Room 53

Loved the Broadway-​themed open mic night accompanied by piano. I was there to support friends who were participating and as a fan of Broadway… it really is the most supportive open mic I’ve ever been to. On the Monday night I went, the audience clapped and cheered enthusiastically, and even sang along when prompted or if a performer asked for help (if they need a duet harmony or forgot the words. The piano accompanist was amazing, playing all different types of Broadway and pop songs on the fly, to sheet music handed to him seconds earlier. Happy hour drinks until 7pm! My favorite part… audience singalong closing song! Even though I can’t sing, I joined in with gusto to the group sing of «Seasons of Love».

Steve and the Room 53 team did an amazing job at our (surprise) engagement party. My now fiancée had no idea that 25 of our closest friends and family were waiting in the restaurant to celebrate our engagement with us! The logistics of the whole surprise were very complicated, and Steve was more than willing to help make it happen and truly went above and beyond to make the day incredibly special for us. The food and drinks were fantastic, we had the entire back of the restaurant to ourselves, and we even joined in the open mic night that followed. It is a great space and the staff are wonderful! We couldn’t be happier and will be frequent visitors for years to come. Thank you again, Steve!
Cheers,
Lauren & Corinne

Room 53 is a new Restaurant, Piano bar, Coffee bar, .Bistro, the room is beautiful, the service could not be better, the food (French/​Moroccan) is wonderful and very reasonably priced. Here is the best part, there is no cover or minimum to hear and enjoy great entertainment every night and for Sunday brunch by different performers. (entertainment begins at 8 or 9 depending on the night.)
Room 53 is a wine bar, also serving champagne and beer. Excellent wine list priced right. Say hello to Steve Cosh the proprietor and British transplant and tell him Geri sent you.

I visited Room 53 on Friday night for a friend’s cabaret. Walking in, the atmosphere is very homely and cozy, I immediately liked the place. After choosing our own table, my fiancé and I settled down ready to dine. We’d looked over the menu prior to coming in so we pretty much had an idea what we wanted to try. However, the menu we were handed was somewhat different from the one on the website and while we had come prepare to try their smoked salmon tartare sandwich, it wasn’t on the menu. I eventually settled for the Room 53 burger while my fiancé had the veggie burger.
After being seated it had also become instantly apparent that service was backed up and that we’d be waiting for a while. At first this wasn’t much of an issue; within 10 or so minutes we had our drinks and after another 5 minutes we’d already put in our order. But we ended up waiting an hour for our food to arrive at our table and had it been any other day (I’d had a smoothie before heading out) I would’ve been quite hangry.
My burger was good, more medium well than medium but still juicy, and though it was a simple burger without many toppings, the pretzel bun rounded it out nicely. My fiancé also enjoyed his veggie burger. Both burgers came with «English fries», which were basically potato wedges. Both burgers were $ 16 each which was pretty pricey for what we got. They were good, but they weren’t $ 16 good.
I felt pretty bad for the staff, it was pretty obvious that they didn’t anticipate having such a full house, but like my fiancé pointed out, any restaurant in the middle of the city should be prepared to handle at least as many customers as there are tables. We weren’t quite sure what caused the kitchen to be held up for so long, but it was pretty annoying. The staff was clearly swamped and they really couldn’t do much to control whatever was going on in the kitchen. They did the best they could.
I actually had a tough time writing this review, because our waiter was great (he had AWESOME hair) and very personable. And the singer was outstanding (clearly biased here), but the wait was pretty ridiculous and for $ 16, I was expecting a more outstanding burger.

I ate here this evening. After reading great reviews, I was pretty disappointed — the food was fine, but the menu was totally standard and uncreative. Service was slow. The restaurant was pretty empty during our pre-​theatre dinner, so on the plus side we had a lot of peace and quiet…

Definitely a wine bar. Awkwardly slow, but it may be better on weekends. Didn’t have the food, but the $ 3 beer was good!

