Peck’s Arcade

Thanks to Unilocal we stumbled into Peck’s Arcade on the day of their return from successfully winning the Eater Young Guns 2016 award:
!!! What a night it turned out to be. From the moment we were greeted at their establishment to the time we slowly strolled away full it was fantastic! The people are outstanding. The food is incredible. Together they make an evening into an event. Vic’s philosophy of enjoying small flavour packed morsels one after another after another can’t be argued. Wine pairing suggested by Quang had us nosing, tasting, enjoying and discussing for much of the evening. Not a bottle, but two simple, fabulous glasses of smells and flavours. Wow this is just a pure delight! Share if you dare — but don’t pass this place by. Whether it is for a shared light appy and an exceptional wine or, as we managed, a full night of flavours and fun. Congrats to Vic and Heather and their incredible staff!

Food and service is A1, number one restaurant/​dining experience in the capital region.

Steve N. told me that this is his favorite restaurant in the area, and that I need to try it out. Based on that statement alone, I decided that I need to give this establishment a shot. It took a few months of planning, as it is a bit of a drive from our house, but we called, made reservations, and arrived 30 minutes early. Luca’s confectionairy was closed for a wedding reception, so we made our way up to the bar. The bar keeper and his trainee were above and beyond what I have experienced in Albany; the technical competence, willingness to experiment, and available items, was impressive. My wife had the American Beauty and Pisco Sour, while I had a Whiskey Sour. The presentation and taste of all three was top notch. We then made our way down to our table, under the care of Quan. We decided to go with the four small tasting plates, as everything on the menu looked quite good, and we had a hard time narrowing it down. We had the mushrooms, cucumber salad, octopus, and soft shell crab. The restaurant also gave all patrons a complementary plate of roasted beets. For dessert we had the tahini chocolate cake and brown butter mousse. The taste, texture, and presentation of every dish was a step above anything I’ve experienced in Albany. While not quite on the same level as some of the top restauraunts I’ve been in Manhattan, the price was also considerably less.

Fine dining meets lively Big City atmosphere. Peck’s Arcade will have you wishing for more of these gems around the Capital Region. From excellent food to great friendly service and a unique upbeat atmosphere, this industrial-​styled eatery provides the best qualities one looks for in a restaurant. Diners are handed a modest one page menu and for good reason — they will be tempted to order every dish. Peck’s captures the exciting personality of its owners and will surely prove to be a staple in the Tri-​City area.

I have been here a few times now and it’s always an amazing meal. Lots of flavor a that sound «interesting?» But taste incredible. The menu changes up a lot. I like going with a group and sharing plates. Portions are small so order a bunch. Huge wine selection and on Saturday nights, the owner spins records. Great ambience. Must go!

Amazing food worthy of all its accolades in the friendliest atmosphere I have ever dined in. We had made reservations and when we showed up we were greeted like long-​lost family. We were shown to «the best table», a long table by the chef, and were also welcomed by any staff we walked by. The hostess asked if we were from the area and when we told her we were visiting RPI as our son would be starting there in the fall, she squealed with delight and gave him a high-​five. She shared that with the staff and at least three people came over to congratulate him.
Now for the food — Apparently the menu changes often but we started with Patatas Brava (excellent potatoes in red sauce with a fried egg and chiles) and a wonderful asparagus dish. My entrée was the special duck breast. It was sliced thin and on top of a roasted carrot purée that added a bit of sweetness and something called «eggplant ash» that gave it a slight smoky-​campfire aftertaste. Caramelized carrots and a cool chopped greens «salad» on the plate took it to the next level. One of the best meals I ever had. My son had the farro and mushroom bowl, that had creamy farro with a brown gravy sauce with mushrooms over it. My son said it was fantastic. My husband had the homemade spinach gnocchi which he loved and said it was the first time you could taste the fresh spinach.
We were too full for dessert, but then our waiter came out with a plate with a warm fresh-​baked date cake with a whipped cream cheese topping — and best of all — the word «Congratulations» written in chocolate on the plate. It was the happiest I’ve seen my son since the whole stressful college-​search time started. We managed to eat the entire thing in about 2 minutes.
Between the historic «old warehouse» setting, the sincerely friendly staff and amazing food Peck’s Arcade is worthy of your most special occasion, but with entrée prices between $ 12 -$ 20 you also don’t have to wait for a special occasion.

Our experience at Peck’s Arcade was tremendous. The atmosphere, the menu, and the music were all equally delightful. It is a fantastic place to go for a special occasion, as my wallet couldn’t handle coming here on a regular basis. Having said that, you absolutely get what you pay for. We will absolutely be back to this gem of a restaurant in Troy.

