restaurant search

 
City Top 100 Lists Books LocalEats Mobile Best Food Blogs Newsletter

Aquavit

Aquavit has 3 offers available to WTLE users.

Click to get coupons

Owners want to show off your WTLE recognition?

65 E 55th St (near Madison Ave)
New York, NY 10022
(212) 307-7311

www.aquavit.org

Categories: Brunch, Contemporary

Top 100 Selections

Serves: Lunch and Dinner

Entrée Price Range: Over $70.00

Features & Services:
full bar, handicap accessible, smoke free, vegetarian friendly

Perennial favorite Aquavit moved down the street from its waterfall-bedecked digs to the Park Avenue Tower on 55th Street in 2005. The minimalist, space-agey new venue is full of Scandinavian chic. Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson won the James Beard Foundation's 2003 Best Chef: New York award, and he continues to astound locals and critics alike with his modern Nordic cuisine. Snag a spot on an "Egg Chair" or "Swan Sofa" in the bar and lounge, and take a bracing shot of the liquor for which the restaurant is named - there are numerous flavors, in addition to aquavit cocktails. The prix fixe dinner and the chef's tasting choices (with optional wine pairings) constitute the menu. Signature appetizers such as the herring sampler and the foie gras ganache headline, while second-course favorites include hot-smoked trout and the seared rib eye with red onion marmalade and oxtail. Or, if you're short on time, stomach capacity or appropriate attire for the prix fixe main dining room, stop in the café for Swedish meatballs, steamed mussels, herring à la carte or the chef's Smorgasbord, an "assortment of Swedish bites." Jacket suggested for dining room. 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.

Where The Locals Eat rating

Best Scandinavian

Top 100 Restaurant, New York City

"Aquavit combines the age-old culinary tradition of Sweden with the ambitious creation of a young chef in America. ... Entrees boast a dazzling display of ingredients and influences.  [Chef Marcus] Samuelsson demonstrates his fondness for marrying flavors in unexpected ways.  ... Vibrant colors, bold shapes and visible textures all work together to create food so vibrant and beautiful that it needs no garnish."

– Aquavit website

"High-minded interpretations of Scandinavian cuisine that issue from his kitchen-order the duck breast, which is cured in lemons, or the salmon, sealed in a light brioche crust-are as excellent as ever."
New York magazine


"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 

"In the casual café, the Stockholm-bred chef turns out pitch-perfect Nordic home cooking, featuring classic dishes like gravlax and herring. In the main restaurant, past the long sultry bar, lurks some of the city's most innovative seafood."
Time Out New York

"This isn't nouveau Viking fare. It is, as always, a tantalizing experience."
Newsday

How others rate Aquavit

James Beard Foundation

Marcus Samuelsson, Best Chef in NYC, 2003

The New York Times 

*** (excellent)

Top Pick

New York magazine 

**** (exceptional; consistently Eeite)

Zagat 2009                               

25 food rating (very good to excellent)

Have your say...

Have something to say about this restaurant?

Has something changed about this restaurant?

Share your rating with friends..

Send to Phone

Enter your mobile phone number:


A valid phone number is required

Do you like this restaurant?

Yes! No Clear Rating

Is this restaurant closed?

Click yes to notify our editors that this restaurant is closed. This cannot be undone.

You have already flagged this restaurant as closed. Closing notifications cannot be cancelled, but our editors will confirm a restaurant's status before making any changes to our content.

Submit a Change or Correction

Thank you for letting us know about errors or omissions in our information about this restaurant. We use your name and email address for verification, and we may contact you for more detail. However, we will never publish this information.

Submit a Comment

We welcome your comments. Our editors review every comment we receive, but please note, not all comments are posted on this site. We use your name and email address for verification, and we may contact you for more detail. However, we will never publish this information.

Enter your comments

Comments are required
Enter your name

Your name is required
Enter your email address

Your email address is required

Become a Fan

Enter your name:

Your name is required
Enter your email address:

A valid email address is required

Find Restaurants Near Me
New York Info

new york downtown cabs

Celebrity chefs and gourmet restaurants abound in the Big Apple, but New York-style hot dogs and pizza will never go out of style, nor will the steaks from timeless Brooklyn-institution Peter Luger.

BEST CONTEMPORARY: Union Square Cafe

Loading...

Map the Top 100

View a map showing all the restaurants on our Top 100 list for New York

Click to view a map of Top 100 restaurants - map will open in a popup window

Find Restaurants by Neighborhood

Click the name of one of the neighborhoods below to get a list of restaurants within that neighborhood. The number on the right indicates how many restaurant selections are in a given neighborhood.

Get The Book
 

Powered by OpenTable.com

Online reservation services powered by OpenTable.com