Serendipity 3 - Upper East Side

Today, we visited Serendipity. We were really looking forward to visiting Serendipity. However, the hostess staff was not friendly and barely acknowledged us, and mostly focused their attention to their cell phone. Once we were seated, we had a great experience. Our servers were extremely friendly, provided recommendations, and ensured we had everything we needed. There was a person who was friendly and came around to take pictures. The food was good. We ordered a chicken sandwich, strawberry waffles, and the frozen hot chocolate. The frozen hot chocolate was excellent! I would definitely go back.

We've been coming here for years, love the fun atmosphere and the frozen hot chocolate.

Not all salty meals are created equal here.
Mac and cheese is tasty.

For context - I cannot eat truffle, so don't rely on me to offer comparison to truffle dishes, implied or otherwise. How's that for a fancy disclaimer?

We passed by on a late Saturday evening a couple weeks ago. Both my cousin and I said how it was on our list forever but still haven't been. So I decided we should just cease the moment and do it. The wait was thankfully short. The hostess was really personable and good at her job. They have a gift section at the entrance you can peruse while you wait. We noticed a sign that said $18.89 minimum PER PERSON. Kinda an odd number, but ok.

We were a party of 4 and got a table upstairs. The menu is huge, albeit dessert options were not as plentiful as we'd hope. We had dinner earlier and were really hoping to just get desserts. Most specifically to try the iconic frozen hot chocolate. Keeping in mind that we had the minimum per person, we ordered:

Frozen hot chocolate - 8/10 it was my favorite thing we ordered. Could I really justify the almost $20 price tag for it? Probably not.

Chicken & Waffles - 6/10 probably the worst I've ever had. Chicken was dry and waffles were like Eggo's. Should be taken off the menu

Chocolate Cake - 6/10 absolutely nothing to write home about. Had supermarket cake better than this and it was $18!

Truffle Fries - 7.5/10 they were pretty good. I wasn't a fan of this weird lace shredded cheese they had. Wish it was more of a grated cheese. Otherwise pretty good

All in all, the experience was pretty much "we came, we saw, we conquered." As a local, it very much feels like an establishment for tourists that no New Yorker would enjoy. Severely overpriced and underwhelming food is not the vibe. I would do some brainstorming and revamp the menu cuz this is just not it. Service was also extremely slow and inattentive.

I really loved the interior decor at this place. It was just as whimsical and cool as the movie portrayed it.

The menu is overwhelming so we just settled for dessert. I think it may have been the wrong move. In the future I'd want to check out their grand array do burgers!

All I can say about dessert is skip the frozen hot chocolate, it looks good but is actually really flat. It's not sweet at all and after the fifth bite you're wondering "whats wrong with me?" Cause it should taste better than it does.

My friend wanted to come here for her birthday lunch, and I didn't realize how much of a NYC staple this was. I'm not sure how the food was historically, but it just seemed super overrated to me.

Firstly, there's a $20 spending minimum per person which is not really difficult to get to considering everything is SO expensive, but I really just haven't seen a spending minimum anywhere in so long that seeing it was just a shock.

I ordered the mac and cheese, which looked good on the photos I saw on Yelp, but didn't turn out to actually be good. There were no bread crumbs on top, no crunchy layer, and the cheese was so melted inside it just seemed like I was eating pasta in cheese soup. The taste of the cheese wasn't fresh either, and seemed like melted kraft singles more than anything.

The best part of the meal was definitely the sundae at the end, which four of us shared and it was enough. Super well crafted, but, again, expensive.

My perennial question about this NYC institution has been if this is Serendipity 3, where exactly are Serendipity 1 and 2? Surely I can't be the only knucklehead to have this question. According to Google Search, the answer is that the '3' refers to the restaurant's trio of founders. Hmm. I also read Selena Gomez has a current ownership stake. Girl gets around.

Everyone knows about Serendipity 3. Although I had been to the Miami and Vegas locations in the past, it's been ages since my last visit here. It was such a hot day I thought it might be amusing for Jamie W. and me to go after traipsing and sweltering in Sheep Meadow. Surprisingly we waited less than twenty minutes for a table since I thought it would be a complete zoo.

We were momentarily nonplussed to find they charge a sharing fee if each diner doesn't spend $18.95 individually. I had thought Jamie and I could split a Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, but we immediately changed our game plan. I ordered the already exorbitant $19.95 Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, but Jamie went wild and got the $25.95 Insanity Sundae. Say what?

That was crazy impulsive but I respected the chutzpah. "Insanity" was an understatement as it included Southern pecan pie with hot fudge, butter pecan ice cream, caramel sauce, maple walnut topping, toasted almond slices, and a truckload of whipped cream (photo). That was completely nutz. Truly. I stuck with the hot chocolate and also received a mountain of whipped cream.

Was it all that? I think the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate was genuinely satisfying because it was more dessert than drink and not surprisingly overly sweet. The Insanity Sundae was a case study in muchness. Much too muchness. It became an exercise in dissection to make it at all palatable for human consumption. Much of it ended up melting on the saucer holding the sundae.

FOOD - 3 stars...the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate was 4 stars but the Insanity Sundae was insane
AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...looks like the old-fashioned parlor it always looks like
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...kinda on automatic
TOTAL - 3 stars...the '3' was more accurate than I expected

RELATED - Hungry in NYC? Here's my colleague of places I've tried and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2YS9ELs

Soooo overrated. Wow.

I stopped by in the late afternoon with a friend. The interior is very quirky and fun. The servers are nice and accommodating.

The food though is 7/11 quality. We had the nachos and frozen hot chocolate and honestly, I would've expected better quality and taste anywhere. The prices are insane too, $20 for
Hot chocolate...

I won't be back.

If you are a fan of frozen hot chocolate, taking Instagram pictures, or touring the area and have a sweet tooth, Serendipity 3 is the place for you!

This is definitely a great place for tourists and also has the prices of a tourist location. Pretty pricey, but the food was pretty good.

We got the Fruity Pebbles Frozen Hot Chocolate and it was very yummy! I thought it was too sweet at first, but it tasted way better after removing all of the whipped cream (which is half of the dish). A little annoying that it has so much whip, but it probably is heaven for whipped cream enjoyers.

The loaded potato skins were delicious but not worth $17. You get 3 small potatoes that are hollowed out and have yummy condiments inside. Honestly very disappointed about the quantity for the price.

Our friends got the buffalo chicken sandwich that was a whopping $30! It was not a gigantic sandwich or anything super special that you would expect for a $30 sandwich. It was just fried chicken drenched in buffalo sauce with a half plate worth of fries. I do not understand the pricing at all of this one.

Overall the frozen hot chocolate is definitely the star and the only thing I would come back for. Getting a $20-25 dollar drink is very expensive (fills up to maybe 1 3/4 16 oz cups without whip) but it is part of the charm and big reason why people go there.

I love this place. I've been there several times, once to celebrate a friend's birthday, another time just for the frozen hot chocolate and the third time to celebrate my goddaughters birthday. I always loved this place and thought it was very enchanting. The food and service is very good. The place is beautiful and I love the frozen hot chocolate. It is a definite must if you visit this wonderful place!

In all the years I've lived right outside NYC, I've never eaten here. I've tried, but couldn't get in. My friend had made reservations here as a treat for the girls a few weeks prior to our visit.

The waiter was great, the best part of the experience. The menu was limited, and pricey, and the frozen cocktails were all unavailable with the exception of the Pina Colada which I am allergic too.

The atmosphere is so cute, and the girls really loved it. Would I go back for a special occasion probably, but do I think it's worth it? Not really....