Walked by Cervo a couple times already and finally got a chance to try their seafood forward menu!…read moreFor a party of 2, they recommended about 4-6 items between the apps/small plates and entries. Started off with their tuna which was super fresh and tasty - probably my favorite app of the night! It had a great balance of umami and fat from the fish, sweetness and crunch from the onions, and a savory and tart olive oil and vinegar sauce. The fried shrimp heads were crispy and well seasoned. The pea shoots were refreshing with solid cheese and olive oil. Appreciated the ratio of greens to cheese to the light dressing. The Louisiana shrimp were very tender, fresh, and overall well seasoned. I did find the sauce a tad too acidic and tart for me but otherwise make sure to soak it all up with the bread! For mains, the skate wing was delicious! The meat was tender and juicy which contrasted from its outer crunchy fried batter. Each bite paired lovely with the mayo sauce, garlic sauce, and the slightly pickled yellow beans. The seabream was also very tasty! Again the seared fish was fresh and tender, and it paired well with the smashed zucchini at the bottom. They feature a good selection of wine options. My partner enjoyed several white wines while I liked my sparkling. Staff were polite and had great wine recommendations. Food came out quick. Loved the open kitchen concept and the cute decor inside. Indoor seating available at tables, high top tables, and the bar. Outdoor tables available as well.

I came here with my husband to celebrate our 6 month anniversary of marriage and had a great time!…read moreI was able to get a reservation a few weeks in advance for 7:30pm on a Friday which I highly recommend now that the place was packed and the wait time for 2 was probably around two hours. This is a very small and intimate space but in the summer months they have a large set-up for outdoor seating which is perfect for larger groups on a night with nice weather. The inside space is much smaller and only has a few tiny tables along with the bar. I asked to sit inside since it felt a bit more private while retaining the quintessential lively, young spirit of the Lower East Side. Our waitress was super nice and was attentive of us during the meal without being overbearing. We started off with a mezcal margarita and also a martini. Both drinks were well balanced in terms of flavors and adequately strong in terms of alcohol content. They also have a very large selection of Spanish and Portuguese wines which all seemed very intriguing. Their food menu is small but focuses on foods with Spanish and Portuguese influences. We tried: - Oysters: very good! Briny, refreshing, with the acidity of the lemon bringing out very subtle, sweet undertones. Also comes with hot sauce but I thought that was too overpowering so it's better to stick to the lemon alone. Not super traditionally Spanish or Portuguese but pretty good on a summer day. - Spicy mussels: a very interesting dish. I have never had cold mussels but these were very good. The mussels were generously sized, came over ice, with a paprika-forward, spicy sauce that balanced their sweet and earthy flavors. It was a bit odd to have the meaty, plump mussels that I am so used to eating in hot dishes completely cold but it really worked. Reminded me a bit of a spicy and fishy gazpacho. Would recommend! - Beefsteak tomatoes: completely unassuming but completely blew me away. The tomatoes were fresh, flavorful, and thick. They came tossed with high quality, fragrant olive oil as well as this tangy vinegar that brought all the flavors together. It came topped with a cheese that was semi-hard but not crumbly, a tiny bit salty (felt like a hybrid between feta and mozzarella), with onions that were sweet and added a really nice sharp punch. Ordered some of their delicious sourdough on the side to soak up all the oils! This was one of the most simple yet decadent bites of the night. - Piri piri chicken: absolutely stellar. I think I would come back for this dish alone. As someone who does not eat much red meat, this is probably my new go-to when I'm craving something as hearty as steak frites. The chicken was insanely juicy, with a crispy and flavorful skin. The spicy piri piri sauce had the right amount of punch, and it was beautifully balanced by their delicious aioli (we ordered extra), and the crispy fries soaked in the chicken juices. Hearty, decadent, filling. Truly a work of art. Must order if you come here. Very good portion size to share! - Lamb burger: Smaller portion than I expected, which was good now that we got a lot of food in general, so it was the perfect size. What a unique and delicious burger! The chef who thought of this flavor combination is a genius. The lamb patty was rich and gamey. The celery/fennel topping was bright and fresh, really cutting through the richness of the lamb. It came with a creamy, lemony aioli with the final touch of umami from the anchovies. The bun is soft and buttery. It made for a delicious and complex bite. This may be one of my favorite burgers in the city now. Highly recommend! - Almond cake: moist, buttery, perfectly sweet with hints of lemon zest and balanced by a creamy vanilla sauce and a tangy wine poached plum. We also at this point got two glasses of their orange wine selection which were dry, and refreshing. Perfect end of our meal here. Overall, the food was exceptional and of high quality. I appreciated their unique dishes with bold flavors that will definitely keep me coming back. The ambiance is super fun and it's in an area with plenty to do so it's perfect for a date night. They have a killer wine selection as well. If I had to rate this as a seafood place alone, there are other restaurants which I think do a stronger job with their seafood (for example Tomiño Taverna Gallega, Penny, or Smithereens), but the quality of the whole spread in general was very impressive and the vibe is just really fun here. Definitely give them a try if you ever get a chance!

