Ardor Awards

Ardor Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Chef John Fraser’s Ardor restaurant has all the ingredients for an ultimate casual dining experience: the ambience created by a décor made with green plants all over the room, adorning light beige booths, banquettes and chairs; impeccable lighting so you can see everyone at the table and what is yet to come; a cocktail program; professional service; and, we really appreciate this one, very good acoustics with low music volume so you can actually entertain a conversation, whether it is friendly, business or romantic.

Likes: The modern elegance of the venue and the food.
Dislikes: Absolutely none.

About the food: You have to start with the milk bread flanked with beefsteak tomatoes. In the vein of Fraser’s reputation for working with vegetables, order a shredded Brussels sprouts salad or the cauliflower tandoor on a bed of chaat masala. The yellow fin tuna tartare, that you need to finish yourself at the table by mixing the quail egg and olives, is perfectly seasoned by an anchovy mustard. Grilled Alaskan king crab is flavored by a garlic-chive clarified butter, and is also a very tasty choice. A little too much olive oil was poured in the broth of the poached snapper accompanied by manila clams. Duck comes two ways on your plate, a crusted herbs of Provence magret and a duck leg confit, both paired with a tomato and quince purée. For the finale, the gooseberry phyllo pizza where a twenty-five-year-old balsamic is poured tableside is a true must-have --- note that it has to be pre-ordered; you would not want to miss it. Even the vegan chocolate ganache cake was good.