In late November, we went to Bacall’s to soak up the holiday spirit. And my goodness, they was full of holiday spirit!!! From the moment we walked in, the inside was decked out with crazy amount of decorations. There is a host counter by the entrance, with a large bar area with TV screens. There is a staircase to upper level, where a large dining area resides.

It was called Frosty’s Christmas Bar inside the Bacall’s, and it sure was spectacular. Decoration in every inch of the place, from top to bottom. In addition to that, they had a few photo-op spots, which were really fun too.

The name Bacall’s is from the legendary model, actress, and singer, Lauren Bacall. During non-holiday times, the interior is more classic, 1940’s NYC atmosphere. That is all hidden behind the glorious amount of holiday decorations. We started off with cocktails, Meet Me at Bacall’s ($18), Espresso Martini ($18), and White Sangria ($16). I had to have a drink that had their name or Lauren’s name, and I chose the Meet Me at Bacall’s because that sounded so cute and nostalgic at the same time. It sounded like a line from a classic movie. It is made with Vodka, Jack Honey, Lemon, Blueberry Puree. I liked that it also came with a few ripe blueberries. They also had some blueberries in the White Sangria. All the drinks were all nice and tasty, and a good portion too.

For food, one of us ordered Braised Short Rib, but we somehow received Filet Mignon… Well, let’s talk about the Filet Mignon ($50). This dish is served with Truffled Mashed Potatoes, Haricot Vert, and Peppercorn Sauce. It was topped with onion rings too. It was a nice dish, although it was not what we ordered.

My hubby ordered Linguini Vongole ($32), and we did receive the correct dish. It is made with Clams, White Wine, Shallots, Parsley, and Pepper Flakes. The pasta was cooked well, coated in the flavorful sauce. It had a nice amount of clams, a nice classic dish.

I ordered Steak Frites ($46), made with 12oz NY Strip, Bone Marrow Butter, with a side of Parmesan Truffle Fries. The steak was cooked just the way I wanted, juicy and flavorful. The edges were charred which gave extra smoky flavor while packing in all the juice inside. It was a nice sized steak, very filling too. The fries were addictive, went great with the steak.

For dessert, I was very interested in their layer cake. I saw a few pictures of it, and looked really good. We love the layer cakes from Maison Pickle! So, we ordered Bacall’s 16 Layer Cream Cake ($14) with Chocolate or Raspberry Drizzle. We also added another dessert, since we were sharing among the three of us. We chose Japanese Cheesecake ($14) with Fresh Fruit. The layer cake looked different from the pictures I saw, which was all ivory color. The one we received was festive with red and green, perfect for holiday dessert. Unfortunately, it was nothing like the Maison Pickle cake. Each layer was a bit tough, and not as creamy as I thought it would be. Good thing we ordered the Japanese Cheesecake because it was quite good. I was very curious what makes it “Japanese” cheesecake. When it arrived, I got it. The cake was round and stacked on top of each other, looks like popular and famous Japanese soufflé pancakes. It was very moist, elegantly sweet, and very tasty.

The bathroom is located all the way in the back, next to the kitchen door. Through the main door, there are two doors, one for men, one for women. It was a nice sized bathroom, with several sinks and stalls. It was clean and well-lit.

We had a fun dinner there, with overload of holiday decorations. The atmosphere was perfect to take in the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, we couldn’t say the same for the service. At the beginning, it was ok, but then we felt like we were forgotten by our waiter. The place was not that busy when we were there, so he had plenty of time and energy to check in on us. We even had to get whoever else around us to get our check. When we saw that they already included 20% tip to the check, although there were just three of us, not a large group, we understood the bad service. If they thought they are going to get 20% tip regardless, then they might think they don’t need to provide good service… Bringing the wrong dish, never checking back on us, etc. Regardless to say, we were disappointed with the service. But, it was a fun place to go visit during the holiday season.

Bacall’s – 220 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036