The library restaurant is a quiet elegant warm and beautiful place to have dinner before or after the public theater which is in the same building. I recently saw the play “Raising in the sun” by Lorraine Hansberry. The play is over the top. I had dinner with friends prior to going to the theater, and after the theater we returned to the restaurant for dessert .That was last weekend 10/23/22 I was in the neighborhood this weekend to celebrate the beginning of Halloween and I stopped into the restaurant joyfully and all this ambience and warmth and hospitality and quiet, to catch up on some reading that I could not do in a loud subway car. They welcomed me in my costume, a good witch. Go there and enjoy yourself. you have many options to choose. That night three plays were going on , Joe’s Pub is one. It’s always buzzing

If I could leave 0 stars, I would. I had a 5.30pm reservation for a 7pm show. My friend and I ordered two cocktails and two burgers, one medium rare and one medium. After we put in our orders around 6, waited 45 entire minutes for our food to finally come out. We were told that it would "be out shortly" about 10 minutes before it actually arrived, probably because the waitstaff heard us complain. We saw multiple tables who were seated after us get their food before us. When the burgers finally came out, we were appalled. My medium rare was fully rare and my friend's medium was on the medium rare side. The entire middle of my burger was inedible. My friend also felt uncomfortable eating hers. We didn't have time to send the food back, as our show was in 15 minutes. When our waiter came to take our plates, he asked how everything was. We explained to him that our burgers were incredibly underdone but that we didn't have time to send it back. We were SO nice to him, saying this in truly the nicest way possible. As we spoke, his reply was "word" over and over again. Then he said, "This is my first job in New York and I've noticed they do tend to cook things more 'pink' here. I would NEVER order hamburger meat medium rare. I always order mine well done." First of all, if he knows the kitchen cooks things on the rare side, he should have let us know when ordering. Second of all, why should he be telling me how to order my burger? I've very rarely had an issue with medium rare and it's usually how I eat my burgers. However this one was truly raw inside. I'm sure the kitchen just slapped some burgers on the grill at the last minute because they realized we hadn't gotten our food. The worst part was he was INCREDIBLY rude after this. He was continuing to be friendly to the table next to us (who are members of the Public) and gave my friend and I the silent treatment when dropping off/picking up the check and was very curt with us after our complaint. I have to emphasize again that we were VERY nice to him in our complaints and even tipped 20% on the food. The 45 minute wait for a burger was egregious enough (especially without a comped drink or dessert) but to be talked down to on top of that? Absolutely unacceptable, especially for that price point. Any other diner would have made a big deal about this at the restaurant, but my friend and I continued to be nice to our server. To then be treated so rudely afterward was shocking. I have never in my life called a restaurant to complain, but I did call the Public after this experience. We dined with them on a Tuesday. I called multiple times on Wednesday and left multiple voicemails. No one got back to me. I finally got ahold of the manager on Thursday. I explained the situation and she said I was not the first to complain about this waiter. She took down my email and said she would reach out about "two free drinks" at the restaurant. First of all, I never heard from her again and it's now Sunday. Second of all, I do not want free drinks. The appropriate response would be to comp this meal since I waited 45 minutes for a completely raw burger and then was belittled by staff. No matter, though, since I haven't heard a peep from the manager and don't have the time to make a million calls to try and speak with her again. I would have loved to discuss this in person on Tuesday, but after waiting 45 minutes for a hamburger, we had no time before our show. This is truly the last time I dine at the Public and I will highly discourage anyone from dining here. Horrible service, horrible management, horrible food.

I was very excited about this place. Very cool vibe. Sadly, the service was very, very slow and the vegetarian options were incredibly tasteless and bland. Dropped $85 and left hungry and dissatisfied. Super disappointed! Definitely wouldn't return.

I came here with a few friends during restaurant week. I had a reservation at 7:30pm. The night before they sent me a message asking me to move the reservation to 5:30pm as they were going to have an event at 8pm... I agreed but we ended up arriving 55 minutes later... in the middle of dinner, at 7:30pm they asked us to leave! and they packed our already ordered desserts and literally Took us out of the restaurant in order to have their precious event... Of course they didn’t forget to bring the huge bill and the included tip... NOT AT ALL RECOMMENDED IT!

