(212) 477-2900

50 Clinton St (nr. Rivington St.)
New York, NY 10002 40.7197 -73.9847

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Neighborhoods: Lower East Side, Downtown

WD-50.COM

Years in business

Established in 2002

Hours:

Tue-Sun 11am-6pm

Price:

$$$$

Last updated 4.14.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Fine Dining, Notable Chef, Private Rooms, People Watching, Notable Wine List, Private Parties

Cuisine:

New American, Traditional American, Seafood

Notable Chef:

Wylie Dufresne

What People Are Saying About wd-50

Featured Review

Allison Austin

Contributor

You don't come to wd-50 because you're hungry; you come to open your mind. Wylie Dufresne's restaurant is one of only a handful in North America on the forefront of the vanguard movement often called "molecular gastronomy." There's nothing molecular about this food, though; it's challenging, delicious and inspiring in the sheer audacity of its invention. When Dufresne serves foie gras topped with anchovy and dotted with tiny bits of crunchy chocolate, it's an education in breaking a dish down to its essential flavors to see how the building blocks--fat, salt, savory, clean citrus, edgy…

Editor's Tips

What to Drink:
The wine list features offbeat bottles from Austria to Greece, along with smart French varietals, most ranging from $30 to $475. Around six signature cocktails are offered, including the Royal Blush with fresh cherry puree, champagne, vodka and lime juice.
Know Before You Go:
Dessert chef Alex Stupak is even more out there than Dufresne, and his desserts can be pretty hardcore. They're not for everyone.
What to Drink:
Don't miss on the cocktails, which are as radical in their way as the food.
Fun Fact:
Wylie is a sweet-natured man and not at all averse to saying hello to customers. But don't expect him to come to you.
ambiance
88.24000358581543% positive
  1. The room is delightful and comfortable, the service knowledgeable and friendly.
  2. The "decor" in the plates is quite nice, and the guy should have remained sous chef for another billion years, leaving taste issues to somebody actually having something else than a toilet in the mounth.
  3. The restaurant's decor was the only high point (cool bathroom and great booths) and there was some celeb gazing (Bobby Flay) The food was beautiful but simply not satisfying.
  4. liked the unpretentious ambience, and the servers were knowledgable and polite.
  5. The service and ambiance were impeccable, but ultimately the food has to impress and it did not.
  6. Much needed combination of good food/casual ambiance.
  7. The service was impeccable, the ambience understated but cozy, and by the end of the meal, I knew I had chosen the best birthday destination.
  8. The room and atmosphere is inviting.
  9. The decor is nice, but not up to places like Blue Water or Fiamma.
  10. The service is impeccable and the decor, modern yet classic.
  11. being in my hood this place excites me, its a culinary expierience with out selling out, great new flavors to taste, and decor thats just fabulous.
  12. The decor was nice, the wait-staff was relatively unremarkable (not good, not bad).
  13. The decor is depressing, the food is bland and in extremely small portions and the desserts are easily resistable.
  14. They make you feel comfortable, casual yet knowledgable servers, extremely hi-end cuisine
  15. But what's with the super high prices and the lousy location?
  16. Superb service, relaxed atmosphere, and great food that featured some of the most creative (and odd) blend of flavors.
  17. If you have read that this restaurant is fabulous, and then you go expecting good food, good ambience and good service, you will just find this last one.
dessert
64.28999900817871% positive
  1. The decor is depressing, the food is bland and in extremely small portions and the desserts are easily resistable.
  2. Its like garlic ice cream.
  3. all in all, my boyfriend had an amazing birthday dinner (complimentary cake and all :)
  4. Despite the negative comments about the desert, we both found them to be the best dishes.
  5. The desserts are the best!
  6. The desserts prepared by Sam Mason were also quite delectable.
  7. The appetizers and desserts were the best part (the banana dessert was amazing).
  8. My friend and I had gone with the express purpose of eating a few things and then lavishing in dessert but the food was so bad that we found ourselves wanting to ask for our money back.
  9. The have a decent wine list and some interesting cocktails and the dessert was excellent.
