Daniel Restaurant – New York, NY: Boasting of being one of the only five restaurants to be titled with the New York Times’ 4 star rating, Daniel Restaurant situated in Manhattan’s Upper East side is considered as one of the best restaurants in New York and also one of the most elegant restaurants for fine dining New York. Serving Chef Daniel Boulud’s award winning French cuisine with his own characteristic touches, Daniel Restaurant with its Bar and lounge section and the Bellacour room for private dining is a popular spot amongst New Yorkers. Having visited Daniel Boulud’s amazing restaurant, Maison Boulud in Beijing, we were quite excited about the prospect of having a meal at the Daniel Restaurant in New York.

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The First Impression: The largeness of Daniel Restaurant really got our attention. With intricate designs seen all around, one was immediately introduced to the fusion of neo-classical and modern architecture. Daniel Restaurant clearly established itself as being an elegant restaurant offering fine dining in New York. The popularity of the restaurant was quite obvious judging from the people eagerly streaming into the restaurant.

Décor and Ambience: Having undergone a drastic renovation in the summer of 2008, Daniel Restaurant radiated a new life amongst other restaurants of New York. The design expert Adam D has breathed in life to Daniel Restaurant by creating a breathtaking fusion of neo-classical architecture with the modish chic that’s in vogue at the moment. The towering 18-foot coffered ceilings supported by elaborately designed pillars, arches and railings, lighting designs specially crafted to enhance the feel of space in the room with light boxes fitted around existing balustrades, wall scones shaped like tree branches encasing the walls to exude the feel of nature; the theme Daniel Restaurant rests on, the custom made chandeliers dancing up to the glow of the hand-made Limoges tiles by Bernardaud, all blend seamlessly with each other’s architectural display to produce an aura of refined elegance.

The bar of Daniel Restaurant made of cerused walnut with a shimmering ash-grey and inky-blue marble top radiantly lighting the bar with a designed glass fascia at the back brings along a complementary twist in design. The soft hues of colors used along the room contrasted by rich brown colors of furnishings and doors brought in a very distinct look of sophistication. The motifs used on the walls and ceilings and on the tiles were repeated in the china used at the Daniel Restaurant, on the menu and more, bringing in a uniform connect in context of design elements. Sculptures and paintings by Valdes, an epic painting by Juan Genoves, the work of Stephen Conroy and a collection of Robert Weingarten’s photography splayed the walls of Daniel Restaurant enhancing the décor and the vibrancy of the place. With beautifully arranged seating and leather sofas to sink into, Daniel Restaurant was the epitome of fine dining in New York and a place where you would want to come to for that special occasion.

The Food: Daniel Boulud’s famed French cuisine is what is most celebrated about at the Daniel Restaurant. With menus for dinner, vegetarian fare, desserts and cocktail drawn separately, Daniel Restaurant has much to offer for its customers. The appetizers served here are also considered very good.

Our meal started on a good note with a complimentary cup of chilled pea-soup from the kitchen. Delicious and refreshing, we were looking forward to the rest of the delicacies. We ordered our appetizers of Alaskan Prawns with black trumpet, Porcine Veloute with chervil cream, Maine Peekytoe Crab Salad with celery, walnut oil and Granny Smith gravy. The sauces were all good in consistency and creamy in flavor. The appetizers were all good and savory in bites, but really lacked that quality that would have deemed it amazing.

Then we moved onto our main course which consisted of an order of Duo Rabbit; foie gras stuffed saddle with young spring veggies and a braised leg with sage sauce and Duo of Beef for my partner which had Black Angus short ribs with spring onion confit in red wine and Wagyu tenderloin with black trumpet, green asparagus and tellicherry pepper sauce. My partner also had a side of white asparagus with poached egg dressing, almond oil, herb salad and thyme tuile. The asparagus, from Provence, was claimed to have been flown in fresh. The meal was delicious for sure but let me tell you where the problem lay; the prices. When the food really doesn’t justify the enormous prices it lays on the meal, we have something to complain about. The quality of food at Daniel Restaurant was good, but not bombastic and it didn’t justify the prices charged for it.

We were served coconut lemon-grass soup with small scoops of mango, Thai basil gelee, poached pineapple and coconut rum sorbet as a palate cleanser that definitely worked its magic and prepped us for the dessert. Our dessert order consisted of a chocolate and peanut butter ganache with praline feuilletien (pieces of oven baked pancake with praline texture), and caramel ice cream, plus an order of warm Guanaja chocolate coolant with liquid caramel, fleur de sel and milk sorbet; delicious, rich and very palate pleasing.

The Wine List: The wine cellar at Daniel Restaurant houses wines from over 15 countries and offers more than 1,600 wines selected by Sommelier Raj Vaidya. Temperature and humidity controlled to ensure the proper aging of the wine; the wine list was extensive, but also very expensive.

The Service: The service at Daniel Restaurant deems a special mention just for being quite intrusive. With the waiters lacking the subtle approach to good service, this bordered on having us feel like we were being watched by waiters breathing down out necks at all times. The total lack of intimate privacy that diners deserve while dining in such a restaurant in New York was stolen away by the lackluster service. The sommelier assigned to us to help us select our dinner wine was actually offended by our lack in interest at his selection of the wine and left our table in a huff. We were then looked after by the chief sommelier who profusely apologized for the previous sommelier's rudeness and helped us pick the Drouhin Grands Echezeaux 07; a perfectly luscious, fruity wine which complemented our dinner well.

The Calculated Impression: The overall experience at Daniel Restaurant didn’t have us in the rapturous state that we were expecting it to. The ambience and décor were breathtaking in style and offer; but the food, the service and the exorbitant prices just didn’t do the job right. Our rating for Daniel Restaurant is between bombastic and not.

What I liked: The ambience and the stylish décor and the extensive wine list.

What I didn’t like: The quality of food that didn’t justify the prices and the intrusive service.

Rating: Between Bombastic and Not.

Address and Telephone Number
Daniel Restaurant
60 East, 65th Street
New York
NY- 10065
Tel: 212-288-0033

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