10/20/09

One of the great restaurants in the world

by Scoop NYC

I can't really add much to the superlatives about the food. It's wonderful. So I'll focus instead on two points that aren't often addressed in reviews I've read.

First, despite the high overall costs, this restaurant is quite a value. The $98 dollar menu brings four courses rather than the usual three and all of them are good sized. That might not matter much to small women but for a large man like me, it's nice not to walk out of a big dinner feeling hungry.

Second, the chairs are really comfortable. This may sound like a minor point, but it's not. When you're settling in for what can easily be a three-hour meal, you can only enjoy it if you're comfy. A shocking number of top dining spots don't seem to understand this.

My one critique: The decoration in the dining room is beginning to look both warn and dated. It's probably time for a refresh.

• Pros: Incredible food, excellent service, great value
• Cons: decor beginning to look worn

10/02/09

Delicious, but Crowded Feeling

by misstikki

Had lunch at Nougatine during the week with a group of 4. The service and food was very good. The fish dishes (appetizers and entrees) were fresh and delicious. We enjoyed the $26 lunch deal, which entailed two entree/appetizer choices and a dessert. One appealing factor was that you can pick two entrees in the deal vs. the typical appetizer and entree. The portions were on the medium to small side, but well cooked. My only qualm is that the table spacing is very limited. It felt very crowded (like we were on top of one another) and you could hear everyone's conversation (i.e. noisy). Not recommended for a romantic meal.

• Pros: excellent food, good lunch deal, nice service
• Cons: poor table spacing caused very crowded feeling

03/25/09

CONSISTENTLY AMAZING

by NOEL

The greeting is warm + friendly. The room is exqusitely chic, yet understated enough and not glitzy AND you can have a conversation. The setting along Central Park is un-rivalled. The food is consistently divine: superb produce, creatively combined, yet never over-done or weird. The service is impeccable. And all of this happens day after day, year after year, and doesn't look tired. AND the pricing is actually reasonable when compared to many other over-bloated imitators. Quite an amazing feat.

• Pros: Consistency, real value.
• Cons: It is not next door to my home.