  10. cocktails, wine, desserts and service are all superb.
  11. After having an appetizer, drinks, entree and full desert- we THEN had pizza and garlic knots at a pizzeria to fill our stomachs.
  12. The venison tartare with edamame ice cream was a great way to start the meal, but the ocean trout was most impressive- an explosion of flavors, textures, and colors.
  13. Come to think of it, the obsession with foamed/pureed food-mixes at WD-50 was a little weird (they had foamed pineapple on the dessert menu, and a really awful-tasting eggplant-raisin puree with the skate).
  14. The Turbot with smoked bulgur, i tought the bulgur was too smoked and the sauce was horrible (saffron-cofee-cream cheese) i mean why would you buy an expensive ingredient like saffron and mix it with cofee wich is going to overpower the whole existence of
drinks
76.78999900817871% positive
  1. The drinks were good, too.
  2. Loved the flatiron steak paired with coffee gnocchi.
  3. Great wine and great service BUt we go to every high end and local downtown innovative place.
  4. By contrast, a less expensive place we ate the next night had fantastic wine served in Reidel glasses.
  5. Precious, overpriced, tiny portions, expensive wines.
  6. The smoked bulghur was sticky and tasted like musty woodchips, the salsify was lovely on its own but overpowered the fish, and the coffee-saffron foam was terrible - there wasn't a flavour to hang onto (and the foam doesn't feel good on the tongue, either
  7. The cocktails were just as creative as the food.
  8. The only good thing was the flat bread (sesame crackers they give in the begining) and drinks.
  9. cocktails, wine, desserts and service are all superb.
  10. The wine pairings were good, occasionally unexpected (Cotes du Rhone with Miso soup?
  11. they also offer interesting cocktails and specialty shots.
  12. Chef Wylie Dufrense supplies some interesting dishes, but the price is steep (watch out for the wine list--ouch).
  13. The have a decent wine list and some interesting cocktails and the dessert was excellent.
  14. The price was exceptionally reasonable for the amount of food and wine we recieved.
  15. Portions are tiny, prices are silly, service was mediocre, cocktails were excellent.
  16. In addition, the waitress brought us the wrong bottle of wine (a much more expensive bottle at that), and charged us for it even though we pointed out her mistake.
  17. To be fair, the drinks we had at the bar were delicious.
  18. the service was excellent and very helpful with our questions about the menu and the wines.
  19. The wines and cocktails complete the picture, delicious, fairly priced and well-chosen.
  20. Otherwise, we really liked the food (be adventurous if you go), cool wine list system (notice the dots) and the sommelier was both helpful & funny.
  21. Love that place--can't wait to scrape together a few dollars to go by myself for the tasting menu with wine pairing.
  22. From the moment we said we didn't want bottled water, we were looked upon with disdain, moving to trying to find an affordable wine, then trying to figure out which things to get as each item had an assemblage of flavors.
  23. Our waitress was very helpful in making recommendations and in pairing wine with the food.
  24. The service was perfect, and the only dissappointment was the wine list and the wine manager's advice.
  25. On top of the dizzyingly excellent food, the service was perfect, and the cocktails were unbelievably delicious.
  26. We were comped 1 round of drinks but that did not make up for the overpriced, incredibly small plates and poorly tasting food.
  27. After having an appetizer, drinks, entree and full desert- we THEN had pizza and garlic knots at a pizzeria to fill our stomachs.
  28. Food was delicious and drinks great.
food quality
68.09000015258789% positive
  1. None of us (except person who recommended the place) enjoyed the food or finished any of our plates.
  2. The service was impeccable, the ambience understated but cozy, and by the end of the meal, I knew I had chosen the best birthday destination.
  3. My pork belly entree had three nicely sized pieces of meat, plus a good serving of sauerkraut spatzle and romaine lettuce.
  4. The food was not tasteful at all!
  5. Superb service, relaxed atmosphere, and great food that featured some of the most creative (and odd) blend of flavors.
  6. The food at WD 50 is very interesting and I was very impressed by how weird the menu was - but I didn't like anything I ordered.
