Has anyone eaten at One if By Land, Two if By Sea in NYC? I've searched Rants and Raves and found no reviews. Any advice?

Excellent....and still one of NYC's most romantic restaurants!

Thanks Howard! Glad to hear it.

Just one suggestion--you might want to ask for a table on the main floor. We were seated upstairs in a small, dark area that lacked the charm of the main dining room. Also, the lobby/bar is very comfy and inviting. You might want to arrive early and enjoy a cocktail before dinner.

...three if by air?

We ate there two years ago and loved it. Service was excellent - not pretentious, and the food was great!

coming over from the UK to NYC at end of April and like the sound of this place but what's the significance of the name?

The phrase is a historical reference to the British army landing in Boston in 1775 and the lantern signal from the Old North Church. "One if (arriving) by land, two if by sea."

I was thinking about going there for my fiancee's b-day last month but it has medicore reviews on many message boards as of late. Check chowhound.com and digitalcity and do a search. The general consensus was: it's not worth the money on the basis of food quality.

Thanks for all your input. I think that after reading various reviews on the web, we are going to stick with this one (tired of changing this particular reservation).

I'll have to let you all know how it was when we return.

Thanks again.

Since some were interested, I just wanted to report back that my husband took me to One if by Land for my birthday dinner and it was fabulous.

It WAS pricey, but we really enjoyed the evening. The food was wonderful, the atmosphere very romantic and the service was impeccable.

Glad you enjoyed it, Statia. It's still one of our favorites....and I wish we could afford it more often!

Since it was so great statia tell us what you had and how much it cost we need details for your report to convey anything useful and tell us why the service was great too how much did it cost how big a tip and so forth

Hey x,
I guess please and thank you aren't in your vocabulary?

You obviously believe you have this entitlement to whatever information you desire.

I figured people didn't want the gritty details, but since you asked:

They first asked if we'd like to start with a glass of champagne. Of course, it was my birthday, why not? $18 a glass, which surprised me. We had the fixed menu of $56 which was great. We opted for the prime rib and we were both full at the end of the meal. We also had a nice bottle of wine and dessert. Total bill was just under $300 with tip. We planned to spend about $200, so it was more, but we were happy with the overall experience.

The service was fabulous. They didn't hound you, but made you feel special and that you were getting the service you were paying for. I laughed because every time my husband got up from the table, they came by to refold his napkin.

I also thought it was nice that they made a special birthday dessert for me (without making all the embarassing, singing fuss), and they spelled my name correctly (which is so seldom done) on the plate in chocolate. I thought it was nice that they had made a note of this, even though my husband had made the reservation weeks earlier. I was quite surprised.

Overall the atmosphere was cozy, the service great, and the food was wonderful. We were very happy. The manager even came by to talk to us and recommended (after my husband's request) a great little cigar bar in the area where we proceeded to go.

I'd recommend them for special occassions in a heartbeat. I was glad that we ultimately opted for this place over our original Tavern on the Green idea. It just ended up being more special.

Hope this is more helpful. Let me know if you have anymore questions and I'll try to answer.

thanks statia great report lots of info and now I know for the future have heard lots talk about his place your was the only details i ever saw oh, miss manners, can you ever forgive me, PLEASE. THANKS.

Statia, it's close to blasphemy to mention Tavern on the Green on the same post as One If by Land, TIBS!

Good one Howard! I think that you are the one who mentioned Chez Josephine before, which is another one I want to try on a future trip.

BTW - If anyone is interested, One if by Land has a website. Don't remember the URL, but you can do a search for it. That's how I found it.

One thing folks: went there on a cold evening and nearly froze. Don't know if they ever fixed the heating system but it ruined the experience for us. In every other aspect perfect.

This place is certainly very well known - refer to Zagats. It's given bold caption which means a mainstay. Food received a medium-high rating of 24 - avegage meal scored at $60. Some patrons raved about it as "flawless" - the place for the "ultimate date" - exudes "sheer romance" ... limited to the prix fixe per reports.