Restaurant Review: Daniel, New York City

Daniel Boulud is widely acknowledged to be one of the world's premier French chefs. His flagship restaurant in New York City, Daniel, is one of the most highly acclaimed restaurants in New York and around the world. Of course, restaurants like this are never inexpensive, and Daniel is no exception. However, by most accounts, Daniel is a one-in-a-lifetime experience for food lovers. I decided to take my parents there on a recent visit, so they could experience the best NYC had to offer.

Daniel is located on the first floor of a lovely building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The restaurant is decorated in the Venetian Renaissance style - gorgeous and over the top. You can't overdress for a place like Daniel, where they give you a velvet footstool for your purse. As soon as we walked in, we were overwhelmed by the splendor. It's an unbelievably beautiful restaurant, perfect for special occasions.

Unfortunately for us, our meal got off to a rough start. Daniel offers a 3-course prix-fixe menu or a 6-course chef's tasting menu. As with most restaurants offering this type of menu, the 3-course menu is diner's choice and the 6-course is chef's choice. We wanted to do the 6-course menu, but unfortunately for us, the 6-course menu was largely seafood, and my mother does not eat fish. I called Daniel in advance to find out if they could make non-seafood substitutions for her, and was told that it would be no trouble and that the wait staff would be warned. However, when we tried to place our orders, we were told quite rudely that substitutions would be a problem and had to call over a manager to straighten out the situation. This type of service issue is unheard of at a restaurant of this caliber, and really put a damper on the evening.

Things went perfectly after that, though, and we were quickly served a variety of amuse-bouches and delicious breads. The olive bread was particularly tasty. The meal was very well paced and the wait staff was extremely attentive throughout the 6-course extravaganza. With a tasting menu, each course is usually quite small, but I felt that portions were generous at Daniel. Over the course of the evening, we sampled dishes such as rabbit "porchetta," pistachio crusted foie gras with blood orange, scallops three ways, fennel ravioli with calamari, cuttlefish and shrimp, butter-poached lobster with polenta and arugula, Dover sole with crayfish and stuffed romaine lettuce, cod with morels and potatoes, lamb loin and chop with pea puree, beef two ways and a variety of desserts.

While everything sounded delicious, looked beautiful and was well-executed, unfortunately many courses missed their marks. I felt that insufficient attention was given to the quality of the ingredients in many instances - fish could have been fresher, meats more flavorful. Also, the flavor combinations all seemed just a little bland to me - while I realize that French cuisine is much more subtle than Italian or Asian, it should never be boring. There were definitely dishes that did impress, though, including the cod with morels, the beef and lamb and the fennel ravioli. The desserts were also quite good. My parents indulged in wine pairings with their meals, which were excellent and definitely elevated the food.

So, was Daniel worth the high price tag? Yes and no. It's a beautiful, opulent and luxurious atmosphere, and that counts for something. However, rude service issues and inconsistent food are simply unacceptable at a restaurant like Daniel. I feel that at Daniel's price point, every single thing on the menu should be a home run, and unfortunately for me that was not the case. In my opinion, Daniel did not live up to its reputation or my expectations. I would be willing to give Daniel another shot, but only if someone else was footing the bill!

Address: 60 E. 65^th St., between Madison and Park
Phone: 212-288-0033
Hours: Mon-Sat 5:45pm-11pm
Price Range: 3 course prix-fixe $105, 6-course chef's tasting $175