Bond 45

Bond 45 opened up about 3 weeks ago on 45th between 6th and Broadway.  This restaurant is part of a group of restaurants from the Fireman Hospitality Group that also own Cafe Fioello, Trattoria Dell Arte and the Red Eye Grill to name a few.   Needless to say, it is always a good thing for a new restaurant to open in the Theater District. 

I am not sure why but the majority of the restaurants in the Theater District are not very good.  Maybe it is in line with theater because most of the plays are just ok too.  Who knows.  There is an audience every night that needs to eat.  Maybe the expectations are low.  I am not sure but it does seem that lately a variety of new restaurants with potential are cropping up in that area so I am thrilled.

We went to Bond 45 last night.  They couldn’t have been nicer.  We had an incredibly attentive waiter.  The food was solid.  We started with some vegetables from the array of antipasto available.  We also had oysters that were on the specials.   The cauliflower was roasted with breadcrumbs  and delicious.  The fennel was roasted until it was caramelized  and very tasty.  The eggplant which was my least favorite was a bit too thick and roasted with capers on the side.   The oysters were excellent.

For dinner we both had the special whole fish that was baked and boned at your table.  The fish was really delicious, cooked right and juicy.  They have not perfected the deboning process.  2 people did our fish together.  One worker per fish.  They didn’t do such a fabulous job.  They weren’t sure if we should keep the skin or not and the fish wasn’t that beautiful by the time it got to our plate.  I could have done a better job but they have only been open a few weeks.  This is an area that they could use a bit of help.

We decided on dessert because we still had some time to kill before dinner.  We had the profiteroles.  3 puffed pastries with vanilla ice cream inside and chocolate sauce on top.  Solid.  They also gave us a lemon aperitif on the house and someone was walking around with large tray of peanut butter cookies.  Nice touch.

I’d absolutely go back.  We both decided that the restaurant reminded of us of Cafe Un Deux Trois when it first opened.  Then the food was good, the service was good and it was fun to be there.  The bar was packed as it was at Bond 45 last night.  Glad to see another place in the area that has good food pre and post Theater.

Comments (Archived):

  1. Mike

    Hey! I just found this review of Bond 45 and noticed the review of The Arcade Fire! I love that band! Have you ever heard of My Morning Jacket? Not really the same type of music, but as inventive and interesting.

  2. Dr. David Price

    On Saturday evening, February 26th, my wife and I and another couple had pre theater dinner at Bond 45. I ordered the prime rib. It was so salty that it was inedible. The waiter apologized and brought a second prime rib. This serving was also much too salty. I was offered the steak as a replacement, but, I would have to pay the additional money. I spoke to the manager, Kevin Robertson, who was very rude and proceeded to inform me that “this is the way our roast beef is prepared”. He gave no apology, just an “attitude” as if to say too bad if you don’t like it. I wasn’t asking for a free dinner, I just explained that I couldn’t eat the dinner the way it was prepared. I was the customer and I expected the manager of your restuarant to at least be polite.

  3. Sasha

    Last Saturday night March 5 I ate dinner at Bond 45 with my boyfriend, parents, and 2 other couples. I have never had a worse New York City dining experience.
    Missed appetizers, cold food, coffee pots arriving with no cups. There were looooonnnnggg stretches in-between courses and the waiter was particularly annoying and schticky. To top it all off, my boyfriend got sick due to undercooked veal.
    Not recommended.
    Sasha

  4. Casey

    I visited bond 45 on monday 7th marh, after wer had been to the theater.

    I found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful.
    When we got there they had just finished taking food orders but the waiter said if we were quick ordering, he would put our order in.

    Me and my mum both had the spagetti bolognese, which was absolutely delicious. During the meal the waiter/waitress were really friendly and asking about our stay. We were talking to them for ages about where were from (england), and even though they were busy, still found the time to chat to us.

    Anyway if anyone goes to broadway to the theater, i would thoroughly reccomend this little gem of a place! x

  5. Aceman Jones

    I have been working at Bond 45 as a Server since its opening and couldn’t take the irresponsible Managers for one more day, finally leaving without notice yesterday. They are mostly comprised of cheats, liars, and thieves.

    Any applicants should be prepared to deal with managers that insist on taking a cut of your tips each night (the only restaurant in my successful 10-year career to demand this); managers who threaten your job if you don’t work shifts that you haven’t been scheduled for (ie: being called in at the last minute many times a week); who promise average wages WAY out of actual range…even for earning the highest nightly sales.

    Any guests who go to the restaurant should review their check carefully to make sure it isn’t “padded” (that is, you’re paying for items that you didn’t order or receive), and make sure the gratuity isn’t subtly “included” (easy to overlook and then accidentally re-tip on top of that). You should also be prepared to get what you get…most of the managers don’t take any concerns or complaints even somewhat seriously, completely disregarding customer opinion.

    I was obviously very unhappy with the lack of any sort of structured management techniques and am glad to have moved on.

  6. Jaimee

    I went to Bond 45 for the first time and LOVED it!!! I would highly recommend going there especially if you are in the theatre district to see a show. The food was great the service is great and MOST OF ALL THE ATMOSPHERE IS GREAT!! I actually stayed a hotel that is across the street from the restaurant and the next day when we didn’t feel like having a sit down dinner in the restaurant, we were able to do TAKE OUT and eat our meal in the hotel…LOVE THAT!!!

  7. SuperBeast

    Horrible service. Inexperienced waitresses and hosts. Overcooked meat no better than at the neighborhood carniceria or “fancy” pizza place, but at 5X the price.