Emma G.
Yelp
***3 1/2 stars***
Schilling has been on my radar for a few months, and somehow manages to be off the beaten path while being only a block or two from the 9/11 Memorial area (part of that is because it's on a street with limited car traffic and is submerged by a lot of construction/scaffolding right now). My Skipper and I came by for lunch yesterday a little after 1pm. Despite its subtle location and some atrocious weather (rain in the 40s is my least favorite of all time), the place was surprisingly hopping, with more than half the tables occupied. The interior space is adorable, and we were both fans. There's a lot of barn-like wood, and the Skipper noted a very cool ceiling situation - it has slated boards with lighting underneath them, so it looks like there's someone up in the attic. Not sure I've seen that before. And while this is definitely not the kind of place that promotes its bar area above the more formal sit-down crowd, it's also very pleasant to look at. It reminded me almost of a manger.
I'd studied the menu pretty intently beforehand and settled on the Spätzle ($25) as my entree. Delicious. I was a little apprehensive about the inclusion of broccoli rabe but it didn't deter from the dish. I loved how cheesy it was; it was almost like having an edgy/exotic mac and cheese. The texture was excellent - the fried onions on top give it a nice crunch, and I think the Spätzle overall would have been almost too squishy without it. Nice touch. And despite appearances, this wasn't a giant meal; the skillet it was served in was very shallow, so I could have eaten the entire thing easily.
We ran into an issue though when we tried to order drinks. Schilling should definitely fix this on their website (their social media pages are clearer), but the menu page on there indicates that on Fridays and Saturdays, the wine is half off. It turns out that what they actually mean is that the wine is half off IF you buy an entire bottle; it doesn't apply to glasses. That surprised both of us, especially since by the glass, this place is very overpriced. Even in this neighborhood, it's not hard to find a decent glass of wine for $11 or $12 (and often cheaper than that). However, Schilling charges around $16 for theirs. Once we realized that there weren't discounts for the glasses of wine, we shifted our focus to the cocktails, which were also overpriced. There's no way you're getting me to purchase a cocktail for over $20 unless it's an establishment that's exclusively selling itself as a high-end mixology place; this is a restaurant, and there were several drinks on the menu that were $22 or so. Since the wine was so expensive though, it wasn't hard to justify paying $18 for their cheapest cocktails on the menu. That turned out to be moot though - the waitress apologetically told us the specialty cocktails weren't available until dinnertime. It wasn't clear if that was simply part of the business model or the bartender called out, but that was disappointing.
The service was honestly mediocre. Some of it could have been chalked up to inexperience and/or cultural differences, but our interactions with the waitress were very uneven. She initially lingered at our table for a noticeably long time while we were still looking over the menu (which is awkward but not really a negative, per se; once you know what you're getting, you want to relay the order as soon as you can), but then would disappear for long stretches when we were looking for the check and for my card to be picked up. Part of that was because she was the only one working the front, handling probably six to seven tables, I'd guess, but the two times her absence was significantly felt? She was just hanging out behind the bar on her phone. I literally had to walk around the bar to personally hand her my credit card. Again, if we were waiting for a long time because she was overwhelmed with her tables, that would be one thing, but that's just lazy and inattentive service and hampered the experience. That was unfortunate because solely based on the food, this was very positive.
I'd also mention as an aside that my Skipper was a bit uncomfortable throughout the meal. She was seated on the booth side, which is on the left when you come in from the street. There was a noticeable cold draft coming in from in-between the back and bottom of the cushioning, which I tested out as we got up to leave. Hopefully they get that insulated before it gets really cold.
I'm glad I tried this one but the solid food can't ultimately make up for the price point and substandard service.