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All Reader Reviews of...

Esca

402 W. 43rd St., New York, NY, 10036
at Ninth Ave.
212-564-7272

Avg. Rating

6
Food: 6
Service: 6
Décor: 7
"Mixed Reviews"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

49% would go back.

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Know what to expect

By mainahs on 2/24/2013

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

Came to NYC for several days and ESCA was one of our splurge dinners. For people like my wife and I, who don't go to high end restaurants much, I think that it is important to have realistic expectations of what you are going to experience. Now that we've been to a few such places, I have a better idea of what these reataurants do and what I like. My wife understood what we would be experiencing better than I. She could tell by looking at the menu while I needed to experience it first hand. I think one goes to places like Esca when one has disposable income and a desire to try something out of the ordinary. Kind of like, "OK, I've got $150 to spend on myself for experimenting with several different unusually prepared fish dishes and a couple of glasses of wine let's see what Esca is like." If I had gone here in that frame of mind, I would have been OK but I went expecting to be wowed with everything I tasted. So, I learned that eating an anchovy with dried tomatoe and bottarga with greens just won't do that for me. Eating a piece of swordfish perfectly cooked won't either. On the other hand, my wife had gnocchi with tomatoe sauce and it was delicious. As the NYmag.com reviewer points out, the pastas are often over looked but should not be. I have to add that the service was great. Everyone from the busboys to the sommelier was friendly, knowledgable and helpful. My 7 rating for food was due to my preferences not the preparation.

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3 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

WOW SO DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By laurajeank on 9/14/2012

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 6
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

I had lunch at Esca today and I could not even eat the highly praised ( 10 years ago? ) entree of lobster and pasta …. the sauce was burnt and the pasta was like shoe leather … it was 30 dollars at lunch!!!!!!!!!!!!! My meals here 5 years ago were extraordinary but it is OVER. The place wreaked of smelly fish … I usually walk out when a restaurant or even fish monger has that smell. STAY AWAY! I even told the waiter ( who told me the kitchen was waiting on my order and yet took the guys order in front of me 10 minutes later!) SO SO DISAPPOINTED - no offer to refund my money either … I had two bites.

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18 out of 32 people found this review helpful.

Very dissapointing

By kalagirl on 9/4/2012

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

On Sat Sept 1, we had dinner for the first time at ESCA. We had guests visiting from Canada and wanted to visit the highly rated ESCA. We are fans of Mario Batali’s cuisines and absolutely love Babbo and Del Posto. Unfortunately we were extremely disappointed. Although the food was excellent, the service was terrible especially considering the excellent service at Del Posto and Babbo. No one ever came to remove the breadcrumbs on the table after the bread was served and prior to the first course. Most of us got pasta for the second course. No one brought us fresh silverware. Myself and one of our guests had only a fork and was missing the spoon and knife. I have to flag someone down to ask for silverware. We had ordered 2 bottles of the same wine. Once the first bottle was finished, the waiter took our glasses away and never bothered to ask or bring fresh glasses. When the sommelier came to pour the second bottle we had no wine glasses. I can imagine these things happening at a casual restaurant. But for a high end restaurant like ESCA, one would expect well trained staff. I must add that the most professional person there was the Sommelier. She was professional, attentive and had a wealth of knowledge on the wines. I am sorry to say we will never return to ESCA nor recommend it to anyone.

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13 out of 30 people found this review helpful.

Not feeling it

By marilynringwood on 5/29/2012

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

We were so excited to actually get a table on short notice this past weekend (Memorial Day). We were seated in the garden and then promptly forgotten! It took at least 20 minutes to get someone over to the table to take a drink order and then another 30 minutes before our dinner orders were taken! The waiter was condescending, and told us we MUST order at least two appetizers or an entree per person in order to be served. It was restaurant policy he stated. We should have walked out at that point but didn't. Our food choices were as mediocre as the service. We ordered the stuffed clams appetizer - mostly breadcrumbs; the arugula salad with white asparagus and fava beans - overdressed; ricotta gnocchi - cut into cubes not the usual shape - too soft consistency and too few on the plate for 27.00; and lobster pasta - pasta did not taste like it was made inhouse. I have eaten in many restaurants in piazzas throughout Italy. I was expecting this experience to be as wonderful as those were. It was not. The place is over-hyped. We will never return.

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24 out of 44 people found this review helpful.

