Manuela — Restaurant in New York

Not gonna lie: Even though I'd done my research, I still half-expected Gene Wilder to start singing about pure imagination when I walked into Manuela and saw the gorgeous rainbow mushroom chandelier. It felt like I had stepped into a candy wonderland designed by ex-EDC ravers.

But it wasn't a world of sweets, it was just Manuela being a colorful Art Basel of a restaurant. Fortunately, the five-star visuals of this beautiful new outpost from LA are matched by the five-star flavors of their (albeit pricey) farm-to-table, locavorian dishes.

Cream biscuits with country ham and butter: Rich, buttery and flakey to the point of embarrassment (wear a bib if you're clumsy). The fact that they arrived piping hot only added to the delicious decadence.

Atlantic tuna carpaccio with pickled chanterelles, salsa verde and mint: I adore all things crudo and carpaccio, but this might be the first time I've had such a dish with PICKLED mushrooms. It was divine, and I was left wondering why no other chef has thought to do this.

Dry aged beef tartare with Calabrian chilli, garlic aioli and toast: At first glance, this looked like a plainer tartare than recent ones I've had, but there's something comforting about a back-to-basics approach that lets the naturally rich flavor of the beef shine on its own. The light touch of chili was just right for a bit of flavor enhancement, and the buttery toast was perfect to sop up remnants.

Heirloom tomatoes with sungolds, garlic chives and thyme vinaigrette: As a diehard tomato lover, I've not come across an heirloom tomato salad I didn't like, but Manuela's has to be one of my favorites in recent years. Not mentioned on the menu is that the tomatoes like on a bed of sumptuous, freshly made, basil paste, which just makes them taste even better.

Pan-seared Maine halibut with summer squash and bouillabaisse: Halibut is one of the harder fish to sear just right, in my experience, but the team here did it perfectly. The bouillabaisse sauce was perfectly seafood-y without being too briny, while the paper-thin slices of squash were crunchy satisfaction. My only quibble is that the halibut and sauce were lukewarm, while the squash was piping hot.

Romano and yellow bean panzanella: Threw this in because I can't resist a crunchy long bean dish. The beans were perfectly julienned, and the dressing was tart without being overwhelming--a rare feat, in my experience

Fig bakewell with creme fraiche: We decided to spend our remaining calories on this scrumptious tart, and I have no regrets. It had a moist, caky texture with tons of fresh figs, and the crust was buttery perfection.

For libations, we opted for the gingery and zesty RX Spritz, as well as the green juice perfection of Doctors Orders. If you're torn on which to choose, go for Doctors Orders--you'd have to be born without a tongue not to like this.

And yes, prices are steep, on par with most upscale Manhattan restaurants that are nice enough to impress your i-banker Tinder date on your 6-month anniversary. However, for once, I'm not griping about the dent in my wallet because I actually felt the near-perfect quality of each dish justified the cost. At the very least, I'm already planning my return visit to Manuela, and I can't remember the last time a ~$100-dinner had...

Disappointing experience overall: Pros - The decor and ambiance are great. Artwork, furniture, lighting, table-settings, etc. all really uniquely and well done. The ambiance although loud and a bit scene-y were good and what you would expect for a Soho restaurant. The staff were all very friendly. That's about it. Cons - The service just felt very disorganized. It is a large space and relatively new so a bit forgiving but still. We were asked by 3 different staff members what kind of water we wanted within 90 seconds of sitting down, which is fine but again felt unorganized. Then we waited 5-10 minutes for our actual server to greet us and take our drink orders. This was consistent thru the night, there was a lot of staff buzzing around filling water glasses, taking away empty plates, but everything with our actual server took a very long time. Our server raved about one of the specials which was not on the menu, so we ordered it. It was supposed to be a branzino style, whole fried fish. Sounded great, what we were served was not at all what we expected but since it wasn't on the menu with a full written description, we thought that maybe we just misunderstood the description given to us. It wasn't until we received the bill that we learned that we weren't given and charged for the special, but the swordfish which was more expensive and not what we wanted. It is an honest mistake I suppose but just not something you would expect from a high-end restaurant. We were also charged for a random side on our bill that we didn't order or receive. Again, an honest mistake, but I don't feel like you should have to inspect your bill at this caliber of restaurant. Finally, the food. We had the country ham biscuits. They were tasty but, I felt there was way too much butter. They were baked with a lot of butter and then served with even more on the side. Also, it's not what I would call country ham. I was expected thick-cut country ham, but this was more like thinly sliced prosciutto. They were good though and I would recommend them. We also had the butter beans with turnips and chimichurri. I was excited to see how those 3 ingredients could stand alone as a vegetarian main course and well they didn't. In my opinion it was basically a large portion of what would have been an ok side dish, not a main. The swordfish that we didn't order but were served, was not good. It was dry and seemed overcooked. I would have been disappointed if I received it at DIG so for $40 at a fine dining restaurant, extremely disappointed. The side potatoes were good, nicely cooked and with a nice sauce. For a $90 per person dinner though, the highlight shouldn't be the side potatoes. I hope this restaurant does well, but with so many other great options, I can't say that I...

Manuela restaurant opened in SoHo, NYC, a few weeks ago, and my husband and I took our family of six for dinner. Founded by Manuela and Iwan Wirth, the creators of the Hauser & Wirth galleries worldwide, Manuela’s Los Angeles location is renowned for its farm-to-table cuisine, exceptional cocktails, and curated wine list. Naturally, we were thrilled to try the SoHo outpost—and it exceeded our expectations. The restaurant’s interior is a masterpiece in itself, showcasing an impressive collection of artworks by esteemed artists from across the U.S. and Europe. One standout was Mika Rottenberg’s chandelier, with beams of light shining through mushroom-like colored orbs—truly unique and inspiring. The bronze spider and the long dining table in the private dining room were equally remarkable and added to the space's artistic allure. The food was equally impressive. For appetizers, we had cream biscuits with country ham and Steen’s butter, coal-roasted oysters with Jimmy Nardello butter, Long Island fluke crudo, and farm lettuce with aged red wine and radish. Each dish was beautifully prepared and delicious. For our main courses, we tried the red kuri squash with stracciatella and urfa oil, grilled swordfish with sumac and guindilla peppers, snowdance farm half chicken with chile de arbol and white BBQ sauce, and an 18oz ribeye with bone marrow and green peppercorns. The ribeye was perfectly tender and flavorful, while half chicken somehow managed to be both crispy and tender. We also ordered butterball potatoes, roasted cauliflower, and grilled caraflex cabbage as sides—all were exceptional. Even my husband, who typically avoids vegetables, couldn’t stop raving about them. The drink menu was equally impressive, with a thoughtful selection of cocktails, beer, and a select list of wines that paired beautifully with the meal.

Manuela in SoHo is a true gem, seamlessly blending art, ambiance, and culinary excellence. My husband and I can’t wait to return on our next trip to...