Lots of good reviews already, but probably fewer written from the vegan perspective.
Last night was our first visit. The reservation process is slick. Easy and hitch free.
Gave a call a day before to make sure they have food for vegans, and to ask whether a heads up call is necessary or helpful. The manager said no need and referred to the place as a «vegan’s paradise.»
Arrived early to give time to enjoy a drink upstairs. The place is pure Vic and Heather. So cool, but in a new way.
Two bartenders were sweet and skilled. I enjoyed a New Brooklyn and Lacey enjoyed a Strange Predilections. Mine came with a «because we care» ice ball. Always a good sign. Lacey’s had fresh thyme. I’d recommend both. Just finished our drinks and the table was ready. Downstairs for dinner!
Vic was DJing and really crushing it. Like he was reading our minds or borrowing our old records. That was fun. Loud, but it worked as part of the whole package – hella festive.
The waitress had been informed we were vegan. Nice touch. We asked her if she’d be willing to order for us so that we could just relax. Hunting around omni menus is not the way I want to spend time when going out to relax. Fun to be taken care of. She was on board and nailed it.
Three small plates came out. Two to start, then one after that. Timed perfectly. They were obviously keeping an eye on us and letting us set the pace. First up were a kale salad with turnips and nuts in a beautifully balanced dressing and celery root shaved into four thin pancakes with a rich smoke treatment. The third was roasted beets. All were mind blowing. As in better than Millennium (swank San Francisco vegan joint). After the small plates, we were delighted to get a big shared bowl of pasta. Tons of parsley and love. Honestly the best bowl of pasta I’ve had in my life.
We were offered more, but were perfectly sated. Good to know they had more tricks up their sleeve. Almost none of what we got was on the menu so don’t pass on this joint because the menu looks bereft of vegan chow. They just make it happen without missing a beat.
Didn’t have dessert for vegans but we didn’t expect it. That said, If I were them, I’d make (or order from Lagusta) some rad chocolates to offer as a small sweet ending. Or if I wasn’t driving I’d have had a second cocktail. Next time.
Prices were fair. I was expecting to pay much more. I wouldn’t be able to go weekly but we won’t be saving it for special occasions either. It’s too good to wait.
There isn’t a place in the capital district that takes care of us better. Three cheers for Peck’s Arcade!

SMOKED CELERY ROOT CARPACCIO… masterpiece.
Awe-​inspiring experience… each dish crafted and executed with love. The meals offered here rival any ideal that your feeble fantasy can conjure. The staff is wise and educated to help you navigate the culinary channels previously uncharted.
The stark challenge foreseeable for Pecks will be meeting the demand of the enlightened.
You will regret all the time wasted not eating here and you can’t get it it back.

We had such a wonderful experience at Peck’s. The atmosphere is perfect. Really intimate, low lighting. Sort of an upscale, urban, reclaimed building feel.
We ordered two small plates, two main dishes and one dessert. It was the right amount of food for two people.
My favorite dish was our dessert. I don’t remember the name, but it was date cake with goat cheese mousse and apples. The goat cheese was fluffy and thick. It felt more like frosting. It was served on the side of the date cake, so you could choose how much you wanted. The date cake was granular and sweet.
My second favorite dish was the patatas bravas — crispy potatoes with fried egg and aioli.
There wasn’t a weak part to the meal — everything was delicious. However, if I went back again I think I’d just order small plates since they were a good size and that way I could try more menu items.
Pecks is so good, it could easily be pretentious, but it is the furthest thing from that. Everyone we spoke with was friendly and knowledgeable about the restaurant and menu items. I can’t wait to go back for another meal.

