Aska

Could be the best restaurant in the United States right now. Have eaten at some of the best of these «Nordic» style restaurants in the U.S. (as well as a variety of «pop-​up restaurants here), Scandinavia and Paris, and Aska is better than most and on par with the best. Price is extremely modest, service excellent and the wine choices outstanding. Highly recommend the smaller tasting menu on week-​nights. Small portions so not a question of volume, just that the larger menu on Weekends simply takes too long. Been going there every time I go to New York (which is 3 or 4 times a year) and the menu constantly changes with the seasons and is only getting better each time I go. Can’t wait to see what this young chef does in the future.

Wow– probably the best meal of my life.
If you’re the sort of person that can justify spending hundreds of dollars on a meal (to eat some of the best food in the world) try this place.
I’m going to do all the big tasting menus in NYC. I’ve done Momofuku Ko, WD-​50 & Brushstroke, I think this place has them beat.

I’m writing this review as someone who has been to Aska three times, and have some understanding of Scandinavian cuisine (have been to Noma, Radio, etc.).
Some reviewers who gave 2 – 3 stars probably never tried Scandinavian food before, so the lack of context hurts the experience a bit. However, Aska is indeed a good place to start the experience, so for someone who never tried Scandinavian food, you should go and expect something utterly different from the world of Per Se, etc.
The ideas at Aska are very Danish — lots of seafood, lots of herbs/​veggies/​unconventional plants, and lots of root vegetables. In fact, my favorite dishes last night were sunchokes with mushrooms, dill with oaks, and rutabaga with fish roe sauce. The dry aged rib eye was very nice as well. In the mean time, I can imagine that some dishes would rub people in the wrong way, namely the squab (came with half of a head and a foot so it may be too graphic for you) and the dessert dish that has spruce (it tasted foresty in a nice and refreshing way but it was bitter, so if you are used to very sweet dessert, you will be shocked).
One thing I really like about this place is that it doesn’t stuff you. I love Per Se but each meal made me feel that I was going to explode. So if you prefer leaving a restaurant feeling really full, Aska is not for you.
My one star of deduction are from two aspects:
1. The execution is not as precise (as far as flavor goes) as some of the restaurants with the same price tag. One example is the Elm a few blocks away. Paul Liebrandt made sure that his dishes were perfectly executed, and Aska seems to be 90% to 95% accurate, but not quite 100%.
2. Attention to details. They ask you for allergies and special requests when they email you to confirm reservations. They also ask you for allergies and special requests right after you sit down. I mentioned my requests in both occasions, but it was completely ignored (and I had to send a dish back). This rarely happened to me when I dine in other fine restaurants. To bring the restaurant experience to the next level, the team will have to step up their attention to details.

First of all, I want to say that I don’t think that 3 stars is a bad rating. It’s average, so just keep that in mind.
It’s a small, intimate restaurant with really friendly staff. Everything they are doing here is really aiming to please. We got the wine pairings as well. One strange thing that I actually liked was that they sat the both of us on the same side and you basically are looking across the restaurant at the people dining on the other side of the room. It made the experience feel intimate and romantic. The lighting is nice too.
I could not get enough of the bread and the giant cracker! Both were delicious and the butter was especially yummy. All the food was good and all the wine pairings were great (except for the beaujolais which I just don’t like). The dishes were mostly vegetable and seafood focused.
My one complaint is that I felt like I ate some many things and nothing at all. I am not a big person and I definitely left a little hungry still. For the price, I would expect one larger dish. The one slightly larger dish that was served was borderline too salty as well.
All in all, my experience was ok. The presentation of the food was pretty and felt organic– it wasn’t trying too hard. However, for the price, I really do think that people should be getting more food. My two cents.

