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Finally had dinner with my husband and friends last night at Eleven Madison Park for our first time. Must say that we all were pretty underwhelmed. The space didn’t impress me at all, and the hustle and bustle of the large service team left us feeling like the experience was a bit chaotic—but even that disappointment had nothing to do with our being underwhelmed with the actual food and occasionally even a service lapse.
For us, the food was simple and very good but largely lacked any major inventiveness or creativity. It wasn’t particularly memorable. And the wine pairings, even my premium wine pairing, was only fine. Nothing really stood out or blew me away. More photos and details to come when I get home, but to say we are disappointed and likely to not bother ever to return is an understatement. My husband felt it didn’t even live up to 3 stars, let alone a top 10 restaurant in the world. I have a tough time disagreeing with him. One of our biggest 3 star disappointments, along with Daniel (demoted a year later to 2 stars), Lung King Heen, and last year’s Quince (just after getting its 3rd star). |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29510778)
Finally had dinner with my husband and friends last night at Eleven Madison Park for our first time. Must say that we all were pretty underwhelmed. The space didn’t impress me at all, and the hustle and bustle of the large service team left us feeling like the experience was a bit chaotic—but even that disappointment had nothing to do with our being underwhelmed with the actual food and occasionally even a service lapse.
For us, the food was simple and very good but largely lacked any major inventiveness or creativity. It wasn’t particularly memorable. And the wine pairings, even my Grand wine pairing, was only fine. Nothing really stood out or blew me away. More photos and details to come when I get home, but to say we are disappointed and likely to not bother ever to return is an understatement. My husband felt it didn’t even live up to 3 stars, let alone a top 10 restaurant in the world. I have a tough time disagreeing with him. One of our biggest 3 star disappointments, along with Daniel (demoted a year later to 2 stars), Lung King Heen (demoted the following year to 2 stars), and last year’s Quince (just after getting its 3rd star). Do you remember any of the wines poured for the premium pairing? I'd love to get a sense of the caliber. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29510778)
Finally had dinner with my husband and friends last night at Eleven Madison Park for our first time. Must say that we all were pretty underwhelmed. The space didn’t impress me at all, and the hustle and bustle of the large service team left us feeling like the experience was a bit chaotic—but even that disappointment had nothing to do with our being underwhelmed with the actual food and occasionally even a service lapse.
For us, the food was simple and very good but largely lacked any major inventiveness or creativity. It wasn’t particularly memorable. And the wine pairings, even my Grand wine pairing, was only fine. Nothing really stood out or blew me away. More photos and details to come when I get home, but to say we are disappointed and likely to not bother ever to return is an understatement. My husband felt it didn’t even live up to 3 stars, let alone a top 10 restaurant in the world. I have a tough time disagreeing with him. One of our biggest 3 star disappointments, along with Daniel (demoted a year later to 2 stars), Lung King Heen (demoted the following year to 2 stars), and last year’s Quince (just after getting its 3rd star). |
Originally Posted by offerendum
(Post 29518586)
Disappointing...... By the way I´m not aware Lung King Heen got demoted, when did it happen? I found Lung King Heen the most unusual 3 star I ever dined in but very interesting. At least had an enjoyable dinner if 3 star worth is a hard question.
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Eleven Madison Park: a disappointing dinner by any measure
I had been dying to try Eleven Madison Park for years. It obviously had been recently renovated and reopened to a simpler and shorter menu. The net effect for us was quite underwhelming.
