Next

Worst experience I have ever had at a restaurant/bar entered the restaurant with a group of friends and this guy searched me down in the bar and ask me to leave because "he said he did not like me" I felt like I was being singled out. He was very aggressive and hostile. A very uncomfortable experience.

NEXT was a spot my boyfriend reserved to take me to go to. It was a wonderful surprise tasting the dishes they created with Bobby Flay as their inspiration. The service is great like other Michelin Star Restaurants. Michelin star spots tend to have flavors that are different and interesting. I really enjoyed the experience and their avocado dessert.

The ambiance is wonderful. We had a table for 6 seated in front of the kitchen so we had a wonderful view of the chefs cooking and also cleaning (since we had booked for 8:30pm).

We visited for the Julia Child menu and it was everything: an amazing tribute, flawless dishes, beautiful presentation, amazing service, and overall stellar dining experience. The pinnacle of what I hope for at every Michelin starred restaurant but don't get as often as I'd like. One of my top 5 dining moments.

Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5
Cost to worth it rating: 3 (spendy but SO worth it)
Opentableable: no, but via Tock
Eve award: amazing iconic chef tribute meal
Return worthiness: yes! 1000xs yes!

Highlights:
- Peking Duck L'orange: combo between Chinese and French was awesome. Apparently Julia loved Chinese food and this dish captured both cuisine's take and fused them perfectly. The Asian flavors with the orange glaze and the thin slices of tender duck put in small pancakes hidden in duck shaped dishes to open. Also came with a super crispy rice for another texture. 5 stars.
- Lobster bisque: best I've had by far. The creaminess was rich but not too overbearing, sherry flavor sang through and add a lovely layer, and the orange claw cracker was a masterpiece--looked just like the real like a la Netflix's "Is it cake?". ;-) 5 stars
- Boeuf Bourguignon: heavenly brised beef short ribs with a to die for rich red wine sauce. Served with am ambiance of little cast iron pots with red wine and herbs for an olfactory sensation. 5 stars
- Cheese course: most amazing presentation I've seen for a cheese course with the cheese shaved into a beautiful flower--Julia loved yellow flowers-and combined with endive for freshness. Unexpected, special, and worked so well 5 stars
- Turbot Meuniere: Simple yet delicious with the small piece of fish with the delicate sauce to get the essence of one of Julia's iconic dishes. 5 stars
- Cranberry gelle covered terrine style foie gras terrine: of the 3 hors d'oeuvers, this was my fave. The orb kind of reminded me of an elevated turkey dinner. 5 stars
- Bread: soft, crusty, and warm oblongs were perfect with the butter that was curled off of what looked like a frosted wedding cake! Most of the table just had 1 but I had 2. I saved my second piece til the end which turned out to be a fantastic idea to sop up the extra lobster bisque and beef juices. 5 stars
- Nicoise: done on a puffy light pastry with a white anchovy devoid of sometimes that unwanted seafoody flavor. 4 stars
- Rum bread pudding canelle with butter pecan ice cream: started with a flambee torch to it for flair. The pudding was just the right texture and the ice cream had sweet crunchies underneath. 4 stars
- Presentation: loved all of the stories that accompanied each dish and could feel the admiration for the chef.
- Staff: so on top of it and delightful. I love it when they are fun to talk to and the environment they create doesn't feel uncomfortable and stuffy.
- Kitchen table: I was lucky enough for my friend to snag this rezzie and I was mesmerized being plexi glass away from how the magic happens.

Midlights:
- Chicken: the rubbery texture of the slice I'm sure was on purpose but didn't work so well for me. I enjoyed the bell pepper accompaniment however. 3 stars

Lowlights:
- I always have high expectations at Michelin starred restaurants and can be disappointed. My last few were just ok. With this, my expectations are back to sky high for the next one I have.

LOVED this so much and can't wait to come back for other menus.

