Chanterelle Closed

My wife and I have recently decided to fly to New York for some weekends for dining and museums. In regards to the museums, they are world class. So far, our culinary experiences have been sub par. This place was the ""crown jewel"" of average food with poor service. I can quickly list 50 restaurants in Chicago that are far superior to Chanterelle for 50% of the price. The restaurants at the same price point are head and shoulders above and you will have a memorable meal. After paying the $500 for this meal, I would pay someone $500 more to make me forget I ever went here. Pros: wine list Cons: everything else more

Food was decent. If there are more than 5 tables occupied get ready to be forgotten. My wife had a coffee cup put in front of her and we stared at it for 25 mins. Couldn?t get the attention of the staff and I?m not hunting one of them down when you?re paying $500 for a table of 2. Finally the Maitre?d was seating another table where I loudly had to get his attention. Asked for the check and told him why. It is unacceptable to not have anyone come by to check in on a table for nearly half an hour. I think you will have the same experience unless you have a table with a party of 5 or more. Even though the check for 2 is high, clearly a table of 5 will likely be higher so prepare to get ignored on a 2 top. The place isn?t much bigger than a living room, so this type of experience should never happen. Should have heeded the most recent reviews regarding the svs and not the ones of yore. Pros: Ok food Cons: Service considering price point more

We are frequent diners at the many great restaurants of NYC and really enjoy a wonderful and innovative food. It had been years since we had gone to Chanterelle, so went their for my birthday tonight. The restaurant was half full and very somber, but the decor and flower arrangements were still beautiful as we remembered. We ordered a glass of champagne and then ordered a bottle of wine. The wine list had a few bottles at $40 and them jumped up significantly from there (which we know is common in many restaurants). We told our waitress we wanted a medium-body red around $60. We got a French pinot that was below average. The food came out. I had ordered the scallops and foie gras with chive oil--to my disappointment I was given what I could only call a scallop shumai with a foie gras mousse and chive oil squirted around the plate. For my main I had a poached chicken breast that was good, but not incredible. The dessert was actually quite good--a prune armagnac souffle. My boyfriend's meal was average: squash ravioli with ox ragout as the starter and lamb for the main. It was ok. The service was fine but when the bill came we were shocked to see that the 2 glasses of champagne were $50 and the bottle of pinot (2004, Louis Jadot) was $75. I feel as though there should have been some discussion about the prices of the wine. I know that at a $75 price point you can have an excellent bottle of wine at a top restaurant. SKIP this and go to Le Bernadin, Per Se or Bouley for a better dining experience at this price range. more

I concur with the two most recent reviews. I was truly disappointed by Chanterelle. My fiancee and I were there yesterday evening for my birthday. We got the 3-course menu and an unremarkable (yet overpriced) bottle of Rioja. My appetizer of scallop and foie gras dumplings & my partner's entree of sturgeon were both quite good; his appetizer of beef cheeks and my entree of sirloin and marrow were awful -- both dry and tasteless, my sirloin dish in a soupy, flavorless red wine sauce. He had a rhubarb tart for dessert, which was tasty; I had the Valrhona chocolate dessert which was terrible, inedible in fact (wonderful dark chocolate in a fried pastry concoction that completely masked the flavor of the chocolate -- what was the pastry chef thinking??). The service, however, was the WORST part of the meal. We easily waited 40 minutes between courses, the waiters were gruff and indifferent (hastily mumbled the descriptions of the food and kept us sitting at a dirty, crumb-covered table for 10 minutes), and no one checked to see if we needed anything once our food was served. We felt abandoned by the wait staff. I was so disappointed that I actually said something to the manager -- and it made absolutely no difference. What an unfortunate experience. Skip this place and go to Jean Georges, Bouley or Gramercy Tavern -- where the food AND the service are spectacular. Pros: Ambience, Lighting Cons: Abysmal Service, Awful Desserts more

