My husband and I have been going to Estela for the past 8 years. We come every time we visit New York (2-3 times a year). The food is always solid. At our recent visit, Joel, our server was amazing. He recommended some amazing bars and helped us through their new menu. Keep it up Estela!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kristy Salgado
I have mixed feelings about our experience. The place had a cozy atmosphere, good music, but from the moment we sat down, I felt like they wanted us to finish quickly and leave. I’m not sure if it was due to the flow of customers, but we had to order all the dishes at once. Before we even finished one, they brought out the next, almost urging us to rush, and the same with the wine.
The scallops were wonderful, as were the dumplings and the tuna. The salad and steak were nothing special compared to other places, but I wouldn’t recommend the pork. It arrived undercooked and was too fatty, which really lowered my expectations. I've been to other Michelin-starred restaurants, and this has never happened before.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Dianne Fabby
I loved how simple the dishes looked but how much depth they had. The relaxed atmosphere made the food shine even more.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kate Jones
Incredible food, incredible service, no notes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
reliable nyc source
great space but don’t like yall stealing my boys ideas. six dollars for oysters is just absurd but that yuzu kosho mignonette was first released at a chess club back in october. it probably wasn’t the first one in the world but it’s probably better and definitely the original. if you’d like to have a friendly competition let me know i’ll connect you to superman.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Kate Pangilinan
Sat at the bar booked on Open Table and Chase Sapphire Reserve for the $150 dining credit. We ordered the beef tartare, mackerel, endive salad, ricotta dumplings, and wagyu, plus 2 wines, a beer, a cocktail, and the parsnip gelato.
It was as you can imagine a $$$ night out. But the bar seating was so cozy and no rush for the table. Favorites that I would come back for are the parsnip gelato (so nice we ordered it twice), the dumpling, and the mackerel. Skip the tartare, the endives are great to balance the overall meal with some crisp and fresh bites. Good wine selection.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Emily T
I usually don’t leave reviews but am compelled to this time.
My husband and I dined here for my birthday. We had a table for two, pushed up against a wall near the busy entrance with no view of the rest of the restaurant. The restaurant is clearly overpacked and they’re trying to squeeze seats into every square inch.
We were both facing bar-seated patrons, with the misfortune of a gentleman’s bum crack during our meal. There were patrons being ushered in and out of the narrow walkway in front of us to the waiting area; lots of coats and jackets being taken on and off. It was incredibly annoying.
Food is overpriced and pretty unmemorable. Service overall great. The cherry on top was the recommended tipping amounts of 20%, 25%, etc on the receipt, and zero mention of birthday.
There are lots of great restaurants in NYC. Do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. Truly stunned at how this place holds a Michelin star.
Nuvolina
We visited some months ago and forgot to review.. The food is okay and the price is fair.
The restaurant is very packed and loud. Our table was the dimension of a coffee table but for a dinner and our table neighbors became our best friends sitting basically in our laps.
It's also very dark inside but I guess some people might enjoy it that way..
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Lobster, Panna Cotta with Honey
Florence Vogels
Incredible food and wine list. The tuna sashimi is a must. Never tasted something so delicate before. Loved the super cosy atmosphere too. Perfect for a date night. We will be back for sure. Thanks for this beautiful evening.
Mei Deng
My first Michelin star restaurant. Came here bc my friend used his Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit. Very fancy vibes, kinda dark inside. Food was good, wine was okay. Prob wouldn’t come again tho
- Fried arroz negro, squid, and romesco: YUM, one of my fav dishes - Ricotta dumplings with mushrooms and pecorino sardo: Wasn’t the biggest fan of this - Wagyu steak with sunchoke, spinach, and coffee: YUM, meat was tender - Poached trout: Yummy
I was very excited to dine at Estela but left fairly disappointed due to lacking service and uneven food execution.
Our dinner reservation was early before the restaurant was full and servers were standing around socializing. This is not an issue, but we waited ~15-20 minutes before anyone greeted us or brought us water. Once we had water and menus our server asked about drinks but we hadn't decided yet so he left without going over the menus. After about 30 minutes sitting we were finally ordering drinks and had to ask our server if he would go over the menus or could make recommendations. He left again and asked for our full order when he returned with drinks. Our food was coursed very quickly with multiple plates being squeezed onto our small two top or being taken quickly before we were finished to make room for new dishes.
We were excited about the trout with artichoke hearts but were really let down by the blandness of the artichokes. They were weirdly textured like eating bits of magic eraser and the sauce the trout was sitting in was tasty but scarce. For our last course we shared a couple (I believe literally two) bites of chewy steak. The reservation we made listed my birthday as the special occasion but there was no mention of this by either the host or server so we ended our meal early and opted for desert and after dinner drinks elsewhere instead.
Overall neither the food nor especially the service inspired a return trip, but that is very disappointing for a Michelin starred restaurant on a special occasion.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Gianluca Savaia
Honestly I was thinking expecting a better experience. The tables are cramped together with little privacy and you need to push other guests just to get in and out of your seat.
The food is high quality but not all the options were impressive. The mackerel is for sure the best we tried. The octopus and steak were good but lacked the wow effect.
Make sure you make a reservation well in advance, there's just a few seats.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Emily Sultan
Exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hwihyeon Kim
The food was overly salty, and the description of the dishes was too brief. Also, the bill was incorrect, and when I pointed this out to the server, there was no apology. Overall, the quality of service did not match the price.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
deepblue bohol
The food seemed to be prepared in a unique way, but I can't say for sure if it tastes good. The staff didn't seem friendly either, and the one with the nose piercing was particularly rude and insincere.
