We went to L'Atelier for my partner's birthday. We sat at the bar. I see previous reviewers have complained about being told they could only be seated at the bar. Having been to the restaurant, I really don't get this concern. The whole concept of the restaurant is you sit bar-style facing the open kitchen and service area. It was extremely comfortable and fun and we had no problems with it. There are only two (2!) tables in the whole restaurant, booths that sit four, and so if you aren't booking for four people, there's no way you will sit at a table.
We both opted to having tasting menus. We were happy to leave the chefs to make decisions and wanted to taste a wide variety of dishes. My partner had the eight course Discovery Menu ($1880) and I went for the four course Dinner Menu ($780 - which I think is really the cheapest dining option, assuming you want more than one course, although you could pay more than that for some mains!). Additionally, we received the complimentary bread basket, amuse bouche, and petit fours, and our sets came with tea and coffee. The bread basket was something else; there were at least ten different kinds of bread provided including western and Asian style breads, often in miniature proportions. It would have been easy to fill up on that alone and have had an impressive dining experience! There seemed to be one basket provided been two and staff replenished them if needed. The amuse bouche consisted of a vegetable jelly and a watermelon gazpacho with a cheese foam. Lovely start to the meal. The petit fours plate included a number of items including madeleines, macarons, some jujubes, and some lovely little crunchy chocolate balls that ressembled paw paw seeds. No complaints with any of these items. My partner's expresso was served with a little pot of caramel sauce, which was a fun touch. Apparently the chef enjoys his coffee like this and wanted to share the idea with others.
As for the courses we ordered, I think little comment is necessary. If you want the detail of what is on offer, view the helpfully provided menus on their website. The courses we tasted were well balanced, well presented, well paired, well prepared, and downright tasty. When we wanted something modified, this was no trouble at all and was done immediatly and effectively. One tip with the signature waygu though, go for at least one grade of cooking more than you would usually eat. You want the marbling to melt, so it's not as good with less cooking. I usually have a rare steak but medium suited me and my partner usually has a medium steak and well done suited him.
Drinks wise, we both started with cocktails ($130-$140 each) then moved onto a half bottle of white. My partner had a glass of red by the time his red meat main arrived. The wine list was extensive and available in either two inch thick A4 binder or on iPad (allowing you to sort the list within each category by factors like ratings, region, and price). No complaints with the options available or the end result. Only concern was the white wine wasn't kept chilled as it was kept in front of our seats. We drank tap water (our preference) and nobody took any issue with that.
Service is everything you would expect in a fine dining restaurant - efficient, unobtrusive, consistent. We were served simultaneously and each course was explained. Further conversation was provided when we enquired. Lots of nice little touches all through the evening.
A lovely touch was that, having been informed when I booked that it was my partner's birthday, his final dessert course was presented with a candle and 'Happy Birthday ____!' written in chocolate on a sheet of tempered chocolate (it was a chocolate dessert). Then, our waiter took a photo of us with the dessert and we were later given a printed copy of the photo with a card. A great memento of the evening.
All in all, we had a great time. Yes, it's absolutely a splurge situation. But if you're going to splurge, a place like this provided the perfect environment.
題外話/補充資料:
We actually booked very last minute, about 4pm before our weekday dinner. In general, I'd advise booking in advance but perhaps this suggests it's worth at least giving them a call if you wanted something last minute.
I'd also suggest that this isn't the venue for a 9.30pm sitting time, especially if you were intending on having a lot of courses. We were there for almost four hours and that was without any delays in service (except a gap before the dessert courses, which we requested).
(以上食評乃用戶個人意見 , 並不代表OpenRice之觀點。)