Saga — Restaurant in New York

SAGA is a great and innovative restaurant by Chef James Kent. We had the 7-courses tasting menu, and we thoroughly enjoyed it for the most part. I would say the food is most definitely on par for that of a two Michelin Star Restaurant, and Chef Kent definitely delivered on all elements when it comes to the food. The duck tagine especially was very good, in addition to the dessert medley and Moroccan tea served at the end of our meal. The other dishes were all equally great in their own right and delicious, especially the foie gras which was made with a very innovative take but had a really well balanced set of flavors. In addition, the restaurant is located on the 63rd floor of a skyscraper, and had beautiful views of New York, which gave it some of the best ambience I've experienced in a fine dining restaurant.

Service: 2 Stars Food: 5 Stars Atmosphere: 5 Stars

The only complaint I had would be the service. While as many others mentioned, the wait-times for food can be quite long, I personally didn't mind it, but its for sure something to consider as this is most definitely the case. While almost all of the service team were professional and courteous, our server, the gentleman with the nose piercing specifically, did not by any means meet our expectations, especially at a restaurant of this caliber. I would like to highlight however, that the other members of the staff did such a great job, and my experience definitely wasn't the norm.

I emailed the restaurant almost two weeks ahead to let them know about my girlfriend's restrictions, which were beef, lamb, and seafood. The staff at SAGA also reached out again via email to confirm these restrictions two days prior, and were even thoughtful enough to clarify whether or not seaweed would be okay. However, when we actually dined there, despite clarifying with my girlfriend and I when we first sat down on these restrictions again, on the last savory course, the entree, our server brought a beef tagine. When we asked him about it, he passive-aggressively defended himself, telling me that he thought I told him the restrictions were duck, lamb, and beef instead, when he had literally served my girlfriend a duck-based course right before this. I had to pull up the email of which he personally replied to, to which he just said "okay" and took away the items on the table without another word. While he did apologize, and brought us a drink from the bar each as an apology, when I clarified with him that it was okay, and that it was all good, he said that he was only "going to apologize once," which sounded really weird to both my girlfriend and I, and while he was cool about it, definitely sounded worse when we considered his passive-aggressive-sounding way of communicating that to the both of us.

I was quite disappointed with the mix-up, as not only did it result in a 15-minute delay where my girlfriend and I were left without any food, but the fact that the subsequent substitution was a smaller duck tagine and a cabbage tagine, where a normal duck tagine would have been totally fine, and it just felt like the server didn't want to give us the full portion of duck for some reason or another.

When I gave a lower tip than what was customary due to this issue, as I was thoroughly disappointed, his demeanor changed immediately, and he gave both my and my girlfriend the side-eye and acted very cold as we left the restaurant. This definitely was one of the poorest service experiences I have yet to experience at a fine dining restaurant (albeit not terrible by any means, just in contrast to other Michelin-starred places). To share some contrast, I dined the day after at The Modern, and they were able to flawlessly accommodate my girlfriend's restrictions even though I only brought them up at the time of ordering and having booked the reservation on the day of.

To sum up, my experience is most likely isolated, and I hope that this was indeed a one time mistake and not a systematic issue, but the attitude and degree to which our server treated us was definitely a...

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📌 Service S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R! Our server, Gabriel, made the evening exceptional. He went above and beyond, demonstrating exceptional skills. Gabriel provided thorough explanations without any pressure to upsell, and his assistance throughout the night was invaluable. His professionalism left us with the most pleasant mindset as we departed.

Throughout the evening, we were attended to by more than 7-8 staff members, each contributing to an impeccable service experience. I can recall only a handful of places where the service was on par with this, and everything else pales in comparison.

📌 Food They offer a choice of a four or seven-course prix fixe menu. Initially, I couldn’t decide which to choose, as our previous experience had left us barely able to continue after the fourth course. Our waiter was extremely detailed in explaining the differences (and very important to note that our waiter was not trying to upsell us in any way), and we eventually opted for the four-course menu. Guess what? I still couldn’t finish the dessert!

In terms of the food, we were not overly impressed. It was good and delicious, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression. Except for dessert part!

◼︎ First Course: Tamale and black caviar with corn sauce. The predominant taste was corn, which overshadowed the dish, but still very delicious.

◼︎ Second Course: Lobster tail or fish (unfortunately, I forgot what type of fish it was). My recommendation is to go with the lobster tail, which was far more flavorful.

◼︎ Third Course: We had a choice, and opted for Wagyu beef at an additional $75 and a vegetarian course of cabbage. These were served with smaller plates such as artichoke hummus, which was absolutely amazing, and the most delicious freshly made pitas, along with other dipping sauces. The Wagyu beef was perfectly prepared, but the cabbage was underwhelming. The sauce for both dishes seemed to be the same, chickpea-based, which wasn’t particularly impressive. After the second course, you don’t feel quite full, but the third course fills you up with high-calorie hummus and pitas.

