Le Cirque

The biggest surprise to me was how pleased I was with my RW dinner tonight at Le Cirque. While I adore Le Cirque in Las Vegas, I've never been a fan of Le Cirque in NYC which is very disappointing since it's so close to my office. I've always liked the food, but had always felt the service was very robotic.

Tonight 5 women from my office went out for a celebration, and I was somewhat surprised...+READ The biggest surprise to me was how pleased I was with my RW dinner tonight at Le Cirque. While I adore Le Cirque in Las Vegas, I've never been a fan of Le Cirque in NYC which is very disappointing since it's so close to my office. I've always liked the food, but had always felt the service was very robotic.

Tonight 5 women from my office went out for a celebration, and I was somewhat surprised that one of the celebrants selected Le Cirque (the selection criteria was a restaurant near the office participating in RW). I was pleased that we were seated at a nicely located table (other than my chair kept getting bumped by the serving staff). Our captain was very nice and helpful. I started with the soft cooked egg with sweetbreads--very tasty (and I don't care for sweetbreads). The main course (for all of us) was the hake with sauce Grenobloise and olive oil smashed potatoes. The fish was perfectly cooked and the lemon and capers truly enhanced the fish. Dessert was the signature creme brûlée and was delicious. I have had their creme brûlée many times, and consider it to be the finest anywhere.

Bottom line: very happy and delicious celebration. Very nice RW dinner.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (18 Replies) (by ellenost, created January 31, 2012)

Please skip Le Cirque. While the food is good, the service is among the most robotic that I've experienced in NYC. I do love Le Cirque in LV, but that's a different CH board. REPLY (9 Replies) (by ellenost, created September 16, 2011)

»Le Cirque

I'm not sure about WD-50 but Le Cirque seems to change their tasting menu quite often. I was there about a month ago and then again this past week. Some of the choices were different, so maybe try Le Cirque next time and you'll see the foie gras ravioli. I've never been disappointed here and think everything is delicious !!! (by cvc1988, created March 4, 2011)

We had a wonderful time here. Have dined ad Le Bernadin, Jean Georges and Bouley. This place is just a lovely, without the attidude/rudeness from service as I've experienced from the restaurants above. Why five-stars for me? Well, the food, extremely friendly service, ambience, dress casual to formal... Here's our last experience (18DEC2010).

Annual Christmas Holiday Visit to NYC, my sister...+READ We had a wonderful time here. Have dined ad Le Bernadin, Jean Georges and Bouley. This place is just a lovely, without the attidude/rudeness from service as I've experienced from the restaurants above. Why five-stars for me? Well, the food, extremely friendly service, ambience, dress casual to formal... Here's our last experience (18DEC2010).

Annual Christmas Holiday Visit to NYC, my sister takes her 9-year old daughter and our mother to NYC for shopping, dining weekend. This year I joined them for dinner, as I was visiting friends that weekend. They always pick a nice Hotel (St. Regis, The Plaza, Waldorf Astoria, The London...) and a nice restaurant(s) to dine. My sister decided to make reservations at Le Cirque.. She had been there before and again, a week prior. Her experience, "Great ambience, excellent extremely friendly service, very well prepared food."

So, Le Cirque is a great space, contemporary, yet elegant, formal, yet not uptight,

I ordered the Chef's Fall Tasting Menu + cavier and eggs (ala carte):

FALL TASTING MENU

Foie Gras Torchon
poached quince and almonds

Australian King Prawns
spaghetti squash, curry, lime, ginger

Wild Burgundy Escargot
Gruyere gnocchi, pickeled yellow foots, and bottarga

Hazelnut Smoked Salmon Fillet
butternut spuash and hazelnuts

Rack of Lamb
eggplant and sheep's milk ricotta

Selection of artisanal Cheese

Chocolate Soufflé

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My mother odered the Fall Tasting menu as well.

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My sister ordered *from the Seasonal Menu:

CHEF'S SEASONAL MENU
$92 per person

*Nantucket Bay Scallops Crudo

Granny Smith gelee and mustard seeds

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*Barramundi Filet
pumpkin chutney and almond milk
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*Blackened Mangalista Pork Filet
apple mostarda and polenta croutons

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* Chef's Complimentary.... will tell you about that below.

And my 9-year old niece ordered ala carte.