The food and service were pretty good, but the food lacked creativity and inventiveness to our estimation. It just wasn't memorable or particularly delicious--with perhaps one or two courses as exceptions. One course was terrible. Most courses were just good to very good. Almost none of the presentations impressed us or were particularly amazing. The service was good, I guess, but pretty uptight overall, and the team had some serious misses. We waited for almost 10 min after water was served, requiring me to ask for someone to get us started. My husband's wine pairings were not always introduced. We also noticed they started to bring out our courses once when the table had not yet been set with silverware. Not impressive. The energy of the dining room was also a big miss for us. The sheer chaos of the staff moving around was not enjoyable or remotely relaxing. It was distracting. And it was ubiquitous. I had the premium wine pairings, and my husband had the regular wine pairings, and both left us underwhelmed, as well. I'll edit those in when I get a chance. We found the whole experience completely underwhelming. It wasn't 3 stars in terms of service, in terms of flavors, in terms of surprises, in terms of ambience. It wasn't even close to one of the best dining experiences we've ever had. All in all, our dinner was good. But it wasn't in any way a really standout dinner by any measure. The egg caviar sandwich and duck were the standouts, and they were truly delicious--but only the egg caviar sandwich remotely pushed any boundaries. The lobster course was downright terrible--we debated about sending it back, but decided against it. My husband didn't think our dinner was worthy of 3 stars. I know it wasn't worthy of a top 10 ranking on the Pellegrino list, let alone a No. 1 ranking. Either way, this meal paled in comparison to our vastly superior dinner experience the previous night at Table 55 in the King Cole Bar at the St Regis. Walking into the chaos and frenzy of Eleven Madison Park. It wasn't what I had expected. I liked the simple design, but the volume made the place feel a bit cavernous and hardly intimate. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4b67cf4abd.jpg The view from our table on the other side of the restaurant. So much coming and going by staff moving at frenetic paces that it made it quite tough to relax. Not the best energy for a refined dining experience. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4e25e9a12e.jpg Our menu for the evening, showing the full names of my premium wine pairings ($275). My husband got the regular wine pairings ($175) but didn't realize they didn't include both on the menu. Sorry! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3c2bfe010b.jpg There was a "gift box" already on the table awaiting us on arrival. That turned out to be our First Bites course. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...311a5921d9.jpg Scallop course. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...44f99c02b6.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8bbdd7c594.jpg The Caviar egg sandwich course was perhaps my favorite, as it was the only one that was beautifully presented, original and creative, and delicious. Served with Krug champagne. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...846bc6a897.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1837507d69.jpg The next course gave a choice between a greens course, a scallop course, or a foie gras course. The scallop course was good according to our friend. The Foie Gras course I had was paired with Chateau Guirand Sauternes 2002. It was a fine pairing, but it wasn't quite as good as the sweet wine and foie gras pairing I had the night before at Table 55 at the St Regis. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7b6a3d3772.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7f917d86f9.jpg The foie gras course was good, but nothing earth-shattering. It looked dull, too. The foie gras doughnut at Table 55 at the St Regis was far more creative, spectacularly better tasting, and far better presented. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9cdcffd7b3.jpg The Lobster course looked good but tasted terrible. Not impressive by any stretch. I assume it was either overcooked or not fresh, but it was extremely difficult to cut, and we all despised it. The restaurant should lose a star for this terrible course alone. The lobster was paired with Antonin Guyon Mersault Premier Cru 2011. It was a fine pairing, better than my husband's, but it wasn't especially notable to me. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b7d14b6a42.jpg The Mushroom course truffle pizza was very good, but hardly inventive. This was paired with Couly-Dutheil Chinon 2002. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c50519d637.jpg The next course offered another choice between duck and venison. I had the duck, which was 1 of our 2 favorite courses. The venison looked beautiful and was good, but it didn't blow anyone away. It was just good venison. The duck was paired with Ceretto Barolo 1999--and this pairing was wonderful, truly worthy of the restaurant's esteem. Unfortunately, this was the only one... https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ab7f77a20a.jpg The duck presentation looked a little sloppy to us, as they didn't even get the dollops remotely consistent from plate to plate. But the duck was delicious. This and the egg caviar sandwich were the truly delicious dishes of the night. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9cbb64d0b9.jpg I already don't remember what this was. I remember it being bland. I refer to the menu to recall it is Tubby Cheese, and it was paired with Christophe Mignon Rose Brut Champagne. It was a solid but otherwise unremarkable pairing to me. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...85e9a1f0c8.jpg For dessert, there was a choice between a chocolate mousse course and a butternut squash ice cream cake. Both were good, but not particularly memorable. Lackluster is a good way to describe them in terms of flavor and creativity. The chocolate options was the better of the two. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aa102a7e58.jpg I had the Chocolate dessert below, and it was paired with Bodegas Toro Albala Don P.X. Sherry Gran Reserva 1987. It was a little sweeter than I'd have liked but otherwise a nice pairing. Just not a fantastic pairing as I would expect. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7903a121c6.jpg
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 29510778)
Finally had dinner with my husband and friends last night at Eleven Madison Park for our first time. Must say that we all were pretty underwhelmed. The space didn’t impress me at all, and the hustle and bustle of the large service team left us feeling like the experience was a bit chaotic—but even that disappointment had nothing to do with our being underwhelmed with the actual food and occasionally even a service lapse.
