From the restaurant's website:
"Restaurant Aquavit opened in 1987 and has been the premier Scandinavian dining destination in Midtown Manhattan ever since. Originally located on 54th street, Aquavit's home is 55th street between Park and Madison Avenues, with a new modern look and feel. Scandinavian cuisine has, over centuries, absorbed influences from cultures close by. Mostly Germanic and Eastern European flavors gave way to French influences and techniques from 1950s and on. Still, we mostly regard Scandinavian home cooking as Germanic and Scandinavian fine dining as French. You'll notice these subtle differences at Restaurant Aquavit when visiting our Café which has many rustic, Scandinavian home cooking interpretations on the menu and our dining room, where the tone is mostly French with a Scandinavian profile. Aquavit's design, however, is distinctly Scandinavian. Our design is open and airy saluting famous designers such as Arne Jacobsen, Paul Kjaerholm and Verner Panton. The classically modern setting compliments the cooking style of Executive Chef Marcus Jernmark."
Reservations suggested. Full bar. Dining room serving lunch Mon–Fri, dinner nightly. Sun brunch noon–2:30 pm. Café serving lunch Mon–Sat, dinner nightly.
James Beard Foundation: Marcus Samuelsson, Best Chef in NYC, 2003
The New York Times: *** (excellent); Top Pick
New York magazine: **** (exceptional); Critics' Pick
Zagat 2010: 25 food rating (very good to excellent)
Time Out New York: Critics' Pick
"Aquavit's food is beautiful: arranged on the expansive white plates with such attention to color contrasts and geometric balance that it qualifies as visual art. It's also frequently enchanting and consistently engrossing."
– Frank Bruni, The New York Times, Jan. 21, 2005
"This isn't nouveau Viking fare. It is, as always, a tantalizing experience."
– Newsday