I cringe when I say this but, I would rather have gone to McDonalds or anywhere else for that matter (GASP). I’m sure when people read this they will probably think I know nothing about food and the art of culinary experiences and so forth but trust me when I say I have been to numerous restaurants of high caliber (Eleven Madison Park, Le Bernardin, Craft, Blue Ribbon, Charlie Bird, Morimoto, Per Se…) and know when a restaurant is worth it, I do. The food/​experience at Aska is just OK.
The actual presentation of the food was beautiful and one of the most interesting but other than that I did not understand the hype. My brother is a huge foodie and food blogger and agreed with me that the food and experience did not reach his expectations. Although Aska was VERY creative and served me a meal I never would have imagined, I would not go back.
I came here with my family of 4 sometime in November and we spend at least 150−200/person. The experience was not worth the price. It’s hard to put a price tag on an experience so I am not even blaming my rating on how much my parents generously spent but the actual food was not even delicious. 1 of the entrees was good at most.
My dad had the drink pairing which was great because we all we able to have a try. The sommelier was very nice, attentive and of course knowledgable but that was probably the best of the dinner. (This place may be better just to grab drinks!!)
I would not recommend this if you are looking to try something new, cool and delicious. The ambiance is not that great either. There are plenty of other incredible restaurants in the city to explore that are better than Aska :(

Overall, as far as tasting menus go, Aska is probably the most casual one I’ve been to in NYC. Highlight dishes for me were the duck hearts, hake fish, and guinea hen. The guinea hen, the final savory course of the evening, was really phenomenal — perfectly tender and juicy with the right amount of seasoning. And yes, the cracker flat bread with homemade butter was absurd. As were the desserts, but alas, I don’t quite remember what they were.
We got the 7 course dinner with drink pairings which is highly recommended. If you’re already spending the money at a place like this, you need to get the pairings. They’re creative — beer, different types of wines, etc, and it makes the meal all the more enjoyable.
My main gripe was that it was uncomfortably hot in the dining area. And, the servers would sometimes just mumble what we were eating so it was hard to know, with clarity, what we were eating. Lastly, I would have liked to have seen a final menu of what I had eaten, which is fairly typical for restaurants like this.
With that said, Aska has a great, affordable, and delicious tasting menu. Highly recommended if you feel like splurging in Brooklyn.

Amazing. Definitely top 10 meals of my life.
Had read great things and with my husband being Swedish and no scandinavian
Pp restaurants to be had in Toronto we were super stoked.
Had the 7 course tasting $ 79 with drink pairings which was a great price at $ 50 pp which included really interesting wine, cider and a cocktail.
What was even better was the 7 course was really closer to 10 – 11 after you throw in all the snacks.
Standouts were:
— bread /​flat bread with homemade butter: yes you think — how exciting can this be? Was amazing. Best I’ve had. We we’re offers more and couldn’t say no
— sunchokes: fantastic broth
— Cornish hen: omg
— Milk with spruce: first question I asked — how did the chef even dream this up? One of the most interesting (and tasty!) desserts I’ve had.
Service was impeccable — really personable, knew the food and pairings amazingly well. And one would think this is a given — but I’ve been to a lot of nice restaurants where the service has been sorely lacking but this was the exact opposite.
Would love to go back as soon as I can. Definitely will be my new #1 recco for anyone heading to NY.

Best of what Williamsburg has to offer.
Fantastic totally original food. The tasting menu was to die for– flavor combinations like I’ve never seen before!
Make sure to book early — and come early now before everyone discovers how awesome this place is!
Easily my favorite place in Williamsburg right now!

