New York - Harry Cipriani
Spring 2009
Frank's view 
Not only a rip off, the food is also awful.
“Two Bellinis to start”, said the waiter. “It is the house speciality.”
It was not a suggestion but a forceful insistence, whilst being seated.
A decline, I suspect, would have had the waiter lambasted by the maitre'd, but we were cleverly caught off guard in a well-rehearsed ambush.
This was the opening fleece in a restaurant which, like Cipriani, its sister establishment in London, is expert at taking huge amounts of money off the rich and gullible.
I’d spent $40 on two glasses of peach juice and prosseco (cheap Italian fizz), and hadn’t even seen a menu.
Harry Cipriani in New York opened in 1985 and was the first venture outside of Venice for Harry’s Bar, which had been an institution since 1931. The expansion of the Cipriani empire was driven by Arrigo Cipriani, son of founder, Giuseppe. Arrigo put an offshore structure in place, involving a Luxembourg based company, to which the US restaurants would pay a license fee, but the payments were never made. The family was prosecuted for tax evasion and fined $10m. The prosecutors were acting on an anonymous tip off...a disgruntled customer?... a waiter dismissed for failing to flog a bellini?....
The confidence of the family is reflected in the swagger of the waiters, of whom there are many. Congregating in the middle of the restaurant, they almost trip over each other to serve, as large silver platters are brought out from the kitchen.
How many waiters does it take to change a small tablecloth?
Two, at Harry Cipriani.
The food is ludicrously expensive, with many starters priced at over $20 and main courses costing in excess of $40.
House wine (Cipriani Veneto) is $58 a bottle.
I decided to order the three course set lunch menu at $40. Normally set lunch menus, even in the best restaurants, offer good value, so I was hopeful.
The Camel’s companion is a fan of fish soup and was tempted by its presence on the menu but the relatively low price ($15.95) should have been a clue. The flesh was chewy and didn’t taste like fish. She followed with a plate of prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella, which at $29.95 was outrageously expensive.
My starter was described as ‘Marinated Salmon and Asparagus’ which appeared as a plate of smoked salmon, barely dampened by a squeeze of lemon let alone drenched in a marinade.
Penne all Amatriciana followed. The crunchy nut penne was presumably intended to be cooked al dente. The Amatriciana sauce had been put through a blender, which had ‘minced’ the bacon but the gristle survived. The dish was bland and tasteless.
The set lunch concluded with a slither of apple pie, perhaps home baked, perhaps not - difficult to tell really.
A desire to take advantage of Harry's lunchtime specials backfired as Harry took advantage of us.
The bill, including service, was $250.
If you're looking for great Italian food at very reasonable prices in wonderful ambience, walk two minutes round the corner into 62nd Street and dine at Amaranth, a small restaurant with a loyal local following.
Harry Cipriani
Sherry Netherland Hotel
781 Fifth Avenue
New York
+1 212 753 5566
http://www.cipriani.com/
It was not a suggestion but a forceful insistence, whilst being seated.
A decline, I suspect, would have had the waiter lambasted by the maitre'd, but we were cleverly caught off guard in a well-rehearsed ambush.
This was the opening fleece in a restaurant which, like Cipriani, its sister establishment in London, is expert at taking huge amounts of money off the rich and gullible.
I’d spent $40 on two glasses of peach juice and prosseco (cheap Italian fizz), and hadn’t even seen a menu.
Harry Cipriani in New York opened in 1985 and was the first venture outside of Venice for Harry’s Bar, which had been an institution since 1931. The expansion of the Cipriani empire was driven by Arrigo Cipriani, son of founder, Giuseppe. Arrigo put an offshore structure in place, involving a Luxembourg based company, to which the US restaurants would pay a license fee, but the payments were never made. The family was prosecuted for tax evasion and fined $10m. The prosecutors were acting on an anonymous tip off...a disgruntled customer?... a waiter dismissed for failing to flog a bellini?....
The confidence of the family is reflected in the swagger of the waiters, of whom there are many. Congregating in the middle of the restaurant, they almost trip over each other to serve, as large silver platters are brought out from the kitchen.
How many waiters does it take to change a small tablecloth?
Two, at Harry Cipriani.
The food is ludicrously expensive, with many starters priced at over $20 and main courses costing in excess of $40.
House wine (Cipriani Veneto) is $58 a bottle.
I decided to order the three course set lunch menu at $40. Normally set lunch menus, even in the best restaurants, offer good value, so I was hopeful.
The Camel’s companion is a fan of fish soup and was tempted by its presence on the menu but the relatively low price ($15.95) should have been a clue. The flesh was chewy and didn’t taste like fish. She followed with a plate of prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella, which at $29.95 was outrageously expensive.
My starter was described as ‘Marinated Salmon and Asparagus’ which appeared as a plate of smoked salmon, barely dampened by a squeeze of lemon let alone drenched in a marinade.
Penne all Amatriciana followed. The crunchy nut penne was presumably intended to be cooked al dente. The Amatriciana sauce had been put through a blender, which had ‘minced’ the bacon but the gristle survived. The dish was bland and tasteless.
The set lunch concluded with a slither of apple pie, perhaps home baked, perhaps not - difficult to tell really.
A desire to take advantage of Harry's lunchtime specials backfired as Harry took advantage of us.
The bill, including service, was $250.
If you're looking for great Italian food at very reasonable prices in wonderful ambience, walk two minutes round the corner into 62nd Street and dine at Amaranth, a small restaurant with a loyal local following.
Harry Cipriani
Sherry Netherland Hotel
781 Fifth Avenue
New York
+1 212 753 5566
http://www.cipriani.com/
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