I finally booked Next. I have tracked their menus over time, and had been intrigued by the concept. Having dined at Moto many years back, I was not 100% sure this would be my type of thing. I was never into eating expensive meals, where the ingredients are made to sound complicated in explanation,or your salad looks like a cigar. Next isn't molecular gastronomy like Moto was, and don't get me wrong, I have an appreciation for the art. The experiences, art Next and in the past, Moto, fell flat.

Without going into extreme detail, in short, I was overwhelmingly disappointed in the meal we had at Next. Itv was like they took the flavors too far. The bisque was no where near the caliber a Lobster bisque should be. I couldn't finish it. There were several dishes, and the food was high quality, and well prepared. There were elements of some of the dishes that were excellent, but given the combinationof ingredients, there was something over seasoned or sauced. Overall, the food missed the mark for me.

Additionally, the interior of Next is unbelievably generic. They put no thought until how that should feel.

Service was good, pleasant. Explanations were rushed and hard to follow. Didn't feel genuine.

I felt like I completely over paid for that meal. The price wasn't a concern until the experience fell flat

Had a really wonderful and rich experience here. It starts with a warm and friendly welcome at the front and the rest you're taken well care of. Everything tasted wonderful. We got the Julia Child menu and the plating, decor, and styling was fun and full of retro glamour.

My husband and I came here to celebrate my birthday. The theme was Julia Child and Next did her proud.

The service from beginning to end was exceptional. That's a big statement considering how much staff you interact with here. Everyone who we interacted with was smart, friendly, and coordinated with one another. As they bring out each course, they explain to you what it is you're eating which is great but sometimes they were rushed and spoke too quickly which forced us to make them repeat themselves. Each course and wine paring harkened back to a different point in Julia's life and career and they (mostly) did a great job of celebrating that.

I won't describe each dish, but we were blown away by each of them. Truly each one was fantastic including, no surprise here, the multi-sensory experience that was the Boeuf Bourguignon dish. A showstopper for sure, and it had better be. We opted for the truly upsell which make the dish that much more special (though we'd skip it next time).

The only misses, and I know I am being super picky, is the decor of the space itself once you're inside, was underwhelming. I know the restaurant has revolving themes but still, it was nowhere near as magical as the food and staff. I would say the other miss was the music; there was nothing Julia Child or French about any of it. TBH it seemed like a random Spotify play list. I only mention these things because it brought us out of the fantasy, just slightly though.

Overall, phenomenal. Don't miss this place. We can't wait to come back for the next theme!

We came in for the Julia Child menu. The food was delicious. Maybe the beef stew was a little saltier than I would like and the dessert was super rummy but they needed it to make the flambé happen. Interior is on the more packed side but they do try to make it special with the TV. Loved the butter cart and especially the duck. Service was super friendly too. I'd come back to try their other menus.

Reserved my birthday dinner at Next, which is located in the Fulton Market area. There's parking on the streets but no valet parking as advertised. Found the restaurant slightly difficult to find as its sign was obscured by poor lighting and covered by a winter vestibule.

Upon entering, we were pleasantly greeted and welcomed by enthusiastic staff who seated us right away. The restaurant was cozy and unpretentious. A little disappointed as they did not have a full bar. Only wine and beer offered; however, patrons can walk next door to The Aviary for an extensive bar.

All the wait staff assigned to us were very friendly, efficient, anticipated our needs, and very informative of the dishes presented to us. As advertised, it was a truly immersive dining experience taking us on a tour of Tuscany, highlighting it's regional specialties. All of the dishes presented were delectable and exquisitely plated. What prevented me from giving it a five star was the two pasta dishes; Raviolo and Papardelle. Pasta was slightly undercooked. Hard to chew.

Worth its Michelin star rating and would recommend for the dining and experience.

