Alder

Meh.
We loved the beets with coconut ricotta and lamb tartar. Everything else was just bad or severely lacking. The biggest problem is coherence. It’s impossible to put together a series of dishes that complement each other. The menu makes no suggestions and the waiter literally said «order whatever you want and we will bring it out in the right order.»
Not surprised this place closed.

I have been to this place twice.
In general, the food was more creative than it was tasty.

I’m not sure how Alder has an average of 3 stars, because we found the food delicious and approachable. It featured flashes of vintage Wylie Dufresne without an overwhelming showing of molecular gastronomy. I won’t say much more given that Alder is now closed, but we loved Alder.

Sad to hear that this place is now closed. Had the chance to try Alder while on a trip in July. I have always admired Wylie Dufresne’s creativity and cleverness. While the molecular gastronomy he displayed at WD-​50 was not as present, the menu was still well thought out and unique. Furthermore, the tasting menu at $ 65 was really a bargain. And lastly, as an added bonus, he was there that night and obliged us with a photo with my 9 year old daughter. He was sincerely a nice guy.

I pretty much wanted to go to Alder since it opened, but unfortunately the fact that it was closing was what got my butt in gear to go. With just three days left though, I made it! It was kind of sad knowing it was closing, but I was happy I got the chance to try it.
There were 5 of us, and we decided to all get the tasting menu, and order a few things off the pub menu to all share. We decided we needed to definitely try the Rye pasta, the burger and pigs in a blanket. The pigs in a blanket were good, but it came with mustard and I’m not a fan, so I wiped it off and ate it, but I probably wouldn’t say it was my favorite. The rye pasta with pastrami was good. I’m not a huge fan of rye bread or pastrami (bad jew), but the fact the pasta tasted exactly like rye bread was impressive. The burger was good too, we split it into five bits, so I didn’t get to eat too much, but my bite was good.
The tasting menu was good. There were two amuse bouche, one was a little cracker that tasted like falafel with foie gras on top. It was a nice bite. The second one was grilled munster cheese, and it was good too. The first course the fluke, was really good. The fish all seemed really fresh, the yogurt on the bottom I loved, and the little pieces of peach in it were unexpected but good. The tomato tortelletti was good, it was stuffed with cheese and that can’t be bad! The Okonomiyaki silver dollars were good. They looked like a short stack of pancakes and had little slivers of octopus between pancakes. It was good, it was different. The flank steak was good, but I prefer my steak cooked more well done, so I wound up giving a few pieces away. The ovaltine ice cream cake was really good. The strawberries were nice and fresh, and I’m not a huge coconut fan, but I liked that it was there and gave a nice crunch. Then there were two little like petite fours that they gave us at the end. One was banana and I didn’t eat it, but my friends seemed to really like it. I don’t even remember exactly what the last one was, but I ate it and liked it.
I tried the jungle cup as my first drink. It was good, it wasn’t too sweet and it had a nice smokey flavor to it. Then I had a glass of rose. gotta get in it before the summer ends.
Overall I really enjoyed my meal. I’m not sure that anything really blew me away, but it was all very good. I didn’t leave feeling uncomfortably full, but I didn’t leave hungry. I’m sad it’s closing, cause I would have liked to go back another season when there’s a new menu, but hopefully Wylie Dufresne will be opening up a new restaurant soon!

I had a terrific dinner at Alder last night. I was lucky to get an early reservation. Loved the Tasting Menu. Everything was delicious and creative. Even the tomato tortelletti with olive was excellent, and I have never found a dish with olives that I have ever liked.
Service was very nice and attentive. I couldn’t decide which glass of white wine I wanted so my server poured me tastes of 3 of them until I found the one that I liked; I ended up having 2 glasses of it.
I look forward to Chef Wylie’s next restaurant.