On a recent swing through Denmark, Sweden and Finland, I was surprised at how strong the dialogue has become between New Nordic and Brooklyn cuisine. At its most base level, this means popping into restaurants called Brooklyn or Café Brooklyn in Stockholm, Helsingborg or Copenhagen.
Deeper connections are found at Aska, the first permeant restaurant inside the Kinfolk Studios. Here the clean lines, emphasis on foraged ingredients and hospitality to guest mix with the informality and locally-​sourced ingredients that have swept Kings County over the last ten years.
Both cuisines have a unfussy sophistication that at its best equates to a high-​quality dining experience without airs.
I recently spent several hours in the front half of the restaurant, eating my way through the bar menu while sipping on cocktails. The crown jewel of Aska are the tasting menus in the back, but I’m happy that a fair amount of effort has been placed on the pop-​in dinners who don’t have the time and/​or money for a three-​figure dining experience.
A comparison between the online menus and the current ones being served show rotation in the eight or so dishes on offer. I’m sad I wasn’t able to try the meatballs or cucumber soup, but a shirt steak and the roast carrots were nice substitute. My primary dish was two «Swedish hot dogs,» a delightfully messy dish that rested on a flat bread and mashed potatoes, with dill, cucumber, mustard and ketchup mixing with the skinny sausage. This is the most elevated and substantial $ 6 bar food in the City.
The highlight of the evening were our encounters with the Danish mixologist who mixed stories about the names of the dish — «this is the old Swedish name for York, from Viking times» — to banter about her preparations — she served us a generous gratis portion of the homemade mead that goes into one drink after we asked about its origin — and general humor.
It’s a near flawless combination, the new peanut butter and jelly of cuisines.

Aska is a small nook in the back of a long space — tucked away behind a long bar. Its a minimal space, but comfortable. Courses are served on stoneware crockery glazed a soft grey-​green — a perfect backdrop to food simply presented but bursting with flavours and textures that surprise and delight.
The 7 course tasting menu at 65 $ is really great value. We did the wine pairing too — which was well worth it. For a total of $ 140 each, including tax and tip — we spent an exciting 2 hours, savouring each wonderful course.
Our server — a lovely lady from Germany, I believe — was incredibly welcoming, and clearly excited by both the food and the wine. She made us feel excited about it too!
The menu will change so I’m not going to linger on too many details — but the highlights for me were — the skate in a light, sweetly sour broth, with spring onions — the baby calamari in a decadent buttery sauce with radishes, and the dessert with verbena froth, raspberries and a brioche icecream. The skate and the pear cider were an amazing match — as was the Colombard with baby calamari.
One of the most unusual, taste-​bud rousing experiences I’ve had all year. Highly recommended — but you should come prepared to try anything — from pigs blood, to sweetbreads to duckhearts to lichen!

I am definitely not an expert in Scandanavian cuisine, the only understanding I had as a child was regularly watching a PBS show called New Scandavian Cooking with Andreas Viestad and then later with Tina Nordström. From that TV show, it seemed new Scandinavian cuisine took local ingredients (elk, deer, cloud berries etc.) and applied Spanish, French, and German cooking techniques. Aska also has this pan-​European influence, sprinkled with some molecular gastronomy. I found the dish with hay-​infused milk to be interesting, and since I am a pescatarian, they substituted a fish dish which was pretty good. That said, all the other 5 courses (7-​course Sunday tasting) were completely adequate, and I felt at times under seasoned. Not sure if that was intentional, but I know what taste good to me, and for me a lot of the flavors were too bland or subtle. In short, I wasn’t wowed by the taste, however the plating was beautiful, but nothing that I haven’t seen at other high-​end restaurants. In terms of value in terms of the amount food, 7 courses for ~$ 80 is a good deal, but I left slightly unsatisfied from the experience, and that’s what counts for me. The others in my party who had the pork and whelk also thought it was just A-​OK.
I did hear and see a lot of Swedes and Norwegians there, so maybe it is a good place to dine, maybe I just don’t prefer Scandinavian food. Kudos for the Chef for coming out to explain half of the courses to us and the wait staff was very attentive.

