The Wilson — Restaurant in New York

We recently had the opportunity to attend "Dining in the Dark," a unique culinary event hosted by The Wilson restaurant in collaboration with event organizer Fever. The premise was intriguing: guests, blindfolded, would be presented with a mystery menu designed to heighten their sensory experience and appreciation of the food's flavors and textures. While the concept was promising and the venue trendy and modern, the execution fell short of expectations, especially considering the ultimate price.

The Courses

The meal consisted of three courses, each with its own hits and misses.

Course 1: Ors d'Heurves Trio

The first course featured three different appetizers, each with distinct textures and flavors. This course aligned well with the event's purpose, showcasing how the absence of sight can enhance one's perception of taste and mouthfeel. While enjoyable, the appetizers didn't particularly stand out as extraordinary.

Course 2: Kebab Trio

The second course was a bit of a letdown. It consisted of three identical kebabs, which, while tasty, seemed to defeat the purpose of the "dining in the dark" experience. The repetition did little to highlight the nuances of flavor and texture that the event promised to explore.

Course 3: "A Study in Strawberry" Dessert

The final course, "A Study in Strawberry," aimed to present the fruit in three different ways: as a sorbet, a chopped strawberry with balsamic dressing, and a smoothie. Unfortunately, the portions were extremely small, and the preparations felt basic and underwhelming. After the build-up of the previous courses, this dessert was a disappointing conclusion to the meal.

Another guest at the event seemed to receive the wrong dessert course. The description of the dessert she was served did not match her guess as to what she had eaten, suggesting a mix-up in the kitchen.

Event Organization

In addition to the lackluster menu, the event itself seemed poorly organized. The MC appeared unfamiliar with the script, stumbling through explanations and instructions. At the end of the meal, guests were presented with a QR code that was supposed to link to pictures of the dishes we had just consumed. However, upon scanning the code, no pictures were available, leaving us with no visual record of our dining experience.

The Verdict

While The Wilson and Fever deserve credit for their innovative concept and stylish venue, "Dining in the Dark" ultimately failed to live up to its potential. The courses, while not unpleasant, lacked the wow factor one would expect from an experiential event culinary event in New York City. The second course, in particular, seemed to miss the mark in terms of the event's sensory focus. Moreover, the organizational missteps, such as the MC's unpreparedness and the missing food pictures, detracted from the overall experience.

For those seeking a truly memorable and innovative dining experience, "Dining in the Dark" may not justify its premium price point. The Wilson and Fever have the right idea, but significant improvements to the menu, adherence to the sensory theme, and attention to organizational details are necessary to elevate this experience from mediocre to truly...

We dined at The Wilson on a recent Friday. I received an email that evening asking for feedback. I was thinking, my goodness, I hadn't even made it home yet and already they're asking for a survey? This was the email:

How was your experience at The Wilson on August 6? We appreciate your feedback and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Okay, no big deal, I thought.

On the way home, my date, who got to the restaurant a bit before I did, told me that the bartender, a red-haired male, was very rude to her, and on top of that she sat there for a long time before anyone helped her. Whoever heard of a bartender acting this way? The Chinese have a saying, "A man who does not smile should not open a shop." And it was late afternoon/early evening, and she was the ONLY person at the bar.

I'm the type of customer who would politely address this while still in the restaurant, but I didn't know this had happened until we were on the way home. On Saturday, I wrote a very nice email to the address on the restaurant's website and received no response.

On Monday morning, I received this infuriating follow-up from the "Director of Guest Relations & Hospitality." What a highfalutin title indeed! Really, you're going to write me this kind of an impertinent email because I didn't fill out a survey the same day we dined at the restaurant? Give me a break!

Who at this company approved this kind of email? I know were all trying to be oh so hip and cool, but this is downright offensive, especially considering I got no response from my email sent on Saturday.

Don't reach out for 3 days!

Dear Dan,

Isn’t that the golden rule for securing the second date? Here we go, 3 days after your 1st visit here at The Wilson we haven’t heard back from you. So, you are playing hard to get. We’ve all done it before. But since we really enjoyed having you dine with us recently, we would love to have you back. When you book next, please make sure to use my personal reservation page - Stephen Maly's Booking Access.

Thanks so much, we can’t wait to see you again.

Cheers! One thing I have learned, instead of writing a bad review, I try to resolve the issue with the establishment first. I emailed Mr. Dr. Director of Guest Relations & Hospitality back on Monday and sent him the polite complaint email that I had sent on Saturday, and guess what, here it is two weeks later, and no response from anyone!

It will be a cold day in hell before I ever set foot in The...

My wife, 15 month old son, and celebrity friend visiting from California were looking forward to our first time at The Wilson for Sunday brunch. We made a reservation in advance.

The hostess was fabulous - she provided us with a high chair at our table, and gave my son crayons and a coloring sheet.

We noticed that after an hour wait, no waiters or waitresses came to even ask us if we wanted any beverages, not even water. Plus, 5 tables seated around us had the wait staff coming up to ask for their order and eventually they were eating, still no water for our table. I first mentioned it to hostess. A female waitress came up to the table right behind ours (the last two people seated) and was ready to take their order. I explained we haven’t had anyone come to our table and we’ve been waiting for hour. Her reply was “that’s not her table but will mention it our male waiter”. Our male waiter finally came to our table and claimed that it’s not his table but he was willing to serve us. I asked to speak to the Manager. I explained what happened, he said he would take care of us personally. Even that took a while, at least the Manager poured our water into our 1 hour long empty glasses. He admitted to us we were being overlooked and was going to comp our meals. We placed our drink order: two coffees, and a one mimosa. The Manager disappeared for a long period of time and NEVER CAME BACK!

We decided to leave the restaurant because it was unacceptable, and even people around us saw how we were treated and mentioned leaving a review on Yelp.

The only thing different about us and the other patrons eating there was we are African American.

If I could give this restaurant any review, it would be zero stars!

I made eye contact with our male waiter who tried to ignore us until I complained and he showed up claiming not to have our table.

So, a female waitress could serve a table of two right behind us but she can’t take our order and also claim that wasn’t her table.

Clearly, if there are two servers both claiming we aren’t their tables then we would have never been served.

This is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE. No one should come to a restaurant and receive this type of treatment. No one. We were seated directly in the center of the restaurant. “Overlooking us” should not have been and I believe was not possible. We will never ever be going back. The Restaurant Manager and two servers should be fired for...