  7. The wines and cocktails complete the picture, delicious, fairly priced and well-chosen.
  8. While all the food was quality enough to stand on its own, Mr. Dufresne's creative combinations and inventive presentations made the meal standout.
  9. Over all i enjoyed the meal but after dropping $90 including tax and tip for 1 person I dont think I'll be heading back anytime soon.
  10. The place itself is cool and chic and attracts a very diverse crowd but the focal point of a restaurant is its food and WD-50 missed badly here.
  11. The food here was absolutely terrible.
  12. Everyone in my party was very disappointed in their meal.
  13. perfect meal
  14. was super-excited about the great food (get the pork belly--perch is cooked to perfection, but the sauce was not my thing, duck appetizer was AWESOME).
  15. The cocktails were just as creative as the food.
  16. The squab was perfect and it was the first time I've had something cooked sou vide and while the color of the meat is a bit grey the taste was incredible.
  17. Much needed combination of good food/casual ambiance.
  18. The dish that came next was unbearably terrible.
  19. On top of the dizzyingly excellent food, the service was perfect, and the cocktails were unbelievably delicious.
  20. The food portions were super small, which, ironically, was the good news as the flavor, texture and smell of of the dishes was very poor.
  21. To be fair, the drinks we had at the bar were delicious.
  22. Terrible food and even worse service
  23. Okay, go there once to see what creative chefs can really do with food but then don't go back until they move to a better locale.
  24. Their bartender's version of a Cosmo is out of this world by the way - not the usual bright red, (many of which border on cough syrup) but rather, a cool, smooth tonic infused with fresh fruit juice & vodka & topped off by a generous slice of fresh lemon
  25. The restaurant's decor was the only high point (cool bathroom and great booths) and there was some celeb gazing (Bobby Flay) The food was beautiful but simply not satisfying.
  26. The wine pairings were good, occasionally unexpected (Cotes du Rhone with Miso soup?
  27. After having an appetizer, drinks, entree and full desert- we THEN had pizza and garlic knots at a pizzeria to fill our stomachs.
  28. The foie gras dish is quite simply, disgusting.
  29. We went to our favorite little place where the food is always delish (Salt on Macdougal St. and Houston) and we had a great night talking about how gross the food was at wd-50!
  30. The Foie gras wich I thought was the best dish all night besides the bread , came with mole lentils , that didn't taste like much, but were cool and the foie was cooked perfectly.
  31. It's nice to be able to eat great food in a relaxed setting that's not stuffy like so many other places.
  32. have been there twice and the food has been really really memorable.
  33. The food, while in very small portions even by NYC standards, was definetly the most creative and thoughtfully prepared meals I have ever eaten.
  34. This meal was amazing.
  35. He also has these lentils which are acutally mole sauce and the Foi Gras is heavenly.
  36. The venison tartare with edamame ice cream was a great way to start the meal, but the ocean trout was most impressive- an explosion of flavors, textures, and colors.
  37. wd-50 may be tucked far away in the LES, but it's well worth the trip for their creative, artful cuisine in an intimate setting perfect for special occasions.
  38. But when the food is inedible- that is a totally different story.
  39. Great food but honestly not enough of it.
  40. The decor is depressing, the food is bland and in extremely small portions and the desserts are easily resistable.
  41. food was just ok,, to many high end places in such a cool lower east side neighborhood,like prune and apizz, prices to high in these places for this hood.
  42. Sick due to fish that wasn't fresh
  43. The Fried mayonnaise is so creative and delicious.
  44. The portions are perfect size and the food is unbelievable and unique.
  45. Excellent, intelligent food that did not fall short on taste
  46. creative and delicious food; will challenge, excite and educate your taste buds!
  47. We loved the food.
  48. We were seated promptly; our waiter was friendly, helpful and enthusiastic about the food; the courses came at just the right pace ?
  49. There were four of us and we sampled each other's dishes (though there was previous little to share) and ultimately agreed we didn't like the place.
  50. The food was really bad.
