Le Cirque Restaurant Week Review

[stillroasting]

Just came back from Le Cirque. My lady and I arrived twenty minutes early for our reservation, but were seated very promptly, setting a positive course for our evening. The bread arrived very quickly, but seemed a little cold and stale. The waiter came by soon after to take our drink orders. The girl ordered a glass of Malbec, but I stuck with water. About ten minutes later, we ordered our prix fixe selections. For starters, I decided on the Watermelon and Tuna Bacon with Mint and Lime-Scented Yogurt, which came rather small, but was quite delicious. The dice-sized watermelon chunks offered miniature bursts of sugar that complimented the bacon-flavored rare tuna rather well. The tuna bacon concept seemed bizarre but actually made perfect sense in execution. Not as much mint yogurt as I had hoped, but all-in-all, a great first course. The lady took the Sweet Corn Soup with Wood Ear Mushrooms and Basil, which was also a great appetizer, slightly sugary and perfectly seasoned. Our only concern at this point was that the Malbec never arrived. We brought this to the attention of our server and he sincerely apologized, delivering the lady her glass of wine within moments. For mains, I ordered the Pistachio Crusted Lamb Filet with Peas, Mint and Goat Cheese. The lamb was cooked perfectly rare, as I had ordered, and was coated in a delectable crust of crushed pistachios. Quite a treat. The veggies were a little bland, however. I wanted a little more citrus and mint to contrast with the lamb. The lady ordered Sauteed Beef Medallions, also perfectly prepared with a portobello tart underneath. She mentioned that the tart seemed at odds with the medallions, but I thought they worked well together. For dessert, we both ordered the Chocolate Fondant with Salted Caramel Ice Cream. I love chocolate, but the tiny black disc was so intense, I wasn't sure I could finish it. The ice cream was incredibly rich. Probably one of the most decadent desserts I've tasted. The girlfriend couldn't even finish her plate. I tried to help, but also found myself chocolated out. When the bill came, they had scratched out the glass of wine, which was very noble of them. Neither of us expected this, but obviously we were pleasantly surprised. We both agreed that, while not the best meal we've ever had, Le Cirque provided us with delicious dishes, an elegant, unique atmosphere and a terrific experience overall. Compliments to Sirio Maccioni. Definitely recommended.

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Le Cirque
151 East 58th Street, New York, NY 10022

[uwsister]

We went to their RW lunch last summer, and we had an excellent meal then too. Seems like they put real effort into RW. Every restaurant should do that!

Thanks for the review.

[owlwoman]

We went Fri. night, has the same main and dessert, for app I had the chicken tortelli, which was quite good. My DH had the creme brulee for dessert, you cannot go wrong with that. I agree about the chocalate dessert, I couldn't finish it either. We all enjoyed our meal very much and agree they put a nice effort into restaurant week.

They also have a prix fixe of $55 pp, which also looked like a nice menu.