Wallsé

The food was tasty. I had the cod. It was moist and flavorful. The seating was a bit close and crowded. The service was good — a bit stiff and odd — but fine. I think the overall experience could have cost a bit less.

Husbby brought me here for my Bday. My first Michelin-​star restaurant experience was thus dedicated to German/​Austrian cuisine, which was out of my expectation. (Trust me, the only things I knew about German food were smoky pig feet and of course, beer! — And I believe someone out there shares the same thought.)
We ordered smoky salmon as appetizer, black sea bass and Wiener Schnitzel for entrees, and Salzburger Nockerl for dessert. I would say food was good but not so surprisingly amazing that you can lose your jaw. I picked sea bass guessing it was a safe choice, but the meat turned out a little dry while the skin was crispy. Smoky salmon was very tender but a pinch of salt would not destroy it. Service was nice and sweet, if only the wait for dishes could be shorter.
I may sound a bit picky, but after all, I did enjoy the lively, clean and classic vibe and atmosphere around tables, especially with the restaurant’s location in West Village. A great experience with German food, thanks to my Mr. Right.

Service was fine, food was ok — but not in comparison to what they ask you to pay. In a restaurant of that category I expect better food than average. They were out on 3 wines on the menu we just so happened to pick — a total «no go» for such a place. The wine prices would be ok if the wine was decent, but what we finally got «suggestion of the sommelier» was rather disappointing and not ok for this price point. Sad — I expected to have a better experience for my birthday!

This place was almost spot on. The service was really nice and the food was very good. The only thing that was a negative was that our appetizer dishes were taken from us a tad too quickly and we didn’t have an opportunity to really finish our appetizers. And the thing was, it wasn’t like the entrée was on its way, we had to wait for the entrée for quite sometime, it felt like, after the appetizers were taken away.
The dessert was very forgettable. I guess we’re not used to pay these prices for some toasted marshmallows (dish was recommended by one of the servers).
Overall really great experience. This place has excellent cocktail drinks and although it only had one beer, it was a very nice beer. We did not try the wine.
Overall, besides those two mishaps, where the appetizers seemed to be taken away when we were not finished, and the toasted marshmallow dessert, it was a very enjoyable experience.
I would come back.

Being in the restaurant industry, I understand that Summer is a very slow season for most restaurants. When my husband and I first walked in, we were the first to arrive and were almost a little worried. Luckily, others started joining us shortly after.
Food was good. I remember clean, classic flavors. The proteins were cooked very well and were flavorful. Dessert was tasty, again simple and straight forward. I had the tristate strawberry dish. Of course you can’t go wrong with the strawberries but in the description it said strawberry and pine, and I did not get a hint of pine in it.
Service was good as well. We did have to ask a couple of times for a bit more explanation of the dishes. Some like more brief explanations while others like a few more details. Again, I understand that. When we did ask questions, they were answered quickly.
I would go back again. Maybe a place to bring the parents when they come into the city.

I had the weiner schnitzel, which was very underwhelming. In fact, I don’t think anything about this Michelin-​starred restaurant was impressive at all. The ambiance was pretty shabby, the music played in the restaurant looped like 3 times during my time there (family and I didn’t stay for more than two hours), and the waiter was very uninterested in what he had to serve us. There really isn’t much to say about this place, other than that I have no idea how this place managed to earn a star. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe the good chefs were out sick that day, who knows. All I do know was that I wish that I had picked a different restaurant that night.

Overcharged by $ 200! I wrote for a $ 20 tip on a $ 113 meal and found a $ 333 charge on my credit card 1 month later. Spoke to manager Leo who promised me a call back, which never happened.
Hold on to your receipt after you eat here.

Small and very friendly west village restaurant, interesting menu. The scallops were to die for and dessert is a must. Very friendly staff and comfortable ambience

Dinner was fine but not excellent. Pretty slow tho, between the 2^nd and the 3^rd course we were waiting for more than 30 minutes which was a lot and the restaurant was not that busy.
Anyway Lamb was amazing. I really recommend to try it. Oysters with cucumber cream was delicious too, such a unexpected and very well done combination. In general I can tell dinner was probably less than my expectations but absolutely fine.
I loved how quiet the place was btw. Perfect environment if you like to have a nice conversation in a cozy atmosphere.

