Food-100% absolutely delicious Service-impeccable…read moreAmbiance- inviting The 'hair' in the soup is THE SITTING ! Narrow space at long table. A true nightmare to slide in and out for overweight people like us. Prepare yourselves to open your wallet to the max

One of the most delightful restaurant experience I've ever had…read more From the service, the cleanliness, to the food. Absolutely incredible. I know it is a high end restaurant, but do yourself a favor and order the chocolate chip cookie for dessert, it is divine.

A pretty, cozy, and cute French wine bar in East Manhattan. The atmosphere is very French, with a…read morefew outdoor seats. Their service was great, and we ordered the Steak Frites and Boeuf Bourguignon, both dishes were delicious. They also have a plenty of good French wine selections. Price is very reasonable for Manhattan.

This was our second visit here, we like the ambiance and menu. Our party of three was seated inside…read moreon a quiet Sunday night. We ordered two glasses of wine and sparkling water, all arrived quickly. We started with the Three Cheese Plate. The plate arrived with three small portions of cheese and a small amount of jam. We asked for additional bread, which also arrived quickly. We liked the cheese ($30) which was sufficient as an appetizer. One diner was looking forward to trying the Shrimp Persillade (sauteed shrimp in Persillade, Garlic Confit & Lemon $25), but they were out of shrimp. Not a great answer when the menu is already limited. As a result, we ordered: * Goat Cheese Salad (crispy Roasted Goat Cheese Medallions served over Mixed Greens With Bacon & a Light Vinaigrette $26). * Steak Frites, Sauce au Poivre (grilled Hanger Steak (6oz) with Peppercorn Sauce and Fries $38). * Poulet Roti au Jus (1/2 roasted Organic Sasso Chicken served with Fries & Salads $35). The goat cheese salad was overly dressed, arguably drenched. The diner wasn't happy with this dish. The steak was tasty and the accompanying fries were crispy. The chicken was good, the breast was cooked very nicely, accompanied by a mild but tasty sauce. The chicken dish was served with a side salad of uncut lettuce, with a strong vinaigrette dressing, which I didn't like. The fries however, were crispy and tasty. Overall, it was a mixed bag, but I'd be willing to try this place again.

Lovely experience having a late lunch here after touring the Aquavella. The pasta and wine were…read morefantastic, perfect portions, finished with a fantastic raspberry limoncello cake. Yum

Came here to have a holiday gathering with old friends and it was nice. The food was good but the…read moreservice was better. Located close to Central Park between 5th and Madison. The space is small but super cute especially this time of year

Service was phenomenal, ambiance was very pretty. The sound echoes a ton, which was rough as it was…read morea crowded Saturday night. We had the everyday gravy, pesto, potatoes (got them without prosciutto), and zucchini florets. My husband loved the everyday gravy. The pesto was good, but milder than I expected. The zucchini was similarly a little too mild. Potatoes were flavorful. I'd give this restaurant another try, based on service and ambiance alone, but I'd also like to give a few other dishes a try!

The happy hour deals are available online at the bar, and I thought the happy hour deals were…read morepretty good especially for the food! Wasn't too busy on a Thursday evening and has a very cute and cozy interior so it was perfect for catching up with a friend. The calamari was pretty standard. The breading was a little thicker than I would've liked and the chili oil aioli sauce was kind of disappointing (just tasted like mayo). I really enjoyed the soppressata, peach, and hot honey pizza if you like a bit of sweet/savory. I think they could've been more generous with the hot honey though! I had a couple bites of my friend's garganelli which was pretty tasty. The pasta was cooked al dente and the pesto had a very earthy flavor. I appreciated how we didn't feel rushed during our dinner so it was a great meal to sit and catch up with a friend.