After a MISERABLE experience doing a singing competition here, I will never go back. I will agree with other reviewers that the staff is very friendly. However, they are not attentive and to only have a staff of 2 people on for an evening shift is not efficient.
You honestly could not PAY me to go back to this place. The management at this establishment is horrid. I will NEVER step back or support any show that this place holds. As a performer in a competition in just the 2^nd week they FORCED all patrons to pay a $ 20 cover without telling us beforehand when we were advertising to our friends and family that there was no cover and no minimum since that is what happened the week before. I literally found out 30 minutes before the start of the show that this was taking place. On top of it, they made the contestants pay a $ 10 cover to sing in their establishment. Again, something that was not told to us until we walked into the place. I had to pay to sing. Ridiculous.
If you are an event planner/​promoter, DO NOT USE THIS SPACE!!!

I’ve passed by this place a few times but never went in till tonight, and I really like this place, very chill and not too busy even on a Saturday night.

Went there 2 days ago. 11−7−14 around 7pm Me and the wife had 2 glasses of Moscato. OMG the best mascato I’ve ever had. It wasn’t busy or crowded. The staff was HANDS DOWN the nicest and most inviting group of guys there! I wish we would have stayed and had a bottle or two.

Fabulous! Not to be missed! Food was great — and the talented singers were incredible!

Not as expected. Friendly service but even though the place was only half full the service was painfully slow. We arrived at 6:20 had a main course and didn’t get out until 7:40! My meal of Guinness sausage and mashed potatoes was exactly that! No vegetables, no gravy — nothing. Just four sausages with a pile of dry mashed potatoes on top. It was most certainly not worth more than two stars and even then I’m being kind!

Took 20 minutes to order a drink, 20 to receive it, and 20 for a bill. Thank god we didn’t want food.

Came here for a friend’s show and was pleasantly surprised to find a classier offering in the HK area. I will echo other reviews in saying that the décor is definitely a highlight — warm colors and lighting definitely made it feel welcoming. I had a chicken sandwich with a spicy mayo that was serviceable. My friends had the meatballs which are soo tasty! However, the server told us it came with bread for dipping and so we asked for bread when the meatballs came out. imagine our surprise when the check showed a charge for two sides of bread. It was a sour note because we were never told it was an additional charge and the serving was rather meager at that. 4 really small and thin slices of Italian bread and for that you charge $ 4? Also, the bread pudding is not worth the price. Overall though, def a great place to catch a show and have some tasty food while you are at it.

A beer and wine bar with a twist! Great location walking distance to Broadway and plenty of hotels in the area. Cabaret 1 block away, Cinderella 1 block, Letterman 1 block, you get the idea. Located on the edge of Hells Kitchen you have a big area open place with that European Bistro feel. It has a solid Menu with both small and large plate selections to cater to every appetite from Carnivores to Herbivores :). The cuisine is French with a Moroccan twist and a Shepherds Pie thrown in. There is good ambiance and the staff is welcoming, professional and helpful. On top of all this you have entertainment in the form of a Baby Grand Piano and a variety of musicians stoping by most nights. You can find yourself with a pop up concert by some of the most talented people on Broadway. There are also weekly performances by some of the most fun and raucous Drag Queens in NYC. This place is great for pre theater, post theater or just brunch and dinner. You’ll have a great time and feel like you’re in NYC.

Love love love Room 53! It’s a beautiful space with amazing food, a great wine selection and super friendly staff. I can’t say enough about the creative menu and quality, fresh food. Everything is great, but the chicken satay, meatballs and cheesecake are must-​tries. And there is always something fun happening — in addition to the delicious food. So happy to share the neighborhood!

Fantastic food and great atmosphere. I had the baked pasta and my wife had the couscous. Both were very good! Very friendly staff and the service was quick. Only downside is that nobody was playing that big piano at the time. Guess I’ll have to come back!

A real treat. One of the few places with good live music in the theater district /​hell’s kitchen. They play show tunes, standards, and even a little jazz.
Food was very good, split the chicken sandwich and the prosciutto sandwich, both very fresh and filling. It said on the menu that everything was fresh, never frozen. Was actually surprised at how good the food was considering it was a piano bar. Usually they don’t focus on food, but it pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately there is no booze, but they have a pretty good selection of beer & french and italian wine.

Great place very nice staff ! Only dropped by for short time but everyone was super nice and inviting definitely a nice place to check out for food and drinks !!

Love everything about this place — food is amazingly delicious. Staff is super friendly and polite. Laid back atmosphere. The space is wide and open. Recommended!