Le Basque French Vegan Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

We have been to several of this restaurant group's establishments and have always had a great food and service experience that is until we decided to celebrate my mother's birthday in early March at Le Basque.

I made a reservation and added detailed notes explaining that it was my mom's birthday and that we wanted a candle added to the dessert we would surely order. We arrived to a very quiet restaurant with only 2 or 3 other tables already seated. We were greeted warmly and shown to a table that was not great so we asked if we could have a different table and the hostess graciously agreed.

We were seated at a four top for a party of three. The fourth place setting was never removed, not by the hostess that sat us, not by the original server, Ana, nor by any food runner or any other attendant that came to our table MULTIPLE TIMES!!! When our food arrived, I finally took it upon myself to remove it and handed it to the food runner that brought us our first round of food.

The server came over and cordially introduced herself. When my elderly mom realized she was Latina, like us, she was so happy that she could speak to her in Spanish, which is her preference.

The displeasure started when I tried to order. When we go out we like to taste as much of the menu as possible and we always order "tapas" style except when having chef's tasting menus. It has never been a problem in any US city or other country we have traveled to from mom and pop tiny places to very exclusive dining restaurants that have not required a tasting menu or when we have opted for a la carte.

Ana emphatically said I could not order in two rounds with multiple dishes to share. I was honestly surprised because this is how I have ordered at Anixi, Sentir, Willow and Beyond Sushi for the MANY dining experiences we have had at these locations, including celebrating my non vegan daughter's 20th birthday last summer at Sentir for a group of 10, where I have been about 15 times since its opening last year. She was not friendly about it and stood firm. I expressed my surprise and ordered my first round of food anyway the way I had wanted it and asked to keep a menu in case we wanted more, which I knew we were definitely going to order.

Without any communication, some time later a totally different server came over to check in and ask if we needed anything and said she would be our new server. I have never had wait staff change mid meal and not have them let us know and introduce us to the new server. It was not the end of shift. This all transpired between 6 to 6:40PM and Ana remained there for the rest of our meal. It was clear that Ana was upset by the way I wanted to order and chose to stop serving us.

My mom noticed and wondered what had happened so my daughter and I explained it to her and she was very disappointed that Ana would behave in such a way because of the way we wanted to order and eat our food. There was PLENTY of space on the roomy table to comfortably fit all the food I ordered even before removing the extra place setting that the staff failed to remove but there was even more space once I removed it.

The food was GREAT! We loved every dish expect the salmon entree which none of us could eat more than a bite of. We had the cheese board, chorizo and grilled lamb pintxos, salmorejo, mojo flank steak and a few other items that I cannot recollect. The salmon was taken off our bill without us requesting it and we certainly were not going to ask.

When the dessert came there was no candle. My daughter was very upset because I had made it very clear on the Resy reservation and we did confirm with the manager afterwards that it was was in fact on the reservation. I brought it to the manager's attention and he sent out a dessert on the house with a candle but at this point it could not make up for the unpleasantness with the aggregate service mishaps that we had experienced.

Before leaving, I had a very quiet and warm conversation with the manager conveying our...

This place is NEW new. I didn't realize it had only been open a week or so when I dined there with friends on a recent weeknight. The newness really shows in the well-executed standards of service. Every member of staff we encountered was pleasant, professional, and informed. Our server always arrived alongside the next course to describe each dish in detail. Cocktails were unique and delicious and always beautifully presented. The food was an overall hit, with a miss here and there. All house made breads were wonderful, and the olive caramel butter was a personal favorite. Of the paté assortment, the most conventional mushroom and walnut blend was actually our least favorite, but the salt cod with tobiko was a surprise hit. I would return just for that. We had high hopes for the faux gras but ultimately didn't finish it. The escargot was a delightful little play on the classic. Not being vegan, I'll be the first to admit that some dishes that probably shine in the plant-based world are simply not my cup of tea. For instance, the boef bourgingon, while incredibly well textured to give that Sunday roast feel, felt a little wanting in flavor compared to its carnivore cousin. The "chicken" in the chicken paella was actually incredibly convincing, however (though I would have liked a bit more paella), and the mushroom steak was a smash and quickly gobbled up by the group. Both desserts were delish and having such disparate choices as a chocolate and hazelnut entremet or a lovely lemon tart is a great move for sharers. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and feels very high end, perfect for date night. One big issue I hope they're able to rectify, however, is the door. The first floor gets very cold. There's no vestibule or even the old NYC stalwart velvet curtain to protect diners at the bar or in the dining room. I hope they've got a plan in place for it. In the meantime, request upstairs or the back of the main room and be prepared to hold onto your coat. Le Basque is a lovely addition to the Union Square restaurant scene, plant-based...

As huge fans of the chef's other restaurants (Anixi and Coletta), we were excited and intrigued at the prospect of vegan basque cuisine (fusion of southern France and northern Spain). The restaurant is an experience. It is an elevated fine dining space that feels exclusive but romantic, modern but classic. We were able to secure a table in the coveted upstairs dining room with a stunning skylight and decor that will impress. Our waiter walked us through some highlights of the menu; they seem particularly proud of the cheese plate, the homemade bread, the pintxos (skewer appetizers), and the chicken paella.

We started with the trio of pâté dips accompanied by rustic sourdough bread. This dish is a work of art. Each dip has multiple beautiful garnishes and an accompanying jam. The smoked goat cheese was shockingly realistic; all three dips were interesting and tasty. The sourdough was equally impressive; we would have been happy to bring home a loaf.

Next, we enjoyed the chorizo pintxo. It was packed with flavor. We were tempted by the allium pintxo and will have to try that next time. We also really enjoyed the duck confit salad with frisée lettuce. We were tempted by all the vegetable sides and settled on the torched leeks drenched in a red wine sauce. This was a beautiful, tasty, and unique dish.

The only entree we had the chance to try was the chicken paella. This ended up being our favorite dish. The portion was fairly small, but every bite, whether it was the chicken, the confit sunchokes, or the piquillo peppers, was incredible.

For dessert, they had run out of all the options except the entremet aux noisettes, a chocolate dome filled with hazelnut mousse and drizzled with salted fig caramel. It was amazing.

Overall, this was a fantastic meal unlike any we had ever had before. It is an opportunity to sample diverse, memorable flavors from a cuisine (basque) that is rarely found in the United States and is certain to be enjoyed by vegans and...