I recently dined at Aska and Oriole about a week apart.
Here my takeaways:
Food: Aska by far. I was surprised by my meal at Oriole because everyone says it’s a crowd pleaser. I really enjoyed 3 courses (the foie gras, the quail, and uni) but the rest were just okay. At Aska there were about 3-4 courses that were divine. The rest were great.
Service: I usually never think about service but there was such a stark contrast between the two. Aska was warm, friendly, and attentive. The servers at Oriole were fumbling over the descriptions. At the end of dinner we placed our CC on the table. No one came for 10 minutes. When they did come we asked them to run it, they said no. That they would bring the check and have us look it over. We ordered 2 drinks … thats all the check was to look over. Very odd.
Intangibles: At Aska they use Zalto’s for everything. The plates and utensils were more interesting and varied. The glassware at Oriole was fine but for the same price point, why not use Zalto’s or something similar? This is obviously a nit if the food is on point.
Pacing: Oriole took over 3 hours for ~12 courses. This is a course every 15 minutes. It was soooo slow to the point it became unenjoyable. We just wanted to leave after some point.
I wished I liked Oriole more, oh well!
First half are Oriole, second half are Aska for the pictures.
by the_chonkist
4 Comments
I ate at Oriole last week. I thought the food was largely great. Agree a few courses were less than amazing. But the service and pacing was frustrating. It will be what holds them back from a third star. The service was just kind of lacking and half assed.
I went to Aska earlier this year, one of my best experiences of the year! Everything was perfect, including the spectacular food.
Not a lot of people torn between a New York and a Chicago restaurant, but your experience was pretty consistent with mine. Aska was top notch aside from a mediocre dessert. Oriole very good but not great with oddly cold service.
Aska hs a pop-up in Copenhagen right now — book your ticket for the pop up in Tivoli until Aug 18th: https://tablebooking.tivoli.dk/book/?id=42646&lang=auto
Not clear to me where the head chef is there though based on this review maybe I should find out (although it’s a little weird for a Swede that has gone to NYC to then return to Copenhagen for a pop-up?)