Great restaurant week dinner at Adour Alain Ducasse
I just wanted to share my experience last night at Adour. I was very excited that they were participating for RW. I go for both winter and summer RW for many years now and it's always a fun and interesting experience. I use it as a platform to try places I normally wouldn't bother with, due to either interest level or cost or both. This one fit the cost category quite well. I had a bit of hesitation as to how well we would be treated as restaurant weekers, but all my worries were tossed aside as soon as we checked in. 4 of us met first at the famous King Cole bar. It was so dark in there you can't even see who you're sitting with! Drinks are indeed famously overpriced but you're paying for the atmosphere and not much else. At least the service was excellent and genuinely friendly and the drinks were large, strong, and well made. We made our way to Adour with some unfinished drinks in hand, they greeted us with smiles at the front desk and seated us right away. The place is really beautiful and elegant, with an intimate and modern feel to it. We got a nice table in the back which was private and comfy. The waiter came by and we told him right away we wanted the RW menu. He was really nice and offered to help us find some wines by the bottle to pair with the food and stay within our budget (we asked about the wine by the glass pairing they offered but decided to go by the bottle). To make a long story short, the service was exemplary, the sommelier was friendly and charming, and the food was amazing. I had the risotto with zucchini and calamari, the beef tenderlion/shortrib combo, and the passionfruit vacherin. Every bite was truly wonderul. The wines we got were also fantastic. I was so happy with the whole experience that I would say it was probably the best RW experience we've ever had (and that's among MANY), because of the amazing value and truly wonderful service, food, and ambience. It's so great to see that a place of this caliber is willing to put themselves out there for RW and none of the staff seemed to flinch. I looked at the regular menu the next day and it's quite expensive! But I would like to return sometime, maybe to try the tasting menu. They did a great job of luring us in to make a great impression, and hopefully score some future business. That's what RW in NY is all about! Nice to see it work so well.
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Adour Alain Ducasse
2 East 55th Street, New York, NY 10022
King Cole Bar
2 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022
By grouchomarx
on Jul 22, 2010 07:07 PM
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Does anyone know of Adour is still participating in RW? I know it was extended through labor day but Adour is not listed on the site. Maybe they chose not to extend the offer?
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I would also be interested in knowing, so bump!
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You could call and ask. But since Adour is not on the RW extended list (which is pretty accurate), I would say they are no longer offering that deal. Frankly, I was totally shocked that they participated in RW.
Also, checking the list, I see that the Ducasse bistro, Benoit, which participated in RW, is not on the extended list either.
Adour is near the top of my "go to" list now that Chef Didier Elena has settled in, and his menu is in place.
http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com
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I was surprised as well - too bad it seems that I missed the chance. Perhaps I will make it there anyway if I read more good reviews.
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Business is slow at Adour, hence the participation in RW. It's for promotional purposes.
RGR, I'd give Elena a bit more time before you take the plunge.
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Elena has been there since May. From our previous experiences with chef changes -- Humm at EMP, Pugin at Veritas, Kaysen at Cafe Boulud, White at L'Impero/Convivio, etc. -- three months was sufficient time for them to get their bearings and install their own menus.
The Adour website is still under reconstruction. But passing by the St. Regis a few weeks ago, we looked at Elena's menu posted outside the restaurant and it was quite appealing. I tend to like summer menus best, so we'll probably go before it changes for the fall.
http://thewizardofroz.wordpress.com
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Adour is (surprisingly) participating in RW again for Winter 2011 . A lot of 4-spots where taken when I called a few hours ago for the entire 2 weeks of RW. I got one, but it's a 9PM reservation.
Did anybody other than grouchomarx go during RW Summer 2010? I saw a couple of RW reviews on Yelp, but they weren't as informative as grouchomarx's.
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deepfy7--I don't see Adour on the list of participating restaurants for 2011. Where did you find it?
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NYC tourism's twitter account, NYCGO. They usually post up a day earlier than via nycgo.com the past couple of RW's.
http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek/f...
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