Essential by Christophe

There are not enough words to describe the incredible meal and service received here! All of the dishes were just as tasty as they seem on looks alone. Michael, our server, deserves recognition on his passion for the menu by leaving me with no regrets from his impeccable dish recommendations. He came to our table at all the perfect times and was super friendly. Sofia was warm and inviting upon our arrival, sat our table, and made sure we were well taken care of. She was very attentive and reached out personally to ask about potential allergies even prior to our reservation. Michelle greeted us very kindly during our meal and Christophe introduced himself to us as well. The staff is extremely warm and inviting, which only enhanced our experience. It's great to see how much the establishment values maintaining relationships with customers and what lengths they will go to in order to offer the most quality meal all around.

What a special restaurant located on the Upper West Side. We have lived up here for more than 20 years and can say that this place is one of the finest restaurants ever in existence within the surrounding area. You get that same fancy experience that you'd get at some of the best restaurants in Midtown. We dined at the bar area and were blown away by both the food and service. I couldn't recommend Essential by Christophe highly enough. It's a must visit restaurant on the UWS.

An exquisite dining experience - what a culinary delight for the Upper West Side. The food is delicious, the service is exemplary, the atmosphere is both elegant and inviting. Tried their ‘no alcohol’ sparkling wine which was a triumph. My group raved about the food and desserts. One of the foodies among us has already booked to come back with his family. Excited to try their bar menu experience next.

This is a wonderful new French restaurant. It’s one of the closest experiences I’ve had in NYC to Michelin restaurants in France itself. The atmosphere is cozy chic, refined but still comfy. Everything we tried was great, but the seafood dishes were standouts (prawns with caviar, lobster). My only nit would be with the service, as there were a few points where the dishes were confused and we had trouble flagging someone down.

Went a bit before they received their star. Definitely obviously they were working very hard to receive a star. Extremely wonderful people, warm environment, and delicious food. They knew exactly what they were doing to attract customers and the inspectors. I personally really enjoyed the flavors of Comté Cheese Soufflé- it was strong yet smooth and delivate. Overall, I believe they deserved the star. It’s definitely worth it for now.

Randomly canceled my reservation, have to sit at the bar. A cocktail called clear sky put in a glass with not clear ice actually full of bubble is hilarious. A cocktail in fine dining is not like a random street bar, at least try to bring a atmosphere to your customers when you named it. Food are so good, I tasted a lot of Asian elements in it. The dining room is so noisy and crowded. Anyway, everything is below average except the food is so good.