Permanently Closed - Aldea

The food is amazing, as always, but the service comes with a side of resignation. I ordered a glass of bubbles to begin, the server emptied the flat remainder of a bottle from the night before and attempted to top it off with a fresh one. When I asked to have the half-poured glass replaced with a fresh pour, he acquiesced, acknowledging that the first pour was the dregs. This would never ever have happened when there was a future there. It was depressing.

Slow service, but very great food. Glad to have gotten in during the final week of service. We also got to meet the chef after sitting at the chefs table. It was an awesome experience to round out our week in NYC.

I could not believe they charge $12 per person for flat water and $12 per person for sparkling water for a chef’s tasting menu and do not warn people they charge for water for a meal that costs $200 per person. The staff description of each dish was incomprehensible, and with the exception of the amusebouche, the food was inedible due to sinewy pork and repugnant combination of flavors.

We went there for Valentine's Day and everything was great. The server was wonderful, the food amazing and innovative without being fussy, and the room was well set up (we didn't see upstairs).

Aldea is one of our top, go-to restaurants in NYC. We enjoy eating there alone as well as with friends. We have been seated at tables and also at the counter where we can watch the kitchen staff in action. Either location is excellent. The food is always beautifully prepared, and preparations vary from time to time. The 4 course menu with wine pairing is well worth the cost. Wines are beautifully matched to each course of food and unusual (at least for us, as they are from Portugal). Don't miss the Arroz as a main course - like a paella Portugese style. Service is always warm, professional, and knowledgeable. Our server this time, Steven, did a wonderful job. Thank you for all the times you have welcomed us and fed us so well. We hope to return soon.

Aldea met every expectation! It lives up to its 1 Michelin star and we’d give it a second. The food is made with love and you can taste it in every bite. Very good wine list. Our new top pick for intimate dining!

The worst experience ever. From the seating at the table, to food service including hair spotted on my pork, and to charging us twice more money and on top of that mixing up the credit cards and double charging, I mean no wonder why this place is closing this month. The manager got us half the price off for all the unpleasant experience, it came down to $130 ish. Honestly, I would say the whole pacakge that night was worth $30 experience. Then I wouldn’t be this upset. There’s no professionalism in the team, the chef doesn’t care - he is having a good time with his gal pal in the kitchen area. Oh, maybe the chef doesn’t know, or he doesn’t care to find out what happens in the dining area? Great. Everything explains all. No philosophy, no passion. Bye Aldea, I feel relieved that you will be replaced by something else soon. You don’t deserve any star. Truffle night? Come on. I would say you name it “last minute money squeezer night” because everyone is too lazy to work decent when they already know the place is closing soon.

Phenomenal food and warm service.

The food was perfection! Really delicious and well prepared. Artfully presented. Small portions, but we left very satisfied.

As usual... truly innovative yet delicious dishes, great service, and intimate ambiance.

I celebrated my birthday at Aldea and enjoyed seating at the chef’s counter. Due to a delayed lunch, we decided to go with the 4-course tasting and wine pairing instead of the full tasting menu. But my fiancée and I managed to pick up most of the signature dishes from the full tasting course.

We love the foods and concepts - ingredients were fresh and the dishes were not overly seasoned. The ambience was superb as we could see all the movements in the kitchen, highly recommended if you enjoy cooking or watching professional kitchen actions :)

Few issues with food and service: my fiancée could taste a little sand in her scallop dish and the black truffle was too light (but the scallop was very fresh and it’s prepared right in front of us), the cauliflower purée was a bit too strong and was competing with the Hokkaido uni, breads were not served until our 3rd (main) course, and paired wines were not delivered with the food throughout the dinner.

Overall, we consider the courses solid and enjoyable at Aldea. It would have been a much better experience if the service part were improved and we could just focus and enjoy the foods

Fabulous meal...everything was impeccable.

A delightful experience. We had the food and wine pairing for a birthday dinner. All of the dishes were meticulously done and delicious. Portuguese wines/champagnes were wonderful. Enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere as well.

The food, service, and ambiance were all top notch. I would highly recommend to a friend!

Friend going away travel to New Zealand.

We were in Portugal in October and planned this meal to revisit the cuisine we enjoyed so much. The food did not disappoint and the open kitchen allowed us to admire Chef Georg at work creating his wonderful food. It was a great night!

We enjoyed our dining experience very much. The food was excellent. The ambiance was welcoming and elegant. The service was attentive and professional. I would highly recommend this restaurant and will return next time we are in town.

