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I have been to this place a few times, and was very excited to be returning. I over ordered as always so that my parents could experience everything. The crudo (though expensive) came and was delicious but for there things went downhill rapidly. The food took a long time to come, then was cold and some parts overcooked. When I politely reminded the waiter that we were in a hurry as i had done when booking and when seated he looked at me like I was crazy as there was no problem with the timing (40mins between each course). All in all a very average disappointing overpriced experience, a shame as the menu has been well designed and the food used to be well executed!

the best in town, during my 2 week trip in New York i went twice, but wanted to go again. I recommend the soup, chicken and gelato

After having been blown away by Phantom of the Opera, what a way to end our day by having our first visit/dinner at Esca. The food was superb and the service by a young college student was great. The only negative was the louder than necessary music. I will return.

We usually love dinner at Esca, and chose to try restaurant week lunch. We had very nice antipasti, though the crudo plate had two (!) pieces of tuna. I complained and was told to order another plate if I wanted. The fish course was sold out, and replaced by tuna (we were not told this), and finally by the time our order was being served, it had morphed into shark. My wife complained that she did not care for shark, but was basically blown off by the waiter ("don't worry, you'll like it"). By the end of lunch, we had had a fairly nice lunch, but spent a lot more than we bargained for, and felt like the poor cousins who tried to come in for a free lunch.

Our party of 5 was really rushed on June 5, 2009 and that was good as it discouraged us from ordering any more poorly prepared food. The goal at ESCA is TABLE TURNOVER - because the food is substandard. The seafood frito misto had to be saturated with lemon juice to kill the taste of UNFRESH fish. The squash blossoms filled with cheese were served flattened and virtually unrecognizable, oily and nearly tasteless (quite an achievement). Fortunately my guests had received very small portions of food - but at large prices.The person who heads the kitchen really isn't qualified to be a short order chef at any fast food place. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

After reading the mixed reviews, I was a bit concerned about making this the restaurant for my girlfriend's birthday. At the end of the day it was a nice place to eat due to its lovely staff, wonderful decor and tasty food (most of it, that is). One of the dishes, the final fish item on the tasting menu was good for me, but when I saw my girlfriend scowl at hers, I was puzzled. We have a similar palate and tend to detect subtleties in our food well. I loved mine, but after trying hers I understood better. Hers was spoiled. I would have thought the management would have a better purchasing director. I suppose no restaurant is perfect, but after reading the positives and the negatives, Esca came in right in the middle - good in many aspects, but missing in others. Because it is a high end restaurant, there were some phenomenal aspects to this restaurant, but after having such a lovely evening scarred by a piece of rotten fish, I had to let those other folks out there that this restaurant is not at top as others in the same class. I have told my friends the experience was memorable, but I have not recommended it to them. Take that for what its worth. Good luck.

The portion was tiny, the price was huge, and the food was tasteless. As to the service, I can only assume our waitress lost her job at McDonald's and found her proper place at Esca. Fortunately, I had good company so I only felt ripped-off instead of mugged.