The Dakota Bar

My wife and I dropped in here on Friday night, I think it was around 10pm? November 1st. We stepped in the opened door and sat down at the bar. Within TWENTY SECONDS, we were greeted and had menus in our hands. Within FORTY SECONDS we had water poured, and WITHIN NINETY SECONDS the bartender had taken our drink orders. I went to the restroom, and when I got back both beverages were there. Whie enjoying our drinks, we noticed that the music was tasteful — and also was at a tasteful volume. The lighting was good and tasteful as well. This is important for me, as I have sensitivity to loud sounds as well as bright lights. And I'm a music snob, so there are a lot of places I just can't hang out. The music at The Dakota Bar on Friday night was a pretty decent selection of 80s hits (The Police, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Cure, etc). I was finishing up my drink, while my wife was still halfway through hers, and I didn't even need to get the bartender's attention — she was already paying attention, and asked me if I wanted another one (and I did). I asked for the check at the same time, and it came swiftly. This is the kind of service you used to be able to count on in a New York City bar. Sadly, it's a scarce rarity these days. We live about an hour away from this bar (just happened to be in the neighborhood that night), but we have earmarked this in our mental maps as a "Must Stop By" anytime we're on the Upper West Side from here on out.

Great experience here. Food and staff were great :-)

Very friendly and clean place. Bathrooms very clean, fast service and very tasty selection of food. Best part happy hour is from 3pm -6pm and the happy hour menu includes beer, wines and appetizers. Worth a visit, directly across from strawberry fields in central park.

Crazy story about this place. As my wife and I walked in, they asked to see our vaccination cards. We showed it and were seated promptly. We had the nicest corner table with street views so in the excitement, sat quickly and began looking at the menu. A few minutes later, the waitress walks over with two $100 bills telling us that she thinks we dropped it by the entrance. Our jaws dropped! It fell out of my wife's purse and we would not have noticed until cash was needed much later that night. What a lovely restaurant with great staff. We were served by Alicia but can't remember if the host or Alicia brought the money to us. Either way Thank you! We deeply appreciate the staff's honesty and integrity here. Now onto food and drinks. We were in a rush to catch a show right after this restaurant so told Alicia and she accommodated us. Ordered fried calamari (cooked perfectly) Dakota fries which we couldn't stop eating and Spicy fennel sausage pi (yummmmy). Simple items but all delicious. Drinks were good also. These 3 items and 2 drinks + gratuity came out to about $100. Not cheap by any means but also not overpriced.

Excellent food, but my strawberry margarita was underwhelming; I couldn't taste the alcohol. I didn't like the tiramisu at all. The server was welcoming and attentive.

Meh. That’s my general feeling about Dakota. We were initially very impressed and excited about the appearance and ambiance of the bar- what a cool chandelier! But quickly we realized they were missing the mark. First off, they have a wall of wine but my two orders (a Bordeaux and a Spanish sparkling rosé; both highest priced wines in their categories) were extremely forgettable. The Bordeaux was very young and flat, and rosé was overly sweet and yet lacked any real flavor. Sadly disappointing. My husband got a cocktail and reported it wasn’t well balanced. On to the food menu- while the attempt was good, it was a not diverse menu. I understand the full page of pizzas, but the entrees were all basically repeats: salmon with lemon butter sauce, chicken piccata with lemon butter sauce, and chicken with a wine butter sauce- all basically the same dish. It was all just not meeting the mark and has so much opportunity to be more memorable. They seem to be struggling between being a pub or an upscale wine and cocktail bar. The food reads pub, but the ambiance begs otherwise. All that to say, I did order the Cobb salad and the presentation and taste was very impressive. If you are interested in salads (there are a lot of options) or pizza, this place is for you. Unfortunately, not so much for drinking or exciting eats. Our experience wasn’t “bad” just mediocre and lackluster. Oh and a final note: the waiter, who we didn’t see for most of our meal, started clearing the table and literally wiping it with a wet rag as we were standing up and putting our coats on. The place wasn’t packed nor was it closing time. It was almost comical because he kept nearly running into us. We just needed 3 minutes to get up and dressed and we’d be gone- that couldn’t have waited? It was bizarre and really not a final impression you’re hoping for when leaving an establishment.

Atmosphere and food were good. Not the best service though! Aaand, the restroom was dirty😣

My daughter had her 30th Birthday here last Saturday. Everything from the start of planning to the actual event was on point. We worked with Alicia who was on point with everything from service to accommodating and very friendly and helpful. She was simply the best. The food was great as well as the cocktails. Very friendly staff all around and the atmosphere was perfect. Great décor as well. I have nothing negative about this place. Found a new hotspot on upper west side. People its a must try. and ask for ALICIA>>>> She's great.