This place is up on the top floor of Prince's Square. That means it's far away from manic toddlers, which is a plus.
They have a good cocktail selection, though the waitress didn't seem to know the menu very well. Sure, it's a new restaurant, but at least train your staff.
The starters took forever to come out. We had the NY platter. It was mediocre. The cheese and onion bites and calamari were decent, but the crab cakes were overcooked and the chicken wings tasted like they came from a bag.
She had a burger. It was unevenly-cooked and chewy. They also put tons of caramelised onions on it, which weren't even supposed to be there according to the menu. Oh, and gherkins. Again, if you Brits like those, fine, but not on an American-inspired burger. Come on, now.
I had the shrimp gumbo. My adoring fans (cough) will come to learn that one of my biggest culinary pet peeves is tails on shrimp. Sure, you can cut them off with a knife, but then you lose a good deal of meat. This one was the gravest offence, as I had to pick them out of the hot broth to remove the tails. There wasn't even that much flavour, which is just silly for a Cajun-inspired dish. It was basically shrimp in tomato sauce with okra. Way too much okra, at that.
Didn't even bother with desserts. I didn't want to chance it. This place really missed the mark when it comes to emulating American food. There are some things you just don't mess with, whether you're trying to be original or not. The New England clam chowder had corn in it, which I believe is a cardinal sin. The Philly cheese steak sandwich had cheese slices rather than cheese sauce. I won't even start on the fish tacos, but a lack of cabbage is a red flag.
Look, I'm all for an unique take on the classics, but they really missed the mark on execution here. If you're looking for quality and (some) authenticity, go to Frankie and Bennys. You'll spend less there, too. read more