Scylla, Schwa, or Soiree?

So, I'm having dinner with three close friends on Thursday evening -- we get together like this every few months to catch up and eat a good meal. We take turns picking the restaurant, and this time it's mine. Our picks are usually more casual but I am in the mood for a little fancy, and am having a hard time choosing between the 3 listed above. I've done the searches and read what there is to be had on the forum, but being highly indecisive anyway, I'd love a little more input.

In terms of food preferences, one of us is primarily a fish/veggie-eater, and two are not super-adventurous when it comes to cuisine, though that doesn't mean they won't try anything new or unusual. I would like to be able to have a leisurely, unstuffy dinner, one in which we don't feel pressured to give up our table, and where we can have good conversation without shouting to be heard. The only other direction I was given by my coterie was that there had to be fairly easy parking(!) I also hope that we can get away without spending more than $40 each (drinks not included).

I personally would love dining at any of these three -- I really liked Lovitt, have been curious about Scylla since it opened, and Soiree is in my hood. If I'm way off the mark with all three of these choices, I'm open to alternate suggestions too.

Any thoughts?

Point #1: I'd be surprised if you were disappointed with any of them. It's a no-lose decision. I don't think any would be considered super-adventurous.

Point #2: Haven't been to Schwa, but everything I've heard has been great. Tried the other two, and (all else being equal, which, of course, it never is), I'd have to rank Scylla's food above Soiree's (although service may be a little better at the latter). Scylla is more seafood focused, with some other options, Soiree's menu doesn't focus on any protein, and has some nice veggie options.

Point #3: Parking is probably toughest at Soiree.

Point #4: Soiree is newest, which might temporarily enhance its coolness factor.

Enjoy.

Sounds like you have three very good choices to choose from.

Soiree
I haven't tried Soiree yet (my neighborhood too), although nr706 seemed to like it enough:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5700

For others reading this post, the parking lot across from Bisto Campagne & Tank is a great place to park for Soiree when you think that street parking in Lincoln Square is difficult. There are usually spots available. If not, head a bit east on Wilson.

Scylla

I was just at Scylla last week and I thought that the food and atmosphere were outstanding. I had an excellent piece of fish (monchong) which was served with veal sweetbreads, and I also enjoyed my taste of my companion's scallop entree. We also very much enjoyed our appetizers (apple and celeriac soup & mixed greens salad). The chocolate panna cotta w/ salted peanut ice cream was fantastic. The menu consists of primarily seafood options, but at least one vegetarian entree and one poultry entree, as well as at least a couple of vegetarian appetizers:

http://www.scyllarestaurant.com

The restaurant was not loud, although it was only about half full so I can't address how they would have handled us if it were crowded (the pacing of the meal was excellent) and I can't tell you how noisy it might get. My only complaint was with the service of the entrees -- the bus boy brought out the entrees and given Scylla's price level, I would appreciate the waitress bringing out the food and explaining the composition of the course. In my case, I was especially confused because I did not see any sweetbreads on my plate, but before I could say anything, the waitress came with a separate small plate of just the sweetbreads and without apology, explained that they had been forgotten in the dish and put the plate down on the table.

Even given that complaint, I can't wait to run back to Scylla . . . the food was that good, and I think better than Spring (also more quaint). However, if you plan on having three courses, it will likely cost more than $40 (you could easily do two courses or split appetizers/desserts and be under $40, exclusive of wine). The portions were quite large, especially my monchong which consisted of two decent size fillets.

Schwa

I've been to Schwa once (last month) and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's so small, but you probably know about the atmoshpere since you dined at Lovitt. The byo nature of Schwa is so appealing and the service was fantastic -- very friendly and professional. I also enjoyed the food quite a bit (especially the pork tenderloin/belly entree). However, as you would expect, the menu is a bit more limited. I also found the room at Scylla to be more comfortable.

If I had to choose between Scylla and Schwa, I'd use Scylla (and that says nothing negative about Schwa). As for Soiree, I hope that it's a good addition to Lincoln Square -- can't wait to try it.

I'm sorry, but I think bringing you one of the parts of your dish separately because they forgot it the first time is worse than having the bus boy deliver it. A lot worse, in terms of a high-endish place with some justifiable pretensions to a coherent, well-crafted cuisine; we're not talking a side of steamed broccoli here but one of the focal points of the dish. That's a major screwup, just because it tells you that the kitchen is being manned not by the chef but by guys working off a list of instructions that night. Very disappointing.

Mike G wrote:I'm sorry, but I think bringing you one of the parts of your dish separately because they forgot it the first time is worse than having the bus boy deliver it. A lot worse, in terms of a high-endish place with some justifiable pretensions to a coherent, well-crafted cuisine; we're not talking a side of steamed broccoli here but one of the focal points of the dish. That's a major screwup, just because it tells you that the kitchen is being manned not by the chef but by guys working off a list of instructions that night. Very disappointing.

I completely agree with you Mike. But every item of food was so fantastic that I am willing to overlook this gaffe and return to Scylla (hoping that nothing like that will happen again). Interestingly, I noticed that the chef left the kitchen for several minutes and entered the dining room for a television interview with someone apparently known as the "Food dude?" I've never heard of him and did not recognize him.

Brad

Thanks for the advice, everyone -- if anyone else has an opinion, I'm happy to hear it. I'll probably make the reservation for whichever eatery later today.

I haven't been to Soiree, but I went to Scylla and Schwa on consecutive weekends.

I really enjoyed Scylla, but the table next to us did have a service issue. They sat down as we were on our main courses. As we finished our mains, and went on to dessert, we noticed that the next table hadn't received any food. Eventually a waiter arrived at their table to explain that the kitchen had forgotten about their appetizers and he wanted to know if a) they would just like their main courses or b) they wanted their main courses and appetizers at the same time. All I can say is that I hope some charges were "forgotten" when these people got their check.

The next weekend we went to Schwa and I had my mind blown. Really, really great food. The poached egg with caviar and the duck egg ravioli were both outstanding dishes. BYO is a plus. I think of Schwa as a real food-lover's restaurant, clean and sophisticated flavors.

My two cents.

Just to update the thread ....

We ended up at Scylla, and the whole experience was wonderful. Our server/service was attentive, well-paced and knowledgeable, all our dishes came out with the proper plating and accoutrements, served by the waiter (sometimes aided by the busboy/bread-server) with explanations, the atmosphere was intimate and very conversation-friendly, and the food itself I thought was luscious.

Between the four of us we sampled the apple/celeriac soup, the lobster/quince profiteroles with endive/fresh mozzarella salad, the chicken breast/polenta/figs, the Tasmanian ocean trout, the diver scallops, the smoky tomato/goat cheese/eggplant lasagna, the ice cream tasting, the beignets/baked apples, the flourless chocolate cake w/salted peanut ice cream and malted meringue, and the pumpkin-maple creme brulee. Fantastic all.

We each had an appetizer, entree, and dessert with one glass of wine, and our total with tax and tip was about $60 each -- I thought totally reasonable.

If there weren't a million other restaurants I've been wanting to try, I would go back to Scylla anytime.