New York Times' Pete Wells Goes To The Beekman Hotel
You've probably seen a picture of the Beekman Hotel in your Instagram feed. The soaring center lobby is obvious "Like"-bait. And just as the atrium has attracted Instagrammers, the hotel has attracted a bold-name lineup of restauranteurs to staff dining options. Keith McNally has opened another of his softly gilded French bistros, Augustine, and Tom Colicchio has opened an American spot, Fowler & Wells, where Pete Wells reviewed this week for The New York Times. He writes:
Fowler & Wells, Mr. Colicchio tries to extend the atrium's Gilded Age exuberance. He never quite gets there. The problem isn't quality or effort: The cooking is spotlessly correct, the ingredients shimmer on the plate, the flavors all make sense, and the dining room is dignified in a way that makes you realize how undervalued that trait has become in restaurants. But the central vision tying it all together is fuzzy. The restaurant is somehow less than the sum of its parts.
Wells likes what he eats but finds the experience to be scattered and unfocused — an homage to the past with too many inventive twists. It's not a takedown — indeed, the restaurant walks away with two stars — but the review feels like a disappointed parent, one who expected so much more.