  51. Also, we happened to think the food was not tasty.
  52. This was the best meal ever.
  53. There is no restaurant in NY where food is as interesting as here.
  54. think innovative cuisine is great - I'm all for it - when it tastes good.
  55. Loved the flatiron steak paired with coffee gnocchi.
  56. The smoked bulghur was sticky and tasted like musty woodchips, the salsify was lovely on its own but overpowered the fish, and the coffee-saffron foam was terrible - there wasn't a flavour to hang onto (and the foam doesn't feel good on the tongue, either
  57. Our waitress was very helpful in making recommendations and in pairing wine with the food.
  58. My friend and I had gone with the express purpose of eating a few things and then lavishing in dessert but the food was so bad that we found ourselves wanting to ask for our money back.
  59. pork bellies and lamb were particularly nice.
  60. They make you feel comfortable, casual yet knowledgable servers, extremely hi-end cuisine
  61. The service is flawless and the waiters know their food inside out.
  62. The food is fantastic, and three courses is a perfect size meal.
  63. What makes wd-50 unique is the food.
  64. had heard the food was "weird" so I was prepared to be surprised.
  65. And, worst of all, I ate a fish that was not fresh and I got ill due to this.
  66. Chef Wylie Dufrense supplies some interesting dishes, but the price is steep (watch out for the wine list--ouch).
  67. We did not order the tasting menu because they don't tell you what you are getting, It's a $125 mystery, so we ordered from the regular menu, the lamb was very rare/bloody, even though I asked for medium well and super fatty.
  68. The shrimp and tarragon macaroons were great, and the sweetbreads were some of the best I've ever had.
  69. Despite the negative comments about the desert, we both found them to be the best dishes.
  70. didn't like the food too much, but it was worth the trip.
  71. Ok, first of all, we are from europe, eat routinely in -real- michelin three starred places, and i am friend with quite some famous chefs over there so it's not a 4 Lbs steak fan writing what follows.
  72. The quail was underdone and the sauce that came with it was a nasty banana mush.
  73. Why would you take very nice grilled lamb chops and place in a poddle of banana water?
  74. have never had a dish that was so bad as the escolar was.
  75. The service and ambiance were impeccable, but ultimately the food has to impress and it did not.
  76. The cold fried chicken was excellent as well, the ricotta it is served with is silky smooth and when combined with the chicken it all just worked.
  77. Perhaps it wasn't the best cut of that particular fish.
  78. with the apricots and tangerine broth , not only the scallops were overcooked , but the whole plate was brown and flavorless, the mushrooms were cool though.
  79. Food - duck appetizer was great, as was the beef and ocean trout main courses.
  80. While the food seemed tasty, there wasn't really enough of it to totally confirm this suspicion.
  81. Otherwise, we really liked the food (be adventurous if you go), cool wine list system (notice the dots) and the sommelier was both helpful & funny.
  82. It was truly painful to pay an almost $400 check for such awful food and unpleasant experience.
  83. The food is conceptually interesting yet curiously lacking in emotional impact.
  84. The service was excellent, our servers helped pick an excellent cocktail for my wife and were very attentive throughout the meal describing each dish that came out as part of the tasting menu and no dish was a disappointment.
  85. Who cares how famous the chef is if the food is bad (even disgusting) and the service below par.
  86. The food was truly disgusting; I've never had such awful tasting food at any New York restaurant.
  87. More importantly, the food is so incredible and obviously labor intensive that you will feel it was worth every penny if you are looking for a delicious and truly innovative meal.
  88. Come to think of it, the obsession with foamed/pureed food-mixes at WD-50 was a little weird (they had foamed pineapple on the dessert menu, and a really awful-tasting eggplant-raisin puree with the skate).
  89. The service is attentive and everyone knows the dishes.
  90. But when you eat all these unlikely flavors together the food is actually really good.
  91. We left feeling satisfied, yet without that disgusting "stuffed" feeling from places that give you too much food.
