Verde

We were walking around the Chelsea area near the Pier, and we had to decide on what to eat. As we walked towards the Little Island, we saw this restaurant that seemed to be open right next to the Crane Club. My partner mentioned they were interested in trying this restaurant, and I did a quick search and noticed this was a pretty new restaurant. The menu wasn’t super interesting, but I figured it was worth a shot. We did a walk-in for 2 at 5:00 PM.

The website describes the restaurant as:

From the glamorous avenues of Paris to the sun-kissed shores of Saint-Tropez, from the sophisticated skyline of Dubai to the vibrant pulse of Manhattan—the Yeeels Group has redefined festive dining across four continents. At Verde NYC, this legacy of excellence finds its newest expression in an unforgettable culinary journey through Mediterranean and French flavors.

Ambiance & Service

When we walked in, they required that we give them our bags to check in. Typically we keep them, but that’s fine. My partner really wanted to try this restaurant. One of the hosts took us to the bar area, so we sat there at about 5:05 PM. As we waited, expecting to be escorted to a table, we see some people getting escorted to open tables. We assumed we were queued, so we ordered some drinks and waited. I took a glance at my watch, and I noticed it was 5:30 PM which seemed strange to me. I went to that same host to check if we can get a table soon. They were surprised that I wanted a table. I literally told them a walk-in table for 2 when I arrived.

Another host came and finally escorted us to a table, mentioning that they need it back by 8:00 PM.

We were seated in the wall tables, and it felt like an interesting journey walking to there. You have to actually look down on the ground and make sure you don’t accidentally step into a gap. For whatever reason, their main dining area had different platforms and steps. If you’re not careful, you can easily trip and fall.

The ambiance was quite noisy, almost like a club. They mentioned later at night it becomes loud and turns into a club like atmosphere. As you look at the clientele, you see this is a very trendy and bougie crowd. It seems to be a mix of socialites and upscale tourists. Think of those tourists that are trying to show off their generational wealth. When you go to the restrooms, there are porters in the bathroom ready to give you soap and a towel, and pointing you to the tip bowl. No thanks.

The food service was decent despite multiple fumbles throughout the way.

Food

Note that the restaurant describes itself as a French meets Mediterranean flair.

The 99 Problems ($24 - right) came with Grey Goose vodka, fresh cucumber, yuzu, Italicus, Bergamot, and ginger beer. I wasn’t a fan of this, but my partner enjoyed this.

The Passion Fruit Spritz Mocktail ($14 - left) was customized with passion fruit syrup, vanilla, and club soda. This mocktail was surprisingly one of the best things that we ordered tonight. The bar tender whipped this up for me. Instead of adding sugar, they suggested vanilla, and that worked fine.

The bread was pretty decent, and with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil, it was a good match.

The Salmon Tartare ($24) came marinated, infused with passion fruit puree and aji amarillo. Unfortunately, they started serving this before we could take a picture, so here’s a half-served picture. What was interesting is they made it look nice, but they served it before we can really even see it. So what’s the point of making it look pretty if they are going to provide full service? The salmon itself was OK. As expected, it actually turned out on the sweet side with the passion fruit puree, when it could have used more acid.

The Saint-Emilion, Cote de Baleau Grand Cru ($24) came from France, 2019. This was a bordeaux blended red with merlot, cabernet franc, and cabernet sauvignon. This has a dark red, purple color with an interesting smell. It reminded me of a wet, mushroom probably indicating some interesting characteristics of this vineyard’s soil. It finished smooth with generous tannins. I thought this would pair the best of their red glasses with the veal.

The Giant Veal alla Milanese ($105) came golden-fried and served with lemon and shaved parmesan. This thing was monstrous in diameter, but it was also flattened very thinly. There were a few serving missteps. They had trouble cutting the veal into cleanly cut portions, so when they were trying to serve us, some of the pieces were dangling with each other. What they should have done is taken the time to cleanly cut thru the pieces. Next, they nearly forgot the freshly shaved parmesan. One of the servers nudged our server that he needs to wait for the parmesan cheese to grate over.

This thing basically tasted like a very thin fried veal cutlet. The crust was very crispy, but the veal was so thinly flattened, that you get almost equal breading to veal meat. They serve this with lemon and some sweet and sharp tomato sauce. The veal was also slightly oversalted, so the lemon and tomato sauce helps mask that.

The side of Ratatouille ($14) was surprisingly pretty decent. It had thick cuts of squash, eggplant, and zucchini with much tomato flavors from the sauce.

Overall Impression

Verde is one of those places that has left some sour taste on my mouth. Not only is the food lacking identity, but the ambiance and target audience seems to wreak Miami club style. If that’s your desire, then check it out. Otherwise if you’re like me looking for a decent restaurant to check out, there are other places around the area.

Yelp & Google Jabs

Incredible food, an unforgettable show, and an electric atmosphere with perfectly curated music—absolutely loved it!10/10 … Verde is more than just a restaurant, it’s an experience. The ambience is lively and festive without being overwhelming perfect balance of music, lighting, and energy.

Most of the positive Google reviews mention about how exciting the atmosphere of the venue turns from restaurant into a full on club. The people that like the music are definitely the type that love this type of environment. It’s not for those that want to have a laid back dinner.

From the dirty looks to the complete disregard from the hosts at the door, my guest and I weren’t acknowledged with even basic courtesy. It was dehumanizing. Plain and simple.

I felt that a bit when I walked in, but I just went up to them and talked to them directly. With this club-like environment, you get this strange attitude that if you’re not a celebrity or someone they “know”, they won’t care about you. That’s fine, as long as I get to eat.

Revisions

1. Apr 3, 2026 - Initial revision.