A Voce at Columbus Circle scores cachet because of its location. The restaurant has a hip and modern vibe. It is a good place for a celebrity sighting. It has great potential to be a great dining experience, but, with a 24 Zagat food rating, it is a shade higher rating than some of your better neighborhood haunts.
The selection for the three-course lunch is limited, kind of a bummer with only nine items. They do offer a regular menu. Both menus change periodically. The wine list, I have to admit, I do not remember much about. The restaurant boasts a selection of 850 wines. I am sure there is a wine to compliment any meal.
I had lunch with my beautiful friend, Mee-Ryung, who took the pictures. We were presented some lovely, rustic bread with a fresh mozzarella and olive oil spread. It looked promising, but the flavor was flat. I ordered the Caprese Salad Antipasti. The arugula hid the caprese of dried tomatoes and mozzarella, which again was flat. M's Antipasti was a "french onion soup". It looked delicious, a little stewy and hearty with creme fraiche and, my favorite, croutons. Again, it was flat in flavor. It had such potential to be decadent and lovely. Then, the wait staff made an egregious mistake, they took away M's dish before she was done! I thought it was just an "oops!" by an overzealous busser. I can forgive an innocent mistake.
Our Secondi followed the same protocol: beautiful dishes lacking flavor. I ordered beef short ribs over polenta, not a very imaginative offering, but a good stand-by. It was rich and stick-to- your-ribs. M ordered Boreta alla Graisana, a beautiful name for a fish soup. It was covered by a branzino fillet and a piece of crusty bread, again, great potential. Then the table clearing offense happened again, M still had spoon in hand! To me these mistakes, not only added to the snobbish air, but also diminished our overall dining experience by rushing our special time together. Those offenses negate any redeeming qualities I could mention for the mediocre food.
The desserts were beautiful and flavorful, probably because they did not rely on salt for flavor. Desserts are made by totally different people in a different part of the kitchen. I had coffee granita with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. M had the chocolate panna cotta on a hazelnut cookie.
A Voce is a place to see and be seen, not eat and enjoy. That opinion may be a little harsh, but this place exhibits an unfounded pretension that does not sit well with me.
The selection for the three-course lunch is limited, kind of a bummer with only nine items. They do offer a regular menu. Both menus change periodically. The wine list, I have to admit, I do not remember much about. The restaurant boasts a selection of 850 wines. I am sure there is a wine to compliment any meal.
I had lunch with my beautiful friend, Mee-Ryung, who took the pictures. We were presented some lovely, rustic bread with a fresh mozzarella and olive oil spread. It looked promising, but the flavor was flat. I ordered the Caprese Salad Antipasti. The arugula hid the caprese of dried tomatoes and mozzarella, which again was flat. M's Antipasti was a "french onion soup". It looked delicious, a little stewy and hearty with creme fraiche and, my favorite, croutons. Again, it was flat in flavor. It had such potential to be decadent and lovely. Then, the wait staff made an egregious mistake, they took away M's dish before she was done! I thought it was just an "oops!" by an overzealous busser. I can forgive an innocent mistake.
Our Secondi followed the same protocol: beautiful dishes lacking flavor. I ordered beef short ribs over polenta, not a very imaginative offering, but a good stand-by. It was rich and stick-to- your-ribs. M ordered Boreta alla Graisana, a beautiful name for a fish soup. It was covered by a branzino fillet and a piece of crusty bread, again, great potential. Then the table clearing offense happened again, M still had spoon in hand! To me these mistakes, not only added to the snobbish air, but also diminished our overall dining experience by rushing our special time together. Those offenses negate any redeeming qualities I could mention for the mediocre food.
The desserts were beautiful and flavorful, probably because they did not rely on salt for flavor. Desserts are made by totally different people in a different part of the kitchen. I had coffee granita with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. M had the chocolate panna cotta on a hazelnut cookie.
A Voce is a place to see and be seen, not eat and enjoy. That opinion may be a little harsh, but this place exhibits an unfounded pretension that does not sit well with me.
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