  92. Foie gras with watermelon was tasty and lucious but much too tiny a portion.
  93. especially recommend the chicken entree with mole paper.
  94. The lamb and shortribs were great (the portions are not that small) and the porkbelly was even better.
  95. The everything bagel with salmon was an interesting take and with a little bit of each component on my fork it tasted like the best bagel and lox i've ever had.
  96. If you have read that this restaurant is fabulous, and then you go expecting good food, good ambience and good service, you will just find this last one.
  97. You don't walk out saying "wow that food was fantastic!
  98. The food was inedible.
  99. At the end of our expensive meal we were plotting where to go to satiate our hunger.
  100. Most creative and delicious food in the city
  101. Great food, but where is the rest of it?
  102. sure, the food is tasty but leaving hungry is wee disappointing after forking out the likes of $14 for starter and $28 for entree.
  103. The three of us shares each course, and we all agreed that everything was delicious and just right.
  104. didn't know food could be so pretentious.
  105. Before I go into details, I'll give the short version: If you like to try new and amazingly creative food that might be a bit weird, you'll love this place.
  106. The price was exceptionally reasonable for the amount of food and wine we recieved.
  107. We were comped 1 round of drinks but that did not make up for the overpriced, incredibly small plates and poorly tasting food.
  108. The prawn cous cous is one of the worst dishes I've ever eaten.
  109. Food was delicious and drinks great.
  110. The Turbot with smoked bulgur, i tought the bulgur was too smoked and the sauce was horrible (saffron-cofee-cream cheese) i mean why would you buy an expensive ingredient like saffron and mix it with cofee wich is going to overpower the whole existence of
  111. The octopus was chewey and stale, the cold squash soup tasted mostly like flour (it reminded us of a bad soup at a wedding banquet), the skate was dry, and the salmon was way too fishy (and raw even though we asked for well done).
  112. The only good thing was the flat bread (sesame crackers they give in the begining) and drinks.
  113. If you like weird tasting food, then this is the place for you.
  114. The music, service and food was bad.
  115. came here when I was visiting New York recently, and really enjoyed my meal.
  116. The foie gras terrine was food alchemy, a surreal mix of ingredients that made perfect sense on the palette.
  117. Unlike many who didn't like this restaurant, the problem that my wife and I had was not that the food was too "out-there" or shocked us too much.
menu variety
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. but we left way before the end of the "tasting" menu, as it was going nowhere but of course we were invited to pay the full menu, which makes me think they're used to customers leaving the place "unhappy
  2. Chef Wylie DeFresne is constantly creative and there are always new items on the menu.
  3. The place itself is cool and chic and attracts a very diverse crowd but the focal point of a restaurant is its food and WD-50 missed badly here.
  4. We had high expectations, and concerns about the complexity of the menu before we went, but everything was really great.
  5. When we didn't order the tasting menu, the waiter was annoyed.
  6. Try the tasting menu for the best experience of his creativity.
  7. the service was excellent and very helpful with our questions about the menu and the wines.
  8. Love that place--can't wait to scrape together a few dollars to go by myself for the tasting menu with wine pairing.
  9. it reads good on the menu: Escolar, cranberry, kohrabi, nori crisp.
  10. The food at WD 50 is very interesting and I was very impressed by how weird the menu was - but I didn't like anything I ordered.
  11. recommend the tasting menu it's $95, a great deal.
  12. Come to think of it, the obsession with foamed/pureed food-mixes at WD-50 was a little weird (they had foamed pineapple on the dessert menu, and a really awful-tasting eggplant-raisin puree with the skate).
  13. We did not order the tasting menu because they don't tell you what you are getting, It's a $125 mystery, so we ordered from the regular menu, the lamb was very rare/bloody, even though I asked for medium well and super fatty.
  14. The menu is expensive.