I've heard a lot of good things about Bridges lately and decided to finally check them out. It took…read moreover my old Chinatown favorite, Hop Shing, who literally had the best pork buns in Chinatown. I'm definitely sad about that, but glad that something great took their place. We started with the sardines which paired perfectly with the Meyer lemons. We then went into the Comte tart, tuna belly, and Alfonsino. The tart is one of the things they're known for and for good reason. You only get a slice, but I can easily polish off the entire pie. Both the tuna and Alfonsino were also delicious. Finally we finished off our savories with the sausage and duck. The duck is a huge portion and perfectly cooked. The only comment would be that the eggplant was slightly undercooked but everything else was perfect. For dessert we had the melon sorbet and the Vin jaune gelato. One was refreshing and one was boozy. Both delicious. Our server was very attentive and friendly. We had a great time and I see why they've been getting such good press. I'm glad we finally tried it out. Oh, their cocktails are quite good as well.

I'll be short. Go anywhere else…read more The service was unfriendly and unhelpful. The food was funky and foul. The staff forgot to bring our drinks to the table when we ordered them at the bar (standing) after arriving for our reservation on time. Our waitress disappeared during our meal and we had to get the manager for our check. Not to mention she didn't replace our utensils from the appetizers with new, clean ones. My friend and I had to check multiple times online to make sure we were at the right place. "It can't be this bad, right?" Oh, it can.

We came here for an early dinner on Sunday for my birthday and it was wonderful…read more First, the space is gorgeous and feels a bit like a lovely little retreat, with wide open doors that showcase the beautiful west village streetscape. The service was perfection. Both friendly and elegant, it felt both like they were well-trained in service AND were interested in creating an enjoyable experience. The food was fabulous, but the portion sizes are very hard to grok based on the menu! We ended up with butter & olive oil, the cured meats plate, and the gildas to start, along with a cocktail each. Each bite was unique and delicious--the briny-ness of the gildas contrasted the richness of the meats quite well! After that, we had the egg/shrimp/potato dish which was simply out of this world. He warned us about the chili pepper, so we had him set it on the side, but honestly it would've been lovely mixed in--wasn't THAT spicy. ;) The potatoes are the best I've had, full stop. The eggs were jammy and gave the whole thing an incredible sauce. The shrimp were plump and flavorful, and the garlic and parsley on them was punchy like I think it should be. Every bite was a delight. The only issue was that this dish is HUGE. We didn't quite realize that (the server did say she could warn us which were larger dishes, but I thought she meant she WOULD warn us, whereas I think she meant if we asked she would ;)), so we ate about 1/3 of it between the two of us and then she kindly offered to box it up for us (which she did, returning it at the end of the meal and assuring us it's quite delicious the next day, so we'll have it for leftovers--and we're both excited at this prospect!). But we couldn't just eat it all if we were going to eat the main dish--the filet with potatoes. [At this point, I got a glass of wine recommended by the server, which was fabulous...but it was also $33, and I felt a little tricked to be recommended that wine without being told the price for a glass. Not that it was bad--frankly, I probably would have gone with the reco knowing the price. But it felt funny/tricky to be recommended that with no cost context.] The steak was perfection. And it came with more potatoes. Honestly, the saddest moment was not having enough room in my stomach to eat all the potatoes. I literally could come here and just order a stack of potatoes and a martini--which I just might do on my next visit, grabbing a seat at the bar. The music was a little odd...but whatever, it was 5:30 on a Sunday. :) Overall, a wonderful experience and I look forward to returning!

The food here was disappointing, and the service was also subpar. We had one sweet server who was…read moreattentive and helped us cancel two dishes, but the other two servers' attitudes felt very distant. One even talked back to me when we asked them to hurry, after we had waited 50 minutes and had only been served a fist-sized salad. The sanitation was also not ideal, as there were flies and spiders. Food-wise, we ordered five dishes and sent two of them back. The flavors were flat throughout the meal. The asparagus salad tasted raw. The suckling lamb was unevenly salted--some parts were too salty, while others were okay. The huevos fritos were fine, but they didn't live up to their reputation as the signature dish. The cod fish and croquetas were the dishes we ended up keeping. All of our tip was for the server who provided more attentive service and helped us with the returns.

