![]() I would highly discourage anyone from going to this establishment. I had the chicken sandwich - OH and when ordering it the bartender said "you know that's fried chicken right?" Um- are you judging my order? The music level was at rock concert volume which made it impossible to have a conversation. To add insult to injury after we ordered the bartender actually said "So keep your eye out if someone walks by with your food so you can grab it." WHAT? The food was edible and that's the best I can say. I felt like I was at a fast food place or something. ![]() My friend asked for steak frites and the bartender looked up and said "two?" - Well, of course we were not ordering the same dinner. Trying to order food went the same as ordering drinks. I told the bartenders that we were moving down two spots- again I was met with rude and BLANK stares. Oscar Wilde also boasts a selection of over 300 spirits and 32 beers on tap, and if you’re here just for the drinks, sit at the whiskey bar, which is the longest in NYC, stretching to a staggering 118. ![]() Frankly, I would have left at this point, but a nice couple from AU told us that they were leaving and offered us their bar stools. The food is good, too, and highlights include Crispy Calamari, Chicken Dumplings, New Zealand Baby Lamb Chops, and Grilled Steak Sandwich. I started to wonder if I was speaking in a foreign language. I asked the bartenders if they thought anyone would be leaving soon - again, total blank stares from bartenders. Pastis bartenders keep track of who comes in and does a great job accommodating walk ins so you don't feel like a college freshman trying to get a beer at a frat party.) I then tried my hand at the bar and after flagging down and asking no less than 3 bartenders, I managed to get a drink. I asked if the bartenders keep a list and was greeted with total blank stares. I did not have a reservation and was told (after some back and forth) that the bar seats were first come first serve. Was greeted by a two very rude hostesses who could not be bothered to be helpful or courteous. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.I can't understand how anyone would pick this restaurant in a city with as many options as NYC. How might Wilde feel about being the namesake of a bar? In a letter to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, which Wilde wrote while imprisoned for his sexuality, he said, “Most people are other people. Is it in good taste? While some details might induce winces (the menu encourages drinkers to “get Wilde”), the whole enterprise is undeniably a sight to behold, and isn’t attracting eyeballs the point of being over the top? Cocktails (for fourteen dollars) are mostly solid-the Oscar Wilde’s Potent Elixir is a mélange of different alcohols from countries in which the author lived-and the bar food, particularly the Banger in a Blanket, is excellent. A server described the intense décor as similar to the owners’ other bars (Lillie’s Victorian Establishment) but “on crack.” One drinker guessed that the place cost half a million dollars to decorate actually, it was eight times that. A second bronze Wilde leans on the bar, an open hand anticipating a drink and an Instagram post. Inspired by the aesthete, the bar’s extravagance explodes inside, with a maze of marble objects bearing his quotations, intricate porcelain floor inlays, and an antique piano converted into shelves. The other night, visitors were greeted by Wilde himself-he sits on a bench outside, dressed in a typically lavish bronze cast. Perhaps for the first time, though, he’s being revered in NoMad, where a recently opened bar is named after him. Oscar Wilde, the author of “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “The Importance of Being Earnest,” and infinite witticisms seemingly ready-made for Facebook-“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes”-is a revered cultural icon.
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