Reviews & Ratings for Esca Restaurant

01/05/12

Gross and way overpriced

by rej314

The 4 of us left hungry and disappointed. The only thing satisfying were the cocktails. Do not go.

11/16/11

Boycott Mario Batali Restaurants

by Matt Jefferson

Mario Batali's recent comment comparing bankers to Hitler and Stalin are downright disgusting and irresponsible (reference at bottom of review). While there are many views on bankers during these challenging times, his references to such dictators who executed many people for their religion and / or beliefs is hurtful and ignorant. I do not believe it is in this world's best interest to support him or his restaurants given his most recent comments.

google or search for the following article as a reference: "mario-batali-apologizes-for-comments-comparing-bankers-to-hitler-stalin"

11/16/11

Batali's comments are hurtful and insensitive

by Jonathan Stewarts

I can't believe Batali is comparing bankers to Hitler and Stalin. Agree with the previous post that it is completely insensitive. Why can't he just stick to making food? I can only assume that if he is busy attending conferences and media events offering his political views he is definitely not paying attention to his businesses and the quality of his food. Given this, and the insensitivity he recently displayed in comparing bankers to Hitler, I will no longer eat at his restaurants and will encourage others to do the same.

07/15/11

Good for foodies but lacking in ambience

by NYCruiser

The food is the standout piece to Esca. I thoroughly enjoyed the squid ink pasta, marinated sardines and fish stew (the crudo tasting was a little bland though). The service was good, with water and wine glasses being refilled and new utensils being laid out in a timely manner.

The main drawback is the actual space itself. When you walk in, you are liable to think you walked in through the wrong entrance. It feels like a back entrance as you immediately face a large table where servers are cracking pepper and preparing plates. The hostess stand is tucked a little bit to the right and the two hostesses on Wednesday night were inattentive to the point where I thought they might just be waiting for a table too and didn't work at the restaurant at all.

The bar at Esca seats maybe five stools and the servers rush between the seated patrons and those standing by the wall to get from the kitchen to get to the main dining room, shouting out “Hot plate, hot plate!” as they scramble past with multiple large dishes in hand. It doesn’t seem safe to rush through a drinking crowd with anything hot or breakable. The bathroom was down a short corridor and for some reason the staff had lined up a row of stacked chairs along one side of the narrow wall so that you had to almost walk sideways to get through.

All in all, the food was great and I would highly recommend it to foodies, but the place is severely lacking in ambience.

02/25/11

Stay Clear- Bad Shrimp - it made me sick : (

by ITL

Menu is excellent but unfortunately I ordered the wrong dish. Don't order the Fritto Misto it has bad shrimp, they smelled like Amonia...they told me the shrimp has iodine. I felt sick and threw up. Manager was unsympathetic and unwilling to look into it. Service is excellent, decor is warm. I don't want other people to get sick so stay clear of their shrimp it's not worth the unpleasant experience !! : But someone should really look into it !!

02/17/10

Wonderful experience

by mhornsby

A friend and I went to ESCA (without reservations) and sat at the bar where we were greeted by an amiable tender named Victor who promptly presented us with a wonderful and complementary white bean bruschetta. My friend and I shared the tuna carpaccio (which was delicious) and I ordered the gnocchi ricotta while she got the lobster spaghetti. The menu said it was a one-pounder but it looked kind of small to me. I ordered the gnocchi because I saw it on one of the Food Network shows and I was not at all disappointed.

Our evening was topped off by a visit from the chef who shared stories of his growing up in New York as well as other fun stories of this wonderful city. We had a great time, good food and great company. I would definitely recommend ESCA for anyone wanting an enjoyable experience.

• Pros: Personable & Friendly Staff, Good Food
• Cons: kind of expensive

08/25/09

Jumped the Shark

by ritzgirl21

I remember eating tasty crudo in a lively location, but that just is not so anymore. Maybe the chef was away in the Hamptons yesterday, but the food is just unacceptable at this point. The best part of my meal was the San Pellegrino water. If you're craving crudo - head to The John Dory to dine with the celeb set, eat some tasty seafood and raise your glass and have a good time.

• Pros: Used to be Good
• Cons: Sad Sight

06/22/09

Awful

Contributor

Could not fitb

Could not finish

06/08/09

TERRIBLE! and overpriced

by yankeefan86

We went here for a birthday, expecting great things. Restaurant was packed, so we assumed it was going to be good. First of all, the portions are very small so you need to order a few to be full. We started with the tuna carpaccio, which was disgusting. It was drenched in olive oil and salt, with no seasoning. The tuna tasted very fishy, which is uncharacteristic for tuna. The pasta course was delicious, but we each only had 4 gnocchi. Main entree, everyone in the party ordered a fish dish. they were all bad. Mine once again came drenched in oil and salt. Maybe this is the chef's one and only way of preparation. But for $100 a head, there were no flavors. I could have done a better job myself. Also, it said that the whole fishes would be filleted for you (to take out the bones). We all found bones, and when we complained, the hostess was obnoxious and said well it's not perfect.

• Pros: nice atmosphere
• Cons: food, price

03/30/09

come full

by RonnyBraciole30

When you go to Esca, bring two things. A sack lunch, and the deed to your house. $530 for 4 people. barely any booze. Way over priced. For what we spent, we could have gone to Patsy's three times. I am not going back. I had to stop at McDonalds. Waste of Money, and a waste of nice Saturday evening.

• Pros: Fish is fresh
• Cons: Very Expensive