The Pardner and I recently celebrated an anniversary at Essential by Christophe, a Michelin-starred…read morerestaurant on the Upper West Side. The beige walls and neutral tones in the space gave us flashbacks to when we used to dine at Dovetail, the restaurant in this space many, many years ago (before children). Of course, our dinner at Essential far outshone any we had at Dovetail, both because this was a "date with the whole family" as the progeny puts it, and because the kitchen at Essential is unusually precise and deliberate, distilling onto each plate the pure, fresh, unadulterated flavors of premium ingredients. You can choose a four or seven course "experience", with or without wine pairings. Children may order à la carte or from an unpublished children's menu that includes burgers and pasta for picky eaters. Three of us went with the four course experience and chose our own wine and mocktails to accompany; the 11-year-old went à la carte. Our meal began with a more-substantial-than-usual amuse bouche of mushroom cappuccino. We were advised to sink our spoons all the way down to the bottom of the cup for each bite, so we could experience all three layers at once: sweet potato purée at the base, topped with Madeira reduction and umami-rich mushroom foam. First courses: Dorade Royale (artichoke / gold ossetra caviar / bouillon tiède gourmand): A neatly presented square of layered raw dorade and tender slivers of artichoke hearts came topped with a generous mound of caviar. Bouillon tiède was poured around the square tableside, which slightly warmed the dorade and intensified its delicate flavor. Hokkaido Uni (crustacean royal / sora pickles / wasabi velour): Despite the brilliant green of the gently creamy wasabi sauce / soup, there was no heat and little, if any, of fresh wasabi's distinctive scent. This was just as well, since the bits of Hokkaido uni in the dish were sweet and delicious, and a stronger sauce may have overwhelmed. Toro Saku (mi cuit / tamarind / mandarinquats / sea condiment): A fair sized slab of toro was probably prepared sous vide and very soft, but not flakey, reminiscent of aged sashimi. It was quite difficult to cut given the sometimes fibrous texture and the large slab felt clunky, monotonous, and indelicate, quite unlike our other dishes. Lovely little loaves of warm, brown kalamata bread were brought to the table after our first course was cleared, with little volcano-shaped ramekins of good butter alongside, sprinkled with perhaps Maldon sea salt. Second courses: Celtuce (grilled / cucumber / buddha's hand) -- I didn't get to try more than a teeny bite. But what I tried of it (mostly the sauce) was slightly citrusy, very complex and pleasantly light on the palate. Scallop (lightly smoked / gold ossetra caviar / champagne hazelnut) -- Two generously sized, sweet and delicate sea scallops were served with more of that excellent caviar (an ingredient that makes frequent cameos). This was my favorite dish and probably one of the best scallop preparations in the City. Langoustine (slightly cooked / stuffed zita / swarnadwipa / green curry): I could not pin it to any specific culinary tradition, but the curry worked well and not compete with with sweet langoustine. Third courses: Kampachi (barely grilled / combawa / château-chalon): A generous portion of what was essentially kampachi sashimi was very gently dressed with the tiniest touch of lime, cilantro, scallion, and (I think) sea beans, with a light drizzle of a thin, umami-rich, savory sauce. Squab (racan / roasted / fukushu kumquat / toast à gratin / sauce diable): Pigeonneau de Racan was exceptionally tender and juicy, the liver pate in a pastry shell rich. A pretty orange quenelle of something kumquat-y balanced the fat. Iberico Pork (presa de bellota / sweet peas & chorizo / jalapeño condiment / omija berries jus): A well raised, high quality product from acorn-fed, free-range pigs. Sweet, tart omija berry jus was the perfect foil, a bit reminiscent of cranberry sauce. Desserts: La Tarte au Chocolat (warm / roasted vanilla ice cream): Classic and uncomplicated, the ice cream was scented with pleasantly rounded and understated natural vanilla. La Framboise (crispy fine feuilles / linzer / madagascar vanilla): This confection was simple, yet elegant, strongly leading with the pure flavors of fresh raspberries. Le Soufflé (orange marmalade / green cardamom ice cream): The soufflé was beautifully made, impossibly light and airy, delicately scented with bitter orange. The accompanying green cardamom ice cream stole the show. All around a lovely meal and a lovely evening. We love Chef Christophe Bellanca's mashups of culinary cultures. They're fun and they work!