My friend and I recently had lunch at Alder. We have both followed Chef Wylie’s career, but never got a chance to try wd~50. Since Alder will be closing at this end of August, we wanted to check it out.
Frankly, we were both disappointed.
We started with Bloody Marys and Pigs in a Blanket. Then we both ordered the All In.
1) Bloody Marys were the best part of our meal. Great rim made with hickory (I think, but maybe it was another wood) smoked salt. Spicy, but didn’t dominate the freshness of the tomatoes.
2) Pigs in a Blanket were alright. The concept behind Alder, as I understood it, was reimagining pub food. This dish just didn’t seem imaginative.
3) All In was the biggest let down. For about $ 20, you get a draft beer, a small cheeseburger, and a small handful of onion rings. My friend’s burger was undercooked (red in the middle) and we sat there for 5 minutes trying to figure out if this was part of Chef Wylie’s genius. Haha! Nope. Waitress apologized profusely. My burger was ok. I’d take a ShackBurger over the Alder burger any day. Then the «French Onion Soup Onion Rings» were merely bland onion rings with cheese melted on top. Again, not the radically reimagined pub food I expected.
Despite the food, I’m excited to see what Chef Wylie is going to do next!

Four of us went for the tasting menu at 8pm on a Friday night. We ordered additional items from the bar menu because they sounded delicious and were not part of the tasting menu. We also got the tasting paired with alcohol. Which I highly recommended. The alcohol fully compliments the dish it is served with.
We were served each dish with full explanation. One person chose a pescetarian option and they fully substituted the meat items without a hitch. We were also served little extras from the kitchen that were absolutely delicious! I will post pics of everything we had for a better look.
We all can’t wait to go back and have this meal again. Perhaps in the fall to see what changes are made. It was a great dining experience. And we had a celebrity sighting and he was having the tasting menu as well.

I had a burger and a cocktail at Alder a little while ago. Alder’s burger has been frequently mentioned as one of the best in the city so I thought I’d give it a go. It turns out that this burger is a little smaller than those that other places are offering. But that wasn’t the issue. I felt like it was a nicely done backyard BBQ burger and not much more. The inside was soft, but not really juicy and perhaps underdone to my liking. They do it medium rare as a default and I didn’t think I should override that. The homemade beer cheese didn’t really do anything for me. So, yeah, overall this burger was pretty meh.
Alder does have a nicely stocked bar which they use to make interesting cocktails. The cocktail I had might have been too interesting, however, as it was not my cup of tea — literally. It used lapsang souchong, which is a smoky Chinese tea; it was too reminiscent of smoked sausage or meat — not what u want in a cocktail. But points for trying to think outside the box.

KenScale: 8.5÷10
Last year marked the end of an era when wd~50, the temple of one of the leading molecular gastronomy chefs Wylie Dufresne, closed its door. Even with the end of wd~50, chef Dufresne kept his casual concept Alder where I enjoyed a variety of creative dishes. I suspect he must’ve had missed the tasting menu concept at wd~50 where he can showcase his talent in a long course of dishes, as Alder has recently re-​launched its menu to five-​course tasting (at $ 65 per person) instead of a la carte (which is still available at the bar area). While there were some bumps on my recent visit, there is no denying that the food at Alder has evolved from the playful pub-​food style of old days.
I was a fan of the new tasting menu as I could clearly see that chef Dufresne has explored more combination of ingredients that seemingly are at odds with one another and created dishes with unique and elegant flavor and texture. After a couple of amuse bouche dishes (which included a really tasty grilled cheese bite) came caramelized cauliflower tofu, which came with smoked eel, burnt orange and pistachio. The texture of this dish was quite delightful, as were black garlic potato dumplings that came with chorizo and scallion. One of the dishes that has been gaining attention from the revamp is okonomiyaki dish of grilled octopus and Kewpie mayonnaise that resembles a miniature pancake. I wish the dish could’ve been bigger, but otherwise I was a huge fan of this dish. Think octopus inside a pancake. It doesn’t sound right, yet the complexity of flavor in this dish was quite memorable. The main dish, roast chicken with asparagus and grainy mustard, was a little bit undercooked (my dining companion’s chicken was even worse so we had to send it back), but otherwise the combination worked pretty nicely. The final dish of ovaltine ice cream cake with strawberry, coconut and almond was also delightful without being overly sweet.
Despite chef Dufresne’s profile, I was surprised that the restaurant wasn’t as packed on a Sunday night (on my last visit during the restaurant’s early days, it was constantly mobbed). Perhaps people who were looking for a more casual gastropub have turned away after the revamp? There is a full bar menu; avoid the drinks pairing (which comes relatively cheap at $ 35 per person on top of tasting menu but I wasn’t really a huge fan of). There were some occasional service hiccups; aside from the undercooked chicken, the server brought the drinks a lot earlier than the food thinking that we had already finished the previous course. I liked the direction that Alder has taking; in terms of quality of food, the kitchen definitely has my vote of confidence. Perhaps a little bit of improvement in services would further improve the profile of this restaurant?

