Even the endive salad, usually one of the best dishes here, is dull, weighted with a thick, over-emulsified dressing. Mustard chicken is flaccid and overcooked. The roast duck is dried out but comes with a delicious chestnut stuffing. And the pot au feu is a disappointment. Boiled beef brisket, a carrot with an astonishing depth of flavor and a steamed potato sit in just a splash of broth.
Lunch is a better bet.
I'm sure most people find one or two things they like and order them again and again. Like the salad Nioise made with seared ahi tuna or the grilled rib-eye steak in a light red wine reduction. Or the lovely gazpacho with sauteed rock shrimp. Opening restaurant after restaurant is well and good, if they can all keep to a high standard, but the Pinots tend to start strong and then become inconsistent. Though Splichal sold his restaurant empire to Restaurant Associates in mid-November, he and his wife, Christine, will continue to run the restaurants.