The somelier is fantastic,difficult to relax and enjoy on the table waiters is to intense and not necessary, we do not felt confortable with,no portuguese carater anymore and also in the plates.

George Mendes is the nicest chef I have ever met. We were seated at the chefs counter and just being in the kitchen was a wonderful experience. The aroma when you walk in the door is intoxicating, especially when you arrive when it’s snowing and bitterly cold.
The first course of uni was divine. The scallop crudo had magical flavors. Everything the kitchen produced was beautiful presented and was even tastier than it looked. This restaurant is a magnificent gem.

Awesome experience. We had 4-course menu with wine pairing. Food was excellent, wine pairing as well. Very attentive to details, will definitely come again when in NY.

Yes! Delicious food. Great presentation . Wonderful service. We went on Monday when George’s mom prepares a special tasting menu. The Portuguese wine was also superb.

Very interesting food selection - we went with two prix-fixes to try most of the menu, and it was worth it. Wine selection is also notable. Overall very good experience.

One of my favorites. Year after year.

The Bacalhau in the pre-fix menu was extremely salty ... very unhealthy !!
Need to either soak longer or adjust the seasonings

My wife and two friends had a spectacular dinner created by Chef Mendes and his mother. Everything was superb...the food, the wine, the service, and the atmosphere. We are eagerly looking forward to returning for another fine dining experience.

The dinner was delicious, especially the soup and fideo. Unfortunately, the cod dish was overly salty. Our very nice server happily substituted it for an extra portion of soup.

Overall the food was incredible. We were so happy to enjoy this experience with Mamma Mendes in town. The only reason I didn't give it a perfect 5 stars was based on the service. It was pretty slow and tables who were sat after us received their food before us. It was nice to be welcomed by Chef & his mother and greeted with a glass of sparkling wine.

We did the tasting menu and were quite underwhelmed. Most of the dishes were overpowered (cod by salt, sea urchin by itself -- would have been nicer in a better ratio with bread, chocolate dessert by orange zest) and it was oddly unpalatable.

I would not recommend sadly, though it has a lot of potential. The shrimp, venison, and cheese plates were quite nice. It was far too expensive to score this poorly on the kitchen execution. Drinks were good.

My birthday dinner. The food was excellent. Sea urchin appetizer we both enjoyed. I had cod for entree great flavors. Food presentation was very good. For a 1 Michelin Star a few things to be noted. We waited a long time for our cocktails and bread. It has a very limited menu. Worse yet one of the desserts they didn’t have or a replacement offered. Overall we really enjoyed the craft cocktails, food and wine.

As several other reviewers have thematically commented, the food is uninspiring, the choices are overly narrow, and the portions are small. Its Michelin rating is unwarranted, an emerging trend that undermines the usefulness of Michelin. This restaurant does not properly profile Portuguese cuisine. On the plus side, the wine list has some Portuguese gems.

The food is delicious. The setting is beautiful. We could actually hear each other. But the pacing was so off that we didn't get our entree until 21/2 hours after we sat down. Though our restaurant reservation was 7:30, I had to inhale my duck entree, because I had to leave at 10:30 for an 11 pm jazz show. The restaurant gave us a bottle of wine because of the wait, but something was seriously off either with the server or the kitchen.

Bar area was loud, but most of restaurant was quiet enough for easy conversation. THe food is very good with an interesting selection. I would go back!

Aldea was great! GF and I enjoyed our anniversary dinner here and had a great time exploring the pre-fix menu. Food was great. Recommend!

It was a very thoughtful menu. We had a wonderful vegetable soup and sea urchin toast to start - both delicious. The Seafood sauteed in garlic was great and the paella was superb. We had 2 wonderful glasses of wine from Esporao. Service was great.

Fantastic experience as always!!

The food and service are always wonderful. We had a Spanish organic wine I have not seen elsewhere that made the food come alive. Cod is a fish that most places cook poorly. Aldea gets it, the cod dish was one of the best I have had anywhere.

I guess since this restaurant has a Michelin star our expectations were high. I think the food was good but nothing special. Not particularly tasty - nothing really memorable.

We enjoyed a special Momday dinner. Pacing was a but slow but the food was fabulous!

Food was just ok. Service was very slow. Very disappointed. Definitely not a Michelin star restaurant.

Very expensive, small portions, very limited menu. We were there early because we were attending a lecture so there weren’t many other patrons and the staff really hovered, wanting to clear plates when we had barely taken the last bite or even before. The food was fine but not extraordinary.