I’ve been to Alder when it first opened (a bit forgettable), and again last night, the first night they offered their new $ 65 prix fixe menu. ALL the items on this menu were new. And this time, UNforgettable.
Topline: the meal was light, and reminded me of a Japanese omakase.
Here we go…
1a. Amuse bouche #1– foie gras tartlet is the best way I can describe it, but not heavy at all. It was light and crisp on the outside, lovely and smooth on the inside. It was such a great start. I hate amuses of consommes in shot glasses, so this was truly unique.
1b. Amuse bouche #2 — Martin’s potato bread in layers with gruyère. YUP. Martin’s potato bread. This was the biggest hit among the girls. This was insane. They must have pounded the bread really thin and layered it like a lasagna or a gratin. It was just delectable, and whimsical.
2. Scallops with red grape, coriander-​brown butter — It wasn’t seared, either was sous vide or even raw, I couldn’t tell. The grape was really nice, but I wasn’t crazy about the scallops. Still, it was light and sweet. Onto…
3. Black Garlic Potatoes in a bravas consommé, chorizo, scallion — HEAVENLY. The chorizo worked so well. We wanted straws for the consommé, and the black garlic was so delicious.
4. Okonomiyaki Silver Dollar («Pancakes») with grilled octopus, kewpie mayo — Pancakes meets takoyaki, and takoyaki is my absolute favorite. I DEVOURED this. Can I have more?
5. Lamb with ramp panisse, smoked yogurt, vadouvan — I hate lamb. So how did Wylie get me to love this lamb? Idk, but he did. BEST course of the night, HANDS DOWN. The lamb was really well-​cooked, and there was another element that tasted like a soft potato or falafel, even. Mmmm.
6. Brie, with triscuit, pickled cherry, port cashews — It wasn’t as sweet, and the triscuit was yummy. Very light.
We saw Wylie fly by a few times, although only said hi to, I believe, chef colleagues seated in front of us and not to the other patrons. It’s ok, when we asked politely if WD could sign a menu for the birthday girl, he did so, which made her night!!!
Loved it. For all the reviewers previously underwhelmed/​unsatisfied, GO BACK. Try the new menu. PLEASE.

I came here for the last of the Test Kitchen Tuesdays, so it was awesome to get to try some new dishes WD is testing out now that Alder is going to go tasting-​menu only. Some of the highlights:
— Okinomiyaki with okinonomiyaki sauce and kewpie mayo
— Pigs in a blanket (the horseradish sauce is the bomb)
— Rye pasta with pastrami (basically a pasta version of a pastrami on rye)
— Texas duck cassoulet
Even the amuse bouche was a grilled cheese with potato bread and tomatillo sauce… killer.
If you’re willing to experiment with some crazy stuff and be sometimes disappointed in return for having some dishes that knock it out of the park, Wylie is the best.