The restaurant was very dark and crowded. You were being distracted by the theater playing in front of you and all around.
What can I say about the food? Well, I guess at that time the restaurant was doing the "World's Fair" menu. You definitely needed a dinner reservation made weeks in advance which was done on Tock. The dinner was a 8-course meal for two and no wine pairing but still very $$$$$. When my husband made the reservation he was thinking this restaurant was more like Noma in Copenhagen which he was very fortunate to get a table back in 2019, but it was definitely nothing like it. The desserts were great but nothing else. We went to this restaurant for our wedding anniversary so this was was a very special occasion. When we made the reservation we didn't did think the food was going to be terrible but it was. Very disappointed.
Definitely not going back.

Pretty flavorful food with a theme that didn't quite make sense. Service was great. Ambience was too loud/bustling for the setting as it was too hard to hear the servers' explanations amidst everyone else around us. It's very pricey for the volume and execution of the menu, and I acknowledge much of the cost is for the experience and service.

Service: I didn't know the meal was prominently based around pork which I eat the least of and fortunately, some of the pork options were able to be changed to fish.

Food: the tasting menu was enough food for me since it was pretty flavorful, though the volume was much less.

1. The first set of dishes was the most impressive, but the rest of the dishes after #2 didn't deliver. This is where the pork dishes were switched out for raw fish. They were super tasty and light. The cantaloupe was tasty, but especially with the evoo, felt a little out of place. The farinata and focaccia were delicious when dipped with evoo and the essenza di cacciucco.

2. Panzenella was a nice contrast of flavorful and fresh, with a lighter balance.

3. The poached red snapper felt quite out of place. The fish had quite a bit of fiber and was hard to chew. It didn't make sense to talk much background and history regarding the 25 year old balsamic but then mix it into the artichoke based sauce. It would have been better to me to appreciate the balsamic on its own then mix it if necessary.

4. Raviolo pasta was nice and light but the filling with mushroom ricotta, truffle, and parmigiano reggiano was too strong of a burst of flavor on its own.

5. Porchetta was substituted for salmon. Great crisp on the skin and the salmon was cooked perfectly. However, despite all the other dishes being so flavorful, there was not enough seasoning on the salmon. The following side dishes didn't seem to fit well with the salmon nor the pork that my wife got: grilled cauliflower was cold and the tableside-baked cannellini was so much in volume and seemed like just a filler with its neutral flavor.

6. Dessert was underwhelming - the chocolate just seemed like an accessory. The pound cake was lukewarm and was too thick in relation to the apples. Since the original zuccotto is served semi-frozen with ice cream, the overall dessert served chilled seems more appealing to me.

TLDR: Thank you, Next.
Let's address the elephant in this review. It's a great experience but expensive. As such, my review will scrutinize the whole experience more than other reviews. The restaurant has food prepared in a way many will not have the privilege of ever tasting. With that said, there are other Michelin star restaurants which are cheaper. Of the Alinea restaurants, I'd recommend the flagship Alinea over Next.

Would I go again: No.

Total bill for a dinner for 2: $1000-$1500

Food: It's incredibly prepared. Visually stunning and engaging. While not everything was my favorite, all of it was delicious.

Wine: We accompanied the experience with wine. This is where one star was lost. The overwhelming rate at which they brought out the each glass was exhausting. By the time you finish your glass another one is coming. You are almost certain to leave the restaurant slightly buzzed by the end of the dinner. It was made worse by the explanation of each bottle. If you drink a lot of wine and recognize the bottles then you think about how much each is getting marked up.

Service:
The service was fantastic and dressed to the nine. Not to mention they were incredibly patient with the table next to us which were unbearably rude.

Ambiance: Talking about the table next door, this is where another star is lost. The decor and planning is all deliberate to show off the food. However, after spending a hefty amount of money and time to get a reservation at this location, I was frustrated to be sat less than 3ft away from the next guests. I could barely hear my girlfriend as they over powered our voices with their endless complaints. At essentially $700+/head, I do not want to be able to reach out and touch the next patron.