Serendipity, New York City

I was recently in NY and decided to give Serendipity a try. It is one of those places you hear about that was great but I believe that was back in the day. Upon arriving I was told an hour and a half wait and this was at midnight. We were finally seated upstairs where the table was dirty and the roof above us was peeling off. It was all in all rather dirty. We saw the size of the desserts and had heard about the amazing hot chocolate so the three of us opted for hot chocolate all around as it was now 1:30 a.m. and the air conditioning was freezing. The waiter came and we tried to order but were told that there was a $8.50 minimum (the hot chocolate is $4.50) but all they were serving was desserts. We were appalled as the rude host or manager in our hour and a half wait never mentioned this nor were there signs posted. The only way you were told that was by a little note in the middle of the menu (very hard to see amongst all the design). We asked to speak to the manager and she came over and stated it was on the menu but we stated that it is late at night and you are only allowing us to order desserts. She condescendingly replied that this was the way it is and that if you did not like it you should leave. We explained how a sign needed to be put up but you could tell that was never going to happen. The fact is that they want you to wait anywhere from 1-3 hours and by the time you are seated down for desserts only you fin d this out and just order stuff that you may not eat since you waited so long. We noticed at another table they too had ordered hot chocolates and other desserts. The hot chocolate was gone but the massive sundaes were left untouched.
Needless to say, we left and will never be going back. With a dirty environment, rude hostess and manager(never treated so bad and I am a paying customer), long waits and lack of information about the limit when it is desserts only I will never recommend this place to anyone.

We visited Serendipity on the cold and snowy evening of January 28, 2007. We were in NYC for the Gift Show. Met with some NYC friends for a light supper and then headed over to Serendipity for a peek at the place and for their famous frozen hot chocolate. So after a 20 minute wait, the host put 5 of us at a very small bistro table that would have been impossible to have a drink much less a meal at. We waved him down when we saw a table in a corner that was free and much larger. We all placed our order and then were informed that ther was an $8 minimum. Luckily for 3 of us the frozen hot chocolate was $8.50. But the couple we were with only wanted to share an apple pie. No dice. The waiter rudely told us that they needed to order more and that they would make no money if curious people came in and just ordered drinks. I asked if a T-shirt would count toward the minimum and was informed it would not. So they ordered a drink with the pie. Needless to say the atmosphere and impression of the place was very deflated. We were served our order. The only thing that never came was the APPLE PIE!!! Plus, we could not find our waiter to tell him. The place is not THAT big. When we finally got his attention we informed him that the pie was never served and told him to forget it. His face turned bright red and he removed it from our bill. Needless to say I did NOT buy a T[shirt. After enjoying the movie Serendipity so much, I realize now, that it really was JUST a movie and that Serendipity was just a stage for it. How disappointing. Will not return to this place.

Favorite Dish: Frozen Hot Chocolate..... an ENORMOUS amount of frozen hot chocolate, with a huge dollop of the creamiest whipped cream ever topped with shaved chocolate and marshmallows!

I just went to Serendipity last night and I finally found the perfect time to go to this place. Thursday night at 10pm., Maybe it won't always work but its a start.

I have been here a couple of other times and the frozen hot chocolate is definitely always worth the wait but its so much better to breeze right in. The service was so much nicer and faster than any other time I have been there too.

We also tried the chicken nachos, delish, and the hot springs wings, delish too but pretty spicy!

Favorite Dish: Come on now... You gotta have Frozen Hot Chocolate at least once in your life!.. MMM, and its topped with tons of whipped cream and shaved chocolate!

Must I say more??? This place was great! We had dinner and dessert at Serendipity. I had a scrumptious hamburger and fries, then split the Forbidden Broadway Sundae (pictured) for dessert. The sundae was mixture of chocolate cake with chocolate icing, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. What more could you ask for???

The restaurant was cute, Tiffany lamps everywhere. It's the ultimate girly restaurant. The wait staff was friendly, our wait to be seated was short, it was an overall pleasant experience. Please note there is a $6.00 minimum per person at this restaurant.

Favorite Dish: The Forbidden Broadway Sundae!