I would happily put down a few c-​notes for a tiny ass, delicious meal. Alder had the c-​notes and the tiny-​ass part but delicious it is not, my friend! It has flavor and lots of it, just NOT GOOD flavor. The servers are monotone in the face, didn’t smile, hardly attentive. Tattoos don’t make the personality, trust me, I know. The most warm person we encountered was the runner, he’s real. How is it that not even the bartenders are capable of making conversation? How?! Someone answer me?!
There was also ZERO diversity in the crowd here, what happened in this place?! It’s New York!!!
Is this supposed to be cutting edge? New? Modern? Abstract? Ya, I don’t give a shit, how about just being good?
Rabbit sausage (COLD), pigs in a blanket (WRONG ANSWER), hanger steak (YUM), french onion soup rings (SALTY), chicken liver mousse (CAT FOOD).
I can’t with this place, I just can’t.
Not to mention part of a chair fell off while we were here. Handed it to the server and she said «oh yea, that happens here». Solid!
Rating: 6 rubbery soft nipples on this one and it was 20 degrees outside.

We came here specifically for the burger, and long story short, we were not disappointed.
First off, the restaurant resembles the inside of a giant tree. The atmosphere feels like one of those secret places in cartoons that are accessible only by woodland creatures.
The burger is served AT THE BAR ONLY. The bar is set up right by the entrance, with a big square on one end that tapers off into your standard bar area seating. We sat at part of the square.
There are two options for the burger: standard ($ 13), or all-​in ($ 21). We went all-​in – three French onion soup onion rings, a pint of Harbor ale, and your burger. There’s no customization. Like a true gourmet eatery, no questions are asked. You order a burger, you’re getting it cooked the way the chef chooses. That’s fine with me because it turned out great.
We were served quickly, maybe 10 minutes after we ordered, tops. We were there right at 6pm, but it was still efficient. The burger arrived in its wax paper lined basket and my first thought was that it was much smaller than I thought. I also had assumed there might be some fixings, but this was pure class. Just a thick beef patty, seasoned well, and melted beer cheese on top. The cheesed up burger patty sat in a lightly toasted Martin’s potato bun, with three pickles on the side, and three French onion soup rings.
The food:
–Burger patty was savory, paired superbly with the melted cheese. My last bites tasted rarer than the first. This burger is a date burger – no juice running down your chin, no bleeding beef, just clean, simple burger.
–Pickles were juicy but also not messy. Subtle.
–French onion soup rings left a little to be desired, but I put those babies on my burger and chomped away. Great idea.
Afterward, I went to get more food but could have been okay with just this appetizer-​sized burger, just not completely satisfied.
Overall, good experience. Pricier burger, but definitely a classic done well… Or, medium in this case.

The flavors across the board were superb; if you break down the meal bite for bite, it was complete satisfaction guaranteed. Not a stray item or under-​dressed nibble to be found. And for that I am grateful.
It’s easy to make sure that every bite is perfect though, when there are so few of them. The downfall of this rating for me is that I paid quite a bit for a scraping of food. Sensible portions aside, this meal was just too highly priced for the volume.
The burger was fantastic! A real gem in the world of simplifying and perfecting the flavors of a hamburger. But with no more than six bites to finish it, I was left upset and wanting more. Same story with the superb pigs in a blanket that the community has buzzed about — amazing flavor in the sausage, just the right texture in the ‘blanket’ — but all told it was less meat than a half of a hotdog.
A-​OK for what we had, but I don’t think I’ll be returning soon.

First night for the new burger, and… yes.
It’s not the cheapest burger. If you’re looking for a $ 7 burger to stuff your innards and be distracted with unrelated flavors like guacamole or pepperjack cheese, go elsewhere.
If you’re looking for a great expression of a cheeseburger standing by itself as a great flavor combination, this satisfies. The bun is toasted, but not to the point where it’s a brick. The burger is wonderfully thick, giving Alder the flexibility of cooking it so that you still get a nice juicy inside, but it’s not so large that it’s a meal by itself. The insides of the burger are spicy and flavorful, leaving me (and the diners near me) wanting more (and indeed, ordering more). The pickle is heavenly, bursting with flavor. The cheese complements rather than distracts or overwhelms.
During my time at the bar, most diners got away with just the burger and a drink, and then went on with their life — treating the new burger almost as an appetizer for the rest of their night. I stuck around and ate several courses, and that’s probably the first time in my life that I’ve been able to eat more than just a burger. Some folks will see that as a drawback, not being stuffed to the gills after a burger, but again — if you’re looking for a $ 7 burger to fill you up, go elsewhere. This feels like it’s about redesigning what casual, tasty, and sensible eating should be.