  15. The service was excellent, our servers helped pick an excellent cocktail for my wife and were very attentive throughout the meal describing each dish that came out as part of the tasting menu and no dish was a disappointment.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. Smoked eel, as good as any Japanese place, even a little smokier with deeper flavor.
  2. This is the best restaurant in NYC in my opinion.
  3. Great wine and great service BUt we go to every high end and local downtown innovative place.
  4. Why would you take very nice grilled lamb chops and place in a poddle of banana water?
return potential
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. Okay, go there once to see what creative chefs can really do with food but then don't go back until they move to a better locale.
  2. The service was also excellent but overall, I would not go back.
  3. Everyone was pleasant and I would go back anytime.
service
75.58000087738037% positive
  1. liked the unpretentious ambience, and the servers were knowledgable and polite.
  2. They make you feel comfortable, casual yet knowledgable servers, extremely hi-end cuisine
  3. When we didn't order the tasting menu, the waiter was annoyed.
  4. The service was very nice and kind, but all the rest was not at all satisfactory.
  5. Who cares how famous the chef is if the food is bad (even disgusting) and the service below par.
  6. The room is delightful and comfortable, the service knowledgeable and friendly.
  7. The service and ambiance were impeccable, but ultimately the food has to impress and it did not.
  8. On top of the dizzyingly excellent food, the service was perfect, and the cocktails were unbelievably delicious.
  9. The clincher, for us, was the outstanding service from the waitstaff.
  10. We were seated promptly; our waiter was friendly, helpful and enthusiastic about the food; the courses came at just the right pace ?
  11. The service was impeccable, the ambience understated but cozy, and by the end of the meal, I knew I had chosen the best birthday destination.
  12. Entire staff were very attentive and nice!
  13. honestly agree with people who said it's a bad place.
  14. If that is not enough to feel disapointed about the place, the waitress had a full glass of water splashed all over my girlfriend.
  15. the service was excellent and very helpful with our questions about the menu and the wines.
  16. The people at WD50 are very friendly, welcoming and unpretencious.
  17. The service is flawless and the waiters know their food inside out.
  18. Making matters worse, the cost was higher than most fineer restaurants and the service was slow.
  19. Portions are tiny, prices are silly, service was mediocre, cocktails were excellent.
  20. The service is impeccable and the decor, modern yet classic.
  21. Service has been either good to excellent, depending on the server.
  22. In addition, the waitress brought us the wrong bottle of wine (a much more expensive bottle at that), and charged us for it even though we pointed out her mistake.
  23. The bartender was an able server, quite knowledgeable and very entertaining.
  24. You could excuse the kitchen which clearly has passion and tries if the service was good but the maitre d' was simply horrible and seemed to blame us for the fact that she sat us 45 mins later than our table was booked for.
  25. The service is attentive and everyone knows the dishes.
  26. Terrible food and even worse service
  27. The decor was nice, the wait-staff was relatively unremarkable (not good, not bad).
  28. The service was excellent, our servers helped pick an excellent cocktail for my wife and were very attentive throughout the meal describing each dish that came out as part of the tasting menu and no dish was a disappointment.
  29. The service was also excellent but overall, I would not go back.
  30. The music, service and food was bad.
  31. The waitstaff is super friendly and very cognizant.
  32. The patrons next to us were friendly--get rid of that guy!
  33. If you have read that this restaurant is fabulous, and then you go expecting good food, good ambience and good service, you will just find this last one.
  34. From the inept service to the surly maitre d' to the stupid experimentation.
  35. Great service, seated promptly.
  36. cocktails, wine, desserts and service are all superb.
  37. service was great.
  38. Their bartender's version of a Cosmo is out of this world by the way - not the usual bright red, (many of which border on cough syrup) but rather, a cool, smooth tonic infused with fresh fruit juice & vodka & topped off by a generous slice of fresh lemon
  39. Our waitress was very helpful in making recommendations and in pairing wine with the food.
