07/11/09

Second visit - very very disappointed

by G0709

Had a very pleasant experience when visited for the FIRST time last year - where the dishes were delicious and creative, view and atmosphere was amazing, hence decided to go back again for my birthday this year. Just got back from the restaurant actually and just wanted to say WHAT A FREAKING JOKE THE NEW TASTING MENU IS! The food was abysmal. Uni(sea urchin) and oysters to be specific tasted like they’d been soaked in toilet water since they were not fresh; Wagyu beef was soooo salty and over-cooked to the point it was like chewing on charcoal topped with industrial salt!! The tasting menu is compiled with various shellfish, fish, beef and desert. My bf and I were supposed to head to a club but the dinner was soo disgusting that now my bf is in the bathroom throwing up while I'm here typing this review. 2 people, a $570 dinner (tasting menu plus wine pairing, two sparkling water)… Waiter was trying to be very helpful but it’s hard to understand him. Wouldn’t go back even if it’s free unless they change the menu or CHEF.

• Pros: Great view and atmosphere
• Cons: Disgusting food, eww....

04/02/09

My favorite place in the city !

by ESKIN

I don't know why everyone says bad things about this place... maybe because they aren't used to dining the way Asiate allows you to dine but I adore this restaurant. I went the other day for lunch for my anniversary and made a reservation online. When we arrived they sat us as close to the window as possible, and when someone by the window moved they allowed us to take that table and the view over Central Park was amazing. You feel like you are eating in heaven almost. The food was incredible and they kept giving us complimentary dishes that were terrific (Spinach cheese bread delights & Shrimp in a special light sauce.) Our entree's were the best my boyfriend had the suckling pig & I had the tenderloin. The service is great and the best part was at the end they surprised us (even though i never once spoke to someone at the restaurant) with an amazing chocolate moose cake with strawberry inside and fruits on top and a candle in a strawberry with "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate sauce on the side. It was perfect. 125$ at the end for an amazing lunch. (We had appetizers + a few beers also) The prices are VERY affordable if you have the money. I came for a dinner before this and loved it just as much. I will continue to dine at Asiate!

• Pros: View, Food, Waiters, Feeling, Everything !
• Cons: nothing everyone was polite and the food was amazing.

03/16/09

Go here if you want to get robbed!

by ebomze

I went here for a restaurant week lunch. The waiter asked if I wanted coffee with the dessert and I did, so I ordered it. When the check came, coffee was $8 (!!!) for a cup of regular coffee. I asked if this was a mistake and I was told "no", that is the price. I paid the bill and when I got home, I emailed the manager to express shock at their pricing scheme for coffee. The coffee amounted to 25% of my total bill! The email was misdirected, but when it finally reached the manager, Peian Wong, she completely ignored it. After 3 weeks, I forwarded the message again and she finally replied with basically nothing to say about it. I've told many friends across all income levels about this experience and they uniformly feel that it is obscene and absurd that ASIATE charges $8 for a cup of coffee (especially in this economic environment). The rest of the lunch was good, the view was nice, blah blah, but i was SO TURNED OFF by this outrageous rip off that it ruined the experience for me. I was also deeply disappointed that Ms. Wong chose to ignore my comments until I demanded a reply.

• Pros: Nice view and good food
• Cons: They charge $8 for coffee!!

02/13/09

Heavenly - Don't listen to people who are not impressed

by cpiro

I had the most romantic and beautiful experience at Asiate. We went for Brunch and I was glad to go during the day to take in the light, and the views from this restaurant's floor to ceiling windows. The furnishings were covered with gorgeous fabric. When you are there you feel like it's a special day-The food: They give you a menu with appetizers, which you actually get all of- they bring you a small tasting box with a little of everything which was nice since I like to try different foods, without ordering an entire order of something new. There was an intermezzo of lemon sorbet, which was very tasty and cleansed your pallet. After that you chose two of the main course items- also small plates, so I ordered two of the balsamic glazed short ribs which were incredible. After all the small plates, you feel satisfied, but not full- then desert- we were served both the moose, and the bread pudding which I loved. I had never tried the bread pudding anywhere else, since it always sounded so heavy. This dessert was light and almost like a better creme brule- I loved it. They have a wine man that will come to your table and go over any questions you have about their extensive list- we tried some Dreamy Cloud sake' which was delicious. The wine man gave us a lesson about why they serve the sake's there cold rather then hot- the way we were used to drinking sake. This was very informative. He was kind of snooty though, and seemed to think he was better then everyone, but it was expected at such a nice place, I mean he did seem to know his stuff. The rest of the staff, was very nice, and made me feel very comfortable. The patrons seemed to all be from other countries- I guess traveling since we were in a hotel. I heard so many different languages going on- I almost felt like we were in Europe. Anyway- It is a beautiful, special occasion place that I will definitely go back to. Enjoy- it's a heavenly experience!

