Glenn C.
Yelp
Short review/best dishes- Slow Roasted Chicken, Mussels, Sprouts
This is a small new Mediterranean spot which I recently went to with a group. The staff was friendly and the inside is minimal and nice with the biggest issue being that the main dishes took a notably long time to come out but with the quality of the food, I didn't mind. The drink menu is sparse mostly consisting of almost entirely wine with several by the glass along with three seasonal beers consisting of an IPA, lager, and cider which were each $10.
Best of the small plates was the Boni's Mussels for $15 (or $19 with bread) with green apples, chorizo, and spice. The mussels were cooked well and they were fresh with all of them being properly open without there being any grit. The chorizo added a notable small bite to the dish and was a highlight though there wasn't really much green apple of note and I wouldn't have even looked for it if it wasn't for the menu listing. The broth itself was nice and savory with some richness and some saltiness and in winter, it would be very comforting. This was excellent and one of the highlights though I do think the bread should be automatically included or they should offer it with frites.
Another small plate and less notable was the Hamachi Tartare for $19 with herb emulsion, pomegranate gel, crostini bread. The hamachi was good quality though the flavors were overall a bit light without much of an herb or citrus note. This was fine.
For larger plates we ordered two which were both similarly priced. My preference of the two was the Slow Roasted Chicken for $32 with ras el hanout, Castelvetrano olives, and capers which is surprising as I usually prefer red meat. The chicken which was deboned and was extremely tender and the sauce had some light sourness to it along with some spices such as cumin and otherwise (as it's rather hard to pin down everything within ras el hanout as it's a wide mix) which paired nicely with the chicken. It was very tasty and I would recommend it heavily.
The other main dish was the Citrus-Glazed Lamb Chops for $36 had an amba marinade and green fried herb crust. The three lamb chops per plate which were properly cooked had some sourness from the amba and a slight crunch from the herb mixture and they were overall good though the chops themselves were not the biggest especially compared to the colossal ones I had the previous day at Opto. The side salad with chickpeas and lettuce was basic and wasn't too flavored and I would suggest perhaps pomegranate molasses or something similar to add to it to add a bit of a pop. This was good but not amazing with the most notable thing being the lamb's crust which was a fun spin.
We also got a side dishe which was the Brussels Sprouts for $12 with strawberry vinaigrette and lemon zest which was an unexpected highlight. On a side note, this was apparently made with the more common pomegranates before but I loved the strawberries instead here. Anyway, the sprouts were roasted well with the vinaigrette being a very nice touch adding some citrus as well as some sweetness from the actual pieces of strawberry. I think a bigger portion of this would be an excellent appetizer especially with summer upcoming perhaps added to an endive salad or spinach or something but I would recommend it currently as a side dish.
The food overall here was good. It's not the best Mediterranean food but the portion sizes are good enough and there are some excellent dishes and the prices are overall pretty reasonable especially for places nearby the Bowery and in Nolita. Upper 3/low 4.
