Local Guides World
Dóra Dumitrașcu
2 reviews on 1 places
This was one of the best fine-dining experiences I had in a very long time. Food was delicious from start to finish, each dish brought something special. Wines were very interesting, definitely got the chance to try wines from regions I haven’t tried before. Service was great, atmosphere was very nice too. This was one of those restaurants that I would visit again when I am in NYC again. Don’t think too much, just book it!
We visited Lazy Bear as a party of four.
Walking in the restaurant you notice the cozy cabin-like setting - great atmosphere where you are seated at a large wooden table together with other guests, but still have some separation between the seats so that it doesn’t feel invasive or too crammed.
We had the tasting menu and the wine pairing, and we have also purchased the Château d’Yquem wine tasting at the end.
The food:
I had a pescatarian version of the menu. They accommodated the menu very nicely, most of the dishes were the same as the regular menu, without the extra meat/broth/wagyu (these ingredients were replaced with others). Overall I found the food tasty, however none of them blew my mind.
The wine:
There is a little more to unpack here. The wine pairing was..interesting. In my view some of the wines (especially the white ones) did not really make sense with the dishes.
One of the wines was a “Lazy Bear special” from 2000 (or 2002, can’t remember exactly). The waiter serving the wine seemed to be really careful to pour LITERALLY half a sip of the wine in our glasses. We kindly asked if they could pour a little more (since it’s a wine pairing WITH the food, you should be able to enjoy your wine during eating your dish, not have it already finished after the first bite). We got poured a little bit more.
Overall these interactions made me feel as if they are trying to save on the wine (which should never be the case at this pricepoint). Most of the wines they served were quantitatively too little. Any other Michelin star restaurant I’ve been to they serve a normal amount where I don’t have to worry about finishing the wine after 2 bites of the dish.
The dessert wine tasting:
After finishing our meal we were escorted upstairs for the dessert and the Château d’Yquem pairing that we purchased.
When we arrived upstairs, the wines were already poured in the glasses, just waiting there in room temperature.
I have never seen such setting before, where they don’t show the bottle of wine they are pouring from.
The vintages served were 2000, 2010 and 2015. Honestly, they might as well have been different vintages, given that I didn’t see them pour it and haven’t tried enough vintages to be able to identify them.
The desserts came, which were tasty. On top of the disappointing presentation of the Château d’Yquem tasting, they just came and poured the dessert wine that was part of the tasting (was a Tokaji) which has a significantly different taste profile as Château d’Yquem. Am I supposed to drink these wines mixed? It just felt messy and not coordinated overall.
Given all the above points, I cannot give more than 3 starts on this review, as I expected better service especially around the wine, and it really influenced my experience here.
Walking in the restaurant you notice the cozy cabin-like setting - great atmosphere where you are seated at a large wooden table together with other guests, but still have some separation between the seats so that it doesn’t feel invasive or too crammed.
We had the tasting menu and the wine pairing, and we have also purchased the Château d’Yquem wine tasting at the end.
The food:
I had a pescatarian version of the menu. They accommodated the menu very nicely, most of the dishes were the same as the regular menu, without the extra meat/broth/wagyu (these ingredients were replaced with others). Overall I found the food tasty, however none of them blew my mind.
The wine:
There is a little more to unpack here. The wine pairing was..interesting. In my view some of the wines (especially the white ones) did not really make sense with the dishes.
One of the wines was a “Lazy Bear special” from 2000 (or 2002, can’t remember exactly). The waiter serving the wine seemed to be really careful to pour LITERALLY half a sip of the wine in our glasses. We kindly asked if they could pour a little more (since it’s a wine pairing WITH the food, you should be able to enjoy your wine during eating your dish, not have it already finished after the first bite). We got poured a little bit more.
Overall these interactions made me feel as if they are trying to save on the wine (which should never be the case at this pricepoint). Most of the wines they served were quantitatively too little. Any other Michelin star restaurant I’ve been to they serve a normal amount where I don’t have to worry about finishing the wine after 2 bites of the dish.
The dessert wine tasting:
After finishing our meal we were escorted upstairs for the dessert and the Château d’Yquem pairing that we purchased.
When we arrived upstairs, the wines were already poured in the glasses, just waiting there in room temperature.
I have never seen such setting before, where they don’t show the bottle of wine they are pouring from.
The vintages served were 2000, 2010 and 2015. Honestly, they might as well have been different vintages, given that I didn’t see them pour it and haven’t tried enough vintages to be able to identify them.
The desserts came, which were tasty. On top of the disappointing presentation of the Château d’Yquem tasting, they just came and poured the dessert wine that was part of the tasting (was a Tokaji) which has a significantly different taste profile as Château d’Yquem. Am I supposed to drink these wines mixed? It just felt messy and not coordinated overall.
Given all the above points, I cannot give more than 3 starts on this review, as I expected better service especially around the wine, and it really influenced my experience here.