Don?t waste your time or money at this restaurant. It does not live up to expectations. The service was almost non-existent. My husband and I remarked that we have never eaten at a restaurant so highly rated where the service was so poor. No wait staff spoke to us for nearly forty-five minutes as we waited for our main course to arrive. We were virtually ignored. The food was average, but nothing extraordinary. The room is pretty, but less impressive than many other top restaurants. I would save your money for a restaurant that lives up to its reputation such as Daniel, Bouley or Le Bernardin. Chanterelle does not even come to any of these restaurants. I don?t know how it has been able to retain its high rating ? especially in service. more

It seems as if once a restaurant gets a good name, it can't ever do wrong in anybody's eyes. The tasting menu might have been a better choice but at least three of the dishes looked unappealing so we opted for the $110 Pros: Poor service, out of the way location, mediocre food Cons: Good chocolates, nice room more

My husband and I went for our first anniversary and very much enjoyed the food and the experience. However, we were disappointed with the service. The staff attempted to serve us somebody else's drinks and then a course from somebody else's meal (this even though we both got the tasting menu so it shouldn't have been that hard to follow). Also, we had ordered a bottle of wine, but nobody came to refill our glasses even after they were entirely empty until we asked somebody. more

Once you get past the grumpy hostess, the dining experience was fantastic. The food was good, but the service was superb. He was attentive, professional, non-invasive and made us feel rather comfortable in the awkward space. Pros: Service Cons: Overpowering smell from flowers more

I tried making reservations for two weeks. When I asked for a specifc time on two nights I was told that only a 5:30 or 9:30 was available. While dining there this week at 5:30 I noticed that the restaurant was empty. I spoke to the hostess and she looked it up on the computer and noticed that indeed there were empty tables at 6pm and 7pm etc. This really disappoints me since I assume they are trying to save tables or give the impression that it is difficult to get a reservation. We left the restaurant at 7:30 and there were 6 empty tables. The owners might be interested to know that we would have dined with others but were told that they were booked. I thought restaurants are in the business of booking reservations -- not turning away customers!! I might add that the food was superb, but doubt I would try to make another reservation under those circumstances. This incident really bothered me. Pros: great food and excellent desserts Cons: too difficult to reserve a table -- not worth the hassle. more

This one time great place has gone way down hill as far as I'm concerned. Pros: It was Only fair for me Cons: WAY over rated and over priced more

I've eaten here maybe 5 times over the years, and every meal has been completely disappointing. more

I've eaten here maybe 5 times over the years, and every meal has been completely disappointing. more

Nice decor, though the foie gras isn't the best I've tasted. However, it's pretty spacious for a New York... more

Nice decor, though the foie gras isn't the best I've tasted. However, it's pretty spacious for a New York City restaurant. more

Upon Lynnie's invite, I was lucky enough to experience one of Chanterelle's Sunday Salons: Seduced by... more

Upon Lynnie's invite, I was lucky enough to experience one of Chanterelle's Sunday Salons: Seduced by Spain, Queso y Vino. Granted, they snuck in a... more

Forget the beautiful room, though it is beautiful, the calm lighting, and the warm caring service that makes you feel like an old friend. What matters is the food, and the food excels. Start with the exceptional seafood sausage--a menu favorite for the last 27 years--or the oysters or, well, it's hard to find a loser here. Then the duck, or the lamb or the--well, save room for dessert. My fave is the delicately flavored and sublimely textured souffle. The wine list is overwhelming, but the sommelier is affable and provided us with expert guidance. Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Food, Service, Food, Wine, oh, and the Food Cons: Plan to spend about $200/person more

A top notch 4 star restaurant with attentive service. It is a formal place, so dress appropriately. I had a very good time here, and it is one of the few places I recommend for special occasion ""french"" dining (in addition to aureole, picholine). A classic. more

I have eaten there 4 times all for lunch, both during restaurant week and at regular times, and every time the food gets better. There simply isnt a more beautiful french restaurant in nyc. The service is accomodating, the hosteses are so caring and the food is simply sublime. it just doesnt get much better than this Pros: beautiful room, huge displays of flowers and unbelievable food and service Cons: cannot think of anything wrong with this restaurant more

Despite some of the negative commentary I see here, this place is still my favorite. Attention to every detail makes it the best restaurant in Manhattan, as far as I am concerned. more