After that, they served delightful little cookies paired with a very flavorful tea. Then, it was time for dessert.

◼︎ Dessert: The desserts deserve special attention! They were spectacular and unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere. It has an actual concept & idea behind. The concept involves five different desserts served with a diagram showing the order in which to eat them and predominant flavors in each piece. We absolutely loved this concept; everything was very delicious and beyond filling. We joked that SAGA should offer a mid-day tea and dessert menu.

Overall, I can say that the food did not astonish or surprise me. I didn’t experience anything entirely new. However, their desserts deserve a special commendation. Absolutely loved them.

📌 Ambience The view is undoubtedly the standout feature here. Perched on the 63rd floor, you get an unparalleled vista of Manhattan that is simply breathtaking, especially at sunset.

One aspect that caught our attention was the interior vibe. It feels reminiscent of a hotel lobby with its heavy chairs and outdated pink carpet, which detracts from the overall experience (we laughed about it throughout our stay). We would prefer a more modern and stylish ambiance, but the spectacular view somewhat compensates for this.

The crowd is generally well-dressed, business oriented and adds to the atmosphere. However, we were surprised to see a few guests in flip-flops and shorts, looking like they just stepped out from the neighboring building’s pool. While it’s great that the venue is welcoming to all, it was unexpected.

Another point to note is the lighting after sunset. The space becomes uncomfortably dim, as they do not turn up the lights, which could be improved for a more pleasant evening experience.

📌 Overall Experience... I could not finish this part because character limit was exceeded! hahhaha See YELP :)

📝 The pictures are in the exact order as how...

Hands down the best experience we ever had (defeating Blue Hill at Stone Barns).

First, most of the staff (if not everyone) greeted us by our names, which added a personal touch to the service they provided.

Second, the welcome drink was a nice surprise. (We've had that in any of the other 2 michelin restaurants we've been to.)

Third, they accommodated my husband's dietary restriction (mild shellfish allergy) without completely altering his dish. They still made it a modified version of the one on the menu and still tasted excellent.

Fourth, we appreciated the palate cleanser in between the dishes. It was still creative and delicious.

Fifth, we've never had a "free" drink after the main course in any of the other places. They served us Morroccan tea after our main course. They even served it with a little dallah show. After that meal, that's exactly what we needed - something refreshing.

Sixth, they served us my birthday cake, and usually, when other places did this, cakes were usually very meh. It was enjoyable - moist and flavorful - and didn't taste like an afterthought. We couldn't finish it as we were so full. They offered to box it for us and lo and behold when we got home, we found out they gave us a fresh cake to take home.

Seventh, our coats were waiting for us by the elevator, and everyone thanked us for coming. (When we should be the one thanking them for an exceptional dinner and service.)

Lastly, we received an email a day after thanking us again for coming from our server - Ikram.

We will definitely come back soon. Again, thank you for the wonderful dinner and service.

08/17/2024

We went here to celebrate our anniversary dinner as we had a wonderful experience last time we were here. Comparing it from the food and service from January, this experience feels quite disappointing for several reasons.

One, we reserved for a 7 course dinner but noted that we might do a 4 course instead due to babysitting issues. When we were seated, we asked about the option of 7 course and our server said, "The kitchen is only ready for a 4 course meal for your table and they are mostly raw shellfish (which I'm allergic to) anyway." So 4 courses made sense. To my surprise, the table next to us didn't get any raw shellfish for their 7 course meal. Makes me wonder why we were discouraged to get the 7 course and was given the wrong information. He also didn't explain the courses at all. He also explained our courses as caviar with custard, lobster with cream sauce, and duck. There were no details at all.

Secondly, we were not offered hand towels, and I had to ask for it after the 1st course.

Third, bag handles should have been offered even though it may not be needed by guests with handbags.

Fourth, the amuse bouche was pretty and delicious, but shouldn't be served as amuse bouche. Lacked creativity and insight for the meal ahead.

Fifth, they no longer serve small bites in between dishes. (I'm only expecting this due to the fact that it was done on our previous visit.)

Sixth, unlike our previous experience regarding the cake, this one felt like an afterthought. I had one bite and was put off. Too sweet and grainy icing. It tasted like baked boxed cake with gold leaf. My husband said entemanns cake tastes better.

Seventh, I remember from our last visit we had like a little takeaway. I believe it was like scones for breakfast, and they even mentioned thinking of our experience there in the morning. None of that during this visit. We were crammed in the elevator, hoping to get rid of us quickly.

I was hoping to hold a private event here, and my husband questioned it after our experience last night. Maybe because it's Saturday and they're busy. I don't think that should be an excuse, though, especially for a 2 Michelin. Consistency is the key.

Our main course - duck - was delicious, and our petit desserts were scrumptious, though.

Will I give it another try? Maybe, but I'm no longer excited...