Recommends

barrymc

Joined 6 years ago

Great service, trendy setting. We live nearby, wanted to check this out shortly after its opening. I stopped by a few days in advance to make a reservation for a party of 4, but was told it was a busy Saturday night and only late (10pm) seating was available.

The good news was on the Sat am I called again, and they said they'd see what they could do - they returned my call a few hours later and we had a table at prime time! Brilliant!

The restaurant is in a trendy setting, and there is a layer of soundproof glass separating the dining area from the kitchen so you can see the food being prepared. (Although our booth could have done with more lighting.)

The service was excellent, the sommelier picked a good bottle of wine in our price range. All enjoyed our food, and even though we didn't stay for dessert they still brought out a tray of DELICIOUS cookies for the table.

Recommended.

Recommends

iaceu

Joined 6 years ago

Amazing Brunch!. Great place with a great $36 deal for Sat or Sun brunch. The setting here is absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine how awesome it will be in the winter with snow all around looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The service is also first-rate. And the food? Wow. Take your pick - from the spaghetti al pomodoro to the steak and eggs, I can’t think of a better meal I’ve ever had. At $36 a person I will definitely go back again and again.

Recommends

Patrick Heig

Joined 5 years ago

Citysearch Editorial Profile. Undoubtedly the biggest opening of 2010, with former Per Se chef Jonathan Benno in the kitchen, but can this elegant newcomer at Lincoln Center compete with nearby Marea when it comes to Italian fine dining?

Doesn't Recommend

joyner

Joined 8 years ago

THE EMPEROR WITH NO FOOD ON PLATES. THE EMPEROR WITH NO FOOD ON PLATES- I feel bad for the nice staff. They are working hard at a restaurant that barely serves food on its plates.

The whole thing is bizarre- the few strings of pasta (entree portion) were served on an oversized plate. It made the presentation laughable. I expected Ed McMahon and Dick Clark to come out with a Bloopers video crew. Our friends at the table said immediately- "Looks like we're getting pizza on the street."

We've been to fancy restaurants before. where portions are small and limited, but this took the cake (excuse the food reference as I must be hungry). The pasta comprised about 1/9th of the empty plate. I'm no fancy chef, but does the pasta cost that much that pasta needs to be rationed? It's like SURVIVOR: LINCOLN on CBS. "You have four hours on the Upper West Side and 16 people must share an appetizer of pasta."

The fancy owner would make a ton of $ if he opened a pizza place next door. Or maybe Shake Shack: Lincoln.

The night started with a convoluted policy/pitch about unlimited water for $3. The policy, the extra emphasis on this, the mentioning of cost was all wrong immediately and seemed ridiculously out of human touch.

How did the food taste? Honestly, I'm not sure and I'm not kidding. The portions were so small that I tasted more fork, than food.

Will anyone tell the EMPEROR that he has no food on the plates and is lacking a human touch? By the empty seats, my guess is he's already been told subtly. If he really wanted to hear the advice, he should just go to the pizza places nearby and ask his recent diners.