53

I recently visited 53 in Manhattan to celebrate Mother’s Day, and while we were excited to try it, the overall experience was disappointing. For a restaurant charging over $150 per person, chipped bowls should never be brought to the table. When we asked the busboy to replace them, his reaction felt noticeably annoyed, which made the service feel unpolished for this level of dining. I also think management should better train the team on menu guidance and recommendations. We mentioned that we were sharing plates and wanted to try a variety of dishes, but no one pointed out that we had ordered three rice-based items. A simple suggestion would have helped us balance the meal better with steak, seafood, or other options. Instead, we ended up eating multiple bowls of rice each. The food itself was average. The highlights were the appetizers, especially the oysters with uni and the eel club, but neither felt especially memorable from a culinary standpoint. The lobster rice was the biggest disappointment. At $88 per order, the lobster tasted bland, mushy, and not very fresh. The ikura added most of the flavor, but without it, the dish would have been very flat. I also could not taste much aroma from the lotus leaf, so it felt more decorative than functional. The clay pot rice dishes were better and at least met the basic expectations of what proper clay pot rice should look and taste like, but they were not enough to make the meal feel special. Overall, this was probably a one-time visit for us. We dine around the city often and were genuinely looking forward to this meal, but between the chipped bowls, uneven service, limited menu guidance, and underwhelming food, the experience did not match the price point. For a restaurant at this level, these basics should be handled much better.