March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Scene can overwhelm cuisine. Such is the case at two young Manhattan restaurants, Olana and Elettaria. Their culinary offerings are ambitious and accessible. Their settings, on the other hand, are an acquired taste.

Meet Olana. It takes its name from artist Frederic Church's Hudson Valley estate. The eatery, however, calls its home the Flatiron District. Observe:

Bar patrons with bottles of cheap beer mingled. Backlit landscape paintings exuded a tacky glare. One gentleman sported a gimme cap, backwards, of course. Soporific elevator music pumped through the sound system.

Is this an after-work hangout? Not entirely. Mind the white tablecloths, red mohair seats and six-course menus. Our wine- paired tastings of modern-American fare cost $123 each.

Advice to Olana: Turn off the music. Advice to patrons: Bring ear plugs.

Thank chef Albert Di Meglio for picking up the slack -- and for offering a deal. Choose any six courses for $88. (A la carte options also available). Skip the uninspired wine pairings and ask for the tart, food-friendly Corpse Reviver (Plymouth gin, Cointreau, Lillet and lemon juice).

Try monkfish osso buco. A large bone keeps the flesh moist and fatty; a pool of bacon-studded herb jus adds smoke, salt. Poached flounder gets a hint of citrus from blood orange, a dash of richness from potatoes slicked with olive oil.

Lobster (perfectly roasted) sat atop a monster-sized ravioli. The pasta was filled with a funky bunch of hedgehog, black trumpet and yellow foot mushrooms. Tender rabbit was rolled around crunchy almonds and smidgens of foie gras -- just a hint of sweet liver.

Vegetables for Dessert

Some of the dishes were still works in progress, including risotto (overcooked), duck ravioli (mushy) pork (dry) and hamachi (raw and with a sour tang).

It was hard to appreciate dessert. That's when I heard the soprano sax. It was Kenny G -- or somebody just as awful. But we toughed it out. That's because the carrot cake was excellent -- perhaps the city's best.

Aficionados will balk at the deconstructed version here, until they taste it. Cream-cheese ice cream crowns a moist, brandied loaf. An intense reduction of carrot juice reminds you of the dessert's provenance. Brilliant.

Dinner for two cost $261.

Olana is at 72 Madison Ave., near 27th St. Information: +1-212-725-4900; http://olananyc.com.

Elettaria

It's hard to eat while getting whacked.

Meet Elettaria. It's in an insufficient West Village space. Picture a trans-Atlantic flight in economy class. Identical discomfort available here.

The tiny fuselage of a room has three rows of tables with two cramped walkways. As an aisle seat occupant, I got bumped and shoved. By busboys, waiters and anyone walking to the bathrooms. My dining companion was just as uncomfortable; our table pinned him to a banquette, with little breathing room.

Advice to restaurant: Remove a third of your seats and brighten the lights. I couldn't read the menu without a candle. Advice for patrons: Ask for a booth in the bar room, where there are extra inches for maneuvering.

Lucky for us, there's no airline food here. Chef Akhtar Nawab can cook. Expect an international menu with accents of India and offal.

Try pig's foot. The porky puck was as fat as a cupcake. ``It's not actually in the shape of a foot,'' the bartender remarked.

Dumplings abound. Order crispy gnocchi, tossed with sweet peekytoe crab. Skip the saag paneer gnudi (Nawab calls them gnocchi); clove-spiked spinach couldn't penetrate the dry ricotta.

Hog Wild

Boar? Sure. It's roasted (rare) and braised (tender). For extra oomph, Nawab throws vermicelli and bone marrow into the mix. For something lighter, flaky fluke sops up fragrant coconut broth.

Quail are easy to overcook. Nawab flirts with disaster by deep frying them. The result? Crispy yet perfectly rare birds.

Be wary of the cocktails. Bartenders over-shake and serve drinks with small cubes. The result is consistently watered-down libations. One exception is the Zombie Punch. It doesn't taste good, but that's not really the point when absinthe plus three rums (including an ounce of 151 proof spirit) is involved.

Dinner for two cost $165.

Elettaria is at 33 W. 8th St., near MacDougal. Information: +1-212-677-3833; http://www.elettarianyc.com/.

(Ryan Sutton is a writer for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this story: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 11, 2008 00:01 EDT