• Pros: View, Food, Wine Wall, Fabric
• Cons: None

11/27/08

their food wasn't memorable

by jennnyyy39

I wasn't that much impressed with this restuarant given the many raving reviews from friends. The food was OK. I would try it again to see if I come out with the same kind of impression. But so far, their food wasn't memorable for the price you pay. I've had way better food.

• Pros: service
• Cons: food

10/22/08

Great FOOD

by danpatten

Went here with some friends for my birthday. The server was very friendly and unpretentious. Server was very attentive and took time in explaining the different choices and specials. Server selected a very nicely matched bottle of wine to go with most of our course selections. The sashimi was wonderful. The lamb was prepared exactly to specificatin. All of the food was excellent. The place isn't cheap by any means, but definitely worth it.

• Pros: views,food,service

07/19/08

Great Special Occasion Fine Dining

by tzara17

The food and service are impeccable. This was my second dining experience at Asiate and our party actually showed up on the wrong day for our reservations but the hostess was gracious, never mentioned our mistake and sat us in the private room anyway. The chef also accommodated a special dessert order. This restaurant is just as amazing as you would expect.

• Pros: Food, Service, Ambience, Views

06/17/08

Great special occasion place

by jackryan

You can't beat the view up in this place. Dinner for 2 with drinks, apt, and meals with one desert will push 350 but the food is very tastey. I'd recommend going with the specials as they seem to put more effort into them.

Reservations are a bit tough so if you want to go on the whim, try Monday or Tuesday.

• Pros: Pro Service
• Cons: Food to dollar ratio, but what do you expect?

05/19/08

Recommended with a caveat

by welliesmom

Asiate is a lovely restaurant - lovely space, good views (even if ours was obscured by fog and rain) and most of the service is good. My caveat is with the sommelier who took almost 15 minutes to get over to us once we requested to speak with him about various artisanal champagnes and then another 15 minutes to bring over our champagne - that is after I went over to the maitre'd and informed him of our waiting. There was no bread offered - just an amuse bouche when we first sat down. After my complaint, we were then assigned to the assistant manager who could not have been more helpful but Richard, the sommelier, was certainly not impressive - nor did he even pour from the punt!

The place was full and people were still being seated at 10:00 pm. I would suggest that on a busy Saturday night perhaps they should spring for a second sommelier to give Richard some breathing room? I highly recommend the food (French/Asian and lots of froth in their dishes) but for a restaurant to really be top notch, they need for their service to be more seamless. Also, after two confirms that this was a birthday celebration in which they called me, took the name of the birthday celebrant, etc. - no candle, no cake, no nothing. Oops again.

• Pros: View, wait staff, response to complaints
• Cons: Sommelier time, response to special occasion request (after two confirms from them, still no brithday candle!)

05/01/08

The View is closely Rivaled by the food!

by diablonyc2

My wife and I attended this resturant for our two year anniversary. It was last minute and when I called to inquire about reservations, they were completely booked, but they informed me to call back at around 6pm to see if there were any cancelations. I was lucky....there was an opening.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the maitride and were seated promptly. We asked if there was a window seat and they offered something relatively close. Once we were seated and ordered our drinks the Maitride then informed us that a window seat opened up and if we would like to move.

Service was impeccible, from them knowing each deatil about the items on the menu, to prompt service which made me feel not rushed, but pampered. Our appitisers were brought out shortly after ordering, but were not taken away until we were finished and had a few minutes to "take in" all the flavors. As the maitride stated, they strive to design food that will rival the view from the resturant. Well, they have achieved it. I had a Foi Gras appetizer with the Lobster Entre -- both divine. My wife had a beet salad appetizer with the Wyagu beef entre that was simply perfect. The protion sizes are a little small, but we found ourselves adequately satisfied. Deserts were good (our favorite was the Choclate Fondant...the black seaseme cake was okay).

Overall

Pros: Food, Decor, Service

Cons: difficult to obtain reservation, Can be pricey

I will definately be going back....Also they have a great bar next to the resturant that searve a lite menu with a excellent view as well. Great for entertaining out of town guests.

• Pros: View, Food, Service, Decor, immense wine selection
• Cons: Difficult to get a resrvation (but worh the wait), a little Pricey