Corton

Went to Corton to celebrate my birthday - this was the first night they opened after the hurricane. It was very quiet. LOVED IT. Very creative. Only one menu was offered but they accommodated allergies, etc. Service was fabulous. Sommelier excellent. We were amazed by the tastes. The presentation was beautiful. More than enough to eat. It reminded us of other spectacular restaurant meals. A very special experience.

Service and setting are as described below and much to my liking. However, I chose beef over fish and finished with a very tough piece of gristle; the plate had already been removed (while I was chewing) so I had to deposit it in the napkin. Not a very nice experience at this price.

I don't really know if Corton is being fairly compared to other places in NYC. For the kind of edgy, boundary-pushing food that you get I think the value is pretty high. You would probably pay twice as much in France to get cutting-edge cuisine. Service is very correct and efficient but I guess not always warm. The menu is not easy to understand and only a small fraction of the ingredients are listed. The atmosphere was very austere and empty at the beginning of the meal when we arrived. There isn't any music but the room is lively when at least half full. I liked the combinations and that the chef makes you think about what you're eating and how you're eating it. People shouldn't complain because it's not "comfort food." Grow up and try eating like an adult.

Food and service was very good but we expected more atmosphere. The bill was more than we expected and we both said we won't be back.

I'm at a loss to understand the most recent reviews. A friend and I had the tasting menu in late May and had a most rewarding experience. Service was professional, yet warm and accomodating. The setting is, yes, contemporary, and quite comfortable. The food? Superb! Imaginative, complex combinations of ingredients and flavors and textures. We spent half the evening making comparisons to other exceptional dinners and being happy in the same league.

The quality of food was fine, well prepared, but very small portion and so expensive for what you get. We ordered champagne at their tiny bar corner while waiting for our seat. The bartender gave us popcorn!!!!! from a plastic bag. I was expecting a small amuse type of dish or at least olives or something. Other waitstaff kept coming to the bar to get drinks and carrying their private conversation with loud voices. Pretty unbelievable for this type of restaurant. The food was fine and creative. The wine list was interesting, but the setting was whatever. Our waitress was not professional, more diner type of waitress, just doing her job. I would never waste my money here again.

Dined at Corton last weekend and I can honestly say that the food was good and inventive but the overall package is just okay. I get the impression that they’re trying to emulate a Pierre Gagniare type of concept where they play w/ the main protein a few different ways, most of the time successfully. However, with only four entrée selections and no substitutions and no additions from the $145 tasting menu you have to hope you like what’s available that night. I assume they normally have one fish, one shellfish, one poultry and one meat. In my case Cod, Lobster (+ supp), Duck & Beef. There’s a few more appetizers but a single diver scallop w/ a $25 supp limits things significantly (we added it as a mid-course to split and indeed it was one scallop at an additional cost of $51, yes it had shaved black truffles but I’ve had them before and it wasn’t a mind-blowing experience. I thought the egg appetizer was very good (could have done w/o the coconut component though). In the end, the dessert was good, again not mind-blowing or memorable (chocolate tart) although the person sitting next to me ordered what appeared to be French toast and that looked good. Overall pretty disappointed w/ the restaurants inflexibility and $50 corkage fee, one of the higher in NYC. The décor is pretty cold, plenty of people talk about it so I won’t get into it but the bathroom situation’s a little strange, if there’s a wait you’re basically on top of a table of diners. Like I said, it’s good not great, not in the elite w/ PerSe, JG, Daniel, LeBernardin…at least one, maybe two steps below. But a nice option for a special occasion if you’ve been everywhere else.