Chefs Club by Food & Wine
“I would definitely say to order the short rib sandwich, dutch baby, johnny cake, and the fluke crudo.”
“The Sasso Chicken was my favorite entree that I've had in ages.”
“Moving onto the FLUKE CRUDO – Very elegant but also had a powerful zesty tang to it.”
Chefs Club by Food & Wine
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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We came here during restaurant week and it was far and away the best of the restaurants that we tried on the deal. We would definitely come back full price. The food was well thought out and delicious and the waiters were very friendly and attentive. Good atmosphere and fun to be able to see the chefs at work. Despite it being restaurant week the menu did not feel like a 'budget' version, we had a lovely time.
During a recent trip to NYC, my husband and I had dinner at Chef's Club – and man, was it good! Hubby did all the research and found this restaurant to be listed on some of NYC's 'best of' lists, so naturally we had to go, hoping it would live up to it's reputation. And it really truly did!
We started off with a couple plates to share: the crispy crab and asparagus wrapped in phyllo and served with chipotle mayo and lime as well as some roasted sweet potatoes. Holy moly. They both were incredibly good. Flavors were absolutely amazing. The sweet potatoes were more savory but with a hint of sweet, a tiny bit of spice and were my favorite of the two. Sooooo delicious! In fact, we came home from our trip and hubby tried to recreate those sweet potatoes (he's a Chef) … he did pretty good!
Entrees were the halibut with miso butter and the wagyu filet with beef fat soubise and collard greens. Again, we were amazed. The wagyu was mine, and it had such a delicious intense beef flavor and so so tender. Hubby's halibut was flaky and decadent. Both items were cooked to PERFECTION.
Dessert came around, and we've barely made room. I chose the Pineapple Clafoutis with a mango sorbet. It was good, but it wasn't over the top indulgent like I wanted it to be. Nothing against the dish – I just was really feeling the other dessert – a spring sundae with rhubarb, mint whipped cream and citrus granita. Dang. I literally pushed the clafoutis away and devoured the sundae. It was by far the best dessert. Hubby also got the chocolate pretzel whoopie pie because he likes anything chocolate – and this was no exception.
Very happy with our meal and the choices we made. We had some very great drinks. Exceptional service. I've already recommended this restaurant to my sister who plans to go back to NYC very soon. A billion thumbs up!
Kind of a disappointing experience here. The restaurant itself is beautiful and very well decorated and pretty huge by New York standards!
I started with the calamari salad and it wasn't really anything special. I didn't really like the smoked paprika lathered on top nor the toast with hummus it seemed like an odd pairing. For my main dish I had asked the waiter about the Moroccan chicken and he told me it was a thigh and a breast so I was disappointed when the dish came out with just a small breast. It was pretty tasty however the accompaniments were not great mostly olives and mushy squash. For dessert I got the panacotta which was very blah as well. The friends I was with also weren't too impressed with their selections – nothing terrible but nothing memorable. We wouldn't be back…
Came here Friday night for dinner. Spotted recent Top Chef winner Jeremy Ford cooking at the kitchen.
I absolutely love the concept of this restaurant. It's so beautiful (obsessed with the huge pink Himalayan salt showcased by the main dining room) and the open kitchen allows the diner to really take a peep into the chef's world and plus you get to see some of the best famous chefs do what they do best. This time around we ordered:
– Cavatelli with white bolognese sauce as a starter. SOOO GOOD. Pasta perfectly cooked and the sauce was creamy yet light with bits of sausage throughout.
– Arctic Char with coconut curry foam sauce – the fish was delicate and cooked to perfection. The crispiness of the skin brought a nice crunch to the dish and the coconut curry sauce was light and airy yet you really do taste the coconut curry. EXCELLENT.
– Pork chops with potatoes – I didn't try this dish – but my friend thought it was delicious.
Cocktails here are delicious as well. If you don't find anything you like on the menu, they can customize a drink to your liking.
Nice place! They rotate menus and chefs so it's great for someone like me who's always looking for something new. Food and drinks are definitely high-quality, and it's not crowded (surprising, but I like that). One thing though is that by the time we almost finished our dinner, there's some leakage in the bathroom from the Starbucks next door and somehow the whole restaurant smelled like … poop. But otherwise it was a pleasant dinner, hopefully this won't happen again next time I visit.
Such a hot spot for a date night. The space is fantastic and my date and I both really loved the decor. Generally, everyone was fairly dressy but there's no need to go overboard. It had an open kitchen, so it was great watching the cooks do their thing. We split the mushroom pizetta which was super tasty. I got the spare ribs and my date got the lamb. There was a generous portion of each thought the spare ribs had alot of big bones (still more than enough meat to make you full). We finished with the banana cream pie made by Emerill Lagasse which was good! Definitely a good place to take your date if you want to impress them or just for a fancy night out.
