Restaurants have overall ratings in the top 20% for their Diamond Rating level, plus no member complaints in the past 12 months.
Pass through to the back of a typical grocery store in Hell's Kitchen and you'll find a secret, unmarked passageway to culinary bliss. Extraordinary.
AAA Inspector Notes
Enjoy the extravagant tasting menus artistically prepared before your eyes by Chef Cesar Ramirez. In an open kitchen, his stellar team fuses a subtle blend of Asian ingredients with a French technique. Precisely plated and served in an intimate, slightly austere postmodern setting, the nearly three-hour meal gradually builds. A setup of superb seafood, caviar and shellfish sourced from across the Pacific Rim culminates in a crescendo of the highest-grade Wagyu beef or squab in huckleberry. Originally located in downtown Brooklyn and attached to a gourmet grocery, this small world-class eatery moved to Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen and still employs the same novel concept. Guests walk through a grocery store like any other in Gotham to discover a slightly hard to find, very low-key and discreet backroom restaurant with a receptionist who guards the reservations made many weeks in advance. Service is unobtrusive and highly diligent; wines tend to be French and of a very good vintage. Expect to sit at the chef's table when available, but there a few tables are available on the periphery of the room. With the prepaid tasting menu, wine pairings, gratuities and taxes, expect the tariff for two to be above $1,000. But for those who relish a highly memorable experience which will sublimely linger on as one of life’s grand culinary splurges, then it is all very well worth it.