This place is pretty great, and I wouldn’t expect anything less for it’s 1 Michelin star status. It wasn’t our favorite one star restaurant in the city but it definitely doesn’t disappoint.
We both started with the confit egg yolk with creamed spinach, potato foam & Hackleback caviar. It was the perfect balance of creamy, rich, crunchy and delicious. My wife’s fish course was a similar success and my loin of lamb was superb. For dessert I had the Pear Strudel which was really good, and my wife had their traditional apple dish which for the life of me I couldn’t spell or pronounce. It was delicious either way.
Service was the kind of impeccable you always expect at a restaurant like this. They explain anything on the menu, don’t rush you, they’re always polite. No complaints there. They also have a fairly casual dress code and while it’s fancy, it doesn’t feel stuffy. You also walk in and are met with this delicious smell of baking. Our waiter said it was because they bake goods for other locations. It’s very inviting.
The only two minor complaints I had were that the menu did not match their website such that the tasting menu was something like ²⁰⁄₂₅ dollars more expensive per person. It was a shame because my wife picked it out specially as a place we could get that for my birthday without breaking the bank. As such, we ate a la carte instead. The second complaint is kind of an expensive restaurant cliché — Small portions. Smaller than I would have expected even for a nice place.
Drawbacks aside, I would definitely recommend trying it! Cross off trying Austrian food in style and give them a shot :)

Returned to Wallse recently (having first eaten there about a year ago) with just the intention of grabbing a cocktail while we waited to meet some friends in the neighborhood. Was of course so taken with the impeccable but far from pretentious service and atmosphere that we stayed for an appetizer or two as well.
Most memorable were the egg yolk starter and the carrot margarita — I always love a dish or drink that shakes things up from the norm and both of these were perfectly balanced. Cannot wait to return for another full meal!

I would give this three and a half stars, but the quality of the food pushes it towards four stars.
Our food was very well-​prepared and the service was excellent. We read reviews that the service was below average, so this was a nice surprise. The portions are on the smaller side, but the richness of the food makes up for that. We had the spaetzel, foie gras (apps), cod and lobsters (middles) and lamb and pheasant (mains). The cod was a sizable portion but everything else was manageable. The pheasant was a highlight.
I enjoyed my experience here, and would definitely come back again, but for me, this is a special occasion restaurant. The clientele was a tad on the older side, but that doesn’t mean the room wasn’t lively!

Haven’t ever eaten at Wallse (though considered doing so often, so will soon!), but I have frequented the bar on a random weekend evening a few times.
Really like the bar and ambiance, and have a few unique cocktails on the menu. Unfortunately I wasn’t too wild about the tomato water martini (it sounded like Cluny’s filthy martini, with tomato water, which I ADORE! but wasn’t)…but they’re always so friendly and really aim to make sure you enjoy your cocktail.
Being so nearby during the frigid winter ensures many more future visits! And I do hear great things about the food, so will update after finally trying!

My partner and I went to Wallsé for a Friday night date night, and we liked the food, but for the price point, the service was a bit of a miss.
The dining room was very hopping, and the vibe was very hip. There were people in jeans, but no one in ties. That was just the overall atmosphere here.
For me, the entrées are better than the appetizers. My foie gras coffee appetizer was fine. However, the plate it came on was incorrect — it had a small base like a bowl and then a very wide 4-​inch brim. They put a lot of the food components on the brim, so when you would go to cut or pick up the food, the whole plate would rattle around and spill. The flavors themselves were fine, but I don’t know if I even ate the dish appropriately. Throughout the meal, food was just placed in front of us without it being explain. That does disservice to the customer as well as to the chef, especially since his creations are not being eaten as he intended. The chicken schnitzel entrée was delicious. Perfectly cooked! But I’m not sure it’s worth coming here, it tasted very much like regular Austrian schnitzel I have had before.
Our main waiter was competent, but kind of disappeared throughout the meal. He would pop in and out at random times, which is not really how I envision service at a Michelin one-​star restaurant. I will say that I did not like the sommelier at all– it’s a big pet peeve of mine when they just choose the most expensive wine in the group type you want. I understand if that may be the best wine, but if you pick the most expensive one, provide a second option. When a sommelier just goes to the most expensive wine, I implicitly disregard his or her recommendations. I did the same thing here, and opted for a cocktail instead of wine. I read about the cocktails online, and the vodka and cucumber water vodka option was delicious.
Overall, for the price point I paid, I was not overly impressed with Wallsé. I’m not saying it was overpriced, because the food was somewhat intricate, there just wasn’t a wow factor that I was expecting before I walked in. I would not not recommend Wallsé, it just wouldn’t be my first choice for a date night.