  40. One final negative--we ordered a bottle of red Burgundy recommended by the waiter and it tasted like black cherry juice from concentrate.
  41. Superb service, relaxed atmosphere, and great food that featured some of the most creative (and odd) blend of flavors.
  42. The service was perfect, and the only dissappointment was the wine list and the wine manager's advice.
  43. Great wine and great service BUt we go to every high end and local downtown innovative place.
value
50.0% positive
  1. There are many good places to go in Manhattan, so dont waste your money and your time.
  2. Portions are tiny, prices are silly, service was mediocre, cocktails were excellent.
  3. Chef Wylie Dufrense supplies some interesting dishes, but the price is steep (watch out for the wine list--ouch).
  4. We were comped 1 round of drinks but that did not make up for the overpriced, incredibly small plates and poorly tasting food.
  5. wd-50 may be tucked far away in the LES, but it's well worth the trip for their creative, artful cuisine in an intimate setting perfect for special occasions.
  6. The food, while in very small portions even by NYC standards, was definetly the most creative and thoughtfully prepared meals I have ever eaten.
  7. This is the worst value I have ever encountered in NYC.
  8. By contrast, a less expensive place we ate the next night had fantastic wine served in Reidel glasses.
  9. My friend and I had gone with the express purpose of eating a few things and then lavishing in dessert but the food was so bad that we found ourselves wanting to ask for our money back.
  10. Love that place--can't wait to scrape together a few dollars to go by myself for the tasting menu with wine pairing.
  11. didn't like the food too much, but it was worth the trip.
  12. food was just ok,, to many high end places in such a cool lower east side neighborhood,like prune and apizz, prices to high in these places for this hood.
  13. Their bartender's version of a Cosmo is out of this world by the way - not the usual bright red, (many of which border on cough syrup) but rather, a cool, smooth tonic infused with fresh fruit juice & vodka & topped off by a generous slice of fresh lemon
  14. The lamb and shortribs were great (the portions are not that small) and the porkbelly was even better.
  15. From the moment we said we didn't want bottled water, we were looked upon with disdain, moving to trying to find an affordable wine, then trying to figure out which things to get as each item had an assemblage of flavors.
  16. In addition, the waitress brought us the wrong bottle of wine (a much more expensive bottle at that), and charged us for it even though we pointed out her mistake.
  17. Amazing combinations, expensive
  18. The price was exceptionally reasonable for the amount of food and wine we recieved.
  19. The menu is expensive.
  20. The portions are perfect size and the food is unbelievable and unique.
  21. The Turbot with smoked bulgur, i tought the bulgur was too smoked and the sauce was horrible (saffron-cofee-cream cheese) i mean why would you buy an expensive ingredient like saffron and mix it with cofee wich is going to overpower the whole existence of
  22. The food portions were super small, which, ironically, was the good news as the flavor, texture and smell of of the dishes was very poor.
  23. The decor is depressing, the food is bland and in extremely small portions and the desserts are easily resistable.
  24. On our recent trip to NYC, we ate at some places that were less expensive than this restaurant and some that were more expensive.
  25. But what's with the super high prices and the lousy location?
  26. Yes, this is an expensive restaurant, and yes, the portions are on the small side, but they are not ridiculously small.
  27. At the end of our expensive meal we were plotting where to go to satiate our hunger.
  28. More importantly, the food is so incredible and obviously labor intensive that you will feel it was worth every penny if you are looking for a delicious and truly innovative meal.
  29. Precious, overpriced, tiny portions, expensive wines.
  30. Small portions; huge prices
wait time
25.0% positive
  1. Making matters worse, the cost was higher than most fineer restaurants and the service was slow.
  2. You could excuse the kitchen which clearly has passion and tries if the service was good but the maitre d' was simply horrible and seemed to blame us for the fact that she sat us 45 mins later than our table was booked for.
1 Star Rating: Poor

