Jean-Georges

Jean-Georges is a highly rated French-ish restaurant owned by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. It has garnered two Michelin Stars, and in his empire, this is his flagship restaurant. We’ve already been to several, including Jojo, Four Twenty Five, and The Fulton. This restaurant is also very easy to get a reservation a few days in advance, so you don’t really need to snipe unless you want a very popular time. Just a note that this is located across the street from Columbus Circle.

Ambiance & Service

When you walk in, you’re greeted by the reception area. To the right is Jean George’s Nougatine, and to the left is Jean-Georges. The restaurant itself is small but feels spacious. It has high ceilings, and I felt the decor felt just slightly out of date. Some of the seats have wear and tear. Regardless, our seat was comfortable against the wall.

The service was delightful, as the wait staff were very friendly and provided explanations for everything. We got the 10-course meal, and it took us nearly 4 hours to finish.

Food

We ended up going with the 10-course meal, which was priced at $398 per person. Note that they do not have a drink pairing menu, so you you need to order drinks by the glass. They offer half glasses for 50% off for several wines.

The Raspberry Lychee Bellini ($22) came with BiancaVigna prosecco, raspberry, and lychee. This was pretty straightforward and nothing special.

The first wine was a Champagne, Delamotte, Blanc de Blancs, Brut NV ($54 for a full glass). This blanc de blancs was bubbly and tame. It was crispy, dry, and tastes aromas of citrus zest, white flowers, and flinty minerality.

This came with 3 things:

• Sea Urchin, Yuzu, and Serrano Pepper. This came with Hokkaido sea urchin on a piece of toast. It was pretty good, and the pepper wasn’t all that spicy but added a nice kick.
• Crispy Trout Sushi, Chipotle and Tamari. The Tasmanian sea trout was very sweet and delicious. This was heavily inspired by Japanese sushi.
• Pea Soup and Aged Parmesan. The spring pea soup was very fresh and delicious. With the parmesan, it was a great savory complement with a lot of umami flavors.

The complimentary bread had sourdough and other various pieces of toast. We couldn’t eat too much of this since we were worried about getting too full, but the butter was very good and spread perfectly on the bread.

The Egg Toast came with caviar and herbs. This Bulgarian Golden Ossetra caviar is not available to the public and is specific to this restaurant. The egg itself was not too liquid and not too cooked, so in other words, perfectly edible and savory. The cream of the yolk had a lot of nice flavors. Complemented by the salty caviar, it provided a very nice sweet and salty balance in these bites.

The second wine was a Chardonnay, Sebastien Dampt, Chablis ($28 for a full glass) from Burgundy, France 2023. This chablis was interesting in that it didn’t have the potent apple flavor. It felt like maybe this aerated a lot, but if untrue, the wine was very tame and tasted good. It definitely is not the best chablis I’ve had, but it offered a different profile that I am not used to.

The Yellowfin Tuna came with celtuce, cascabel chili, and strawberry. The yellowfin tuna and the celtuce were very good. The broth had this spicy and sweet flavor to it. The strawberry was actually very good for this fish.

The Kanpachi came with curry leaf gelee, myoga ginger, and coconut-sudachi infusion. This amberjack fish has a coconut tiger milk sauce with avocado beneath the fish. My first impression was this seemed very Thai inspired. The coconut tiger milk was very good, and the ginger with avocado gave it this nice fatty and sharp cut to the flavors.

The third wine was a Chenin Blanc, Patrick Baudouin “Les Gats”, Anjou Blanc ($32 for a full glass) from Loire, France 2017. This chenin blanc was less clear, and it has some aging for nearly 10 years. It definitely had a particular aftertaste in a decent way.

The White Asparagus came with oreganata, calabrian chili, and menuette parsley. The white asparagus was crusted with oreganata and pecorino. So it gave it a nice savory and herbal flavor touch on top of the sweet flavors of the white asparagus. The overall essence of this dish was very garden centric.

The Morel Mushroom Ravioli came with hoja santa, smoked cheddar, and sherry fondue. The mushroom ravioli was very flavorful, tasting more like a cheese ravioli than the mushroom. The morel mushrooms were very dense, but the cheese was just very powerful. Nonetheless, the pasta was cooked perfectly, and there was a dense flavor profile.

