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Small pretentious portions. Nice room, and good service. However, as I said before the portions are ridiculously small and there is very little choice on the menu. Suggestion... Add some more choices to your menu, and add some more food to the plates.

We decided to go to New York for 3 days, we had a list of places to eat. We visited 3 to 4 establishments per day. On our last day we had Restaurant Isa as our second stop. The food was very good, you can feel the chef's passion in the dishes. Small portions but perfectly balanced. Unfortunately it takes two to tango and the service was not up to Brooklyn or New York standards. We sat at the counter/bar and our server/barman never made us feel welcomed. During the 2 hours we were there, never once did he smile, he never looked at us and never once did he do his job and make us enjoy our evening. So I have to say poor chef, your food was very good too bad the bar man screwed it up.

Finally got to ISA for an early evening Sunday dinner and the jury is out. I was not incredibly hungry, therefore the smallish portions were okay. The dishes are well constructed and provide an amazing spark to the senses. The service was professional and knowledgable. The atmosphere was ideal for a cold and rainy evening, but might be too heavy in August. The place is somewhat contradictory because the feel doesn't match the menu. My wife had the strip. It was perfectly prepared, yet three slices of steak, with some foam and radish slices was overpriced at $32. Had I been hungry I may have been disappointed.

Some friends were raving about this place (best in Bburg...), while others complained about the small portions and high prices. Ultimately i have to agree with the admirers - quality over quantity, which alas many times comes at a higher price... What you're getting though is smart, and very well executed food, served by a first rate staff. The flavors are very clean and subtle, and show a great variety, which compensates for the limited menu. The deserts are outstanding.

It has been a very much anticipated visit, but a table of four left very upset and disappointed. Even if some dishes were great, the little choices given , the small portion ,the mismanagement made the overall experience a total disaster.

Its not very often that one walks into a space as gorgeous as the Isa's and walks away as disappointed as the expectations that the atmosphere sets. I say this not just as a vegetarian but my carnivorous friends didnt find the food worth the fat wallet as well, other than the appetizers. Its ridiculous to ask everyone at the table to order pre-fixe when its just a 3-course pre-fixe which doesnt naturally have vegetarian options. If you do substitute a cheap starchy veggie main, you are overpaying for the combination compared to the a-la-carte value. Its really quite unfair! You can beef up your pre-fixe menu if you want 100% willing customers. Nearly all the dishes were pretentious in the use of ingredients which added to texture but not really the taste. The barley risotto was not much to talk about, fennel persimmon salad was the best of the pre-fixe and dont even get me started about the sunchoke dessert, which was a joke in the name of dessert. When I order dessert, I expect to please my palate with something sweet or sweet-ish. It doesnt have to be too sweet but I dont expect a salty lump of mousse hiding wiry (read unchewable, indigestible) dried trumpet wiriness and some gooey salty sorbet/ ice-cream to pass for dessert. The grapefruit dessert was better. Having been to a LOT of incredible experimental and out-of-the-box cuisine restaurants in NYC, Isa is a sore disappointment.

Went here with a fairly large group (12 PAX), but everyone was able to hear everyone else. Every dish was delicious, creative, amazing, beautiful. The atmosphere and set up are so great, and the attentive service is really wonderful. Cannot wait to go here again!