This week Sam Sifton at the Times drops two out of four stars on Carlton Hotel restaurant Millesime, a fancy seafood restaurant that, to enter, visitors "must first walk down a staircase, then through one or both of these spaces, to find themselves, perhaps confused and hesitant by this point, at the start of another staircase that leads up... But, holy cats, is there a beautiful, even exciting brasserie up there at the end of the journey, a restaurant devoted to the pleasures of the sea that manages to be luxurious and humble, ambitious and rustic, all at once. Eat, Eat!... The restaurant serves as a swell reminder of why this city fell in love with brasseries in the first place, and as a hopeful sign that there could be a resurgence in that affair. See if you can find your way there."

The Post's Steve Cuozzo also raves about Millesime today, declaring that it "delights palate, eye and even the din-weary ear. How rare to see a chef unknown to New Yorkers, brandishing Michelin stars earned elsewhere, take on a Manhattan space several generations out of fashion and make it work!... Millesime is already making first-time visitors into repeat customers: My friend returned just a few nights after pronouncing her first meal among 'the greatest' she'd ever had. That night it was one of mine, too. When every one is that good—and several others came close—Millesime will be a three-star place. Until then, it's a grand addition to what was once the Creepy Hotel District."

The Village Voice's Robert Sietsema is in Elmhurst, Queens to bring news of Peruvian restaurant Lima Limon, where "ceviches are a point of pride, and if you normally hesitate to eat raw fish at a place you're not entirely familiar with, take my advice and don't worry here. Leche de tigre ("tiger's milk," $10.95) is the best, a tart, milky solution served in a tall soda glass with a pair of sizeable shrimp hanging on the rim for dear life. In the murky depths dredge up baby octopus tentacles, squid rings, ground shrimp, and the occasional hunk of corvina, the most beloved fish in Peru. Did I mention that the concoction is commonly called Peruvian Viagra?"

Writing for Bloomberg News, Ryan Sutton gives two stars to the swank, atavistic Lambs Club, "the latest entry in the collection of restaurants that includes The Lion (bad), Monkey Bar (so-so) and the Waverly Inn (occasionally quite good), all of them dark, clubby and exclusive-feeling... The Lambs is a decent enough place for steak and martinis post-theater. I recommend booze over Barolo because the website bills the space as a venue for 'dining and cocktails,' and rightly so... Proper stirring and judicious vermouth mollifies the sting of Manhattans. They are to be consumed at lunch with an expertly charred, deeply tangy $32 rib-eye ($48 at dinner). Thank consultant Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey) for these courtesies, including a bracing blend of honey, lemon juice and bourbon whose name, the Gold Rush, references the drink’s color as well as its price ($18)."

And back over at the Times, Ligya Mishan reviews the somewhat recently opened restaurant Mehtaphor, from chef Jehangir Mehta, a former pastry chef who finished second-place finish on "The Next Iron Chef" in 2009. "The very narrow restaurant is tucked inside the very narrow lobby of the Duane Street Hotel, whose Ikea aesthetic Mr. Mehta has done his best to exorcise, with gauzy cloths, miniature chandeliers and crimson pillows," writes Mishan. "The food seems constrained, too, although for the most part, it is delicious: beef tartare mined with chilies, the heat allayed by guacamole sorbet ($12); an unlikely but happy marriage of crab and truffle goat cheese on a puff-pastry pizza ($12); shaved foie gras with raspberry compote on toast, a grown-up P. B. & J. ($12)."