Recommendations- Chicken Liver Mousse, Breads & Spreads, Wellington (to split)…read more
From the same folks as Raf's and The Musket Room, this is their first foray into Mediterranean food. The space itself is absolutely gorgeous, from the seating/plating arrangements to the ceiling and various decorations, while the staff gave good recommendations. The prices are a tad high, even by this area, but in terms of flavor, it was very good, and I would go back for lunch or brunch, or stick primarily with appetizers, even if I loved the entree. To drink, I had a Smokey Robinson, a mix of Japanese whisky, bourbon, smoked vermouth, Cherry Heering, arak, and bitters for $24, which was alright. It tasted like a Manhattan, but on the smokier end, and I wish it had more arak flavor. The drink was also a bit small, but that made a bit of sense as it was quite boozy.
I started with the $16 Chicken Liver Mousse, with cardamom, pistachio, arak, and fig on toast. The portion size was quite decent for the price point, and the flavors were nice. The mousse was soft and silky, while the pistachios added some crunch, and the fig added some sweetness. All of this came on two thick pieces of toast. I liked it, with the only previous chicken liver toast I liked more being the seasonal versions from Agi's in Brooklyn.
Another few people had two orders of the Breads & Spreads for $21, with the breads consisting of pita, talami, and lavash with za'atar oil, while the spreads consisted of eggplant with coriander and chili crisp and labneh with trout roe. There were also a few other options, including gluten-free bread as well as an add-on for caviar for an extra $50. I had a bit of each of the spreads, with the eggplant being particularly delicious, while I don't exactly see the point of the trout roe, as it was just adding some extra saltiness.
For my main dish, thankfully, someone split the $74 Lamb Wellington with me. This was $74 and had grape leaves, labneh, and za'atar, and came with two large pieces with the sauce poured at the table. This was a unique take on a Wellington, with the grape leaves used as the in-between layers instead of duxelles. The other person ordered medium, which I was fine with, though I prefer medium rare, and the meat itself was very tender. The pastry crust was buttery, and the sauce added a bit of sweetness, while the labneh had some sourness. This was delicious, and even at that price point, I probably would recommend it, which is saying something.
Other people got the $29 Levantine Dumplings, the $22 Chickpea Balila, the $36 Tuna, and the $48 Half Chicken, along with some Lebanese rice on the side. The portion sizes ranged pretty heavily, with the dumplings in particular being quite small. The person who is a vegetarian liked the balila, which was a stew, and said it had a good amount of heat. The latter people loved the tuna and liked the chicken.
For dessert, two of us split the Knafeh Cheesecake for $17, with crispy kataifi, apple, and saffron-arak honey sauce. Regardless of it being spelled kunafa, kunefe, or others, knafeh is one of my favorite Middle Eastern desserts, but this missed the mark. The texture didn't really remind me of either dessert, with the cheese being an odd mix of soft and hard. I liked the apples, the kataifi was not soggy, and thankfully, the sauce was not too sweet, being a bit perfumy also from rosewater or possibly the listed saffron. This was just okay, and I wouldn't recommend it. Others enjoyed the $15 Assortment of Sweets and the $21 Chocolate Pot de Crème.
I wish some of the spices were a bit more pronounced, but I would go back for lunch or brunch to avoid some of the sticker shock. Mid/low 4.