Aquavit

Last night was our 12th anniversary so we planned to dine someplace special, nicer than say Falafel King down the corner. We would have been better served at Falafel King. The hostess couldn't find my name on the reservation list and the night just went downhill from there. Our server was icier than the fjords in January, very haughty and hardly deigning to look me in the eye or address me directly. Yes, I understand and speak English even though I am a minority (imagine that) and for the record *I* was the one paying not my white partner. He neglected us for most of the evening and I considered that a blessing. And what exactly did I buy? Overpriced, pretentious fare that had my Swedish neighbor laughing so hard she promised to cook me dinner as thanks for the entertainment. Must everything be so precious? There were some flashes of brilliant flavor in my starter and main but my dinner companion complained that everything was much too salty. Dessert, usually an easy gimme, was barely edible. Oh yeah, and the whole preciousness thing: is this a game of chicken/one-upsmanship between chefs to see how little food they can give you before customers notice? I don't eat a lot and if I complain that it's too little food then we have a problem. Tabla, Gramercy Tavern, and L'Impero don't seem to have this problem plus they were actually nice to me. Aquavit does have some excellent drinks though, and the ambiance is very well done. Serene and hushed as if to say, you are in the inner sanctum of a culinary temple, pay homage, be respectful. Fine, just warn me first that this was one of those Temples of the Ascetic Orders of Supermodel Thinness.

I’ve been to the bar a couple of times and each time enjoyed all the different kinds of aquavit. My favorite one is horseradish aquavit. I was very impressed with their arne jakobsen chairs in the lounge. I am a big fan of Danish design and was delighted the moment I walked in. I decided to have dinner in the main dining room and I was so impressed with their 16 course bite menu. It took 3 hours but every bite was a delight full of different flavors that complimented all combinations. I must say it was the best dining experience I’ve ever had. Service was fantastic and the wine pairing was a big plus. I highly recommend this restaurant.

As a chef myself, I've always wanted to go to the well-known restaurants to see what the celebrity chefs are so famous for. Although our server was lovely, not much impressed me about the restaurant as a whole. Presentation was blank and lacked imagination. My bass was delicious, but looked out of place with the other items (some over done haricot verts and crimini mushrooms?) on my plate. The cocktails were great and the atmosphere, quite neutral. I can find more interesting furniture at IKEA. We decided to skip dessert as nothing interested us. It's nice that I crossed this restaurant off my list, but I won't return.

My husband and I could not wait to try the food here, so we brought our Swedish friends. We ate in the main dining room, but had a drink at the bar. The bartender, an asian gentleman, was the best part about the place. We sat down and ordered the wine tasting with the tasting menu. The food came out slow, the wine (though decent) was not anywhere near the quality for the money. The waiter was curt, even condescending. Never again.

A much-anticipated visit to Aquavit turned out to be very disappointing. We were sat at out tables immediately on our arrival but were then promptly forgotten by the waiting staff. After waiting 15 mins (and seeing several other tables of diners be seated, given menus, drinks orders taken and amsue bouche served) we asked for the menus. The food menus were promptly dropped off at our table but a similar wait ensued before the drinks menu arrived. It took 45 mins in total before we were given any attention by the waiting staff and our orders taken. Our amuse bouche eventually arrived just before our appetizer. The appetizers were very nice and can recommend - the herring sampler and calf?s liver pate. The mains though were very disappointing, and not to mention cold. Even after the cod had been sent back to be reheated it was still rather tepid. The fish was very salty and potatoes not freshly cooked. Having had another long wait for our plates to be taken away we decided to cut our losses and get the check rather than stay for dessert, even though it was part of the fixed prix menu. Overall a very disappointing experience, which is a shame as other diners seemed to be getting very attentive service and enjoying themselves. Needless to say we will not be going back - there are far too many excellent (and cheaper) restaurants in NY.

After reading the many reviews and the cookbook I finally got the chance to "test" it out. My lunch was far more plesant than imagined- from food to service- everything was perfect to the corners of the table. Not only was out waiter and his staff attentive, but friendly, personable, and informative. The three courses I had were all a different dance on the tastebuds- every morsel was clean and fresh, and soothing. Portions were just right and the presentation was immpecable. I don't know Marcus- but have seen him on interviews and such- and seems like a laidback person with a lot of finesse, and thats very much reflected in his establishment

We all ordered defferent dishes, lobster roll, herring, lamb, sea bass---it was FAB. Saturday night. interesting crowd. Truly a change from reality. I loved it. snNYC