A Voce Madison

I am a NYer & have been to A Voce Madison Avenue five times over last two years. This restaurant is a big step up from a solid Roman Trattoria, in NYC like TDA. It's consistently good in cuisine and wine. Atmospheric due to high ceiling and upscale contemporary design. Today I had the the best pork chop I have ever had--anywhere! and I have been trying to get this right for ten years. It happened to be a big chop -- I didn't finish it so my only regret is that I forgot the doggy bag. Bravo!

As a restaurant best suited for a "special occasion", we were looking forward to indulging. The food is amazing, the wine list over-the-top...the service basically non-existent and boy, I would have loved to see myself in the bathroom mirror; but, the staging was so dark we wondered if they were trying to hide something! When we were served, it was only upon request and our waiters accent was so thick we decided to pretend we were in a foreign country so make is passable. Too bad, as the fare is amazing, but given the lack of professional attentiveness, the premium pricing and the near proximity of other diners, we won't be returning.

All other pasta dishes in the city are amateurs compared with these dishes. The Tagliatelle with Canadian Chanterelles and the Pansotti with almonds demonstrate imagination on steroids. A day after, I'm still thinking about the dishes and when I can go back. The Hanger Steak was packed with flavors and as tender as steak can get. A Voce has raised the bar. It's now our go to place.

The food was overpriced and sub par. The Maine shrimp were tiny, fishy & soggy. The veal chop was at least 50 % fat. The service matched the food. No one was around when you needed them. The water glasses were not refilled until at least the second request. At almost $100 per person, you can do better anywhere else. I would never go back and recommend that you try somewhere else.

Check out the reviews of this place anywhere (Yelp, Citysearch, Google), and you will notice people either love this place or hate it. The reason is that if you are lucky, the food is great. If you aren't, the food is subpar and the service even worse. Unfortunately, I was one of the unlucky ones. My meal and overall dining experience was so bad that it prompted me to write this review (my first). The meat was overcooked, the pasta was cold, and the staff was generally indifferent. At a lower price point these I would have shrugged, but at an expensive restaurant like this, it is inexcusable. Would not recommend.

We had high hopes for this popular restaurant. Granted, the quality bread served with ricotta splashed with top notch olive oil and spices was a welcome start. We ordered two pastas. One was quite nice, one almost inedible. The cheese agnoletti with sage brown butter sauce was light, tasty and filling, the whole wheat pappardelle with duck ragu was not rolled/cut thin enough making it chewy and tasteless. The duck ragu was pleasant enough until I got a taste of liver which overpowered the palate and ruined the dish. I commend the attempt to introduce the wildly popular whole wheat pasta idea, but, if it isn't exceptional, it should not be on the menu. We passed on the doughnuts with chocolate sauce since we hoped to find beignets at Bouchon nearby, (didn't!) they were obviously savored by our next table over mates. I say, hit or miss menu. Not on our must return list.

Love this place.