To describe the experience of dining at the world’s number 1 restaurant Eleven Madison as voted by World’s 50 Best Restaurants, I will play a word association game. 
❌Service – inconsistent
❌Food – lacklustre
❌Decor – underwhelming
❌Experience – why
❌Final thoughts – full stereotype of fine dining with obnoxiously tiny portions, resting on laurels like it never got up to walk in the first place. ♻

Lobster butter-poached with ginger and dandelion greens

Black and white cookie with cheddar and apple

Quail egg with radish and mustard greens

Daikon with ramps and shallots

Spring peas with trout roe and lemon

Snow peas with goat’s cheese and lemon

The service was smiley yet vacuous (ie. Forced congeniality) a little tactless (if clearly in a serious conversation, popping in to interrupt constantly isn’t the best), no stand out dish (was waiting to be wowed by… well, anything really) and lack of anticipation/ability to read cues of what each individual guest needs beyond dietary requirements. ?

We were given these sour sorbet popsicles while touring the kitchen.

Two birthdays were celebrated with a lone blob of ice cream on vast, empty plate – adorned with a single, white candle little wider than a toothpick and probably available for 2c at the local dollar store. The words ‘happy birthday’ were not even inscribed ??‍♀️ ?

Strawberry poached with elderflower and vanilla ice-cream

Cheesecake with smoked sturgeon, caviar, everything bagel and white asparagus

Cheese with seasonal condiments

One of the guests had a back issue and was clearly in pain, standing up to hold their side throughout the evening. In every other 2-3 Michelin ? venue, this would be immediately recognised and catered for, solutions offered. ?‍?

Honey and lavender glazed duck with rhubarb and spring onion

Snails grilled with morels and ramps

Fois grois marinated with strawberry and black pepper

Asparagus with smoked egg salad

Maybe I’m being overly harsh because of the tag Eleven Madison comes with – however considering one of the guests flew from London to have dinner for one night (wasn’t me ??‍♀️) I’d want each detail to be intricately executed with aplomb. ?

All in all – a huge disappointment, but a lesson learned.