Philippe Downtown

Philippe Downtown Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: Midtown’s Philippe has been a standby for VIPs and celebrities yearning for high-end Chinese cuisine. Now, with this sexy Philippe 2.0 in the basement of Dream Downtown hotel, the restaurant appeals to a younger set, both through the choice location and a menu with updated and very good Chinese food from chef Philippe Chow. The room transforms into a clubby scene in the evening with DJ music and dimmed lighting accenting the red walls. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see the guests taking selfies by the mirrored staircase.

Likes: Pretty much everything on the menu recalls the Midtown restaurant’s success.
Dislikes: The evening party scene may not be for everyone.

Food & Drinks: As with most Chinese restaurants, the dishes here are designed for sharing. The menu lets you pick from column A and column B from categories including savory, Peking style, tofu, seafood, poultry, beef and noodles. It’s recommended that you go with a group so you can try something from each. Standout starters like salt and pepper calamari and beef lettuce wraps could easily fill you up, but you’ll want to leave room for signature mains such as Peking chicken carved tableside, a lighter version of Peking duck, or Mr. Cheng’s noodles, hand-pulled noodles in a pork sauce. Whimsical desserts from pastry chef Terri Dreisbach, like cotton candy Baked Alaska and chocolate cake topped with gelatin balloons and a sparkler, are perfect choices for Instagramming. Specialty cocktails continue the updated younger tone. Italian and American wines are on offer with an impressive list of 13 by the glass.