The fourth wine was a Chardonnay, Pierre Boisson “Meursault, Les Criots” ($54 for a full glass) from Burgundy, France 2022. This was a fantastic chardonnay, with bright, forward aromas and saline minerality.

The Halibut came with nduja, leeks, and aji amarillo-wild hing infusion. This came from the North Atlantic. The halibut was beautifully cooked and very delicious. On top of the halibut was a myriad of minced seasoning, that reminded me a bit of Thai meets Chinese style steamed fish preparation. There was actually some kick to it, which paired wonderfully with the sweetness of the halibut.

The Maine Lobster came with fava beans, sumac vinaigrette, and dill. The lobster was wonderfully cooked, and it was paired with toasted red quinoa. It had some cherry pepper and butter on the side. The lobster was super sweet and flavorful and great with the sauce.

The Scallops seared with roasted cauliflower, shaved nutmeg, and capers. The sauce reminded me of a sweet mustard sauce. The scallops were very sweet, but I thought the sauce overpowered the flavors. My partner however enjoyed it very much.

The fifth and final wine for the duck courses was the Pinot Noir, Hubert Lignier, Gevrey-Chambertin “Seuvrees” ($54 for a full glass) from Burgundy 2019. This 100% pinot noir has a complex bouquet of sappy red red and black berries,

The Hudson Valley Foie Gras came with snow peas, black garlic, and rhubarb nam pla. The lemon grass and snap peas were very prominent in the dish, so it complemented the earthy mineral flavor of the foie gras. What was also interesting about the foie gras was that it was like a fatty mini steak. With all the flavors in this, it was really good.

The Spiced Duck Breast came with green asparagus, lovage, and mezcal mustard emulsion. The duck breast was cooked beautifully rare and tasted great. The fat was rendered perfectly. It’s still not as good as other specialized duck places, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually didn’t care much about the mustard sauce, and I preferred to eat it without. The prosciutto wrapped asparagus was quite salty, but it countered the fattiness of the duck.

The dessert was a Dark Chocolate which came with passionfruit, butter caramel, and cocoa. The dark chocolate was very bold, and the passionfruit was perfectly sweet and tart. This was by far one of my favorite desserts I’ve had recently.

All the chocolates are 70% dark.

From bottom to top:

• Toasted Sesame. I remembered this one was similar to a wafer.
• Amaretto Marzipan. This one had a strong almond flavor, which was really good.
• Sicilian Pistachio. This had a very delicious, prominent pistachio flavor.
• Hazelnut. This was crunchy, similar to a kit kat or wafer.

On the left:

• Macarons with Cucumber Lime
• Madagascar Vanilla Bean Marshmallow

And in the case from bottom to top:

• Tart Vanilla Ganache with Raspberry. This tasted like a tart with raspberry forward flavors.
• Soft Jelly Candy Sugar with Crystallized Yuzu Cherry Flavor. We were told to save this for last. It’s because the jelly candy was very concentrated with cherry flavors, and it wakes you up.
• Champagne Gummy Bears. These were so small and soft that they didn’t have much flavor, or the other chocolates drowned them out.
• Matcha Profiteroles with Yuzu Cream. The matcha was very concentrated, so you get this bitter, sweet, and tart flavor. The yuzu was pretty mild.
• Sour Cherry Dome Explosion with Cocoa Butter and Almond Butter Cream. The dome had a wet, cherry flavor inside of it similar to a runny syrup. The cookie itself was just the vessel for this.

And here is everything on a single dish.

Last, but not least, we received an almond cake for the next day breakfast. This cake was very moist and delicious the next day.

Overall Impression

Jean-Georges legitimately surprised us both with not just the Asian influences, but the food quality. For some dishes, it reminded me of the Asian influences with spice and flavor, and in others, it was expressed from the Americas. The food is fresh, and it’s much easier to secure reservations than other trendy restaurants.

Yelp & Google Jabs

This is the second 2 star Michelins that we’ve been to and both far surpassed the food from the 3 star.

It really depends on the food that night and also where your palette is. Generally, two Michelin Stars will probably be better weighing against the 3-star.

Overall a great lunch, perhaps a bit overpriced for amount of food but so tasty. Would definitely return to try the dinner full course!

I disagree. I think this person didn’t really drink any alcohol or any drinks, so it’s easy to get full quickly.

Revisions

1. Jun 13, 2026 - Initial revision.