5 Acres Restaurant

“We loved this place, ended up being a favorite from a recent trip. The basement location was cool and loved being able to sit on the rim and people watch. Service was great -- every time we ordered a glass of wine it appeared almost instantly. Food was amazing! The spinach artichoke dip in particular was unlike any I have ever had. We very much enjoyed this place and definitely will return in future trips to the city.”

“While waiting for our reservation time at Top of the Rock, we stopped in for drinks at this restaurant inside the Rockefeller building. The space is open and lively, with a great view of people walking by—including, on this night, SNL cast members Marcelo Hernandez and Colin Jost. Service was attentive, with water glasses refilled promptly. We didn’t order food, just drinks, but the atmosphere was excellent and made for a fun stop.”

“Went here for a quick bite in December while we were staying at the nearby Jewel Hotel next to Rockefeller Center. We enjoyed the food and the service. I was a big fan of Chef Greg Baxtrom at his acclaimed (now closed) spot in Brooklyn, Olmsted. But glad to see how excited he is about this simpler style of food - and I will have to pick up his just released cookbook as well! There's some good casual dining options at "Under 30 Rock", and I would put 5 Acres at the top of the list.”

“From Baxtrom, the same chef as the now-closed and revered Olmstead, this is an interesting spot right next to the Rockefeller rink, serving American comfort food with some modern twists. I was here with a group a good while ago that came partly because they liked his previous places, and the food was a mixed bag, with some dishes excellent and others alright. Similar to the excellent Naro next door, the food is also in an odd price range, being a bit too expensive for the quality, but worth it for certain dishes, though the latter is definitely better. As we only shared a bunch of mains, I'll go over our easy favorite first, the Japanese BBQ Ribs for $34, with Japanese BBQ sauce, napa cabbage coleslaw, and pickled ginger. This was a very fun spin, mixing typical baby back ribs with tonkatsu, a fried pork dish. The meaty ribs had a wonderfully crunchy, crispy exterior, presumably from panko, while the inside meat was soft and lightly smoky. The coleslaw was a bit too lightly flavored for my liking, but it helped with the richness, along with the myoga, or pickled ginger. Rounding it out was the tonkatsu sauce, a sour-sweet sauce with a strong Worcestershire flavor, commonly served with various katsu/fried meats. Also tasty but different from what was expected was the NY Strip Steak Frites for $44, served with crispy potatoes, petite salad, cranberry, and chimichurri. The menu, back then and now, lists that exact description, but I believe the only steak available was larger, sans frites. I prefer a more garlicky chimichurri, but the steak was cooked very well, and the salad paired well with it. The waiter also brought out some fries, which we appreciated very much. They were also good quality, being crispy and slightly salty. While we loved or liked those two dishes, the other two weren't nearly as good. Better of the two, but almost by default, was the Norwegian Salmon Stir Fry for $36, with Union Square Market vegetables, Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice, and chili crisp. Despite all the listed ingredients, the fish was unfortunately a bit dry and bland. I liked the rice's texture and the vegetables' mild sweetness, but it felt more like a plate from Dig or another healthy place. Our least favorite dish was something that doesn't appear to be on the menu anymore. This was the $32 Marry Me Chicken Fettuccine with oregano-roasted chicken and white wine cream. The pasta was overcooked and a bit gummy, the chicken wasn't particularly moist, and it felt in general like a pasta dish made by any Italian spot, or rather, a substandard one. This has since been replaced by a Chicken Parm Fettuccine, which I hope is better, as this was terrible. This restaurant was the definition of a mixed bag. At the price point, I wish it were a bit more consistent. We loved one dish, liked another, found one bland but acceptable, and the last just wasn't good. For the haphazard quality, a 3 is accurate.”

“They do not allow the lemon drop vermouth to be changed to dry vermouth, with their avocado vermouth it tastes like grass with a hint of lemon. The Mac n cheese was okay, not worth $38 since I added a steak…. As you see in the picture it is burnt and small didn’t expect it to be as small as it was also the cheese was repugnant. The Japanese ribs my friend ate 30% and couldn’t eat more she wasn’t told it would have a sort of chimichurri similar sauce and was not tasteful in OUR opinion. Also they stated they serve this with coleslaw… that is not coleslaw as you can see in the picture they serve it with lettuce? Which she also did not consume they were able to discount slightly but the server only came by twice both times in a rush and the second time was when we told her regarding the ribs which she also brought the check we explained and she told us with attitude that when she asked if everything was okay we said yes… wouldn’t come here personally for neither the service nor food. Hosts and manager was nice only reason for two stars. Also bill was over $110 for lemonade, Coca Cola, Mac n cheese with steak and ribs after the discount they were able to provide. We went and ate pizza immediately after in little Italy. May recommend going there instead.”