Alléchant — Restaurant in Town of Ithaca

tldr: Extremely bad service (racist? racist.) around Saturday 8:15 pm. Food was meh.

I came here with 2 other friends on Saturday at 8:10pm for our reservation at 8:15, excited since the reviews, food, and ambiance looked amazing online. We were seated promptly at 8:10 across the serving station, given menus, and left to ponder what dishes to choose. There were three servers in the establishment, which was pretty but not big. Then, we had to wait 20 minutes until a server finally came (at 8:30) to take our order even though we have been trying to make eye contact/get their attention way before.

(As a note, our party were all East Asians. We dressed up for the occasion. All the other parties appeared white. That was the only difference. There was no discernable age difference at all.)

At 8:50, our appetizer came. Then came the long wait (30+ minutes). We finished our appetizer quickly, and realized something off about the 3 servers that night. Not once did they come to check up on us. Our waters were empty even though we were right in front of the serving station. Parties bigger than us that were seated and ordered after us were getting checked up on way more often (granted the amount of times they checked up on us was 0). They were also served food earlier than us despite ordering later. The menu of the establishment is not that big, and so we clearly saw the same entrees that we ordered being served to other tables that ordered later than us.

At 9:20, over an hour since we arrived, we decided to go ask them about our main entrees (and water) which was hard since they kept avoiding eye contact. When we did, the server sighed, said they'll go check the kitchen, and then said that we'll be next. The conversation was brisk, and they were not apologetic at all. Instead they seemed annoyed. When the food finally came, the server simply placed them down without saying a word. And once again, they did not check up on us anytime afterwards. Mind you, the establishment is small, they had 3 servers (so they were not super busy) and we can clearly see and hear the servers making small talk with all the other parties (several who were seated after us!), stating dish names as they put it down, checking back every now and then with water, etc. The attitude was completely different between our party and all the other parties.

Now the food. The food was not terrible, but it was not the best, especially not for the wait (and perhaps the price but that's subjective). Two of us ordered the duck on salad, and it was quite simply that and underwhelming. Not sure if it was worth $33. The cioppino was slightly better than the duck, but the bar was low.

We finished eating at 9:45 and asked for the check. And that's when they would constantly check up on us to see if we were ready to pay. :'))) As a note, there were still other parties eating there when we left. Overall, this was a very unpleasant experience. We would not recommend especially if you are a person of color and the servers remain the same. There is better food AND service...

The atmosphere? Beautiful. Aesthetic.

The employees? Just as much and they're very kind and attentive. Fills up your water, walks around and serves that OJ and stuff.

The food. Jesus. Why? How does this place have 5 stars? It literally takes an hour to get your food. I'm guessing they got one home kitchen back there and a chef that has a trust fund because he ain't worried about anything.

And when you finally get it? I wish I had pictures but I was fuming. I just took a few bites and left.

I got the chicken sausage, toast, egg, with some caramelized onion and ginger sauce.

Now that sauce? That one is legit. Real caramelized onions. Those are literally impossible to find because it takes an hour of nonstop stirring to make a thin pan of it at low heat.

The flavor of the sauce? Not bad. It's a novelty. Got a ginger bite to it.

Now. The meat, toast, and eggs, were the most pitiful diner food I ever ate. Perhaps I expected more due to the decor but absolutely zero flavor. The toast and a spread of butter was some kind of dark rye bread. The egg? No flavor. No salt, no pepper, no runny yolk either so don't assume it was a creative choice.

The meat? Well they had none so... Had it swapped.

The bacon? "Smoked bacon" my bum. Nothing special about it but it WAS cooked well. But absolutely unremarkable.

Oh and the roasted potatoes. Too hard and dry on random sides, felt like I was eating survival food I made in a tin can.

I will NEVER come back here to get mediocre diner food from a schizophrenic chef, just for the aesthetic of the restaurant, ever again.

Good job on the caramelized onions sauce though. The flavor was mid at best but I appreciate the hard work...

The 26 letters of the English language seem measly when trying to form any sentence adequate enough to express my true love for Allechant. I know that’s an outrageous statement, but everything this place offers—the incredible food, the amazing people and management, the wonderful atmosphere—makes it the best restaurant in Ithaca, bar-none.

My partner and I have probably been to Allechant 20+ times in the past two years, and it never disappoints. The brunch menu is full of fantastic staples and seasonal takes, the dinner menu is inventive and substantial, the desserts are to die for, and the serving sizes are perfect (you always feel satisfied, but rarely like you’ve over-eaten). Plus, the coffee and chai are among some of the best we’ve had locally, and the wine selection is solid, too.

Plus. (And a big plus here.) The workers are INCREDIBLE!!! Seeing Matt and Katie truly brightens our week whenever we come by. Wherever we go, Allechant will always be in our hearts, and we cannot recommend this...