For us, the food was simple and very good but largely lacked any major inventiveness or creativity. It wasn’t particularly memorable. And the wine pairings, even my premium wine pairing, was only fine. Nothing really stood out or blew me away. More photos and details to come when I get home, but to say we are disappointed and likely to not bother ever to return is an understatement. My husband felt it didn’t even live up to 3 stars, let alone a top 10 restaurant in the world. I have a tough time disagreeing with him. One of our biggest 3 star disappointments, along with Daniel (demoted a year later to 2 stars), Lung King Heen, and last year’s Quince (just after getting its 3rd star). |
Wowza, that's all so disappointing! I must say that I think the dining room looked better before the renovation. And all the courses look so blah. I don't like the minimalism and so many of the dishes have dull color schemes. Sigh.
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Originally Posted by CappuccinoAddict
(Post 29511169)
This is all very disappointing. I do have to say the new menu looks to be going for a minimalistic vibe. I find it such a shame--I adored their old menu and service style!
Do you remember any of the wines poured for the premium pairing? I'd love to get a sense of the caliber. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1e92f6533f.jpg |
Thank you! I agree that the pairings don't seem particularly inspired. I do like that it isn't just the youngest vintage of everything, though.
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Originally Posted by CappuccinoAddict
(Post 29526100)
Thank you! I agree that the pairings don't seem particularly inspired. I do like that it isn't just the youngest vintage of everything, though.
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I 100% agree with your review there. My husband and I also felt very underwhelmed when we dined at EMP at the end of last year. Our menu was similar to what you had. In terms of wine pairing, we enjoyed the premium options way more at other places like Le Bernadin, or Jungsik. As far as service goes, I thought a recent experience at Daniel felt more personal and warm than the multiple staff that served us at EMP, which is surprising.
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Originally Posted by jbeans
(Post 29527764)
I 100% agree with your review there. My husband and I also felt very underwhelmed when we dined at EMP at the end of last year. Our menu was similar to what you had. In terms of wine pairing, we enjoyed the premium options way more at other places like Le Bernadin, or Jungsik. As far as service goes, I thought a recent experience at Daniel felt more personal and warm than the multiple staff that served us at EMP, which is surprising.
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Originally Posted by United747
(Post 29528328)
“Personal and warm” were definitely not words I’d use to describe Daniel when I was there last (admittedly a few years ago). But that intrigues me, I may have to go back. |
* The Woodspeen, Newbury, UK - A relatively new restaurant and close to where my mother leaves. Had dinner there on Monday night with her and thought it was rather excellent with service to match. For example, Mother and I had the venison main and were looking for a red to go with it that wasn't too heavy and a little fruity, the sommelier recommended two wines and brought both over to try (despite not being by the glass). Even though they have wines into the four figures these ones that were both perfect were about £30-£40 a bottle. ^ For the two of us with three courses and the wine it was about £140.
*** Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London - Treated myself to a nice solo lunch on Wednesday. Opted for the 7 course tasting menu and decided to stick to champagne (mostly Bollinger Grand Annee and a 2008 Dom Perignon Rose). I had heard very mixed reviews but I thought it was excellent overall with some dishes (the lobster) being standouts. The service was top notch and there were nice touches such as they were happy to sub the cheese for a chocolate dessert at no cost and the order was switched around so it made more sense flavourwise. If I was being really picky I'd say that some of the dishes could have been editted a little, when you're working with top end ingredients I like the flavours and textures to stand out a little more, especially with a tasting menu. Ended up being about £350. I have some photos of both for anyone that is curious |
I had a lovely lunch at newly upgraded 2-star Takao Takano in Lyon. The chef is Japanese and so some of the dishes have Japanese flair. Phenomenal value at 65 Euro for 5 courses!
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Refund update on underwhelming dinner at Eleven Madison Park
I finally decided to email EMP yesterday after having such a disappointing experience and dinner/wine pairings last Sat night. To my surprise, the GM responded last night with profuse and genuine apologies and already has processed a refund of our wine pairings ($275 and $175). I consider that a very generous refund under the circumstances. I also am quite impressed with the appreciation the GM showed in my sharing our disappointment and critique.
While I cannot say I’ll be running back to try EMP again, I can say that the GM’s genuine reaction makes me at least willing to try again when I’m back in NYC. Nice save. |
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