There are such high expectations when you hear that Marcus Samuelsson is jumping the pond to open up his Harlem eatery here. In a lot of ways, it lives up to expectations. The restaurant has fabulous atmosphere. The decor is colourful and vibrant and the music really helps bring it to life. Unfortunately, the food was spotty and service was disappointing.
Four of us ordered a bunch of starters to share plus the Bird Royals Feast. Here's a quick rundown of the food:
Devilled eggs: very yummy. I loved the crispy chicken skin mixed into the yolks which gave them a great crunch.
Helga's meatballs: delicious! Swedish meatballs at their best. This was a keeper.
Southern Heritage salad: this didn't work for me. The grilled watermelon was pointless. It just tasted like an Italian tomato and burrata salad.
Ceviche: first of all, this was not ceviche. It was shaved pieces of yellow squash dressed in a tangy vinaigrette topped with sashimi. The fish was not marinated but was fresh but this dish failed to wow. I could have easily skipped this.
Shrimp and grits: absolutely delicious but 'shrimp' is deceptively in the singular, not plural. The dish came with one measly piece of shrimp. C'mon, people. For £12, you can at least toss in another one. Grits are cheap!!
BIrd Royals Feast: this was an entire bird battered and fried that came with a bunch of sides. They first brought the bird with a random fireworks flare stabbed into the top of it to oddly give us a view of it whole. This was silly, ridiculous, unnecessary. They then brought the same bird back to the table but cut up with the sides. The chicken was flavourful and tender but really, I saw little difference between this and a roast chicken. The sides were also hit or miss. Biscuits were dry, the waffles came with no maple syrup. The mac and collard greens was the best of the bunch. This dish was more about form than substance.
Our service, while friendly, was not attentive to details. We were sharing everything yet they brought no serving spoons. Dishes were also plopped down on the table with no explanation of what was what. We ordered a bottle a of white wine which they kept in a bucket of ice about two meters from us. This is not high end dining and our server, which inexplicably changed mid-meal, did not come check our glasses so we ended up having to fetch the bottle and serve ourselves.
They also have live music but it was WAY TOO LOUD. We could not hear one another or the servers. What is the point? I'm here to have a meal with friends and a good chat not listen to some jazz band.
So it was a mixed night. The experience was a letdown overall although I can see the potential. read more