Provenance

“So much creativity. Not a single dull moment. Food-wise, this might be my favorite meal I've had in the US. The courses progressed like a casual chef's counter, but the detail running underneath was on par with some of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at. Sourcing, precision, and above all the sauce work. Chef Bazik draws a lot from Korean sauces (his wife is Korean), but that wasn't the main identity here. It was an accent, integrated into just a few appetizers, and even then more as "toppings" than as sauces. A dollop of ssamjang, some chili strings, and so on. It brought that heat and punchy umami typical of fermented Korean sauces without bulldozing the main flavor profiles. At Provenance, the real emphasis was on “sauce work”. It's the most essential yet basic craft in French cuisine, and somehow the thing a lot of fine dining seems to care least about these days. The focus has shifted to novelty of frame and sourcing (which Provenance, to be fair, does beautifully), while sauce gets neglected. Just purée it. Emulsify it. Au jus it. It's hard to appreciate something once it's been reduced to a formula. A great example was the gelatinized flower vinaigrette and the whipped tofu. On those plates the sauce mattered more than the thing it was dressing. Elsewhere, the sauces were beautifully balanced, which allowed aromatics and textures to come through cleanly. Most importantly, the pairings were adventurous. Snail and trout pasta. Zucchini bread and uni. Sweetbreads and lightly seared akami. Just one euphoric bite after another.”

“I dined here in December with my dear friend, Wendy, and this review is a long overdue. I am still thinking about this meal, five months later!! The attention to detail, the passion behind the food, the attentive and friendly staff, all created the most wonderful and perfect dining experience I have ever had the privilege of enjoying. Every single detail felt intentional, from arrival to the restaurant, to the explanation of each dish, to the perfectly crafted desserts (that I still dream about as a home baker), to even walking out the door at the end of the night. Every single element felt very thoughtful and executed so wonderfully. The food was absolutely divine, I cannot sing enough praises!!! I find food to be such an integral part of the human experience, and the tuna tower is still a bite I will be forever dreaming of. The drink selection is superb, we had wine and cocktails, the sommelier is so knowledgeable and the cocktails have a structure to them that sings. This was my favorite meal I’ve ever had in all my travels, let alone in my home city!!! I hope to be back again, it’s worth every penny, thank you for sharing your souls through this special dining experience, it was a privilege! My pictures are subpar, but I promise you, this experience more amazing than I can put into words!”

“I actually wanted to try Provenance last year, but never found the time, so I’m really glad I finally made it this year. Overall, the atmosphere was excellent and very comfortable. The ingredients felt incredibly fresh, and the dishes were thoughtfully composed with a lot of surprising and creative pairings. Each bite had great depth, you could taste different layers of flavor at first, and then everything came together beautifully into a new, cohesive taste. It was a very impressive experience overall. The chef clearly has a strong understanding of flavor balance and how to build dishes with both contrast and harmony. Every course felt intentional and well-executed, and I genuinely enjoyed the whole meal from start to finish.”