To say I’ve eaten at Peck’s quite a bit might be a bit of an understatement. In reality I’m probably approaching 100 meals I’ve eaten there. So I guess if there were to be one review of Peck’s that has decent weight to it. Its probably mine. But you can’t review a place on Unilocal 100 times. Only once.
Over the past several months I’ve been consumed with a research project that uses up most of my evening hours. Where most people might hole away in a basement or lab and schlep away in solitude, early on I decided to risk bringing a laptop with me to read a paper on Carbon Nanotubes. To be forthright I didn’t think I’d really be too welcomed… When asking Heather at the host stand, I was assured with a warm optimistic «Of course!». (As though bringing a laptop to Peck’s is completely reasonable… Its not. Enjoy the surroundings. Its a great place.) My first night went great. I’d never enjoyed reading the riveting work of an RPI Researcher more… Truly. So I figured. Okay. First meal was good. Studying went well. We can try it again. And again. aaaand again… And eventually, if you saw someone blindly staring down a brightly lit laptop screen at Peck’s, it most likely was me…
I’ve had everything on the menu. I’ve been seen by all the servers. All the food is great. The service is exemplary. But you’ll see that in other reviews. But to eat at one place week after week and NEVER have a bad meal? Kind of a freakish scenario. But looking closer, its truly a place where the best people in the restaurant industry have come together and are happy to be doing what they’re doing every night of their working lives. And because of that? They get it right. Every night.
And of course there’s the other aspect. I get to be a fly on the wall and hear all the exuberant compliments first time visitors would give Vic shaking his hand on their way out.
Peck’s became a place I wanted to go to eat for every occasion. Study mode and researching
Peck’s. Visitors up from NY that want the best spot to eat? Peck’s. Taking a new hire out for dinner? Peck’s. And thats the real genius of whats been created…
In a world where people want to do whatever on their own time, Peck’s works as a fantastic, «never fails» eatery. Its a perfect example of how Casual Fine Dining is supposed to work and what it should look like. It accommodates all approaches while exceeding pretty much all expectations. You can’t beat that. In any industry. Frankly, it doesn’t even really matter if you like fine dining. Go to Peck’s to see this place that has been created in downtown Troy.

When we were up in the area visiting my wife’s family for Thanksgiving, we stopped in to try the food. The building itself is a really cool historic structure that used to be an inn:
The place was full — even the wine bar next door that is under the same ownership.
We had a great bar style seat that was overlooking the small but extremely organized and efficient kitchen staff:
The cocktail menu is really dynamic, with old fashioned shit like the Pisco Sour, as well as new recipes like the Hibiscus Negroni.
Pisco Sour and a Red Scare” are pictured below. Both were really tasty and well made.
We started out with several small plates. First was the octopus with hummus and roasted red pepper:
The char was excellent on this. The tentacle itself was expertly cleaned to be void of any chewy skin but the suction cups remained for a great crispy texture. It was soft and light.
Next was the bowl of wild mushrooms:
This might have been my favorite of the night. The mushrooms were simply but properly done with brown butter and coarse salt.
Next we tried a crostini with sardine. This was really flavorful and smoky, with a great savory punch to it.
The last of the small plates we tried were these fire roasted local carrots with dill, yogurt sauce, spicy smoked pepper paste and brown butter crackers:
Next we tried a pair of house-​made pasta dishes. The first was the pillow soft gnocchi with a nice classic tomato and basil sauce:
The star, though, was the thick chitarra pasta that was served with broccoli rabe, a mild cheese sauce and some grated egg yolk.
It brought out the inner goombah in me so much that I started loading up my fork with twirling motions against a spoon, like my grandfather used to do:
For dessert we tried this really tasty smores panna cotta that came with chocolate cake, burnt sea salted marshmallow and homemade graham crackers.
Some cookies came with the bill as well. These also had a hint of salt in them, just like the dessert, which made the chocolate in both items really pop on the taste buds.
If you happen to be in the Albany/​Troy area, definitely give this place a try. Everything on the menu looked so good, and with a seasonal menu that changes often, it will always offer something unique and different with each visit.

I’ve now been to Peck’s three times. They say the third time is the charm. After three visits, Peck’s is as charming as ever.
We sat at the «Chef’s Counter» (I think that’s what they call it). Anyway, you’re practically sitting in the kitchen and you get to interact with the cooks as they work their magic. Peck’s cooks definitely have a lot of magic going on. It was a blast to chat with them, and watch them cook our food.
I ordered the Clam Chowder. Most restaurants make their soup ahead of time, and it sits in a vat and degrades as the day goes on. Peck’s makes each bowl of clam chowder to order. I know, I witnessed it. I watched them make it for me, and it’s freaking delicious. They top the soup with a small filet of cod. That piece of cod was so tender, so perfectly cooked, it literally melted in my mouth.
My wife got the pumpkin risotto. I make risotto at home all the time. Peck’s risotto puts me to shame. I have a lot to learn. This risotto was so creamy, so perfectly al dente, my wife and I marveled at how delicious it was.
We were given a complimentary dish, «Scallops Crudo». I believe it was a take on ceviche. Several very thinly sliced pieces of raw scallops, dehydrated cauliflower, citrus, and more that I don’t remember. It was fantastic.
After three visits, each of which I’ve had multiple dishes that were delicious, and some of which were amazing, I continue to be convinced that Peck’s may be the best restaurant in the Capital Region.

