Essencia Restaurant

Caroline A. • 1 review

September 9, 2024

9.5/10

Creative culinary delight and a friendly & knowledgeable service. I highly recommend this restaurant!

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Ray F. • 24 reviews

September 14, 2024

9.5/10

This restaurant seems to be underrated after reading some of the reviews on Trip Advisor, though it is more highly rated on The Fork. My wife and I had a very enjoyable and delicious experience. While the menu offers choices for those who are less adventurous, those who wish to try new combinations of tastes and methods of preparation will find this restaurant to be delightful. The service by Valerie and Natalia was excellent, as was Natalia’s knowledge of wines.

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vickie g. • 1 review

August 26, 2024

10/10

Excellent service attention to details.

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Leni R. • 1 review

June 23, 2024

6/10

The service was well. There were only 3 tables occupied. The food was oké

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Rodney W. • 4 reviews

June 28, 2024

10/10

This restaurant is an absolute value at its current price point. Get in here before they receive a well-deserved Michelin star and the prices go up. All of the courses were perfect, service was top notch. We will return as soon as we can. They also handle gluten free diners without issue.

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James J. • 2 reviews

May 30, 2024

10/10

Great restaurant. Updated look and warm feeling inside. Staff was very attentive and the food was fantastic. Tried the 5 course tasting and it was unbelievable. I would recommend this restaurant and visit again since they update menus often.

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Keith R. • 1 review

May 9, 2024

10/10

That rare evening of complete perfection. The service was faultless; not stiffly formal but professional and friendly. The food was completely delicious, innovative and beautifully presented. A local Campania wine was recommended with an explanation of the differences between the three or four falanghinas in the list. Definitely an evening to remember and we shall certainly return whenever we are in Napoli.

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Paul D. • 1 review

April 28, 2024

10/10

I returned for a second time to this wonderful restaurant. The interior is beautiful, the staff are charming and the food absolutely magnificent. The imaginative choice of meats is appreciated when so few restaurants offer only variations of the same beef/chicken/veal. The first time I visited I had a frogs legs starter. This time I had capoletti stuffed with wild boar with a beetroot sauce, followed by wood pigeon with a sorbet to contrast with the rich flavour, absolutely divine. The chef is a genius, I urge you to go and try his brilliant creations.

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Annick V. • 2 reviews

November 23, 2023

9.5/10

Amazing restaurant. Amazing food. The chef is a hidden gem. The finesse and the ability to come with surprising and successful innovative combinations were a true pleasure. The service was amazing too very personal and kind we were very well treated. The wine choice was spot on and we enjoyed the twist away from tradition was great. All in all best since a while and we have been around! Amazing 360 degrees experience up for repeat. Maybe dim the light and music a bit and a star is in reach! Congratulations!

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Royce J. • 1 review

October 30, 2023

6.5/10

Trying too hard to be a Michelin star place-tiny portions of decent food, very awkward serving system - food was cool, and wine was only available by the server - few things worse than seeing one’s wine on a distant counter, and not available for the main course. Way too many steps for the server to do good job - and the food was in almost microscopic quantities.

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Ray M. • 9 reviews

November 4, 2023

9.5/10

Outstanding food, outstanding service. Quite expensive but you get what you pay for, 7 course menu turned out to be at least 8 courses.

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Keith W. • 1 review

October 29, 2023

9.5/10

Really creative cooking. Very clever combinations of flavours and tastes, all of which worked. Excellent, enthusiastic staff who knew the dishes and explained them well. As only one of us was drinking we took their suggestions of wines by the glass and the choices were excellent and well explained. This is a first class restaurant with seriously good food. The surroundings may seem a bit austere and perhaps too well lit for a romantic evening, but it is a comfortable restaurant with superb food and excellent service.

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Bob T. • 8 reviews

October 15, 2023

10/10

I’ve eaten at many Michelin starred restaurants and many working hard to obtain their first star. The experience is often better at those on the cusp of earning their first star. And Essencia prices the point! Every dish was creative in its conception, well executed and beautifully presented. Above all each dish was delicious. Our server was attentive but not overbearing and extremely knowledgeable about local wines to pair with each dish we ordered. There were a couple of balance issues - for example, the pasta with sea urchin and beef fat was - as expected - joyously rich and luscious but could have benefited from an acidic counterpoint. Also the fish of the day had a beautifully crisp skin that needed a bit more salt and the dryness of the fish needed a stronger flavored sauce. But those are mere quibbles about an otherwise outstanding meal! Give these guys their star!

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Radomír K. • 1 review

September 25, 2023

9.5/10

Highly recommended to visit. We rate the parsley salad with mustard dressing as a side dish to roast pork as a top gourmet discovery!

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Harriet K. • 1 review

September 20, 2023

10/10

Although extremely quiet on the evening we went to Essencia (Napoli were playing at home so a bar with a loud TV seemed to be the venue of choice!) we had a memorable supper at this delightful small restaurant. The venue, the ambience, the service, the ethos and (of course) the food were all exceptional as was the strong wine list. The food is a riff on local and Spanish fare which makes for a mixture of delicate and punchy flavours and textures. Homemade grissini and crunchy bread were accompanied by butter foam; fish was cooked perfectly, and a seared leek came with tuna prosciutto and a lemony sauce. We shall certainly go again if we return to Naples.

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Gabrielle R. • 1 review

September 8, 2023

9.5/10

The wait staff was incredibly attentive until an atrocity of a family of four from Ohio came in and monopolized their good will with an unending barrage of ignorance and questions that usurped every ounce of service from tables like ours. My respect for the staff only grew, despite being unavoidably left alone, as they deftly addressed these subhuman creatures with an unending amount of grace and class. I left full, happy, and impressed - but also embarrassed for being American from those miserable people that belonged at a Chili’s instead of this incredible dining experience.

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Kate M. • 1 review

September 6, 2023

10/10

This is a hidden gem of a contemporary twist on Napoli food with world influences. It was an intimate dining experience and highly recommend ordering the tasting menu to get a fuller sense of this upcoming chef’s artistic vision. I definitely predict this place is on its way to a Michelin star. The setting was eclectic , the service friendly and professional of high standard. The wine and overall experience left us feeling that we had truly tasted one JS the most delicious parts of Naples.

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Nelli J. • 2 reviews

August 23, 2023

10/10

good food and very good waiter and sommelier. Great experience!

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Paul W. • 6 reviews

July 21, 2023

9.5/10

Delicious and inventive food - dolce was exceptional as well .

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Sherif A. • 5 reviews

June 24, 2023

9/10

What a fantastic little place. The staff are so passionate about their dishes which are extremely creative and delicious. Great meal and service - highly recommended.

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