A beautiful and elegant setting starting with the friendly doorman who admits you to the building. The dining room is located on the second level which affords the diner a lovely view but some difficult sunlight for some diners. They offer 3 different tasting menus as well as a la carte ordering. There is quite a price differential to them.
Luckily the lunch menu is what appealed to us.
Everyone is first greeted with the champagne cart after being seated and the selection is large. Prices are not discussed cause if “you have to ask you can’t afford it” seems to be the policy. Also ladies’ menus do not include prices so I scandalously borrowed my husband’s to get pictures. Service is polished to a stiff shine.
Everyone starts with several amuse bouche and they were all pretty good. I particularly liked the chestnut marshmallow and the crunchy tube with smoked eel inside – both left you wanting more.
The scallops were sweet and cooked nicely. I liked that they included leaves in the spinach soup that added a nice textural component and the smokey cheese was a good touch like the bit of cracked pepper to give a slight kick.
The quail was cooked perfectly – still very moist – but it was one pretty small breast. The crust was delicious and the white wine sauce was rich and blended the dish in a very good way. I could have eaten several of these!
They pass the bread tray often and the breads are good with a choice of salted and unsalted butter.
The pre-dessert chocolate drink was not compelling but the pineapple was great and I like the crispy little chocolate gavottes.
The apple dessert was set on fire at the table and they managed to keep the apple filing cool while warming the outer meringue. It was fairly sweet but again very small but a good taste treat.
The tart was simply delicious with a perfectly buttery crust and creamy filling. It really left you wanting more!
The chocolates were quite smooth but just chocolate which seemed a tad dull after the tastes before.
