Daniel

Bottom Line: If you are looking for a destination restaurant look no further, Daniel beats its competition. Multi-course dinners often run the risk of becoming too long, the food too sophisticated and the guests too tired. An upscale restaurant is charged with the impossibly hard task of having a grand yet inviting and comfortable room, good food paired with impeccable service and an overall wow factor. To add to this difficult balance they also have to cater to a highly critical crowd (as they should). Many New York restaurants try to hit all these factors and vie for the crown as restaurant of choice for high powered Wall street dinners, engagement proposals and celebrations of any type; few, however, do it as successfully as Daniel. Lets start from the beginning. The ambiance at the restaurant is impeccable - the dining room is formal yet intimate and the modern art on the walls gives it a contemporary feel escaping the stuffy and old decor that stigmatizes so many fellow contenders. Main highlight: the ultra cool bar. It’s sophisticated and sexy and if you’re bringing a date it’s worth stopping for a drink before you head to dinner in the main dining room. At this point I should mention the restaurant's dress code is formal and the hostess will tackle you and offer a coat from the house closet if you do not come appropriately dressed. And now lets go to the food. The menu is prix-fixe, three dishes (a starter, main and dessert), with enough variety to pick something of your liking. For a starter I ordered the seasonal appetizer, a perfectly poached lobster. My main dish was the duo of beef - black Angus short ribs with roasted beets and lentil coulis; This excellent dish came with a service to match. What really sets Daniel apart, are all the extra bites that appear at your table, which fill you up after the relatively small portions. The epic conclusion of the meal is a basket of freshly baked madeleines. After you eat them you’re just going to have to come back for more.

I was there on January 23 to celebrate my girlfriend 26 birthdate. We had very good times and enjoyed very much the atmosphere. The service was spectacular. The service was excellent. She was very happy for the service and the food. The dessert was the best. We have no problem to refer Daniel to our friends. Of course we will be back again.

Awesome restaurant! I had a great night at Daniel, ask the tasting menu items 3, Duck Terrine With Marcona Almond was great, along with Artichoke And Squid Ink Raviolini. Major Bacon Wrapped Swordfish Suckling Pig and Quebec were divine as well as desserts Warm coulant Guanaja Chocolate and Caramelized Hazelnut Crumble With Dulce De Leche Cream! Amazing service, all of first! I recommend to all!

While a beautiful atmosphere with excellent (and a little pretentious) service, the food was not very memorable and certainly could have been exceeded quality-wise.

Every single dish was impeccable and despite the fact that it is an upscale restaurant, the staff was warm and welcoming. I just wish the portions were larger!

We went to Daniel for my husband's birthday. The service like most people mentioned was wonderful but considering the type of restaurant it is, it is to be expected. I have had service just as wonderful elsewhere, so it's also not something to fawn over. As for the food, nothing struck me as spectacular and not one dish really stood out. I had the peekytoe crab salad, and the duck entree. My husband had the trio of salmon and the duo of beef. For a meal so expensive I was expecting to be WOWED which I wasn't. I understand it's about the experience, which I suppose I can say now that I've tried but when I go to a restaurant I'm really going for the FOOD. I would only recommend this restaurant for the sake of saying you went there and experienced 'fine dining' but you can go other places for that and still get better food. On a side note - the wine pairings did not seem to match so well

The atmosphere was perfect. The staff were impeccable, knowledgeable, extremely professional and friendly. The food was perfect. Full of flavor, and delicate. Completely worth the money. A great dining experience and I look forward to going again and again.