I recently had dinner at Quince, and while the food was consistently enjoyable, I left disappointed. Every dish was delicious, but not a single dish was memorable. I thought the food lacked the creativity that I want and expect from a 3 Michelin star restaurant.

FOOD

Caramelized onion tart with caviar
Pleasant mix of sweet, savory, briny, and creamy.

Tuna, basil, and chickpea
Very enjoyable bite. A burst of basil followed by clean, lingering tuna. The chickpea crisp added a nice crunch. 

Cheese-filled beignet
No recollection, must’ve been fine.

Royal Miyagi oyster
Delicious. Warmed oyster in a savory broth. Starts off savory/nutty, and finishes with the briny oyster.

Chilled garden tomato
Solid. Really flavorful tomatoes, with basil, olive oil, and Jimmy Nardello peppers. It was fun seeing how the tomatoes differed in terms of fruity/acidic/sweet/savory flavors.

Tsar Nicoulai caviar & squash blossom
I don't remember this one that well, I just remember it being decent.

Matsutake mushroom, squid & celtuce
The most creative dish of the night ended up being my least favorite. Squid and celtuce, both cut into identical noodle-like strips, had contrasting textures of tender and crispy. But the flavors didn’t come together, it just tasted like mushroom.

King crab, kohlrabi & lemongrass
King crab was the dominant flavor here. It was nice, but I didn’t feel like the supporting ingredients enhanced it.

Pumpkin bottoni, lapsang souchong & colatura di alici
Slightly al dente pasta with a pumpkin filling. Reminded me of a really good butternut squash ravioli.

Tagliatelle all’uovo & suckling pig
I really enjoyed this dish. Perfect tagliatelle in a deeply savory pork sauce. There were these smoky bits that added bursts of texture and flavor — I think it was lard that had been fried till crispy, then crushed. Tableside, they anointed the pasta with a few drops of 25-year aged balsamic vinegar, but I couldn’t pick out the flavor.

Bread & butter
Nicely salted butter, pillowy bread. Enjoyable, not memorable.

Squab & eggplant
The squab was perfectly cooked, but the eggplant sauce was my favorite part of this dish. Concentrated eggplant flavor with a hint of smoke and a pleasant amount of salt.

Apple, gooseberry & yuzu
Sweet, tart, fruity sorbet over a creamy semifreddo. A delicious palate cleanser.

Piemonte in the fall leaves
Tuile leaves atop ice cream (chestnut?) which was flavorful and well salted. Overall, a decent end to the meal. My only gripe was that the leaves weren’t crispy, but instead were tacky and got stuck to your teeth. Not sure if intended.

Mignardises
Sweets from the trolley. A huge selection is available, and I tried one of each. All were very nice, except for the pistachio/chocolate pretzel rod, which was dry and lacking in flavor (I might've preferred a Pocky).

SERVICE / AMBIANCE

Service and ambiance were very pleasant. Great energy from every team member. Water remained topped off, pacing was smooth. The space was relaxing, with lovely artwork, warm lighting, and comfortable chairs. No complaints, no highlights, much like the food.

I guess there was one memorable moment. Our waiter opened the meal by explaining the menu and the available supplements, but emphasized that Chef cooks hearty, comforting food, so rest assured, the supplements weren’t needed as we’d be leaving full with or without them. Well, he was wrong… I’m under 130 lbs and even I could’ve crushed an after-dinner Double-Double. Note that I didn’t leave hungry (just barely satisfied), and I wouldn’t have thought anything of it if he hadn’t hyped up how filling the meal was going to be.

OVERALL

Quince delivered dishes that were reliably enjoyable, but at $575 per person after tax/tip, that's not what I'm looking for. I was hoping for at least one mind-blowing dish, and Quince didn’t come close – I’m not sure if I’ll remember any of the dishes in a year.

Part of me wonders if I should've went in a different season, or if I should’ve added on their signature dish (beetroot spaghetti & caviar, available as a supplement), but given how consistent my meal was, I worry that either change would just deliver more of the same.

I can see how others might enjoy the consistency and comfort that Quince offers, but I don’t see myself coming back.