After a few flawless meals here at the Modern, we came for Thanksgiving dinner in November. After having our young daughter invited to meet the chef, tour the kitchen and their typically top-notch approach to any request... we were really unpleasantly surprised to have them force the set menu upon our 7 year old daughter (~$200+ per person). No kid friendly options were offered - apparently this bastion of service and cuisine became completely incapable of making a butter pasta in favor of extorting loyal returning guests, We were furious and will never return.

Monday was the last day of our five night stay in NYC and we hadn’t booked anywhere for lunch. We decided to see if we could get a table as a walk in at the Modern. The young lady outside the front door was absolutely lovely and we explained we didn’t have a reservation but she said please go in and was sure we could be seated. Once inside we were warmly welcomed and chose to eat in the bar restaurant. All the staff we encountered were professional, very competent and friendly. We were very well looked after.

The three course lunch option at $70 dollars was very good value for the quality of the food and service - also is a non tipping restaurant.

The pictures do not do the food justice, the charred avocado was very tasty with the crab meat, the chicken main course was moist and flavoursome with the herb stuffing.
And the desserts were amazing!
It was a lovely experience and one we will remember for a long time.

I am keen to share my thoughts because it was from the start to end a perfect dining experience. Having dined at a few Michelin restaurants recently, I was expecting a good evening (given this is a 2 star) but was our phenomenal experience was an unexpected surprise!We had the six course menu, as is the norm in the dining room. My husband and I selected different dishes so that we could taste as many dishes as possible. At the end of the evening, I could really not pick a favourite, since every dish had a wow element. As a few others have written, eggs on eggs on eggs was very innovative. So was the snapper, the scallops, the sea bass and the foe grass. For the mains we had the beef and the duck. Both were absolutely perfect. I personally think, it is not long before this restaurant gets its three Michelin stars. By far, the best two star experience for us in NY . We would definitely return to this restaurant if we visit NY.

It was a very nice evening and the food was mostly outstanding. definitely worth a visit and worth the money BUT it just a few things that I got to expect from a 2 star Michelin restaurant:

1. First and foremost service: it was good, nice and friendly but simply not great. The waiter that started us off disappeared after a while. Then we got robot-like waiters that were superficially fine but didn’t do anything to “host” the evening. By the end of the evening, we weren’t even asked about our meal or anything. We left the restaurant without anybody saying goodbye or acknowledging us even leaving. We thought we had such a nice start with the service and all of a sudden we ended up being just a “nuisance” it felt as people wanted to go home (there were still about five tables when we left around 11pm - after a 2.5 hour dinner - so fairly normal). The final course was even served WHILE my partner was in the washroom and true cheque came before we were done

2. Cheese and dessert: until the supplementary cheese course everything was perfect food-wise. The cheese however was a true first let down. The quality sub-par at best. The accompaniments random and not matching. No matching wine or sweetwine pairing. Presentation matched the quality of the product. Felt like Costco quality

3. desserts: honestly I don’t get it. To serve the pallet cleanser before dessert is just the wring timing. Worse than that - it wasn’t really a pallet cleanser to begin with (something about bagels and cream cheese sorbet???) - and it tasted the same as my dessert. All dessert was ice-creamy too... and then ice-cream petit fours?! What a weird ending. So uncoordinated and not thought out. The rest of the meal was so perfect that it was just a bummer at the end

3. Sommelier - basically not existent. No advice given and even when i asked only partially given. Glassware not matching the wine. I am a sommelier myself and have to unfortunately say that knowledge was below average

We really enjoyed our evening but left somewhat disappointed as all of a sudden we felt ignored and rushed out. Als food at the end didn’t match the rest of the evening

I looked into lunch at the Modern but had a curtain at 2pm and I was afraid I’d be cutting it too close. The reservationist offered the the option of the Bar. I’m so glad she did. We went with the 3 course option and each one was exceptional. The charred avocado appetizer, tenderloin entree and papaya sundae were all excellent. The service was absolutely top rate. I couldn’t have been happier with the experience.