Aquavit
New York, NY 10022
Phone: (212) 307-7311
- Price:
- $$$$
- Cross Street:
- Madison Avenue and Park Avenue
- Directions:
- E, V to 5th Ave
- Best of Citysearch:
- Brunch 2007
- Hours:
- Sun-Thu 12pm-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm , Fri 12pm-2:15pm, 5:30pm-10:45pm, Sat 5pm-10:45pm
Editorial Review for Aquavit – by Kathleen Squires
The Scene
Mod furniture and the clean lines of Nordic design make this venerable Scandinavian restaurant feel very 21st century, with dark wood tones lending the rooms warmth, and cherry blossoms in vases offering a minimalist frill. An upscale business crowd populates the dining room; more casual diners enjoy the cafe.
The Food
Chef Marcus Samuelsson's dishes pamper the palate from start to finish. The divine, fatty essence of foie gras ganache--cake with a gooey, duck liver center--combines wonderfully with its octopus and smoked trout companions; hot smoked arctic char picks up the sharpness of a green apple horseradish broth and the earthiness of black truffles and grilled asparagus; and a "lobster roll" features pristine shellfish neatly wrapped in a tart, paper-thin layer of green apple. And a mellow goat cheese parfait with blueberry sorbet leaves diners feeling like they've just experienced an exhilarating, culinary spa treatment.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Where to SitIn addition to the main dining room, the restaurant features a more casual cafe with traditional Scandinavian menu items like herring samplers and Swedish meatballs. Those who want their choices even simpler can settle in the bar/lounge for bites like herring tacos and hot dogs.
What to DrinkDon't leave without sipping some of the restaurant's namesake liquor: Aquavit, a potato vodka by the short glass ($7) or flight ($17), in flavors like cucumber, horseradish and pineapple/Thai basil. Cocktails featuring the Scandinavian spirit include an Aquapolitan made with lemon-orange aquavit, citronge, lemon, lime and cranberry juices.
The ExtrasThe $39 Swedish smorgasbord Sunday buffet is an abundant, terrific value.
User Reviews for Aquavit
10/10/2008 Posted by linneaviktoria
Since my mom is actually from Sweden (moved over to the US when she was 15), I'm always skeptical about Swedish food in America. My mom and I decided to take the chance and try Aquavit one night on a whim - we chose the cafe area rather than the dining room - and it instantly became both of our favorite restaurants. The choices in aquavit all sounded so good it took me forever to choose, and needless to say, there was no disappointment for either of us. Having always been my favorite Swedish food, gravlax is what I ordered. Not only was the texture and flavor sensational, but it was exactly the right portion as well. Swedish food has a tendency to make you feel heavy very quickly. With the portion I had, I felt full, but not heavy - a hard thing to do with this type of cuisine. After a couple quips in Swedish with the waiter (which I found extremely impressive for a restaurant in America), my mom ordered the Swedish meatball, which she makes at home from scratch for any Swedish holiday. She loved them! After dinner we split a princess torte (our favorite Swedish dessert), which we found impressively authentic, and lingered over our coffee because we both loved the environment so much. The style is clean and chic, but relaxing. I could not imagine my dining experience being any better than it was here.
Pros: Authentic cuisine, portion and flavor ideal, service, ambience
Cons: Not a thing.
08/01/2008 Posted by grouchomarx
First off, I am writing about the cafe not the dining room. But there is no listing on citysearch for the cafe, so what else can I do. We tried it for restaurant week. They seated us in what is normally the bar lounge area because there was a private party in the cafe. So the ambience was lacking a bit because it was not a real dining room. First we had a drink at the long, mostly empty bar. The drink menu is extensive and the drinks were excellent - cranberry caipirinha, lychee martini. The bar stafff all seemed a bit depressed. The mood was quiet and relaxing. Is it just me or should a bartender be friendly and happy? Anyway we were seated on time in the makeshift dining area and the decor is very white, very modern, and very Scandanavian. There were weird jars of mysterious stuff in liquid on the shelf behind me, I didn't think it was very appetizing. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. I went for a chilled corn soup and the swedish meatballs, which is one of my favorite things. Both dishes were excellent but I wanted more gravy on the meatballs (the portion was big enough for a 400lb man). My boyfriend had the herring sampler and the hot smoked salmon, he said both were very good. Dessert was some itsy bitsy chocolate cake thing, only enough for a small doll to eat but WOW was it delicious! I was unimpressed w/the table setting, I felt a bit like I was in the IKEA cafeteria. All staff seemed slightly depressed. We got free espresso infused Aquavit after dinner and wow I would have enjoyed another 3 or 4 of those. If I went back it would be to try the main dining room. We looked at the menu and it looked great. The main dining room is very cold and austere with somewhat strange lighting. But I guess that's the Scandanavian way and I'd say it's probably worth a try. This is a good place if you need a quiet bar for a drink. There was hardly anyone there and the drinks were super delicous.
Pros: Tasty food and cocktails
Cons: Very subdued, almost depressing atmosphere
Users Like You Also Viewed
AGAVE
140 7th Ave South
New York, NY 10014