We went to Chef's Club over the weekend for the Restaurant Week brunch special. We were seated immediately when we got there. The restaurant itself is cool. The inside has a big open kitchen, high ceilings, and is super bright with big windows all around. There's also a gigantic chunk of pink Himalayan rock salt suspended from the ceiling. The restaurant was very busy for an early Sunday brunch.
We ordered right away. I got a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (fresh but small) and then we ordered our meal.
APPETIZERS:
SMOKED TOMATO SOUP – AWESOME. Smokey, spicy flavor. Adored this soup. It was topped with a little cheese croquette which was a nice finishing touch. We finished this quickly.
CAROLINA GOLD RICE-CAULIFLOWER HUSH PUPPIES – Served with a buttermilk ranch dipping sauce and black caviar on top. Hush puppies in the city are notoriously bad, but these were delicious. The appetizers knocked it out of the park.
ENTREES:
DUCK HASH – This was a good dish all around. It was server with cubed potatoes, caramelized onions, and an egg. The egg was a tad overcooked but the dish itself was flavorful. The duck was also a little gamey. I prefer Raoul's for duck hash at brunch, but this one was good too.
SMOKED SALMON PLATE – Honestly, this is sort of a lie. It's just a bagel with cream cheese, lox, and toppings. It tasted kind of like a Pepperidge Farm bagel. This wasn't so great, but the lox was fresh and it was a large portion.
DESSERT:
"CREMA CATALANA" MOUSSE – Perfect brunch dessert. Light mousse served with caramel pieces and berries at the bottom. Loved this.
CHOCOLATE CHESS PIE – Pie and ice cream. Too heavy for a brunch dessert though in my opinion. After two other large courses, this was a lot to handle.
Our server was really nice and helpful with explaining the dishes. We had a rather large break between entrees and dessert, but it happens. Lastly, they charged me $6 for a $5 drink. While clearly $1 isn't a big deal at all, if you hit "grapefruit juice" and $6 comes out, and you have to charge juice as "open food" to get it to come to $5, either fix your system or update your menus. It isn't fair to advertise one price and charge another. Our server DID fix it which was good, but they should fix this.
We liked our meal but found clear hits and misses. I would definitely be interested to come back for dinner where we can pick from the whole menu. I thought this restaurant was mostly solid and I'm excited to see what they will do with it over time.
Conceptually, Chefs Club by Food & Wine is absolutely brilliant. It's a restaurant that features signature dishes of greatest chefs from around the globe. Its ever-changing, seasonal menu that highlights dishes by select winners of the Food & Wine's Best New Chefs Award is complemented by a unique ambiance of homey, open kitchen where the guests can experience the behind-the-scene action of a bustling kitchen.
Execution-wise, Chefs Club did not disappoint, although I think a slightly more attention to detail would elevate the restaurant to a truly one-of-a-kind venue.
On the evening I visited, Chefs Club was highlighting a menu created by Zachary Golper from Bien Cuit, which specializes in breads and pastries. My friend and I ordered the Bread Pairings ($18), which featured four different types of bread with condiments. The breads and their pairings were Tartary Buckwheat & Hay-Infused Cream Cheese (this had a unique smokey flavor that I didn't expect), 6-Grain & Pickled Mushrooms, Toasted Oat & Apricot with Szechuan Pepper, and Pistachio & Burrata with Peas. The appetizer was a bit heavy on carb (…expected), but I'm glad I got to experience the wonders of Bien Cuit without having to travel to Boerum Hill.
Now to the disappointment…I am on the notion that restaurants should always lean on the side of providing more information on the menu about the ingredients and method of cooking in order to prevent any unwelcomed surprises. We ordered the Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and what was presented ahead of me was not what I had expected. The sweet potatoes were actually fried (not roasted as the menu indicated), and had almost tempura-like taste to it. It was served on a spread of spring garlic butter and preserved lemon yogurt, and seasoned with hazelnut dukkah and topped with micro greens, cilantro, and thinly sliced celery. Now don't get me wrong, the dish was tasty. But I was looking for something on the healthier side, and sadly anything that's been fried doesn't resonate with that healthy standard.
For my entree, I had the Green Circle Chicken. The chicken breast was topped with a thin layer of what tasted like terrien – again, not what I expected. The chicken was slightly dry. I liked the crispy Carolina gold rice, but the other sides like small cubes of butternut squash, blue foot mushroom, and apple slices were on the saltier side.