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Home > Restaurants > Alain Ducasse at the Essex House

Alain Ducasse at the Essex House

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

155 W. 58th St., New York, NY 10019
between Sixth and Seventh Aves.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-265-7300 Send to Phone

  • Price Range: $$$$

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
    • Excellent
    • Delicious
    • Very Good
    • Noteworthy
    • Very Expensive
    • Expensive
    • Moderate
    • Cheap
  • Critics' Rating: **

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
    • Excellent
    • Delicious
    • Very Good
    • Noteworthy
    • Very Expensive
    • Expensive
    • Moderate
    • Cheap
  • Reader Rating:

    8.1 out of 10

      |  

    10 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: French
Enlarge Image
Photo by Kenneth Chen

Official Website

alain-ducasse.com

Nearby Subway Stops

N, Q, R, W at 57th St.; F at 57th St.

Prices

$150-$225

Payment Methods

American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Notable Chef
  • Notable Wine List
  • Private Dining/Party Space
  • Prix-Fixe

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Profile

This venue is closed.

Tony Esnault is the restaurant’s third chef in five years, and although his clean, very Continental cooking hovers well above two-star status, you can’t help but think that Mr. Ducasse’s New York adventure is doomed. The room is gloomy and overwrought, the flowery menu feels suddenly dated, and the prices are, frankly, insane. Still, with grand French cooking in decline all over town, this is one of the few places where you can still obtain a proper soufflé or a shellfish veloute so rich and refined it seems to have been beamed straight from one of the chef’s more famous kitchens on the Côte d’Azur.  — Adam Platt

Prix-Fixe Menu

Three courses, $150; four courses, $185; seven course tasting menu, $235

Dress code
Jackets required for men

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Recipes at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House

8.1 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
70% Would you go back?
60% Would you take a date?
0% Would you take kids?
70% Would you go on business?
70% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 7.9
Service: 9.1
Décor: 8.5
Value: 6.3

Grandeur

TheBoyAboutTown from 10019 | Posted on 11/28/06

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 9
Service: 10
Décor: 9
Value: 9

To say that you have eaten at Alain Ducasse is enough to warrant a $150 + wine meal. The service is on point, the staff is not pretentious and iit is just a great place to sit back, relax, dine and enjoy the fact that you "have arrived."

black truffles

Jmccue from | Posted on 12/14/04

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 9
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 7

We over celebrated our anniversary in 1/02. I selected the black truffle dinner. I was offered to select my black truffle for the night from a velvet lined box. This set the tone for the evening. Food was excellent (even with black truffles on everything). Service was excellent. We felt it was a little over priced for comparable French cusine.

Read All 10 Reviews >>

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