Completely bland verging on dreadful meal

By lucyppppppp on 5/7/2012

  • Overall Rating: 1
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 2
  • Décor: 1
  • No, I would not go back!

Went to this restaurant as our friends booked it on May 4 2012. First worrying signs: It is off Times Square (where I would never eat), it is in the bottom of an ugly apartment block, and they play motown classics very loudly so it's like being in Hard Rock Cafe. Our server was a perfectly nice girl however it's exactly like being at TGI Fridays or similar, with endlessly cheerful explanation of the menu, and constant interruptions to ask what your favourite thing is that you've eaten so far. The tasting menu (our friends made us eat it) is possibly the worst food I have ever eaten in NY. Veering from impossibly bland (the 'sashimi', the 'blowfish tails') to completely disgusting and inedible (the pasta, the desserts). I complained vehemently to the manager, who looked surprised but was completely ineffectual. Nothing was taken off our bill. I am writing to Mario Batali's 'people' as I was so disgusted. I seriously doubt anything will happen, but I would think seriously and hard about booking here. Then go anywhere else.

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22 out of 45 people found this review helpful.

I Totally Loved It!

By Newgothic on 3/28/2012

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 10
  • Yes, I would go back!

A friend invited me there for my birthday. I did some research before I went and found the reviews were 50-50. Either people loved it or hated it. There was no middle ground. Because of this, I was a little apprehensive but I went. My experience ended up being charming and delightful. The food and service was fantastic. We ordered the Baked Clams for an appetizer and they were excellent and then ordered the Salmone Selvaggio for me, and the Spaghetti Neri for my friend. Both dishes were magnificent. We topped off the meal by sharing the Budino Di Banana dessert. I so can’t wait to go back!

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27 out of 52 people found this review helpful.

seriously disappointed

By Britishfoodie on 3/19/2012

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

overpriced and overrated. The food was well presented but incredibly bland to the point of being tasteless. I had the fish stew which tasted overwhelmingly of tomato puree and not much else. The staff were pleasant but appeared stressed and out of their depth. Maybe I went on a bad night but I won't be returning.

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27 out of 47 people found this review helpful.

Just horrible!

By MrCalabash on 3/12/2012

  • Overall Rating: 2
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

I am so utterly disappointed in Esca, not due to the food but the manager or whoever it was that addressed my friends and I. This guy was so condescending and the worst thing you can be is that, especially to a paying customer. After reading great and not so great comments I decided to have a dinner meeting with two friends at Esca. Got there early and was so impressed by the early seating. When my first party arrived we decided to order only to be told there is a minimum order (YES, a minimum). Don't plan on eating there if you want to have a light meal. Nevertheless we asked for one of the appetizers to be doubled but was misunderstood by the waitress who then proceeded to call the manager (for what - IDK). The manager came over and started to speak very condescendingly to my friend and I telling us if we can't afford to meet the minimum there are other paces we can go to. Note: at no time did we ever say we didn't want to or couldn't order the minimum. I have never felt so horrible in a restaurant. Mario Batali needs to train his people in communications.

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24 out of 56 people found this review helpful.

SUCH an unfortunate disappointment!

By fastfashionny on 1/1/2012

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

I was so utterly disappointed by the meal at Esca. From start to finish everything had a RIDICULOUSLY large amount of salt, it was literally chewing plates full of salt. Pasta dish were crunchy and raw, not at all "al dente", that quality is absolutely unacceptable when you spend several hundred dollars per person. Being a Mario Batali fan, I was so saddened by this whole experience, an avid follower of all of his restaurants in New York City, this had to be one of the worst meals I have ever had in my whole life and I couldn't believe how expensive everything was considering the quality! On the upside, the raw bar was excellent, as well as the service, but Mario Batali, should be ashamed to be associated with this calibre of food. I am not one to ever complain, being in the same industry as well, but I was absolutely compelled to share with everyone just how disappointing this meal was. All these negative reviews on Yelp and New York Magazine are really true, save your money, go somewhere else, trust me, you're not missing anything. I can't believe this place is still so busy and critics are giving it high ratings, there has to be some politics involved, or they're clearly not eating a single dish that I had from my tasting menu.

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36 out of 64 people found this review helpful.

Very disappointed

By Carl12 on 12/2/2011

  • Overall Rating: 1
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 1
  • No, I would not go back!

Not going back and if u want to come and eat here I would think twice ..this place is awful ......

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34 out of 69 people found this review helpful.

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