Telepan

There really aren't that many fabulous restaurants on the UWS. We've been waiting for a new chic & sophisticated restaurant to open up in the Lincoln Center neighborhood for a long time. Telepan gives us delicious, inventive and artfully presented dishes, great service, and a beautiful, retro-designer space, with Japanese zen-Green colored walls and Florence Knoll-esque fixturing. Make sure you go on a completely empty stomach. The menu is fun - all mix and match from 3 separate columns. There are endless combos to chose from to create your own $55, 4-course prix fixe tasting. Of course, you can just chose one or two items a la carte, but it is really hard to decide if you're a foodie. All the ingredients used are local and seasonal (probably organic too). The winelist is equally impressive, with pages and pages of the finest wines from around the world. The food is very rich and flavorful, and on top of that, they start you off with a mini-tasting of 3 differerent amuse bouches. Having said all that, the vibe is still very down-to-earth. The ambiance, combined with their sultry 40's soundtrack, dim-lightling, attentive waitstaff and awesome food would definitely be a romantic date place. It has quickly become one of my favorites on the UWS. I would recommend this highly to all my friends and will definitely go back to try everything else!

Interesting hen of wood salad and excellent soup. The chicken was delicious, and the lobster had a number of distinct flavors but ask for the pasta al dente. They need to put on the air conditioning. The service was fine, and the bread good. I would go back. My husband loved it and he is finicky. They should upgrade the butter.

Telepan in a word? Nuance. I admit I was skeptical, but one try and I?ve been thinking about it for a week now. Sadly, I can't afford to eat here regularly, but it?s left its mark, and I can?t wait to go back. Counter to my expectations, the food is not overly fussy, but delicately conceived and executed--a real treat after suffering through so much heavy-handed menu mediocrity elsewhere. The wine list is great (there are some really good affordable choices), and the sommelier is an artist. Truly, he?s gifted with words, and excellent in pairing diverse dinners with just the perfect bottle that draws out the character of the wine. After a delicious amuse bouche from the chef, I had the yellowtail appetizer (if you even remotely like yellowtail, this incarnation may render you unable to speak) and scallops on the entree side of the menu...absolutely elegant. And the space is beautiful. I can't think of a more perfect place to take a date, or have mom and dad take you to dinner!

The restaurant is pretty. The atmosphere is casual. The staff is friendly. The wine is great. And most of all, the food is the best I've had in a couple of years. Get in before the explosion starts. The review in the Daily News and the New Yorker and I'm sure the NY Times is coming out very soon.

Telepan is a wonderful restaurant. The good is exquisite and the wine list is great. The waitress recommended the perfect wine with these great tasting blinis. There is a wine waiter in a cellar room where I could see from my table. Was fun watching him decant the wines. The breads are really good too. Similar to ones I had when I used to eat at Judson Grill, the chef's former restaurant. I will be back again!

The place blew me away. I'm still thinking of an appetizer salad of sauteed hen of the wood mushrooms and a poached egg over frisee. The room is lovely: very buzz-y but not overly loud. Don't quite get the intermediate course, however: if you order it you get too much to eat yet it's not big enough to be a main course. It's best to think of it as an alternative to the appetizer choices I guess.

My husband and I don't get out to restaurants very often but we treated ourselves to a special night out last week at Telepan and had a fabulous meal there. The food was delicious, especially the monkfish paprikas and the Nantucket bay scallops. And the decor was pretty and warm and cleverly arranged. Can't wait until the chef starts serving lunch next month as this will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood for business lunches.