When I visited: September 2019

Location: New York (within the Edition Hotel near Times Square)

Rating in the Michelin Guide: Not in Guide

Dining Owl Hoot rating: 3/5

What to wear: Men – jeans or nice trousers and a shirt; women – jeans and a smart top or a smart dress

Ambience: Fun, professional

Course of the meal: Asparagus with truffle and egg yolk

If I could change one thing: A little more personality / innovation

Review:

I visited 701West with a couple of dining companions for a fairly spontaneous dinner. The restaurant is a lot fancier than the location, which is super-busy, full of building work and touristy; it is at the top of the Edition Hotel and there is a cool bar where you can have a drink first (we had a dirty martini, mescal with pineapple and a Long Island Iced Tea).

We had the three-course menu for dinner and immediately got some bonuses – an amuse bouche of sturgeon caviar, which was very light, a mini container of foam with truffle, and lots of salty brioche with butter.

My starter of asparagus with truffle and egg yolk was really good, and my companions enjoyed their scallop and octopus carpaccio; after these starters we got a bonus clams course, which was nice of them but I’m not sure was necessary in terms of balancing the meal. For mains we had the duck breast, lobster, and salmon with potatoes and sauce, and for desserts between us we had the sweetcorn flan with popcorn and plum, peaches and cream, and a green tea. They then gave us a free New York cheesecake – again, this was nice of them but I’m not sure why they did it given that we’d already had desserts and it was the same size?

We shared some light and fruity white wine from California with the meal, which went well with everything. The service was attentive and fairly friendly.