Though I had high expectations for Alder and made my reservation months in advance, I don’t think my unimpressive experience was due to unrealistic hopes… this meal just wasn’t very good.
One of my Instagram friend posted some mouthwatering pictures from her dinner at Alder many months ago, and since then, I knew I wanted to check it out on my next trip to NYC. When I arrived, I was pleasantly greeted, offered water while I waited for my friend and checked out the drink menu.
Drinks were the highlight of the evening, as we tried most all of the selections on the menu, each with unique flavors, none too sweet or potent. My favorite was the Dr. Dave’s ‘Scrip Pad;, which presented a nice combination of wintery flavors, strong enough to warm my throat on the way down.
We ordered a selection of food to share, as it was the day after thanksgiving and were here to taste and not fill up (as other reviews said, don’t come hungry, you will leave hungry).
Onion Rings — very thickly coated with cheese oozing out the breading, but ultimately, not very interesting at $ 14 a pop. Little semblance to French Onion Soup, as there was just a slathering of beef jus that offered little flavor.
Shrimp on Shrimp — Worst dish we tried. The shrimp salad had virtually no flavor. no heat, no acidity, just watery slaw and shrimp. It tasted as if they forgot something on the plate.
Rye Pasta — Was a must try, as I love homemade pasta and rye bread. This dish is proof on why rye pasta is unheard of, the texture was way off, similar to an overcooked noodle roni side dish. The few slices of pastrami under the pasta were not integrated. Very odd dish, but also not especially interesting or flavorful.
Honeycrisp tart — Best dish we had, which is sort of disappointing. The buttermilk ice cream paired perfectly, as it was not sweet at all, and embraced the sourness of buttermilk.
Service at the bar was great but table service spotty. Was never offered to try more items on the menu (after those three dishes between two people, we would have tried more because we were actually still hungry). Overall, not interesting enough to be worth the price tag. We happened to be there on the same night that WD-​50 was closing, so I can only hope that played a part in the lackluster experience.

One word, MEH! Skip it! Why? We were 18mins late for our reservations (yes I get it, we were late) but we were punished by the hostess in a couple of ways… First, we were told by the hostess in a snarky manner, «we only hold reservations for 15mins!!». But we still got seated… guess where??? On a shared table with a party of 4. You know, a table for 6, but they fit us on the corner with some strangers??? Im sorry, last I checked this isnt chinatown!!! Then, there were other tables for 2 that were open! This is just lame…
Whatever, we sat, ordered the Dr dave’s and tip top for drinks, with our tapas of pigs in blankets, hanger steak, rye pasta, lamb tartare and onion rings. And let me break this down. They were ok dishes, for a price for no good reason. For once, I never paid $ 13 for 5 onion rings with some cheese and gravy. I mean, I could make that dish at home for much cheaper! Lam tartare was the only good dish, but I mean for $ 18, you could make it a little bigger plate!!! Hangar steak was meh, I mean, dude, for $ 20 bucks maybe 8 oz!!!
This place is a waste of time and money. We are disappointed as we have been to wd50 and that place was amazing. This place is meh! We left hungry and seriously ended up at kfc for 3 pieces each… for 11bucks and more satisfying… took 1 star off for hostess’ comment, 1 star off for sharing table, 1 star off for 5 onion rings for a premium… ok bye!

