NYCReview
The Office, Grant Achatz’s first-ever New York venture, is an interesting thing. The original in Chicago is a back room attachment to Achatz’s experimental cocktail bar, The Aviary. There, it’s more laid back than The Aviary, serving perfect examples of classic cocktails, as opposed to the scientific creations you’ll find at The Aviary. Here in New York, The Office seems to be a similar setup. Except that our Aviary isn’t finished yet, and The Office here is far more expensive and upscale than the Chicago version. That might have something to do with the fact that it’s on the 38th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, or the fact that they offer a $269 per person tasting menu. After having been once, we can tell you that The Office is a cool place for some expensive drinks and a few things to eat from the small but excellent menu. But we wouldn’t advise throwing down for that tasting menu, even if you could. Unless it’s a tasting of $50 bills. Then it might be worth it.