Such a beautifully, almost starry lit entrance greets you when you get to Wallsé. To be honest, it’s when I pass by Wallsé on my way home and see how pretty it is that enticed me to first suggest coming here when our overseas buddy came for a recent work trip. It is really the first and only place I have come to try Austrian/​German food in NYC and our group of friends were all pretty excited to try this top rated restaurant on our bucket list. Upon arriving, we noticed the art décor and coziness of the restaurant. It’s very cozy, very cute and the ambiance truly deserves all the praise it gets.
After we were escorted to our seats and I found the plush couches very comfortable and luxurious. For the food, we were pleasantly surprised to find that you didn’t have to order a pre-​fix dinner, so we opted to order randomly (not that pre-​fixes are bad, that night we just weren’t in the mood to eat a multi-​course meal). We did share a few apps, one of which was the foie gras. My whole group really recommends this, especially if you are a foie gras person. For my entrée, I opted for the lamb which was super tender and absolutely delish. The veggies that come with it are also superbly cooked. For the most part, everything was made wonderfully but I didn’t have a favorite that really stuck out to me, other than what I ordered. My friends had some of mine and they agreed that they also enjoyed the lamb over their scallops and rabbit. Both of those other dishes were also tasty, but perhaps we don’t quite have the pallet for rabbit so we couldn’t fully appreciate the taste.
Overall, it was a nice experience here. The service and quality are what you expect from a Michelin rated NYC restaurant. Venturing to Wallsé is definitely worth it, especially if you want to try Austrian German food. Of course we thought the food was great, but I really loved the décor (even the bathroom is cute).

Yes. This is it. Probably the best restaurant in whole manhattan.
I have to add that Wallse is michelin starred which is well deserved.
So, you know i have been moaning about the generic character of the restaurant world and the paucity of german and austrian cuisine in NYC. Wallse makes up for that.
Wiener Schnitzel, Spatzle or whatever main dish you get. You will not regret. In fact i don’t really think i need to review everything because Wallse is amazing. But just so you know, i have lived in Wien and Germany for a significant amount of time and can tell you that much that this place is the only one that approximates the german cuisine –haute cuisine at least, not the bratwurst bullshit or the oktoberfest mania that you can find ubiquitously.
As appetizer get the lobster ravioli or the foie gras terrine or the scallops. My fave is the ravioli but whatever others are good as well does not matter everything here is good.
Apart from the delicious schnitzel with the great sauces and the salad etc. You can get the Goulash or the pork or the venison loin which are all great. I do not love fish that much. (You will see that when i review Le bernardin and Marea for which i won’t be telling as good a story.) But these seemed appetizing as well (as far as i could browse from the companions, other tables etc.)
Wallse has amazing desserts. Salzburger Nockerl or the Mozart Kugel are both amazing. The former one is a huge creamy, foamy dessert which comes as a hot surprise and the latter one is a bowl of chocolaty delight with pistachios which both are amazing. You can also get the Kaiser schmarren which is the crepes.
Wine list in Wallse is very extensive. Very. They have very good stuff and some are hard to find elsewhere. You can spot wines from Hungary etc. which are i would say rare (you would be able to find moscato d’asti approximately in every restaurant but for other things this is not the case.) So this is definitely a plus plus.
Interior design is amazing. Amazing. The paintings on the walls. Very artsy and authentic and yes beautiful. You can also opt for dining outside especially in a hot summer night but still you will not be disappointed because the decorative lights are so cute and nice and you will have the chance to browse people strolling around without feeling too much exposed cause wallse has a very nice place nested on this Washington St.
The service is also very good-​great. Knowledgeable and attentive and courteous. The only other place that i could consider a contestant for Wallse –in terms of the kitchen– would be seasonal but it has not acquired the level of service and other things that i found here yet.
So. It is unfair that Wallse only has 1 michelin star. And deserves more than that to be honest. Whenever you feel open to experimentation take a friend or someone or just go yourself and check this place out which you will not regret. ever.

I had to admit I love this place so much, even though I got really upset about their speed of delivery. Chose the rabbit, the roast duck and lamp chop as suggested by the waitor, we went satisfied with everything. Dessert was definitely a plus, it was just that the marshmallow was a bit too sweet so hard to finish the whole piece at once. Other than side, the experience was remarkable. Worth a next visit for sure.

Celebrated my friend’s 21^st birthday here. We had the 6-​course tasting menu. My 2^nd time having German/​Austrian cuisine and for the most part, I wasn’t disappointed. Interior décor was really classy and upscale. It wasn’t flashy, simple white table cloth and comfortable seats.
Of the 6 courses, I think the only dish that stood out to me personally, was the dessert, Salzburger Nockerel, which was delicious! I’ve never had anything like it, and I enjoyed it immensely! The braised rabbit spätzle was really good, rabbit was tender. Lobster dish was cooked to perfection. My least favorite dish was the Foie Gras. I thought it was tasteless and had a weird texture to it. Yuck! :-/​
Service was top-​notch. Attentive but not intrusive. Their bathroom, was dimly lit and rather low ceiling, so I was constantly banging my head against pipes protruding from the ceiling.
I would def come back again but order from the regular menu.

I thought it was a-​ok.
Had a Sunday lunch here– and I had the foie gras, the lobster, and then some sort of creamy huckleberry dessert thing.
It was all good food. Not OMG SO FANTASTIC. But definitely solid.
I thought that the service was a bit slow and snooty, which was the only negative I found.

Special place with special food. Quaint, romantic, classy for a special occasion.
One of the most memorable meals on record.