My wife & I joined four other couples last week at Carlyle on a recommendation from a concierge friend. The cocktails were creative and very good (not strong enough for me - but my wife was satisfied with hers) and priced accordingly ($7-$9). The food was good but not what we would generally seek out - more on the fancy haute cuisine side of things. We enjoyed what we had (excellent clam chowder, wife enjoyed the scallops and I had the asian beef rib) but found the portions small for the price (3 scallops for $27!). We skipped the appetizers as we didn't see anything that appealed to us (mussels, various pate's, etc). One member of our party tried the mussels and said that they were excellent. We did not have time for dessert (heading to a show). \r
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It was fine for our large group - but the semi private room would be much better. We were seated at a long rectangle of tables (a large round table is much better for 6-10 people) and felt that at times we were too loud for other guests. I would recommend Carlyle for groups of 2 or 4 unless you get the private dining area.\r
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Cost for two drinks each, cup of soup each and two entree's was $110 (including tip). Glad we tried it - always fun to try new places - and we enjoyed it, but for the money we probably won't be back. If you really love the high end food - you will probably love this place. It just didn't ""wow"" us.
Pros: Ambience, signature cocktails, attentive - but not overbearing - waiters
Cons: $$$$
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