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And, as one might expect, the ground floor restaurant picks up the circular theme with a splendid (and very comfortable banquette) swirled around a central pillar decorated with the inevitable monkeys and topped with a dashing circus marquee. Oh, go look at the pictures. The layout does help everyone to see everyone else, but is not easily negotiated by the servers who kept getting gridlocked on the outer circuit.
Entering, the bar is to your right (with a big TV, just like the old place). Beyond it is a spectacular wine tower, and then a lot of quite empty space with views of the courtyard, dotted with tables. This will be the area for bar-dining, and we saw a preview bar menu - hearty stuff, roast chicken for two, etc. The bar itself was busy, and I anticipated a long wait for our table, especially having heard that service wasn't yet at full throttle. Pleasantly surprised to be seated after about half an hour, and at a terrific table - side by side on the banquette nearest to you in this picture (from TONY):
This may or may not be the place to review the costume and cosmetic surgery choices of our fellow guests, although it would be true to say that such matters frequently took the focus off the food. As anticipated, a fairly cautious menu, although certainly not a replica of Le Cirque 2000. Smoked salmon wrapped around a mousse of the same was an entirely conventional amuse. Warm Maine lobster salad was flavorful, but unduly tough - a fault, to be honest, widely found in upscale New York restaurants, fearful I suspect of overcooking.
My appetizer was more creative - indeed it looked like something one might eat at Gilt. Morels (plenty) and peas, different ways in different dishes. I didn't like the chilled pea soup - kind of flat and cold. But I did enjoy a raviolo of morels and peas (with some kind of cheese in there too), and a sort of stew of the same. Okay, you know?
The branzino was good, nicely cooked witha crisp skin, but the stuffing of mixed seafood - shrimp, octopus, squid - was not considered exciting. My Colorado lamb dish was not balanced to my personal preference: two enormous, correctly cooked chops, garnished with a tiny mound of braised shoulder and a tiny slice of sweetbreads, pressed and then crisped. Since I'd been attracted to the dish by the mention of braising and offal, the distribution was slightly disappointing. Powerful red wine reduction.
I think we ordered badly when it came to dessert. From the moment we entered the restaurant, we had seen the most striking architectural fancies being carried back and forth. We ordered randomly from the experimental section of the menu (there are classic desserts too), but our dishes were quite conventional in appearance. We should have asked our server to bring us anything which looked weird. Unfortunately, my macerated figs were horrible - medicinal - and went uneaten. A chocolate parfait was 'appropriate'
.Wine list? Amusing, I suppose, with a vertical of Imperials of Opus One on one page, and some $35 afterthought of a regional red on the next. Most of the list is very expensive indeed, and it is not the old Le Cirque 2000 list. I think there are less than half a dozen red Rhones, for example, although hundreds of vintage Bordeauxs and Burgundies. I retreated to Spain where there was a 1996 Protos Gran Reserva at $115.
I have seen complaints elsewhere about service. As mentioned above, the numerous staff are still working out their choreography, and were certainly getting confused with some orders (not ours); but the atmosphere was extremely pleasant, and we were happy to see two of the maitre d'/captains from the restaurant's previous incarnation. Final pleasant surprise was the check. I had mentally written this off as a $500 evening (for two), but it was nowhere near. Just over $300 before gratuity, which is entirely reasonable, I'm afraid, in New York today, and a considerable step below the entrance price of Ducasse or Per Se.
But it's not about the food.
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