RGSOUNDF
Google
(February 2020) Only due to our continuing patronage of The Dominick we decided to give it 3 stars, for with all honesty it deserves 2 stars, best case scenario.
First of all, last time we had our lunch at Cafe Mezz, about 10 months ago, we were seated in the same area where the breakfast is served, featuring two levels and glass walls with more or less direct views, depending on a table. This time around, we were led into a different area (to the left of the levator and not to the right, the breakfast area). Smallish area, only two tables got an access to the windows (Varick St and not Spring St as the breakfast area offers), no tablecloths, dim lighting.
And then the food. Even though the exorbitant prices are the universal plague of all the eateries located inside hotels, but even considering that, $24 for a small plate of spring rolls that normally costs five bucks is an outrageous markup. The Annapolis Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, offered at $24, was a single crab cake instead of customary two.
The service was a sub-quality one, for with close-to-empty dining area, it took the staff over 10 minutes to even approach our table, for both lunch and breakfast.
The breakfast next day was a bit better, the 3-egg omelet was good (you get a choice of two: mushroom, kale, feta, english spinach, green asparagus, arugula, parmesan, blue cheese, cheddar, locally sourced cherry tomatoes, Catsmo smoked salmon, or Benton's country ham; every extra is $4).
The hotel's main restaurant, the former Spring and Varick, has been closed for over one year, its new reincarnation's (Vestry, headed by the Michelin-Starred Chef Shaun Hergatt) opening has been repeatedly postponed, so right now, a much better choice would be to eat out at any of the multiple area's restaurants.
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(April 2019) Cafe Mezz is now the place where breakfast and all-day dining is served at the Dominick Hotel (while the hotel's main restaurant, the Spring & Varick is undergoing renovations; scheduled to reopen in September 2019).
To get to Cafe Mezz (also known as Mezzanine) you got to press 'M' in the elevator. The dining area is divided in two: the main level and the step-down lower level. Whether you are in the step-down section or the main part of the Mezzanine, try to get a table by the window; it provides for a much better overall experience.
The service is by and large good, even though not very polished or highly skilled.
As the title goes, our lunch and breakfast experiences were different. The lunch was undoubtedly 5 stars. The food was great and priced on a budget-friendly level, well, for a restaurant located in a 5-star hotel. Every dish we had, from the light and diet-friendly Organic Chicken Soup, to Big Eye Tuna Tartare, from Atlantic Salmon to Spaghetti Pomodoro, everything was prepared right, served neatly and appetizingly, the food was fresh and delicious.
Now, the breakfast affair was a different story. The food was still good, the choices satisfactory, and the preparation and serving were very good. But! The breakfast prices are something that every potential diner should be aware of. While it is a common practice that hotel meals are priced in a quite steep, if not skyrocketing, way, there should be limits. At Mezzanine, every piece of toast and every coffee refill is not free. As a result, our breakfast featuring 2 egg dishes and coffees was $146.43 (including gratuity), whereas our lunch the day before, featuring 2 appetizers and 2 full main courses, not the cheapest at that, was $136.32 (inc. gratuity). This is simply not right. We personally didn't bear the brunt, for we had a $100 dining credit and free breakfast for 2 ($93 value). However, with the existing breakfast pricing policy in place, we would suggest one heads to any of the multiple breakfast joints abundant in the west Soho or north Tribeca.