Yingtao

TLDR: so excited to have contemporary Chinese in nyc Been here a few times since they opened and it was one of my favorite openings last year! I can't think of other contemporary Chinese places in nyc - I've tried some places in Asia, London, and the west coasts but none here so I was pretty excited about it.My favorites are always the starter snacks, squab, the Nian gao dessert, ube dessert. If they have it, the crab noodle. Some dishes are only available at the bar or tasting menu but I've never had a bad bite.Service has always been attentive and fun. Great place to celebrate birthdays or special occasions.Overall: highly recommend

Came with some friends on Friday night for their lunar new year menu, and would say the overall experience was pretty good. The interior decor was really nice and they had really interesting spaces where you could look at their dry aging process, like the duck and Wagyu.The food itself was pretty good. Standouts included the duck toast and the duck entrée. However, some dishes, like the wagyu, was a little bit strange. The Wagyu here was like slices of beef, akin to hotpot, how do I serve fully raw, like a tartar. While the flavors were good, and the texture wasn't very pleasant.The service here was generally pretty good, although there were times when I couldn't hear the servers explaining the dishes. The space itself wasn't very loud, but it would be nice if they could talk a little louder. Although all the dishes were tasty, and it was a cool experience to try Chinese fine dining, but I think some parts missed the target. 3.5 stars if could

Our group of six walked into this Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant excited to see if it lived up to the hype. The vibe was nice,warm lighting, soft music, and a relaxed atmosphere. The service was spot-on, super attentive all night.We kicked things off with the duck tostilla and skewered beef. The duck was tasty and well-done, but the beef came out a little overcooked and burnt. For the main event, we went with the four-course tasting menu, but honestly, it didn't quite hit the mark. The first course,a trio of small bites felt flat and lacked standout flavors. The congee, in particular, was pretty bland.Maybe if we had added the UniIt could've improved on the taste.For mains, I had the duck, and my husband went with the fish. Both looked great but didn't really wow us in terms of taste or creativity. When the hostess asked about our favorite dish, we all agreed it was the duck appetizer. Sadly, that was the highlight of an otherwise lackluster meal. While we left feeling underwhelmed, we're not completely writing it off. Maybe next time, we'll try the $165 tasting menu and see if it brings the magic we were hoping for.

One of the best meals I've had in my life!!! I can't say enough good things about the food here, every single dish was amazing - especially the duck toast bite. Service was great as well, everyone was so friendly! If you want an amazing fine dining experience, this is going to be the place to be!

Yingtao offers a fine dining experience with a touch of Asian-inspired flavors, though I wouldn't call it fully authentic. I visited to try their holiday menu, and it was a mixed experience.My favorite cocktail was Her Name Is Jade--there's something wonderfully nostalgic about it that I really enjoyed. On the other hand, the Mala Negroni fell short of expectations; I didn't experience the numbing or spicy effect it promised, which was a bit disappointing.The holiday menu overall was enjoyable, but I have to deduct points for the "beef & broccoli" dish (prime rib). While the flavor was decent, it was overly salty and had a lot of fat, which I had to trim off.Despite these critiques, I'd consider returning to try their tasting menu in the future. I especially loved the counter seating, where you can watch the chefs in action--it's a unique and engaging experience. The service was attentive and added to the overall positive vibe.

All the dishes were very unique, well balanced and tasty! We were very satisfied with the quality of the food. But given how small the quantities were, it was definitely overpriced and we left feeling pretty hungry. Highlights were the mushroom toast, king crab, trout, and duck (but the skin was unfortunately not crispy). The congee was disappointing but the uni supplement was high quality. Service was good and friendly but wish they didn't take so long between courses (we were there for almost 3 hours). I will add that we also loved the cocktails they had. Overall, really glad we tried this place. Money aside, the food was quite good. And you can always grab empanada after when you are still hungry!

The fanciest Chinese food I've ever eaten. Every dish was unique and perfectly executed. My favorite was the duck - so tender and juicy. Definitely a splurge but worth it for the experience. Portion sizes are tiny so be prepared to still be hungry after this meal.

Such a delicious special experience with elevated Chinese dishes! I grew up with a few of these dishes and it was so interesting to see the chefs interpretation of them. We got the tasting menu at $165 and a few drinks. Many of the dishes from the menu were so yummy! The toast from the amuse bouche, tofu, congee, duck and the dessert. We got the uni addition for the congee (+15) and it was well worth it! They recommended eating it with the congee but I enjoyed it more eating it separately to really get the freshness and flavor of the uni by itself. The only dishes that were kinda meh were the roe (a little overseasoned) and the snapper (overcooked!). But overall, great flavors and beautiful presentation. I also really enjoyed sitting at the counter bc we got to see everything the chefs were making. You can see their attention to detail from the way they cut all the pieces to the same size. (Thank you culinary class wars)

I'm not convinced any of the food tasted Chinese, but it was all still delicious anyway.

This new spot does not deliver on the Michelin star experience it seeks to emulate.The space is beautiful and mostly in line with a high end open kitchen layout. There could be more space between tables. I opted for the wine pairing at $90. I did enjoy most of the wines served and the temperatures were just perfect but I have a few gripes. There were only 2 different types of glasses, only one red wine served, and the wines were often served well before the accompanying dish reached the table.As for the tasting menu, I feel that most of the dishes were overexplained for what they were. The tasting menu is advertised as 8 courses. Note that the first 3 come together as a trio of amuse bouche and only one wine from the pairing menu accompanies. The best dish was the congee. We opted for the uni supplement at $15. I have to admit this was possibly the best uni I have had in months especially given Hokkaido has been out of season. I did feel that the congee would have fallen flat without it and at $165 with a dearth of serious proteins, this tasting menu should include the uni by default. The squab was impeccably cooked but the other components of the dish were just okay. The other dishes were all mediocre with odd choices of texture (like the nearly raw minced celery root completely ruining the silky tofu doubanjiang). Dessert was not good.Overall, I appreciate the effort but there is a significant gap to bridge in meeting the vision here.