Decided to have a drink at their bar after the Public show last Saturday night. Ordered a glass of wine and when it came the glass was filthy, with "chucks" of something on the inside of the glass. Told the bartender and she said, no problem, as she took another glass and poured that same wine with the chucks into another glass and gave it back to me. We were so shocked we couldn't believe it. Definitely stay away, too many wonderful places in the neighborhood where service is important to them!

If you're seeing a show at The Public Theater leave yourself some time to enjoy dinner and drinks (or at least a drink) at The Library - the onsite restaurant and bar at The Public. Great food, great atmosphere in a NYC landmark.

Not bad for Members of the Public, who get a 20% discount. Otherwise, it is expensive. Roast Chicken dish was steaming hot tasty. The Tagliatelle was lukewarm but flavorful. It took a long time to place the order and receive our meals. Pre-theater the place is packed. Make a reservation!

Perfectly encapsulates the mission of the Public Theater. It's intimate yet vivacious! The menu and cocktail selection are sensational and inventive. Whoever is in charge of their music choices is a genius!

I was attending a matinee show and I made a reservation for 5pm following the show's performance. The service was slow and it was just me (solo) and another party of 3 dining in the restaurant. There were multiple members of the host staff just standing around chatting with one another and I couldn't help but think, "HELLO, the restaurant is open for business and no one seems to be working". Once the waiter arrived to my table he never greeted me, didn't share his name, and basically asked me was I ready to order. This is after I waited for 15 minutes just to be acknowledged. He wasn't pleasant nor comforting. My cocktail (Giggle Juice) was not good. And I scaled down my order to just a salad because I was simply no longer interested in patronizing the restaurant. I would not return.

Good food, nice ambiance, good service, fun and different spot for food/drinks and other events. The staff was very friendly and nice. The food was quite good and well presented (great plating). The executive chef is a famous Michelin chef, which makes sense. He also creates the playlist for his restaurants (fun fact), which are very good. Would go back for drinks or other events. Nice place to throw a private event as well. The only thing I’d say about the food was the salmon was cooked not perfectly cooked but it wasn’t bad. I recommend the hummus appetizer, which is delicious and well spiced

GREAT place to eat & drink - food is great - and atmosphere and service was awesome!

Fantastic cocktails, lovely quiet vibe, the food and staff are great as well Q

Friendly bartender and a nice intimate environment. Good cozy atmosphere. Beer is cheap and good quality.

great spot for a cocktail and interesting crowd to check out.

Perfect place for cocktails and dinner before seeing a show.

Favorite spot for a cocktail on a weeknight. Be sure to go after the evening's show has started for an uncrowded bar. Inventive cocktail list with some steady classics too.

Really enjoyed the decor and vibe when we stopped in for a drink on Friday night around 6. My cocktail (Imperialist Sour, $14) was well-balanced and not too sweet. The only thing i didn't like was that they wouldn't let us sit at a table since it was their "peak time" -- yet the tables were about 80% empty the entire time we were there. Luckily, our timing was good and we managed to get a table/chairs at the lounge area in between the restaurant tables and the (already full) bar.

Upstairs bar and restaurant mostly frequented by people who are there for a show or for Joe's Pub. Drinks are good, food is fine, expectations should be for a decent place and not much more. Atmosphere is quiet, patrons are well dressed, people are there either before or after a performance for convenience, rarely for the food or drinks.

Excellent establishment. Not inexpensive (eg, $18 cocktails) but very high quality drinks, food and service. Moroccan chicken was excellent. And obviously super convenient to see a show.

The place is nice in decor; very nice and sort of intimate. The staff are nice and the drinks are good but the food(I guess depending on what you get) is not that great. The two people I went with enjoyed their meal as one got some sort of salad and the other got a pasta dish I think. I ordered the shrimp taco and it wasn't that appetizing. They are about hand size and come with two; I only ate one :( So I ordered fries which came with a special sauce and besides the drink I ordered enjoyed the fries/with sauce a great deal. The price of the drinks are standard for the city and the prices in food aren't too bad. I doubt I'll be back to this place though.

Especiallyw Michelle and Sophia represented The Library at the Public super well (every employee there was lovely, truly). They were both warm and welcoming, and they majorly contributed to the beautiful experience that my friend and I had there.