“It's incredible to me that despite the hype and impossible standards, Provenance not only exceeded our expectations but blew them out of the water. Every possible good thing you have heard about them is true, so before I praise them endlessly I will share one warning that I wish I had known before I went: the wine pairing was simply too much wine for me. If you are a lightweight, or think that six glasses over two and a half hours would put you under the table, I would strongly recommend finding better value in a la carte beverages or with their "mixed" pairings (some wine, some NA beverages together). I had to essentially skip the third and fourth glass for my own well-being :) With that out of the way, I want to re-emphasize how special and wonderful the experience was from start to finish. The setting is luxurious and intimate with outstanding hospitality that was kind, thoughtful, and welcoming. Despite the fact that it is a high-end Michelin-starred establishment, we never once felt uncomfortable or out of place. The entire team from servers to sommelier were outstanding and helpful, providing the best restaurant service I have ever experienced. I was personally skeptical if the food would be that good based on the many pictures I saw previously, but let me assure you that it is outstanding, and only got better with each successive course. I won't go into detail on every single one of the 25 or so courses we ate, but I will say in general that every dish was creative and thoughtful, but also fun and whimsical. From the play on a baked-potato to a scallop "hot dog", it was clear that the chef was providing delicious food with joy and not taking it overly seriously. My wife's favorite dish was the poularde (fancy chicken) that nearly caused her to weep with every bite. I was loved the baked potato single bite as well as the broth in the chicken course, but every course was exceptional and an experience that was new and fresh to us. Every element at every course perfectly complemented the flavors and ideas at the table. The beverage program is excellent as well. We were welcomed to the restaurant with a glass of sparkling barley tea which was incredible and unlike anything I've had before. They offer many different beverage options, though unfortunately I couldn't find any details online about them before I got there. Their wine pairing is six glasses for $175, or if you want their absolute premium pairing you can spend $475. I enjoyed each wine and they went well with the food, but I personally would have gotten much more mileage out of a cocktail or two for much cheaper since I can't quite drink that much. My wife got the "temperance pairing" which was six non-alcoholic beverages paired with the food. They were inventive and unique, often Korea and tea-inspired drinks. While they were very good, my wife did find that that much beverage did end up being too sweet for her tastes by the end of the night. And for $120, it is certainly possible to get more mileage elsewhere. At the end of the day, this is still a meal that my wife and I talk about fondly. We didn't think it would blow us away, but it did and we would love to return. One warning I would give is that it does end up being a LOT of food, so please arrive hungry. I wasn't used to eating as late as 8:30 for the second seating, so I had an afternoon snack which meant I was in physical pain trying to finish all the food, but it was so good that it was worth it! In all my food reviews I am very value-conscious, and Provenance is not cheap. After two meals, two beverage programs, automatic 20% gratuity and tax our bill was $975. Can a meal ever justify that price? No, probably not, but even in spite of that we are so glad we did it. I would just not personally do the beverage pairings next time to make the bill much more palatable.”

“First off, I Love a warm wet towel to start a meal. The starter Barley lemon spritz drink was really nice and refreshing. Small bites prawn squid umami mussel oyster All very good, none overly fishy or salt watery. I don’t love raw bivalves but these were pretty good. Wait staff was very attentive and fun. Water glasses never reached empty before being filled back up. Local marinated veg with black ruffles - surprisingly good. Dressing is creamy and a tad salty. Goes great with all the different veggies and the truffles Buckwheat crepe and caviar with fresh sour cream and onion chips Good mix. No real hero flavor though. Ice mix of textures though Crusted Scallop and scallop hotdog The brioche bun was too dense in my opinion but all of it very smooth, fresh, and buttery. Milk bread and butter was nice. Definitely don’t eat it all at once, save it for all the sauces to come. Turbot- dense and firm fish with mild flavor Chowder was amazing. Light and creamy like eating a slightly sea food cloud. One of the best parts of the meal. Trout belly pizza with roe- this was okay, the turmeric or curry in it was over powering. Steelhead trout and cabbage - the fish skin was perfect and added a great bit of salty crunch to the dish. The roe on both was good, but don’t have the salty burst I was expecting. Chicken truffles with cheese sauce and apple gel - chicken was so smooth and tender it almost didn’t feel like chicken. The rice was cooked perfectly and was buttery and perfect with each other side. The final bite of all sides combined with the chicken was great. The bite they state is for the end is really anticlimactic. It’s just like pressed and formed spinach with a bit of sauce. I was hoping for something more. Date phyllo cheese bite- the cheese is very light and you can almost miss it, but it’s very tasty and sweet Desert: Fennel and orange sherbet, Chocolate ganache and turmeric sorbet, Bonus Flourless choc birthday cake Berry caramel sorbet. All the deserts were very different and very well done. None overly sweet but they all stood out in their own ways. The last bite was a bourbon caramel truffle and it was delightfully sweet and boozy. My only negative was the last savory bite as it was all hype and no follow through. Also, 80$ for tea pairing is ridiculous and the teas were just okay, not even served with sweetener to spruce them up. They also offer a $30 cup of coffee at the end. Just silly. All in a great experience with fantastic wait staff. Probably won’t go back, but only because I would go broke!”