Absolutely blown away by my experience at Essential by Christophe. From the moment we walked in,…read morethe level of service was nothing short of exceptional warm, precise, and completely effortless. Not a single detail was overlooked. The attention to every meticulous element, from pacing to presentation, created a dining experience that felt truly special. The meal itself was extraordinary. Each course was not only beautifully executed but deeply flavorful and thoughtfully composed. The Mushroom Cappuccino was a perfect start rich, earthy, and comforting with incredible depth. The sweet potato with madeira reduction was a standout, balancing sweetness and richness with elegance. Le Royale was indulgent and refined, while the blue prawns were cooked to perfection delicate and bursting with flavor. Le Tropical brought a bright, refreshing contrast that tied the progression of the meal together beautifully. Even the bread service deserves recognition often overlooked, but here it was exceptional. Paired with the Winter Harvest Highball and the No. 3, the beverage program matched the food in both creativity and execution. What truly elevated the evening was having the pleasure of meeting Chef Christophe and touring the kitchen. He was incredibly down to earth, and his philosophy about food thoughtful, intentional, and rooted in passion clearly shines through in every dish. Every bite was delicious, every detail intentional. This is dining at the highest level refined, memorable, and truly deserving of its Michelin star. I can't wait to return.

Go for the wine…read more... Period, end of story. Have never eaten here but the service is great and the wine is better

Thank god for Restaurant Week. My friend and I had their prefix menus and we shared so I got to…read moretaste a lot of options. Everything was outstanding including the escargot. Desserts and cocktails were both delightful. I loved the ambiance. I will definitely be back. I'm particularly curious about the cocktail bar. Beautiful interior.

Our first wedding anniversary landed in the middle of a comically glamorous New York stretch that…read morenow feels like a little time capsule from another chapter of life. We were in town for a friend's wedding at the top of Rockefeller Center, then spent the following night celebrating ourselves at Dowling's at The Carlyle. The trip also carried a real sense of homecoming: I had lived in New York for many years, my wife spent our final year there living with me in Greenwich Village while working and teaching at NYU, and the day after we returned from our honeymoon, we moved to Philadelphia. Inside The Carlyle, we permitted ourselves to go considerably grander than our usual date night, and Dowling's rewarded the decision. The sunken levels, handsome bar, enormous plants, and procession of service carts create an almost theatrical version of Upper East Side New York that still feels warm and genuinely fun. Rockefeller Center the night before and The Carlyle that evening shared a certain Columbia University quality in my mind: established, formidable, beautifully mannered, and unmistakably connected to the old institutions of the city. What I remember most vividly was our captain, who had worked at The Carlyle for decades and seemed to carry an extraordinary amount of New York institutional memory. He was an expert and a showman, but such a tasteful one: an iconic UES dandy who was funny, gracious, and entirely comfortable in his skin. Beside us, an enormously affected couple ordered gaudy quantities of caviar while conducting a running discussion about the money involved that became almost nauseating, and somehow this only made our captain's understated confidence look better. He had clearly seen every species of wealth and eccentricity pass through those doors and knew exactly how to keep the evening moving with class. Meanwhile, another side of the weekend felt unmistakably NYU. We were staying at the Arlo NoMad in a room so tiny it bordered on conceptual art, and the next morning I headed downtown to AARMY, one of my favorite truly one-of-a-kind fitness studios, for a punishing but fun studio cycling class led by the legendary Akin Akman. Shortly thereafter, I was at JFK boarding a flight to Mykonos for another wedding, giving the whole stretch a wonderfully kinetic mix of downtown energy, internationalism, and ridiculously indulgent scheduling and consumption. Looking back, Dowling's sits perfectly at the center of those few days because it gave our anniversary exactly the level of ceremony it deserved. The food was excellent, the hospitality was extraordinary, and the entire evening carried that rare New York combination of history, theater, and humor. Sometimes a grand restaurant can feel like it is asking you to admire the institution; Dowling's made us feel lucky to be there together.

Dowling's exudes sophistication paired with exceptional service. We enjoyed a lovely meal for…read morerestaurant week, starting with the scallop ceviche and the burrata. For our mains we both ordered the NY Strip Steak, which was cooked perfectly. Honestly, every dish was amazing! I really loved the table side bread service, ultimately opting for my favorite sourdough! Definitely worth a visit for a special occasion!

Outstanding service from Manager Hamud, who made sure both my guests and I had an exceptional…read moreexperience. It was also a pleasure seeing Jiby again--he's just as kind, welcoming, and genuine as he was when I first met him at Chez Margaux. Their hospitality truly stands out. I highly recommend treating yourself to this experience--you won't be disappointed!

My friends and I came for brunch after a lovely group workout together. The food was amazing, the…read moreambiance beautiful, and the staff gave stellar service. I am all about my coffee and juice first thing. Both were absolutely perfect. We all had a variety of brunch breakfast type dishes. All were amazing!!