Four Twenty Five

425 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Tel. +1 (212) 751-6921

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | SEPTEMBER 5, 2025

The Food:

Kampachi; Aji Amarillo, Lime, Cilantro, Crushed Corn Nut

Heirloom Tomatoes; Sweet Onion, Pistachio, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Basil

Ricotta Ravioli; Vine Ripe Tomato Sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano

Corn Agnolotti; Australian Black Truffle, Hazelnut

Charred Marinated Jurgielewicz Duck Breast; Caraflex Cabbage, Thai Salad, Chili-Lime Broth

Cherry Tiramisu; Red Cherries, Coffee-Soaked Savoiardi, Kirsch Mascarpone Cream, Sour Cherry Sorbet

The Wines:

NV Vilmart Brut Cuvée Rubis (base 2022)	92
2012 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard	94
2009 Soldera Toscana Sangiovese	94
2015 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajé	98

Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Four Twenty Five is a welcome addition to New York City’s vibrant dining scene. For his latest venture, Vongerichten partnered with chef Jonathan Benno, a culinary star in his own right. I have admired Benno’s cooking back to the days when he helmed Lincoln Ristorante, where we ate many times and hosted Vinous events back in its heyday.

A long, elegant bar is the centerpiece of the ground floor. Stairs lead up to the main dining room. High ceilings convey old-school New York City grandeur, but the appointments are decidedly modern. The room is buzzing with youthful energy. Dramatic glass windows looking into the kitchen add to a feeling of spaciousness and light while also drawing guests into the dining experience. It’s a fabulous vibe.

There is plenty to choose from on the menu. Some of the dishes show the Asian influences that are such a signature of Vongerichten’s cuisine, while others are more closely rooted in Benno’s roots. We start with the Kampachi Crudo, which is meant to be wrapped in the accompanying shiso leaves and eaten by hand. It’s a spicy dish, not easy to pair with wine, that ideally calls for very different bottles from those we have. Food and wine pairing is not our objective on this night, so I just enjoy the Kampachi on its own. It’s brilliant. The Heirloom Tomatoes are an ode to simplicity and ingredient-driven cuisine. Perfectly ripe tomatoes are topped with sweet onion, pistachios and a light red wine vinaigrette ideal for summer. That’s it. Nothing more is needed.

Heirloom Tomatoes; Sweet Onion, Pistachio, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Basil.

I can’t fathom eating in a Jonathan Benno restaurant and skipping pasta. The Corn Agnolotti, generously topped with black truffle and a sprinkling of hazelnut, is a delicious late-summer dish that looks ahead to fall. Sublime. The Ricotta Ravioli, from the special Restaurant Week menu offered during our visit, is a familiar favorite, comfort food as opposed to something that stretches culinary horizons. Regardless, those ravioli disappear off the plate in an instant.

Corn Agnolotti; Australian Black Truffle, Hazelnut.

The Duck Breast is fabulous. So often these days, duck on a restaurant menu consists of a tiny slice of breast meat. Not here. The portion is generous without being over the top, while the accompaniments are classic Jean-Georges. Moreover, the duck is a great wine dish. When dessert time comes, the Cherry Tiramisu is right up my alley. It’s a wonderful summer play on one of the most classic dishes of the Italian kitchen. I loved it.

Charred Marinated Jurgielewicz Duck Breast; Caraflex Cabbage, Thai Salad, Chili-Lime Broth.

The wine list is impressive. I especially admire the thought given to the by-the-glass selections. There’s plenty to like. Delving further, guests will find a dizzying array of options, starting with Champagne, where several reference-point wines are offered across multiple vintages. It’s very much a big city list. Iconic wines are priced commensurately with the overall vibe, and yet there are plenty of relative values to be found in off-the-beaten-track Burgundy, Alto Adige, the Loire, Piedmont and some parts of California.

I usually don’t do corkage, as I prefer to explore lists, but our hosts have chosen some very special bottles, a reminder that wine can be so much more than what is in the bottle, especially when tied to significant events in life.

Vilmart’s NV Brut Cuvée Rubis (base 2022) is a wonderful way to start dinner. In some vintages I find the Rubis a touch ethereal. This release is especially generous and resonant in feel. The Rubis is the only Champagne at Vilmart that is Pinot Noir-driven. That very much comes through in this edition, one of my recent favorites. It’s a weeknight, so I tell myself I’m only going to have a small taste of the Rubis. I fail miserably.

The 2012 Marcassin Chardonnay Maracassin Vineyard, from the estate vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview, is peaking today. Soft, open-knit and engaging, the 2012 caresses the palate with hints of dried apricot, chamomile, crushed flowers and almond. For my palate, the 2012 is a touch beyond where I find the most pleasure in wine. Specifically, the mid-palate has started to fade and that in turn pushes the oak forward, especially texturally, where there is some dryness on the finish. Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer were pioneers in California. They were way ahead of their time in understanding of the potential of certain sites, especially in Fort Ross-Seaview, something that was driven home when I spent several days visiting vineyards as part of my research for our forthcoming map of the AVA.

The 2009 Soldera Toscana Sangiovese is an absolute delight. It’s a wine I have tasted infrequently over the years, as production in this vintage was tiny. Readers may recall the tragic events of late 2012, when a disgruntled former employee entered the Soldera cellar in the early hours of the morning and opened the spigots of the casks, sending six years of Brunello literally down the drain. The Soldera family was able to salvage a bit of wine that they had off to the side in smaller casks. Mother Nature’s production rarely aligns exactly with the volumes required to fill large casks, so there is almost always a bit of wine that is aged separately. Wines from vintages 2007-2012 did not see the standard five to six years of aging in large cask and are therefore a bit different stylistically from the norm, especially vintages 2007 through 2009, which had already undergone a part of their aging when the vandalism occurred. Soldera later decided to offer the 2010 only for sale to benefit charitable entities, while the other vintages in this time span were released in minuscule quantities.

Silky and aromatic, with gorgeous balance, the 2009 Toscana Sangiovese is such a sexy wine. It’s very much a mid-weight Sangiovese, without the structure or driving intensity of the best years. However, that structure gives the 2009 a Pinot Noir-like feel that is pure seduction. More importantly, the 2009 is developing gracefully. At 16 years of age, it is in a gorgeous spot for enjoying now. Floral accents and soft red-toned fruit caress the palate in a wine that offers a look a one of the most troubled periods in the estate’s history. Tasting the 2009 brings back memories of visiting the property just before harvest. Soldera took out his shears and gave my son, then three, a bunch of grapes. When he got home to New York, my son asked his mother why the grapes from the supermarket did not taste the same!

Cherry Tiramisu; Red Cherries, Coffee-Soaked Savoiardi, Kirsch Mascarpone Cream, Sour Cherry Sorbet.

Luca Roagna’s 2015 Barbaresco Crichët Pajé is magnificent. A towering wine, the 2015 captivates the intellectual and hedonistic senses with its dynamic personality. Floral notes meld into beautifully sculpted fruit as the 2015 gradually opens over time. Although very much a young wine, the 2015 can be enjoyed now with minimal cellaring. I have no doubt it will be even better in the future. The 2015 is a great example of the finesse Luca Roagna has brought to his family’s wines through an increased focus on farming and, just as importantly, a reduction of the time these wines spend in oak in favor of more time in cement. Superb.

It’s a school night, so dinner ends on the early side, but not before we make plans for a return. 

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