1 word:
GO!
(OK maybe more words… but i guess i can’t explain… it’s like your brooklyn blue hill stone barns? or your french laundry in brooklyn? but in a [sorry i’m gonna say it] Hipster way… because of the atmosphere & attire)
SERVICE IS INCREDIBLE… these guys are so well organized & knowledgeable, on time, well posied, friendly, eloquent, etc…)
loved the 3hr experience & the pig blood fritter that felt like a bursting jelly doughnut…
i get it: when you see the cute little round fritter your brain say «cute/​yum» and 1 second later they present it as «pig’s blood» your brain says «oooh interesting»
my buddies objected to eating it… so i had doubled and it was like a savory jelly dougnut fritter…
it’s a small quaint restaurant with maybe 8 tables?!
total of 16 dishes (including the amsue bouche & the ending cookie) for $ 115pp excluding drinks… it’s a steal!
the desserts and the crispy sugary rose petals… ugh… ok. i gotta go there again…

We found this place seeking respite from the bk heat yesterday just planning on a couple drinks at the bar. (Their Michelada was awesome). The couples of drinks turned into a 7 course tasting menu after we overheard the bartender mention it.
WOW. Great, random sunday night find.
I’ve never been tempted to eat sweetbreads before and I did last night. A pike dish with fresh peas was one of my favorites. The rest of the tasting was wonderful too. Everything was super fresh, beautifully prepared and presented. The space is very contemporary and the service was about as wonderful as the food. Definitely recommend!

Okay folks, this is my first 5-​star review for a New York restaurant. I know, I’m as surprised as you are, but Aska in North Williamsburg truly swept me off my feet. They deserve it.
With no further ado:
One does not go to Aska for the ambience (although it is fine, or even better than fine). One does not go there for the cocktails. One doesn’t even go for the service (again, perfectly satisfactory). One certainly does not go to Aska for a quick bite.
One goes to Aska for flawlessly prepared food that is simultaneously experimental (think wd50) and elevated (think Gwynnett St), yet still could & should be considered true comfort food. I mean that quite literally… The food was truly comforting, just as cookies fresh from the oven or your grandmother’s lasagna might be.
Allow me to provide a few examples. Our second course in the weeknight tasting menu was roasted beets. Sounds simple enough, but the process by which the master kitchen staff had prepared the fine specimens had them looking like charred hunks of red meat when they arrived at our table. I’m not suggesting the course was a meat substitute (I don’t think anything is), but the beets with egg yolk and piercing pickled onion were so warming, so lovely, we had to keep our jaws from hitting the floor, if only to chew properly.
Next came the sunchokes with ever so finely sliced pork trotter and apple. This dish took two relatively exotic ingredients (certainly on the pig’s feet, and at least for the home cook on the sunchoke, even if it is working toward ubiquity in Brooklyn these days) and used a method and a third overly familiar ingredient that made the dish ultimately quite approachable and delicious.
All of our food was delicious. Oyster, scallops, monkfish, and a wonderful pork-​two-​ways entrée to finish.
The kitchen staff hand-​delivering your courses? A nice touch. The marvelous hostess who will kindly check your coat and take care of you and even remember you the next time you come in? Very much appreciated. The sommelier who is as knowledgeable about craft beers from the Pacific Northwest as he is about vintage Burgundy wines? Extremely helpful.
But none of those things will bring me back to Aska time and time again — the five-​star cuisine that is designed with both balance and creativity like I’ve never seen before and then executed perfectly, now that surely will.

