Midtown Mostly Embraces Todd English's Plaza Food Hall

Earlier this month, Todd English unveiled his glorified food court in the basement of the Plaza Hotel. Modeled after European-style food halls like London's Harrods, English's Food Hall is housed in the subterranean space that used to house the hotel's laundry operations, and features eight stations serving upscale fare ranging from pizza to dumplings to oysters and sushi. Will it flourish? Or will it flounder like his nine-month foray at the Gild Hall Hotel, Libertine? On to the early word:

The "Reasonably Priced for the Plaza" News: A commenter chimes in, saying "Happen to stuble across this place over the weekend and was so excited! The prices are exceptionally reasonable ESPECIALLY for the plaza (compare to upstairs at the palm court)! The food is fresh and it is a great atomosphere. I plan on eating here more often!" [~ENY~]

The "25 Minutes for Dumplings" News: Forgiving Yelper Veronica M. waited a long time for dumplings, but still gave the ol' girl four stars: "They are still working the kinks out with the food with regards to takeout and seating. Takeout took 25 mins (too long) but the food was good. I ordered the pork udon and chicken dumplings. If you want to sit, come early. By noon almost all the stools were full. I plan to return so I can sample all of their different types of food." [Yelp]

The "Expensive but HUGE Sandwiches" News: Over on the Midtown Lunch boards, a member laments that Todd English done went and switched the prices on his sandwiches: "A few weeks ago there was a links post touting the $7 sandwiches at the Plaza Food Hall. So...I stopped today to grab one for lunch to go. They had 4 kinds (sadly not the roast pork one featured in the link). I got the roast beef with arugula and horseradish cream (and an unnamed cheese which I think is Gruyere). They also had a tomato basil mozzarella; a turkey brie; and an "Italian". The prices have gone up to $9 so with tax we just make the $10 ML limit. The fillings aren't piled high, but, the sandwich is still HUGE. The thing is at least 9 inches long and the bread is really great. Its definitely better than the generic deli sandwiches around my office. Not an everyday kind of thing, but good to have around (until they raise the price again)". [ML]

The "Very Good" News: Two Chowhounders enjoy both food and design. User carcrash writes, "Just had a very good chicken sausage and ricotta pizza--like Figs in Boston (or Olives, probably) but with a thicker and I think better crust. Excited for turkey PLT. Anyone else been down there yet?", while coasts says, "i loved the layout and design of the place. of the eight different bars to chose from, i sat at the grill and watched as careful chefs built plates of sliders with a mindful precision. i took my time with the menu, but ultimately opted for something simple...sliders and a bowl of whipped potatoes, both of which were excellent. i now have my eye on the noodle/dumpling bar." [CH]

The Great News: The folks over at Wined and Dined note that the space is "almost as much a Dean & Deluca-esque market as it is a place to dine," offering fresh seafood, an assortment of cheese and other baked goods. On the dining front, special praise goes to the house-smoked pork sandwich with raclette cheddar cheese on sweet brioche roll. "This sandwich sounded pretty damn good on paper, and it looked pretty good as well. But neither of us thought it was going to be as good as it was. In fact, I’m still tasting smoked pork goodness as we speak." [WaD]

The Twitterific News: On Twitter, there have been several (mostly) positive reactions. @lmoney21 was impressed: "The Food Hall at the Plaza Hotel is ON POINT. I should keep it a secret but I had to share, its just too fabulous!" But, @piox_tweets thought there could be some improvements: "Plaza Food Hall. Beautiful. But underwhelming food :( but good company saves the day!" Nightline producer Sarah Rosenberg, a.k.a. @RoONDemand, was won over. "I have to say... Todd English's food shops at The Plaza are pretty awesome. Really. Great vibe. Good Food. Good call." [Twitter]
—Zachary Feldman and Thomas Garry