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I guess John Cusack and Oprah made this place famous. It seems more like a novelty then needing to go eat there cuz of the food. I bet they raised the prices here after all the hoopla. Well i still had to try it, just to say i have.. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger. It wasnt very good, actually it was barely even cooked. I didnt complain i just ate off of everyone elses plates. im hearing now that your supposed to go there for the Desserts anyways. I did order the Frozen Hot Chocolate, which i thought was really good. I gotta say that was probably worth the train ride and 1 hour wait. Although its a bit overpriced at $7.50 you still have to try it. I didnt get any desserts, but my cousins did and they said that they were delicious. The entrees here can run anywhere from $10 - $20 or maybe even more i dont really remember. I had a burger, a frozen hot chocolate and a soda, i believe it came to just under $30.00

Favorite Dish: Frozen Hot Chocolate is a very chocolatey drink kinda like a chocolate milk but more chocolatey.. if you know what i mean.....

This is a magical restaurant famous mostly for its deserts (a must is there frozen hot chocolate). This place has also featured in a lot of movies over the years including ,One fine day and serendipity to name a few.

Favorite Dish: Frozen hot chocolate .

Look sharp as you wander down the street looking for Serendipity - if you blink, you might miss it!

It's a tiny shop tucked away among antique shops. You might feel like you're entering a hobbit's home as you have to step down to enter.

The entrance is small and crammed with kitsch, from retro salt and pepper shakers and lunch boxes to frozen hot chocolate packets to make at home, chocolate-flavored lipsticks, etc. At least you have something to look at while you wait for a table, which can be at least 30 minutes and probably more like an hour. We made a reservation for a party of 6, but I'm not sure if reservations are limited to a certain number of people, etc. It might be worth a try, especially if you've got kids who will not be patient waiting!

The atmosphere is that of a retro ice cream parlor. The building is really lovely in terms of its history and architecture. You can watch in wonder as the bustling servers make their way up and down a tiny, winding staircase balancing trays of giant ice cream sundaes for customers on the 2nd level! They are so busy that once they make it to your table, do not let them leave until you have everything you need - water, spoons, straws, napkins, etc. You might not see them again for a while!

We ate lunch here as well, and the food was decent. Lots of "comfort" foods - soup, chicken pot pie, meatloaf, etc. Not the best of NYC, but certainly ok. Of course, one comes to this place for the desserts, so save some room!

If you are just looking for a good ice cream place, then the long wait might not be worth it - go find a Haagen Daaz or Ben and Jerry's instead. But if want to visit a NYC landmark, say you had their signature dessert, and check out a cool retro eatery that's the spot for many movies and celebrity sightings, then check out Serendipity 3!

Favorite Dish: Yes, yes, the frozen hot chocolate...go for it! You couldn't go to the Carnegie Deli and not order a giant sandwich, so don't miss out on the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. It's cold but it's not ice cream, it's thick but it's not a shake, it's sweet but not too sweet...it's quite diffferent from probably anything you've ever tried.

Also delicious was the forbidden Broadway sundae :-)

This is the main attraction and signature dessert here--the "Frrozen Hot Chocolate." (Yes, it's copyrighted that way!) It is also available as a Peanut Butter Frrozen Hot Chocolate, which is what everyone at my table chose. The base is a partially frozen hot chocolate blended with peanut butter, and in the middle of the gigantic parfair bowl is a huge dollop of sweetened, indulgent whipped cream. Top it all with chocolate shavings and let it drip over the edges, and you have a chocoholic's dream. It was truly amazing.

Favorite Dish: I ordered an appetizer and a side as my light "entree" before dessert. Both were fantastic, including the blue corn chip "nachos" spread with goat cheese and served with salsa shown here.

The smaller dish behind the nachos was my side of friend parsnips, which are delightfully crunchy and slightly sweet.

I planned my stop here in May 2005 with some hesitation. It seemed so heavily advertised and its website dropped celeb names so freely, I was afraid Serendipity was famous for the sake of being famous. How wrong I was! There was a reason the wait here around 4 PM on a Sunday (admittedly, a holiday weekend) was two hours...this place is fabulous!

Basically everyone famous has been here, apparently! Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2005, Serendipity was/is an admitted favorite of icons such as Jackie Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Grace Kelly, Oprah, Cher, and just about every other celebrity out there.

Favorite Dish: See my following tips. But it's all about the Frrozen Hot Chocolate...it's one of those "so good, you want to cry" sorts of delicacies.

However, the dinner menu has plenty of merit in its own right! I would advice a small main course if you intend to properly enjoy the giant desserts, though!