July 11: Senses ★★★

$25 Lunch

Senses is the culinary prowess of the almost-luxurious and slightly too contemporary SoHo Metropolitan. The references to New York were well received as it felt like a toned down version of Jean George Nougatine. However, the streamlined, business class feel was not at all comforting and neither were the unsmiling waitresses. We began with orange-dyed cheddar, hardened on a crunchy Crostini, paired with a Tomato soup way too sour and not creamy enough for my liking. The main was a highlight. The chicken was juicy and worked well with the potato salad. The radicchio on the other hand stood awkwardly in situ and was way too bitter on its own and should have been integrated with the rest of the dish. The warm chocolate cake didn’t taste much like chocolate and the balsamic reduction stuck too hard to the plate and thus provided no meaningful flavor. And considering the inconvenient location and top-level pricing, coming here for lunch simply does not make much sense.

Creamy Tomato & Ginger Soup / Cheddar Cheese Crostini

Herb Marinated Chicken Breast / Grilled Radicchio / Warm Fingerling Potato Salad / Truffle Scented Vinaigrette

Warm White Chocolate Cake / Balsamic Reduction / Strawberry Compote