Foie Gras Torchon
poached quince and almonds

Lobster Risotto

Rack of Lamb
eggplant and sheep's milk ricotta

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All I have to say is that everything was absolutely excellent! My expectations were exceeded 10-fold. I was expecting really well prepared food, snooty service, total pretense. We received, overthetop friendly service, excellent food (prep, presentation, taste). Marco (currently owner/partner with other brother), one of the Son's of the original owner Sirio, came to our table, as he recognized my sister from her prior visits, Introduced himself to the rest of us, and chatted with us until the waiter came to our table, he the returned to our table toward the end of dinner, to ask how we were doing, whether we were enjoying our dinner, and ever so kindly asked my neice what she was going to order for dessert, she replied that she was not sure because she was overwhelmed with the selection. So Marco, put out his hand and offered to give my niece a personal tour of the Kitchen to meet the Pastry chef and Chef / kitchen staff. How great was that! When they came back, they were followed by 3 waiters with plates of or ordered desserts as well as a couple "complimentary" desserts which were compliments from Marco:

Crème Brûlée "Le Cirque"

Floating Island "Le Cirque" old-fashioned style island over light vanilla cream

Chocolate Soufflé traditional chocolate soufflé with vanilla gelato

Creamy Chocolate Tart salted caramel and peanut butter ice cream

a sampling of petit macorons and variety of other small bite sized pastry.

What a great experience, Marco, then presented my niece with a gift bag with a DVD of the documentary (HBO) of the History of Le Cirque and a signed Christmas Card with a personal message and his signature. 4-stars for the food and service +1 for Marco going out of the way to make our experience (my 9year old nieces) a wonderful one!-COLLAPSE / REPLY (7 Replies) (by SpdRcr069, created December 20, 2010)

»Le Cirque Restaurant Week Review

Just came back from Le Cirque. My lady and I arrived twenty minutes early for our reservation, but were seated very promptly, setting a positive course for our evening. The bread arrived very quickly, but seemed a little cold and stale. The waiter came by soon after to take our drink orders. The girl ordered a glass of Malbec, but I stuck with water. About ten minutes later, we ordered our prix...+READ Just came back from Le Cirque. My lady and I arrived twenty minutes early for our reservation, but were seated very promptly, setting a positive course for our evening. The bread arrived very quickly, but seemed a little cold and stale. The waiter came by soon after to take our drink orders. The girl ordered a glass of Malbec, but I stuck with water. About ten minutes later, we ordered our prix fixe selections. For starters, I decided on the Watermelon and Tuna Bacon with Mint and Lime-Scented Yogurt, which came rather small, but was quite delicious. The dice-sized watermelon chunks offered miniature bursts of sugar that complimented the bacon-flavored rare tuna rather well. The tuna bacon concept seemed bizarre but actually made perfect sense in execution. Not as much mint yogurt as I had hoped, but all-in-all, a great first course. The lady took the Sweet Corn Soup with Wood Ear Mushrooms and Basil, which was also a great appetizer, slightly sugary and perfectly seasoned. Our only concern at this point was that the Malbec never arrived. We brought this to the attention of our server and he sincerely apologized, delivering the lady her glass of wine within moments. For mains, I ordered the Pistachio Crusted Lamb Filet with Peas, Mint and Goat Cheese. The lamb was cooked perfectly rare, as I had ordered, and was coated in a delectable crust of crushed pistachios. Quite a treat. The veggies were a little bland, however. I wanted a little more citrus and mint to contrast with the lamb. The lady ordered Sauteed Beef Medallions, also perfectly prepared with a portobello tart underneath. She mentioned that the tart seemed at odds with the medallions, but I thought they worked well together. For dessert, we both ordered the Chocolate Fondant with Salted Caramel Ice Cream. I love chocolate, but the tiny black disc was so intense, I wasn't sure I could finish it. The ice cream was incredibly rich. Probably one of the most decadent desserts I've tasted. The girlfriend couldn't even finish her plate. I tried to help, but also found myself chocolated out. When the bill came, they had scratched out the glass of wine, which was very noble of them. Neither of us expected this, but obviously we were pleasantly surprised. We both agreed that, while not the best meal we've ever had, Le Cirque provided us with delicious dishes, an elegant, unique atmosphere and a terrific experience overall. Compliments to Sirio Maccioni. Definitely recommended.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (2 Replies) (by stillroasting, created July 16, 2010)