I've took a day trip to New York to see Hell's Kitchen on Broadway. About 30 minutes prior to arriving, I started looking for a restaurant to eat at before the show. I'm so glad I found this place. They opened at 4 PM and I arrived about 4:10 PM. My friend and I were the first guests in the restaurant so they allowed us to pick our seat.
I never order cocktails when I go out because I don't drink but my friend picked two really good drinks, the lychee martini & coquito passion. I actually enjoyed them both, but the coquito passion was my favorite. I'm sure it had something to do with the coconut rum.
We both settled on the 3-course prix fixe pre-theatre menu for $60/person. Here's everything we ordered.
Tuna poke taquitos - It was three mini tuna tacos. The shell was some kind of crispy fried goodness. I don't think it was a wonton, but something similar to it. The tuna was topped with red onions, chives, and wasabi aïoli. These were melt in your mouth delicious. For this menu, it's only an order of three, but the regular appetizer comes with four. I could've easily eaten 4-5 of these by myself. They were that good.
Crispy calamari - It was perfectly fried and well seasoned. I love calamari but I've never had it like this before. It was tossed with fried plantains, fresh red onion and cherry tomatoes, and shishito peppers. Who knew calamari and fried plantains went well together? The peppers were a really nice touch. I believe they were coated in a little oil and some herbs and/or spices. Whatever they did to those peppers, I wish they would've done to the red onion and cherry tomatoes as well.
Steak frites - My friend ordered this dish. I just had a little piece of the steak with the peppercorn sauce and a few fries. No complaints but we both liked my entree more.
Mediterranean ocean trout - For me, this dish was the star of the show. The trout was cooked just right; nice and flaky with crispy skin just how I like it. Underneath the fish were veggies, chickpeas, and plateful of the chunky tomato sauce. My goodness it tasted like they grew the tomatoes out back and made the sauce from scratch. It was so flavorful and I'm glad there was enough sauce for me to have some with each and every bite of the dish. I cleaned the plate. I've had trout a lot of ways, but never paired with tomato sauce. I feel deprived.
Cheesecake Brulé - If you like crème brûlée, you'll love this cheesecake. The caramelized sugar crust was delicious. Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits so having a whole layer on top was a plus.
Not only was the food amazing but so was the ambience and the service. Our waitress Carla took such great care of us. We even got a chance to chat with Victor, one of the owners. He shared that they've only been open for 4 months. He was so kind and humble as we shared how much we enjoyed all the dishes and wished him success. He even brought us some champagne.
I highly recommend this place and would definitely visit again the next time I'm in town. read more