the best part of the meal, for me. I got the key lime tart and it was quite good. Once again, a pretty standard dessert, but at least it was very well executed and a good portion.
The friends I went with, who are not vegetarian, felt similarly. The main dishes in particular fell a bit flat. However, they did say that the steak tartare appetizer was very good.
I didn’t have a bad time, but I don’t think it is worth the price.