When you take your seat in the Adour’s state-of-the-art wine library, the restaurant’s selection of wines is projected onto the surface in front of you. The interactive computer list draws from a continually updated database that took more than a year to compile. Touching the bartop allows you to select by wine type, country and varietal; and then among an impressive array of sparkling wines, reds and whites by the glass or decanter.
This is a restaurant that truly lives by its motto—Cuisine designed with wine in mind.
Located in the St. Regis Hotel, Adour is the newest restaurant by internationally acclaimed chef Alain Ducasse. Named after the Adour River in Mr. Ducasse’s native France, the restaurant is top-of-mind for guests who enjoy inspired food-and-wine pairings, and service that’s pleasant and attentive.
Ducasse worked closely with Thomas Combescot-Lepere, Adour’s wine director and general manager, to overturn the traditional approach in which the sommelier is tasked with matching wines to menu items almost as an after-thought. At Adour, sommelier and chef challenged each other in turn, with Combescot-Lepere occasionally requesting adjustments to recipes and ingredients to further enhance selected wines.
A unique feature of the menu is that most dishes can be enjoyed with either a red or white varietal. Gone is the stress to compromise, allowing patrons at a table to share in the same wine experience. Should you choose the halibut while your partner orders lamb—but you both prefer red wine—Adour can offer selections that match both dishes.
Although the restaurant’s cellar book features more than 1,900 wines, guests typically choose from the 600-plus wines on Adour’s seasonal list. About 80 percent of the wines are American and French. Combescot-Lepere explained that the shorter list features smaller, more obscure winemakers that can easily be lost in the more elaborate cellar book. Some of the lesser-known appellations include Château de la Castille in Provence, Côte de Bourg in Dordogne, Terry Hoage Vineyards in Paso Robles, and the wine manager’s personal favourite: the 2004 Pinot Noir from Domaine Paul Blanck in Alsace.
The restaurant offers seating for 88 guests and includes a 12-seat Private Vault Room and the four-seat Wine Library. Temperature-controlled vaults are also available for lease. Guests can store their personal vintages along with information on each selection that can be accessed through the restaurant’s database.
For techies, foodies and wine enthusiasts, Adour delivers a welcoming and interactive environment in which to enjoy a rewarding dining experience.
Adour Alain Ducasse
2 East 55th Street (at Fifth Avenue), New York, NY 10022
Reservations: (212) 710-2277
www.adour-stregis.com
Open for dinner only, seven nights a week. Main courses range from US$37 to $49, A tasting menu is available at US$110 per person.