Aska, né Frej, is the pensive new occupant of Kinfolk Studios and creation of Fredrik Berselius, Swedish wunderkind formerly of Corton. When M and I arrived one Sunday in March, I imagined we were to be met with a Scandinavian tour de force, bleakness that would drive one or both of us to nihilism. Instead, we encountered a disarmingly friendly waitstaff, an airy but intimate space, and most surprisingly, a strangely jocund kitchen. The sole superficial element of somberness and austerity that night was the Audubon reprint gracing the rear wall. Given his history, John James Audubon likely would have enjoyed dining in Aska, as Chef Berselius has a preternatural ability to create hauntingly lucubratory dishes from utterly sublime ingredients. Take for instance the amuse with which M and I were presented immediately following our seating: a simple rendition of cheese and crackers. No soup derivative steaming away in some test tube, nor was it a sliver of fish bedecked with some herb of the moment, nestled into its twee porcelain spoon. But the smoked cheese, molasses cracker, and hidden dollop of trout roe was both playfully clever and an enjoyable piquing of one’s palate. It was an amuse which was no mere afterthought, but set the tone for the dishes ahead.
However, given that we were unsure of how long said dishes would take, we decided to try the bread. Someone who conflates imaginary wealth with presumptuous taste commented that the anise in the bread was off-​putting, but I found the subtle licorice-​like flavor to be a nice compliment to the minimally sweet buttercream. The anise also had the unanticipated benefit of pairing well with the first beer of the beverage pairing, a smoked brown ale called Higgs Boson, which was fittingly part Norwegian and part American. (A beverage pairing, it must be noted, which was exemplary, aside from the housemade beet wine.) As the lingering whiskey and dark grain notes faded, we were presented with our first true dish, a plate of pickled vegetables served in a cream and dill sauce, lightly cooked. The variety of pickling was impressive, and each profile meshed well with both the sauce and the other flavors and textures. The next vegetable course was even better, a roasted half of parsnip served with a brown butter and molasses spread. The majority of the charred portion had been removed, leaving only what smoke had permeated the parsnip behind, augmenting its earthy, dulcet tones. The snack course that followed, a dried segment of goat heart with young sour cream, was about as pleasant as it sounded. The dried heart was even tougher than I expected it to be, and tasted of something between blood and rust. M’s fried shrimp fared much better, a crunchy yet succulent mouthful of salinity and sweetness. The following snack was the replacement of the universally reviled pig’s blood cracker, a blood pudding wedge filled with bits of fatback and topped with sea buckthorn berries, and it was entirely edible, marking a vast improvement over its predecessor. The sour berries and salty fatback helped with the blood pudding, but not enough, as the pudding was still too much blood relative to the other components. The next four courses, however, more than made up for the lackluster snacks. The pheasant, in its multitude of parts and preparations, was both delicious and thoughtful, the fried and roasted sunchoke balancing both the viscosity of the egg and heartiness of the dark meat. The bone marrow, broken oats, and rapeseed oil — my favorite dish of the night — was deceptively simple, the elements so skillfully portioned that each flavor was truly in each bite. The Mangalitsa pork belly drizzled with beet jus looked macabre, but tasted divine, the winter spinach vibrant beyond its season. The sweetbreads were crispy and tender, and the accompanying ramp provided a peppery finish. Unfortunately, the anchovy and dill meringue served amidst the true courses was devoid of anything but anchovy, making it hard to drink. The dry aged beef did not possess the funk I was hoping for, and was a bit on the dense side, though the dried beef stock and burnt potatoes were quite good.
Desserts were also hit and miss. The apple purée with baked oats and slightly condensed milk was the closest the meal came to offering a comfort, sweet and pleasant. The whey and buttermilk ice cream was a success as well, mostly due to its hazelnut caramel sauce. The egg yolk cured in rose hip was just that; the paltry smattering of dough did nothing to douse the discomfiting sensation of eating raw egg, nor did the mound of raw sugar help render it more palatable. But in the end, Aska seems to exist to challenge one’s palate, and the reflections over well-​executed dishes last far longer than musings on the failures. Just don’t call it Swedish extropianism.

