We tried Alex after being so blown away by L'Atelier's. The first thing to note here is that they DO accommodate vegetarians and do so very well. The minute we sat down one of the waiters pointed out they are aware of it and asked me what foods would be ok for me. That was very appreciated because usually us vegetarians are afterthoughts and usually we feel like we're not really welcomed. :)
I had a 6 course tasting menu for $110 which was, in my opinion, a really good deal.
The food was excellent, but very different from L'Atelier. Alex is a lot more traditional and thus, the food is a lot richer. We weren't super hungry when we arrived and we weren't able to finish everything, sadly. When we got to the pastries at the end they also brought us an anniversary cake which was very appreciated (and delicious) but too much on top of the rich food we had just eaten.
The vegetarian tasting menu started with a series of small amuse bouche which included an absolutely delicious pepper soup and a white truffle bite that was also excellent. The other 2 were made with rich cheese. These were good but not on the same level as the previously mentioned. This was all concluded with an apple-based palette cleanser that felt like champagne and was delicious.
The 2nd dish was a very light parsnip "mousse" with pomegranate and a touch of salad. The flavors of the mousse and salad were subtle and the fruit gave it a nice refreshing touch. A good way to start a meal.
The 3rd dish was garlic and butter gnocchi with a salad of spinach with mushrooms and parmesan cheese. The gnocchi were like soft little pillows that melt in your mouth.. very tasty and perfectly cooked. The salad was also very tasty and the combination of flavors worked very well together.
The 4th dish was a potato cake with salad and vegetables along with a brocoli puree. There was also this small cherry tomato skin that was absolutely mind-blowing. I still don't know what they put on it but it was one of the best bites of food i've ever had. Overall it was very tasty, well balanced, and rich of course. :)
The 5th dish was a fruity tomato mostardo on a small and thin pancake. This was excellent on every level. The mostardo was sooo delicious.. it tasted of sweet and toasty flavors along with a very rich flavor of tomato that made you want more and more. It makes me salivate just typing about it. Delicious dish.
The 6th and main dish was a "steak" of mushroom along with fruit compotte along with carrot puree, beets, radish, and a couple of other small veggies to go along with it. This plate was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. A real piece of art. I felt bad destroying it but even when I was done my wife mentioned it STILL looked like an art piece. I don't really like mushrooms usually but this was very good. A real tour de force in terms of balancing strong earthy flavors with vegetables and fruit. It worked very well together and the portion was perfect.
The 7th dish was the best dessert we've ever had. It was a light pudding of coconut and another ingredient I forget with a bed of delicious pearls of fruits and jelly. The whole was topped with thin wafer that you could break into it. This was like sex in a cup. Incredibly intense fruit flavors paired with the toastiness of the coconut.. It was almost as good as sex. Really.
The 8th dish was a vanilla cake with maple ice cream and a sugar "wafer" on top, with a bed of pear under the cake. I'd say this was the only low point of the meal as I am not a fan of maple syrup desserts. It felt a bit too rich after the meal we just had and I wonder why they wouldn't serve the fruit cup after this dessert as it would feel more natural to end the meal on a light note. It was good ,just not really my type of flavors.
Finally, the 9th dish. Another dessert, this time it was a series of 5 pastry bites along with macarons. All of them were excellent and very fresh. The ones that stood out the most were the rhum and the strawberry/cream pastries. Very delicious. The macarons were also insanely good.
As mentioned before they also brought us an anniversary cake which was very good. It was a light and fluffy vanilla cake with cream on top and a 'happy anniversary" medallion on top.
In the end we couldn't finish the pastries and cake so they packed them up for us (in tupperware might I add) and also gave us some meringue "bites" on our way out which were very good..
The service was incredible throughout the meal. The waiters were very classy without being arrogant and were attentive without being too stuffy. I would have tipped them a lot more if our final bill wasn't $340 ;)
Overall, excellent food full of flavor and richness, even for a vegetarian. Great service and beautiful decor. Is it worth the price? Absolutely. Dining at Alex is an experience on its own and is worth experiencing, at least once. Do yourself a favor and go for it.