Emma G.
Yelp
Wow. I've been pretty underwhelmed by the lunch scene down here, but they finally provided me with an option that hits it out of the park. I noticed this place maybe a month ago right around when it opened, and I hired a chum to walk over to do a little recon - aka physically take a picture of the menu since there wasn't a website yet. It looked intriguing, and after giving it a few weeks to settle in (and at the strong urging of my chum), this past Friday's gloominess seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out without worrying about hordes of people roaming around in there.
We were both pretty impressed by the interior. From outside, it certainly doesn't look BAD but it also doesn't really set itself apart from any of a number of NYC bar/restaurants. It definitely feels more like a recently renovated, sleek gastropub, but it also has some older touches, including a fascinating cavernous wooden booth towards the front that reminded me of a confessional. Luckily because the place was almost empty, we actually got to sit in there for the meal. I'm probably going to be disappointed every time I don't get to eat in the confessional, but it DOES comfortably seat about six people so I should probably just enjoy the ride when I can.
I decided to go a little Taylor Swift and order the Bad Blood ($16) from the cocktail menu, which featured bourbon and blood orange-infused honey. Very, very tasty. The garnish (I think an orange; that would make sense) was literally still on fire when it showed up, and smoky definitely enhances this drink. I may have accidentally ordered a second one, with no regrets. And they're not skimping on the bourbon - Bulleit is a fave, and super smooth. The Evian of spirits. I'll take that any day.
The menu item that intrigued us enough to warrant the Friday visit was the Mango Hot Honey Popcorn Chicken off the app section ($17). My palate was fresh off a Thai adventure the day before, but it didn't take a lot of arm-twisting here. It was delicious. A very decent portion, and the shaved mango draped on the top of the dish was a great complement to the spicier chicken. Additionally - and I think this is where a lot of bars go astray with the apps - it was perfectly cooked, with just the right amount of crispness, but not overly fried/crunchy. I'd get that again without hesitation.
I'm not sure how either of us still had the intestinal fortitude to continue ingesting food, but we also split a Diavola pizza pie ($20). If I WERE going to ding this place for anything (and I'm not), it's that their pizza offerings are limited and somehow they don't have a plain option. I imagine it wouldn't have been difficult to order one off menu, but I honestly don't remember the last time I saw a pizza menu that didn't include it. A LITTLE snooty in my opinion. That said, it was also on theme in that it was very good - the spicy soppressata gave it a nice edgy tinge, almost like a much higher class version of pepperoni, and the crust was crispy and on the thinner side. My chum commented that it seemed like they were trying to make their own upper crust spin on a bar pie, which is pretty accurate. And it had a nice char to it, which is a personal preference.
We had zero qualms about the service. Our waiter was attentive without being oppressive, and was easy to track down when we wanted to get the check. All of our food/drinks came out promptly as well. Yes, there were maybe two other customers in the entire place but we've all seen service crash and burn regardless of the number of other patrons in an establishment. Also, I thought the price point was pretty on par for the area - you're in FiDi in an inflationary environment so this isn't cheap by any means, but there are restaurants nearby absolutely charging several more dollars for all of these items, without the benefit of high quality service or environment. Hopefully the good times keep rolling here, but this is a fantastic start for London & Martin.