Had the ten course tasting menu (plus a few extras they threw in)… there were some great dishes, a few decent ones, one horrible one, and two so-​so ones. The horrible one actually wasn’t one of the official ten — it was an additional sample that they decided to give to us and we wish they didn’t (raw egg yolk wrapped in a saw-​dust flavored, starchy, stick-​to-​your-​teeth textured material, all sitting on a pile of sugar (looks sort of like mochi — if you see it, don’t eat it! Truly awful.)… I think they called it «egg yolk rosehip»).
The great ones were:
1. milk cooked with hay, vegetables, and herbs (They pour warm milk over everything and it is just delicious!)
2. parsnip and brown butter (They whip up the brown butter… my friend said it tasted like warm ice cream)
3. mangalitsa pork and beet (drizzled with beet sauce)
4. apple and cream (dessert — they pour the cream over the apples and crumbs)
5. caramel and ice cream from mesost hazelnut (dessert)
6. oats and shadroe, egg yolk and dill (the «carbs» of the meal… they recommend that you mix all of it together, and it was delicious!)
7. pheasant, sunchoke and lovage, and pheasant liver (the foie gras was tasty!)
The a-​ok ones were:
1. whelk and seaweed (cool presentation tho! looks like something you picked up off the beach/​rocky coves; also, the scallop chips that came with the dish were very tasty.)
2. beef hung for 3 months, burnt potatoes, garlic mustard (the mustard leaves were the best thing about this dish)
The so-​so ones were:
1. blood pudding from beef
2. dried goat’s heart (tasted like dried squid to me, with an iron aftertaste).
Rounds out to be about a-​ok overall. I think seven of the dishes were great, but the one horrible one unfortunately left a very strong impression on me.
The experience was unique — with many of the dishes, one of the chefs (including the head chef several times!) would come with the server to pour the sauce/​gravy/​milk over your dish and explain what it was and at times, how it is best eaten. They have a very personal approach here, which made the experience very memorable.
The cocktails are very alcoholic but for me, they were a good combination with the rich food we were eating!

My 300^th review! It seems only appropriate to rate one of the best dining experiences I had recently.
My boyfriend first heard about Aska through NY Magazine and when he saw an available spot on Sunday night — he snatched it. He must be a trend setter because weeks later the NYTimes came out with a review of Aska.
The dining room is quite small, making the dining experience intimate and romantic. Aska only does a 7 course tasting menu on Sunday and Tues-​Thursday at a reasonable price for $ 65.
We had the:
— Oyster with cucumber and rapeseed —
— Whole herring grilled with potato and juniper — I wish there was more herring mmm
— Sunchoke with trotter and apple — The apple gives it such a great texture and taste
— Roots in a soup base with egg yolk and winter leaves — probably the best in my opinion so complex and satisfying on a wintery night
— Monkfish with cabbage and bay leaf
— Pork with rutabaga and hay
— Dessert: Cardamom with brown butter and hazelnut — Delicious… i was happy by boyfriend doesn’t like nuts… so I got to eat his.
In addition to these courses, there were small tastings to cleanse your palate or getting your senses reved up!
Overall, a great addition and looking to come back to try a different tasting course when the season changes.

Oh Aska how I love you. How many ways can I love one restaurant really? I mean really, this place blew my mind.
Lots of people have described the menu in detail, so I won’t bother doing that. I will tell you however, that in terms of modern and innovative cuisine this place sets the bar very high. The chef came out to our table several times, and we appreciated his attention to detail as well as his interest in our enjoyment of his creations.
The salsify blew Nelly’s mind, while the rutabaga in all its forms wowed me. I couldn’t get over the monkfish while others loved the pork. The pork belly was not for me, but the dessert, with cardamom ice cream, hazelnuts and brown butter cream was to DIE for. Ok I lied, I did enumerate the menu.
The drinks were incredible, and strong, which only served to enhance the whole evening. Chris was so gracious, and invited us ALL to dinner, but the price tag was acceptable by all means.
We will be back, as the seasons change so will the food. I totally loved the concept, the execution, the service and the creativity. Bravo Aska!