12/25/09

Terrible food and even worse service

by Ryans

It was for a birthday celebration and we regretted it as soon as we sat down. The decor was like a cafeteria. The food was really bad. We expected much better for the price. There was even a hair on the plate of my friend's thankfully it didn't reach the food so I simply removed it by hand but yikes! The service was unprofessional and sloppy. Each entree was at least $30 and the tasting menu was $220 per person (with wine pairing). Totally overpriced and an underperformer. Don't waste your money on the hype and media. Who cares how famous the chef is if the food is bad (even disgusting) and the service below par.

  • Pros: location
  • Cons: food was awful and service unprofessional
1 Star Rating: Poor

09/14/09

Aweful.

by lottin

I love creativity but if Im putting it in my mouth it has to taste good! If not put it in a museum. Flew to NYC and especially made a trip to WD 50, Not impressed and disappointed. Would have loved to gone to some really good restaurants. Everyone else in our party agreed.

  • Pros: creativity
  • Cons: food and price
2 Star Rating: Below Average

06/01/09

Unspectacular Food. Sloppy Service

by h2bomb

I must say, they did put a lot of effort to make the menu LOOK innovative.

That said, I personally don't care for how innovative it is as long as it tastes good. In my opinion, the food tastes just the same as the restaurant next door.

If that is not enough to feel disapointed about the place, the waitress had a full glass of water splashed all over my girlfriend.

Luckily it was only a glass of water. Otherwise I would walk out immediately.

  • Pros: Innovative menu
  • Cons: Why pay so much for plain tasted food and sloppy service?
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

04/06/09

Outstanding

by foobar1234

One thing is for certain about WD, this is not your father's haute cuisine. The atmosphere is totally casual which is to be expected given the location. The service was excellent, our servers helped pick an excellent cocktail for my wife and were very attentive throughout the meal describing each dish that came out as part of the tasting menu and no dish was a disappointment. The timing of the dishes was also spot on. Each dish, aside from the first course of fluke wrapped in milk skin, brought me back to the flavors of my childhood. The everything bagel with salmon was an interesting take and with a little bit of each component on my fork it tasted like the best bagel and lox i've ever had. That is an important thing to remember, you must get a little bit of each component on your fork for the flavor to really come through. In most cases if you take each component on their own the dish comes off as bland but when you get a little of everything together the flavors will knock your socks off. The foie with a core of passion fruit was one of my favorites. Another was a new dish of snails and red lentils that they were testing out, it was a winner. The cold fried chicken was excellent as well, the ricotta it is served with is silky smooth and when combined with the chicken it all just worked. The squab was perfect and it was the first time I've had something cooked sou vide and while the color of the meat is a bit grey the taste was incredible. It was hands down the best squab I've ever eaten. Then we moved on to dessert. Alex Stupak is nothing short of genius. The hazelnut tart was incredible and the brioche was simply amazing. I was completely stuffed by the 3rd and final dessert course which topped off the meal perfectly. These guys are mad scientists and I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

  • Pros: If you're bored of the usual you will not be disappointed
  • Cons: The price is steep but genius costs money
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

09/17/08

Excellent, always changing, very creative, check the online menu before you go.

by allforone

This is a new experience. Very creative. Big strong, rich and intense flavors abound. The Fois gras was amazingly rich but if you dont like Fois gras, then not for you. The pork belly was served here before anyone else dared try it and now its all over NYC.Amazing dish that I often think of five years later after that first meal. I notice many clueless wonders giving poor reviews. Some people are not willing to try new things, or experiment with new food and/or new cultures etc. If your sheepsih and tend to follow the herd then its not the place for you. Its like garlic ice cream. If you would never ever try garlic ice cream then WD50 is probably not for you. Go to Per Se and spend a grand. baaaaaaa

  • Pros: Most creative, delicious and experimental restaurant in NYC
  • Cons: None

The Details on wd-50

Place Categories:

  • great intelligent food
  • impeccable service
  • bad food
  • best restaurant
  • perfect size meal
  • all superb banana dessert
  • love little place
  • good nothing
  • great dining experience
  • less expensive place
  • not order tasting menu
  • affordable wine
  • mediocre worse service
  • fantastic foie gras
  • best dish
  • nice decor
  • comfortable ladies room
  • really great everything
  • creative chefs
  • incredible taste
  • worst foie gras dish
  • helpful waiter
  • flat drinks
  • excellent interesting cocktails
  • great new flavors
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