Had dinner with my son and John was phenomenal. He made excellent dinner recommendations and the…read moredrinks were made to perfection. First time in a LONG time I didn't have to suffer through my libations or ask for it to be remade. I'd highly recommend Seahorse. Reservations available through Open Table. Ask for John!

I reunited with my high school friends for dinner inside the W Hotel. The restaurant was situated…read moreon the lobby of the hotel. This restaurant is part of same group as Lure Fishbar. We were seated in the corner booth and celebrated my friend's birthday. It was supposed to be two additional birthdays, but both celebrants were sick. We started off with cocktails: my friends had Belvedere with diet coke, espresso martini and Soapbox social. We enjoyed them. For the appetizer we shared the Farmstead Ricotta with radicchio. Portion was small. The ricotta was divided into 3 pieces. It was pretty good. For the entrees we ordered the Roasted monkfish, roasted duck and steak with butter. Everyone loved the entrees. You cannot go wrong ordering the monkfish, duck or steak. For dessert we shared the baked Alaska which was served tableside. There was no dessert menu because it changes on a daily basis. My friend got a complementary dessert for her birthday. Service was on point. They were patient and accommodating for a birthday celebration. The only issue I had was there was 1 bathroom stall inside the restaurant, which was always occupied. There were more bathrooms on the 2nd floor where I believe the Living Room Lounge was located. Food, service and ambiance was great, no complaints at all. My friend picked this restaurant for Instagram worthy photos but personally I was not impressed as it did not wow me.

The a la carte restaurant has very little seating, but that perfectly enhances the mood of the…read morerestaurant (I'm guessing the other side is for the tasting menu). I dined here with my mom for the Thanksgiving weekend holiday. Since she isn't a heavy eater, I wanted to look for a place that was quiet, had modest sized plates, and strong flavors to back it up. Unfortunately, I wasn't wowed by any of the dishes, but I honestly loved the atmosphere of the establishment. Our starter appetizer was the Duck Confit and Pear Ravioli. Admittedly, I did not taste any pear, so I'm unsure of its impact on the dish. The meat is respectfully spiced and the sauce was on the light side. But overall, three pieces was nice a starter. The Black Cod is extremely light, and is served on top of Asian style pickled cucumbers. This dish was definitely the weakest out of everything that I ordered tonight. The Wagyu Teriyaki Burger was actually pretty good. The burger was super juicy and fatty. The chips were also not too oily. But I would prefer the best dish in a fine dining restaurant to not be a burger. To balance everything out, we got the Koshihikari Rice and Shio Cabbage. The Shio Cabbage was pretty light, which is actually good this time. In a casual or Izakaya setting, I would definitely prefer a much saltier one. The rice wasn't anything special, which was quite discerning for it being $8. As per dessert, we got the Matcha Tiramisu and Seasonal Sando. The Seasonal Sando is cute I guess? I had no impact in our meal and was definitely passable. The Matcha Tiramisu on the other hand, was spectacular. I love that it's all cream and no cake, allowing me to fully enjoy the creamy, sweet custard. I wish there was more Matcha infused into the Tiramisu because it would've definitely elevated the dessert. The overall flavors of the dishes were a bit lacking. However I definitely would come back because I really loved the atmosphere. I think the Japanese-French fusion goes hand in hand because they are both elegant cuisines and can lean towards smaller portions.

Yummy French food with a unique Japanese twist. Black cod reminded me of Nobu's! Surprisingly the…read morestar of the show was the Magdalena cocktail!! Def give it a try. Small cute space, but I will say I felt the meal was rather rushed. Server came by collecting our plates very quickly

After two years Claudette has reopened and it is terrific. The culinary focus is on Provence and…read morethe food is delicious. The service is excellent and the room is beautiful. The cocktails and wine list are good too. Glad to have Claudette back, truly new and improved.

Service was very good, however they ran out of bread which I wanted to use for the sauce at the end…read moreof the meal. I noticed that another reviewer mentioned that they also ran out of bread. A French restaurant without bread being served is like a Chinese restaurant not having rice. Why?

