Twelve NYC restaurants were awarded stars for the first time during Tuesday’s 2023 Michelin Guide ceremony.
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Essential by Christophe, a contemporary French restaurant which opened in December 2022 at 103 West 77th Street, was one of the eight new restaurants to receive one star, which represents a “very good restaurant in its category.”
“Chef Christophe Bellanca’s dishes echo a simple elegance, evidenced by plump white asparagus on a fragrant bergamot-flavored crème with a refreshing herb vinaigrette and paper-thin slices of watermelon radish,” wrote Michelin. “French technique is married with Asian flavors in a dish of three blue prawns with genmaicha tuille, and braised black sea bass with shiitake chutney, razor clams and a turmeric emulsion is memorable. For a light ending, the orange soufflé is bright and fragrant, especially when served with green cardamom ice cream.”
Essential by Christophe’s Beet Tartare
Since opening, the restaurant has scored equally impressive praises from online reviewers, with a score of 4.9 out of 5 stars on both Google and Yelp.
Some particularly popular dishes are the scallops, wild black bass and foie gras.
Michelin also applauded the restaurant’s interior design.
Essential by Christophe replaced Leonti, an Italian restaurant which ran from November 2018 to January 2020. Before that, Dovetail operated within the space for eleven years until closing in 2018.