Short review (read below for more details): The space is elegant. The menu is eclectic and brilliant. The drinks are interesting. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable and efficient.
Long review:
As you approach Alder you notice an invitingly modern-​rustic bar and dining room framed in a massive picture window. The doorway is hidden in the wood framing with the window drawing your attention. Even having visited several times now, the door always catches me off guard. It takes just a split second to recognize where it is.
The first time I visited Alder it was explained to me as «Wylie Dufrense’s idea of a gastropub. Dishes that are more accessible than the full-​on molecular gastronomy of wd~50.» Given the tepid Unilocal reviews I was skeptical that Alder was going to achieve those goals. It took one bite of the first dish to dispel my skepticism and confirm that sometimes Unilocal gets it wrong. Very, very wrong.
The food menu changes seasonally, relying on fresh ingredients when they’re available rather than when you want them. A few highlights, which is by no means meant to be comprehensive.
Sun gold tomato crostini: I can say with some certainty I have never praised a tomato crostini in a Unilocal review before, but this one is amazing. I now order it every time I visit. The lardo gives it a truly robust flavor that compliments the tomatoes perfectly.
Head cheese and egg: Don’t know what head cheese is? Don’t ask. Just think of this as a pork pâté. And «egg» doesn’t begin to do the dish justice. It’s a nearly perfect Japanese rolled egg. Beautifully balanced dish with great presentation. The pickled mustard seeds are otherworldly.
Cured madai: The Alder version of sashimi or crudo. A party in your mouth between the fresh fish and the seasonings.
Lamb tartar: Run, don’t walk to Alder for this dish. African spices make this a dish you’ll want to order twice. Or three times. Per visit.
French onion soup rings: This is a dish that gets a lot of criticism here on Unilocal for being «$ 13 onion rings». Want $ 5 onion rings? Go next door to The Thirsty Scholar. Want the best onion rings you’ve ever tasted? Stay at Alder. And be happy they’re only $ 13.
Frog legs wontons: This isn’t your local Chinese takeout wonton soup. The ginger broth is incredible. The wontons are the pefect balance of texture and flavor. The frog legs disappear into the background. Oh and the edible flower petals make it look like a Chinese koi pond. Prettiest dish on the menu.
Jasmine clams: When this arrives you think they’ve got the coolest pottery in an NYC restaurant, but that black swoosh around the bowl isn’t permanent. It’s a roasted sesame paste. The perfectly prepared clams with «barley risotto» and shaved Japanese mountain yam is delicate yet rich, especially when you drag it all through that black sesame paste on its way to your mouth.
Rye pasta: Plenty of praise for this dish, but I’ll echo it since it’s great. Especially like the unexpected appearance of pastrami (my favorite cured meat).
Drink list is relatively limited with house-​created cocktails of varying types, a wine list that includes «wines by women» and sometimes «bad vintages» … a couple nice craft beers and sake as well. I must say with the Jasmine clams, I was craving Beniotome sesame shochu, but it’s not on the menu (one can hope).
The staff is friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. All of the professionalism you’d expect from a Wylie Dufrense run place. Haven’t had a hint of bad service and I don’t expect to.
All in all, Alder is criminally underrated by Unilocalers — but it gets lote of love from foodies. Packed most nights even with the pending closure of wd~50. Here’s hoping Alder lasts at least as long.

I finally got tired of WD-​50 after a couple of bad experiences but was happy to try Dufresne’s newest iteration for brunch– especially after I had a most spectacular meal in Lyon, France, a few months before at a place that had some experience collaborating with Dufrense. Going to Alder, however, was a mistake and I won’t be back.
The bacon egg and cheese deep fried gyoza ($ 12) sounds a lot better than it tastes. It tasted mainly just like a bunch of fried wonton wrappers. The French onion soup rings with egg ($ 12) was just ok for me– something about the dehydrated onion powder or whatever that was had a funky taste that just didn’t work. The lobster «knuckle» sandwich ($ 16) with potato chips on top was just gross– too much mayo and it didn’t even touch the Lobster Joint’s versions. For dessert, the cinnamon donuts with a blueberry smear ($ 6) were not great but not bad. If I’m counting correctly, that’s 3 strikes out of four, and a one-​star conclusion for me.