My husband and I have been going to Estela for the past 8 years. We come every time we visit New York (2-3 times a year). The food is always solid. At our recent visit, Joel, our server was amazing. He recommended some amazing bars and helped us through their new menu. Keep it up Estela!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I have mixed feelings about our experience. The place had a cozy atmosphere, good music, but from the moment we sat down, I felt like they wanted us to finish quickly and leave. I’m not sure if it was due to the flow of customers, but we had to order all the dishes at once. Before we even finished one, they brought out the next, almost urging us to rush, and the same with the wine.
The scallops were wonderful, as were the dumplings and the tuna. The salad and steak were nothing special compared to other places, but I wouldn’t recommend the pork. It arrived undercooked and was too fatty, which really lowered my expectations. I've been to other Michelin-starred restaurants, and this has never happened before.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
I loved how simple the dishes looked but how much depth they had. The relaxed atmosphere made the food shine even more.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible food, incredible service, no notes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
great space but don’t like yall stealing my boys ideas. six dollars for oysters is just absurd but that yuzu kosho mignonette was first released at a chess club back in october. it probably wasn’t the first one in the world but it’s probably better and definitely the original. if you’d like to have a friendly competition let me know i’ll connect you to superman.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Sat at the bar booked on Open Table and Chase Sapphire Reserve for the $150 dining credit. We ordered the beef tartare, mackerel, endive salad, ricotta dumplings, and wagyu, plus 2 wines, a beer, a cocktail, and the parsnip gelato.
It was as you can imagine a $$$ night out. But the bar seating was so cozy and no rush for the table. Favorites that I would come back for are the parsnip gelato (so nice we ordered it twice), the dumpling, and the mackerel. Skip the tartare, the endives are great to balance the overall meal with some crisp and fresh bites. Good wine selection.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I usually don’t leave reviews but am compelled to this time.
My husband and I dined here for my birthday. We had a table for two, pushed up against a wall near the busy entrance with no view of the rest of the restaurant. The restaurant is clearly overpacked and they’re trying to squeeze seats into every square inch.
We were both facing bar-seated patrons, with the misfortune of a gentleman’s bum crack during our meal. There were patrons being ushered in and out of the narrow walkway in front of us to the waiting area; lots of coats and jackets being taken on and off. It was incredibly annoying.
Food is overpriced and pretty unmemorable. Service overall great. The cherry on top was the recommended tipping amounts of 20%, 25%, etc on the receipt, and zero mention of birthday.
There are lots of great restaurants in NYC. Do yourself a favour and go elsewhere. Truly stunned at how this place holds a Michelin star.
We visited some months ago and forgot to review..
The food is okay and the price is fair.
The restaurant is very packed and loud. Our table was the dimension of a coffee table but for a dinner and our table neighbors became our best friends sitting basically in our laps.
It's also very dark inside but I guess some people might enjoy it that way..
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Lobster, Panna Cotta with Honey
Incredible food and wine list. The tuna sashimi is a must. Never tasted something so delicate before. Loved the super cosy atmosphere too. Perfect for a date night. We will be back for sure. Thanks for this beautiful evening.
My first Michelin star restaurant. Came here bc my friend used his Chase Sapphire Reserve dining credit. Very fancy vibes, kinda dark inside. Food was good, wine was okay. Prob wouldn’t come again tho
- Fried arroz negro, squid, and romesco: YUM, one of my fav dishes
- Ricotta dumplings with mushrooms and pecorino sardo: Wasn’t the biggest fan of this
- Wagyu steak with sunchoke, spinach, and coffee: YUM, meat was tender
- Poached trout: Yummy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I was very excited to dine at Estela but left fairly disappointed due to lacking service and uneven food execution.
Our dinner reservation was early before the restaurant was full and servers were standing around socializing. This is not an issue, but we waited ~15-20 minutes before anyone greeted us or brought us water. Once we had water and menus our server asked about drinks but we hadn't decided yet so he left without going over the menus. After about 30 minutes sitting we were finally ordering drinks and had to ask our server if he would go over the menus or could make recommendations. He left again and asked for our full order when he returned with drinks. Our food was coursed very quickly with multiple plates being squeezed onto our small two top or being taken quickly before we were finished to make room for new dishes.
We were excited about the trout with artichoke hearts but were really let down by the blandness of the artichokes. They were weirdly textured like eating bits of magic eraser and the sauce the trout was sitting in was tasty but scarce. For our last course we shared a couple (I believe literally two) bites of chewy steak. The reservation we made listed my birthday as the special occasion but there was no mention of this by either the host or server so we ended our meal early and opted for desert and after dinner drinks elsewhere instead.
Overall neither the food nor especially the service inspired a return trip, but that is very disappointing for a Michelin starred restaurant on a special occasion.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Honestly I was thinking expecting a better experience. The tables are cramped together with little privacy and you need to push other guests just to get in and out of your seat.
The food is high quality but not all the options were impressive. The mackerel is for sure the best we tried. The octopus and steak were good but lacked the wow effect.
Make sure you make a reservation well in advance, there's just a few seats.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was overly salty, and the description of the dishes was too brief. Also, the bill was incorrect, and when I pointed this out to the server, there was no apology. Overall, the quality of service did not match the price.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
The food seemed to be prepared in a unique way, but I can't say for sure if it tastes good. The staff didn't seem friendly either, and the one with the nose piercing was particularly rude and insincere.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
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