A seafood centric restaurant? That's what Dame is. This has been on my list for ages and finally…read moresnagged a res to check it out. The resto itself is pretty tiny - probably why reservations are so hard to come by. As for the food, lots of seafood options. 1. The oysters were good albeit very rich 2. Sourdough was actually great especially with their cultured butter 3. Squid skewers were probably my fave. Perfectly cooked. That green sauce is herby springy and zingy. 4. Cucumber salad was pretty good. I liked the smoked mussels 5. Tuna was also good not much to say about it 6. Kedgeree was... just alright. I could have skipped this tbh. The rice had a bit of bite to it which I actually kinda liked. My friends thought it felt undercooked. It's basically just like rice soaked in a light curry 7. Sticky toffee / date pudding: I was excited for this since I've heard all about how Dame makes a banging one but this kinda fell short for me. The vanilla bean (sour) cream didn't really do it. Sour cream with a sweet dessert? I suppose it was to cut the sweetness but hmm... I've had much better sticky dates elsewhere Service was good. Overall a good restaurant especially if you love seafood. Probably not worth all the effort to get a res. But good nonetheless, would come back if it was a lot easier.

A Yelp search for 'Best Fish & Chips in NYC' brought me to Dame. After a long work week, nothing…read moresounded better than this comfort classic. I made a reservation for a Monday evening around 8pm. Even at this time, reservations were scarce. It's not a very large restaurant so I highly recommend making a reservation in advance. I ordered the Sourdough Bread & Butter, and the Squid & Scallion Skewers to start. The bread was crispy and tasty; a solid sourdough, but wasn't anything overly unique. The skewers were herbaceous and light. The green sauce was super flavorful - especially when dipped into by that sourdough. For my main I ordered the Fish & Chips (of course). Were they extremely good? YES. Were they the best Fish & Chips I've ever eaten? No, however this accolade belongs to an actual Chippy I ate at in the UK. As far as 'restaurant' Fish & Chips go however - these are the probably the best I've eaten. The fish was expertly fried and super crispy. The chips were thick cut and well-salted. My only complaint is there wasn't more of them. An extra handful of chips and you wouldn't see the bottom of the plate in photos - just sayin! For dessert I got the Sticky Toffee Pudding. Now this WAS the best Sticky Toffee Pudding I've ever had. Extremely flavorful. Extremely sweet. Would be perfect for two to share. As a solo diner, it was pushing my sweet tooth to eat the entire thing. But naturally, I did. The service was great. Super personable and attentive. I was seated at the counter overlooking the kitchen. Watching the chefs prepare every dish was fascinating and entertaining to watch. Definitely recommend this place!

We had an amazing meal at Smithereens and are not surprised it made the NYTimes list of best…read morerestaurants. The skewers were superb and we ordered them twice because of how much we loved them after finishing the first plate. The space itself is in the basement and can imagine it would be a great first date spot. I also thought the counter seating looked interesting and would be perfect for a solo or duo diner party. Their take on a martini was also fun.

Highly coveted table seating here which means it's time to make reservations at 10am two weeks in…read moreadvance! One of my friends have been dying to eat here and on busy times were turned away even for 1 person. When we sat down we did see on a Thursday night two walk in seatings at the bar. Even though we had a table the seats were very low and it is underground so you do feel like you're sort of eating in a chic industrial cave which is a cool vibe. All the dishes are almost seafood tapas style, they're known for fish. The prices are quite pricey for the size of the dishes and the waitress does warn you about the sizing and she was actually kind of spot on with the dishes so I recommend taking her word if you need to eat a regular amount. I also recommend taking her opinion highly into consideration as we discovered a dish we wouldn't have ordered normally! We ordered a few things from the anadame bread to the famous lobster roll, bluefin tuna, abalone skewers and the black cod. All were very delicious. The bread was absolutely FIRE it was so soft and the butter is seaweed but so light it added a perfect touch. The bluefin tuna was next and it was good but didn't wow me that much but it was a good share dish. We had the abalone skewers and this was the absolute gem that the waitress recommended us and I do think about these the next day as they were very tasty from how they cooked it and the partially cooked egg yolk was perfect spread on the abalone. Very inventive and I loved this one the most. The famous lobster roll was great! But it tasted like any great lobster roll from Maine! The flavors were slightly lighter and more fresh so I enjoyed it with the pickle. The black cod was great as well and I really wanted it since it had maitake mushrooms which I love! I highly recommend! Would I come here on a date? Definitely. The vibes are so good and perfect for being close to each other. In terms of sharing food with friends it is quite hard to share and almost feel like very small plates so I would actually get more than what I ordered amongst three people. We ordered these five dishes and two rounds of drinks (one wine and one cocktail) and it came out to around $300 total. It was a splurge but very tasteful kind of splurge. I definitely will be back for those abalone skewers but I definitely want to try what the waitress recommended us next time (rice, Neptune style buckwheat pancake and the fried whiting!)