Metropolitan Museum of Art Dining Facilities

Part of the Museum Food Series

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dining Facilities.  1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
New York, NY 10028-0198.  212-535-7710.

I'm sorry to report that this review covers only two of the Metropolitan's eight dining facilities.  It is likely that I will probably never review at least two of the facilities, the Trustees Dining Room and the Patron's lounge for the reasons that I am neither a patron or trustee.  Over time, I will add other of the museum's dining facilities to this review.

Remember to come back to this page is you are looking for the Metropolitan's dining facilities on the Metropolitan's Web site.  It took me more than five minutes to randomly wander around their Web site before I found the page listed here (Dining Facilities).  This is a typical behavior of museums.  They often don't list their dining facilities and when they do they hide them several layers into their Web sites with no links to them from the home page.  If you use to museum Web site search tools and enter food you will get back hundreds of links to paintings and articles, but rarely any mention their dining facilities.  This is poor marketing and shows the respect that museums have for the dining facilities.

The Cafeteria

Most visitors to the Metropolitan Museum or Met who dine there will probably experience the cafeteria.  It is on the main floor of the museum to the left and at the end of a corridor of galleries when entering the building.  The Cafeteria shares the same space as the Restaurant which is a grand room with a high ceiling.  Walking out of the galleries and into the restaurant is initially an awesome experience.  A vast space opens before you and you see hundreds of diners seated at tables on two levels. 

There is little signage at the entrance and as a result there are always dozens of lost and confused tourists milling about trying to figure out where to go.  The logical thing to do is to go straight ahead to the host's podium and request to be seated.  For tourists on a budget this could be shocking when they read the prices on the menu.  They have entered the restaurant instead of the cafeteria.  The restaurant has waiters and pricey food to match.  If you turn right and keep to the right you arrive at the Bar and Cafe which also has waiters and a shorter menu of expensive food.  If you are lucky to find your way by going to the right and following people walking to the far side of the room you will enter the cafeteria line.  Along the way, you may notice that the diners on the upper level have plastic trays under their plates.  This indicates where you are supposed to return with your tray after acquiring your food.  The room is noisy and there is polite competition for tables.  Regulars often send scouts to tables while the remainder of their party goes in search of food.

The Cafeteria food is what you might expect from an institutional cafeteria.  It is generally mediocre, but it doesn't try to pretend to be anything else.  The selection is adequate.  There are a few hot entrees served from steam tables, hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soup, bread, desserts, and beverages.  The soup and bread are excellent and a good buy.  The service line is efficient and fast.  Even the balkiest of diners is moved along in New York style.  The cashiers are fast, courteous, and take your money in the blink of an eye.  Considering that the food is reasonably priced, reasonably good, and easy to obtain quickly the Cafeteria is worthy of consideration.  Add the fact that you will be exhausted from walking miles through the galleries and museum shops and that the Cafeteria is a place to sit and it becomes irrationally desirable.

After you carry your plastic tray to a table and sit down, you realize that the room is so elegant that you almost forget that you are having an institutional cafeteria experience.  The pace of eating is whatever you want it to be.  If you need to rest your feet while nursing a cup of coffee and dessert for an hour, you probably won't be bothered.  When you get up to leave an attendant will have your table bussed before you have moved a couple of steps.

The Restaurant

Reservations are recommended; call 212-570-3964.

If you can afford it, walk straight up to the host's podium and request a table.  If you don't know whether you can afford it, think about the prospect that you may have to stand on line for another twenty minutes before you can rest your feet if you go through the lunchtime cafeteria line.  Ask to see a menu.  If you elect to go for it, you will be courteously asked if you have a reservation and quickly seated at a table with fresh linen. 

The snob appeal of being seated in the Restaurant cannot be overlooked.  It feels great to be off your feet while the riffraff are still standing online.  It's nice being served when you don't know if you will ever have the energy to stand up again. 

The servers in the restaurant are motivated to sell food and earn big tips.  Order a bowl of soup, some bread, and ice water and you will likely get snubbed.  The servers prefer that you buy a full lunch with wine and that you eat quickly to free up the table for the next tipper.  They aren't too subtle about it either.  Forget about getting your tour books out to plan the rest of your trip.  Forget about reading the first chapter of the book you just bought at the bookstore.  Eat and leave--leave a big tip.

The menu of the Restaurant is moderately upscale continental.  The food does not deserve the accolades reserved for the AGORA in Toronto or the Joy America Cafe in Baltimore, but it is good and priced correctly for its quality and the location.