Let me start out by saying this: Aska is not a restaurant you bring your parents to. The modern Scandinavian cooking bears no resemblance to the ligonberry, smoked salmon and herring platters you think of as «traditional Scandinavian.» In fact, much of it bears little resemblance to things you think of as «food.» Instead, it follows a trendy cooking style known as «foraging» (set by Copenhagen-​based Noma) which essentially means «let’s find some stuff in a forest that no one is cooking with and serve it to people.» So you find ingredients like purslane (a weed), lichen and autumn leaves. Aska is about the adventure of eating unusual food that’s good more than eating something downright delicious. But for those who are up for the adventure, a very enjoyable evening awaits.
While you might not know what «modern Scandinavian food is, the space is probably exactly what you would imagine as «Modern Scandinavian. An airy two-​story loft with plenty of wood and a mural of birds soaring against a white (and thus presumably freezing) backdrop on the wall. It serves as a coffeeshop and studio by day and formerly hosted Frej, a similar themed restaurant by the same chef. We opted for the $ 65 tasting menu since hey, it’s not like you know what you’re ordering anyway (it’s offered Sunday-​Thursday nights only).
The meal started at the bar where which whips up some dynamite (and not too weird) cocktails you’ll want to get your hand on. While seated there, we received four bar snacks including delicacies like dried pigs blood and fish skin chips with some more traditional caraway seed bread throw in to settle the stomach. From there, we were lead to a table in the back where the six-​course tasting officially commenced. While the dishes were hit or miss, they definitely had an earthy quality that reminded you something had been «foraged» and brought on your plate. The presentations were all also quite impressive. For $ 65, it’s an necessary and affordable foodie excursion.
My thoughts on some of the dishes:
Dried Pig’s Blood: It comes in chip form with a single berry cleanse the bitterness off the palate.
Brocolli: A head of broccoli comes upside down in an oyster emulsion. Probably the least weird thing we ate. Plus you get to eat it with your hands, which is always fun.
Shrimp, dill, rapeseed oil: One of the lighter, more refreshing dishes with a strong herbaceous quality.
Salsify: Maybe the most ununusal dish on the menu as it includes both lichen and forest leaves. You’ve probably never tasted anything like it, not that you particularly needed to.
Pork Shank: By the time this came I was ready for some meat and the salty porky flavor contrasted perfectly with sweeter beet and apple.

3.5 Stars at best.
After a much anticipation and hype, I was able to finally secure a reservation here. I missed out on Frej but I did not want to miss out on this one. I lived in Scandinavia for half a year, so don’t tell me Scandinavian food is this bland. Uninspiring? Absolutely… just like traditional Scandinavian food… but generally I didn’t get the vibe that this is Scandinavian except for the origin of one of the guys who is behind this concept. Through most of the main courses, there was a boring «grilled protein+hints of lemon with some accompanying greens» theme. There were also occasionally some whole potatoes with skins still attached, which brought back memories of my Swedish roommate who cooked and ate salmon and whole potatoes EVERY night. Was this food ethereal? Nope. The overpowering smokiness of the grilled proteins just led me to regret coming out to Brooklyn on such a cold night. The best part was the plating which reminded me a little bit of Gwynett St and Atera and the service. There were so many people rolling by our table asking how we liked each dish.
Food (requested pork and sweetbreads (yuck!) to be left out):
Caraway bread with homemade butter cream — I wish there was something added to the butter. I did not like the anise on top of the bread but it was nicely sweet inside and salty (sea salt on top).
Canapés: Pike skin — tastes like pork rinds; Molasses cookie with some mousse — meh; Dried scallop — good/​creative
(Grilled) Scallops with sea urchin, onions and dill — I would have liked it better if the scallops were cooked a little less, but overall this was one of the better dishes. I also hate dill.
Lobster with potatoes and dill with foam — foam was a bit too salty and the lobster was slightly overcooked but overall an OK dish.
Malpec oysters with cucumber and mustard leaf — you had to eat this with your fingers. The cucumber was a nice compliment to the oyster but the leaf was a headscratcher except to provide a «shell» that was hard to pick up
(Grilled) Squid with rutabaga — bland for my liking. Bland on bland on bland food. Can someone please pass some salt and pepper by now? Sriracha would have been great too.
(Grilled) Pike with carrots and anchovies — the grilled fish was meh but the carrots were good
Beef cheeks with potatoes — kind of too fatty for me
Frozen cheese with oat crackers — decent but surprisingly cold on my teeth
Cardamom ice cream with hazelnuts — bland again so I just picked out the hazelnuts. Why keep devouring empty calories?