wd-50

Even McDonalds serves greens! WD-50 was the worst dining experience I have ever encountered in 20 years as a New Yorker. Not even one vegetable on the menu not one. After my disbelief, the waitress tried to pass the onion soup off as a veggie. The food is simply odd. Peanut brittle and bacon stuffed corn stalks served over a bed of rice crispy treats and olives. [Ok, I made that up but you get the point] The wine list was fine as was the service. But it’s the food stupid. WD-Zero.

In response to the reviewer who claims that one can only be a "non-American" or an American who was "raised overseas" to appreciate wd-50: that is just ignorant and WRONG. I love wd-50. So do my American born and bred friends. I absolutely loved Clinton Fresh Foods, where Wylie was previously a chef, and was so sad to see it go. The dishes at wd-50 are innovative, flavorful and are the absolute perfect portion size. One can comfortable eat an appetizer, entree and dessert without feeling overwhelmed. Many restaurants stuff you with such an outrageous portion size (one person does not need 4 chicken breasts in an entree) that you can't actually enjoy what you are eating. At wd-50 you leave feeling satisified, not heavy. There are so many different flavors and textures on your plate when it arrives, you don't understand what they are doing paired together. But then when you actually combine then, they are simply amazing. This is a true culinary experience for people who are interested in food and expanding their knowledge of food. You pay for the experience and for the artistic talent and genius that goes into the preparation of each single plate of food. I am looking forward to returning to wd-50 soon. The next time I will be participating in the 9 course tasting! Can't wait!

I was very dissapointed on the food. Yes, it is creative and cutting edge but it does't tast good, and the food combinations don't much. I don't think it was well thought and calcurated. Just made with inspiration. Far cry from European creative chefs dishes.

This is one of those pay for experience type places.. The food almost comes secondary to the manner by which it is arranged, and all the rigid formalities that come with dropping 400bucks on a meal for two people.. I give it high points for aesthetics, though while the plates arrived designed with phenomenal and intricate care, in the form of a perfect composition, the balance of the tastes found within the dish are sometimes startilingly off. There were no overtly challenging tastes on either of the courses we had ordered, but the textures were very new to us (barley paste on the mediterranian bass was quite strange). Nothing tasted 'bad' or even too strange, at all, only it was less of an enjoyable meal than, say, an exploratory one. The dessert tasting menu was interesting, but also the aesthetics beat the taste. I generally don't like the places where sit you thigh to thigh with the person eating next to you, and the whole experience was a bit rigid and self conscious, like I was very aware of me being in this place and every body was too, so the line to the bathroom was not for people that needed to use the bathroom but rather for people who wanted to adjust their hair. Overall, the food and particularly the wine was overpriced, but it was interesting. The waitstaff was very cordial, and generous, and the guy even arranged a 5 course desset tasting menu for the price of a 3 dessert menu.. but the woman up front was a bit annoyed with something and was kind of rude to us. If you're young a good looking, and rich, and perhaps foreign, this place is for you.

The wait wasn't that long, but the waiter acted like he wanted us out of there the entire time we were there. We aren't loud, obnoxious, and there were 3 of us each having a 3 course dinner with 1 - 3 cocktails each, so I feel that we spent a sufficient amount of money. Why is it then, that the waiter acted like he was annoyed to have to wait on us and why is it that we didn't get any of the standard amuse bouches or palette cleansers that the other diners got? And why were we being rushed out of the restaraunt when we had a reservation made weeks in advance for my brother's birthday? We were polite and tipped well, but looking back on the exeperience really makes me incensed.

Went last Thursday with a friend for the first time with high expectations. We both chose the tasting menu to get a fuller experience. While we both appreciated the ingenuity and care that went into each dish, the end product- what you actually have to put in your mouth and enjoy as food- was not good. The foie gras course literally tasted like cold wet cereal. One course, made of shrimp stock, were these little airy balls with the consistency and taste of packaging popcorn. The sweetbreads were very good but tiny. And this was the other problem. Not to sound like that joke that Woody Allen tells in "Annie Hall," but the food was poor and such small portions too. Although billed as 15 courses, I guarantee that you will not even be close to feeling sated. One dessert course was a single, minisucle jellybean. Do not do not do not choose the tasting menu. With wine pairing you will pay about $180 per person. If you do decide to go to this place, order al a carte and be sure to get the Riesling, which is truly delicious wine.

WD-50 is a unique restaurant that offers food that can't be easily described or appreciated by those that don't really know much about food. The complaints about price below are insane, it is a serious restaurant and charges prices that are reasonable for what they selling. The food is much more serious than the service or the room, which are both adequate. I don't love every dish but it is always interesting and the best things are extremely good. Complaining about what a restaurant costs when you can look at the menu before you eat there is inane, and I doubt that anyone with much experience eating in serious restaurants thinks its overpriced.