Fodor's Expert Review Le Cirque
This sumptuous restaurant, a branch of the now-closed New York City landmark, remains one of the city's true temples of haute cuisine, despite increased heavy-hitting competition. The mahogany-lined room is all the more opulent for its size: in a city of mega-everything, Le Cirque seats only 80 under its draped silk-tent ceiling. Even with a view of the hotel's lake and its mesmerizing fountain show, you'll only have eyes for your plate when your server presents dishes such as the sauteéd foie gras with poached rhubarb and chocolate gastrique, or diver scallop with pine nuts and pomelo pearls. Prix-fixe, degustation, prestige, and vegetarian menus are offered, and the wine cellar contains about 900 selections representing the major wine-producing regions of the world. One little-known secret: Le Cirque offers a reduced-price prix-fixe pretheater dinner menu.
Quick Facts
- Tiny, jewel-box room
- Food not often found elsewhere
- Fine, attentive service