One of the best restaurant experiences I’ve ever had.
Let me start with the service. We decided to come here on a whim since we were having wine at the owner’s other location Lucas Confectionary. My husband and I are not local and my mother said that she had heard good things about this other «vegetarian tapas» restaurant. My husband walked over around 8:15 pm and asked if they had any seating available (on a Saturday night). The very kind and accommodating hostess replied that they were booked but happened to have a cancellation and if we didn’t mind sitting facing the kitchen (aka watch the cooks make our food, so fun!) then we could sit in five minutes. We decided to go for it. When we sat down our waiter, Bruce (who is typically the bartender) explained that we would have a culinary experience. Throughout the night he made recommendations and explained to us about how everyone has their roles at this restaurant but will take on different roles as needed (a sign of a good restaurant). When we got our desserts at the end of the night the pastry chef’s assistant gave us our desserts which we thought was great to talk to him too!
Onto the food. Bruce recommended the mushrooms and the beets. Bruce actually ordered us some of the mushrooms on the house. I also ordered them since I love mushrooms but didn’t realize it until we received two plates of them. Since this place clearly knows hospitality they gave us another small plate to try on the house. We had the shishitos, beets and the gnocchi. Everything was delicious. The portions were perfect for 3 people to share and have a good taste of each dish. My husband does not eat mushrooms and he said it was his favorite dish. It was definitely mine. We were shocked that there was no meat in it. It really was flavorful and so unique. The beets were savory with a nice crunch from the pistachios. The shishitos were cooked perfectly and paired with bits of tuna an charred sea salt which gave it such a unique flavor too. Now the gnocchi was surprisingly delicious with a lot of flavor too. The sauce was homemade and had a sweet flavor to it. Everything was amazing.
Then we had dessert. We had three choices: the olive oil cake paired with bostock ice cream, the brownie paired with vanilla ice cream and the corn panna cotta. We couldn’t just choose one so we decided to try them all. The olive oil cake was so moist and was gluten free. The corn panna cotta Tasted like a light blueberry cheese cake and the brownie was incredible too.
The ambiance of this place is great. Dark and trendy with a rustic vibe. The attention to detail is spot on here. There are vinyl records behind the bar which we were told the owner DJ’s with the records himself some nights. The music was really fun. Motown was playing most of the night. The prices are worth it for the experience you get here. They also have a cocktail bar upstairs that we were able to try too. That was simple and not really noteworthy except that they do happy hour until 7 even on Saturdays. We had an awesome experience here and already look forward to the next time we are in town so we can eat here again!

I was split on giving this a 4 or 5 and really they should just have the top review because I want this place to stay good.
There was a bit of a wait on Saturday night, I had called for a reservation but nobody picked up. Not a big deal.
Had the layered potatoes, duck, peaches, octopus, and bluefish. All dishes cooked right in front of you at the kitchen bar. The ingredients are simple and fresh. The drinks were good. I judge a bar by the way the make a sidecar and this place is just fine. A very solid bar.
The dish that really stood out to me was the duck. It was so rare and perfect in the middle. It is hard to even order that sometimes at a high end place and these guys serve like that normally, what a treat. The service was fast considering it was packed.
My only suggestion to people is that this place will be a bit on the expensive side and you should expect that in a restaurant that is this type so read the menu before coming, and the bar is above you so it can be very loud especially with the exposed brick. It is a fun place but not a candle light intimate dinner place. It is more of a noisy tappas place and that is what they want to be it seems. There is nothing bad about it, but just know what you are getting into. Though there were times where just could hear the waitress.
Clientele is all over the place in age. At the same time that the young students were out, there were people in their 50s and older which is nice to know it is not just hipster.
I will be back. It is a great for a night out in Troy. I hope they keep pushing more of that block to be walk-​able at night.

I’m going to start out right up front by stating I’m looking for a reason to not give Peck’s Arcade the highest possible rating. With that said, I will also state up front that I enjoyed my meal.
Our party of four arrived about 5 minutes before our assigned reservation and we were promptly seated. The tables are relatively close together, but not quite so close that your chair bumps into someone behind you when you need to get up. Also, not so close that you can hear the conversations of neighboring tables because the music is playing so loud that you can barely hear the person in your own party sitting across from you.
The music is good for the «baby boomers» I’ll have you know, because if you can’t come up with either the title of the song or the artist, the DJ posts the album cover next to his turntable. Fortunately, our table seemed to be the only one that was having those senior moments so no one else kept approaching the DJ or his album covers which were conveniently located three feet from our table.
The DJ is adjacent to a very small bar that seats four guests. There are seven house inspired cocktails ($ 10), eight craft beers only in bottles ($ 4-​$ 17), six each of white and red wines and a lonely rose by the glass ($ 9-​$ 15), and two sparkling wines by the glass ($ 11-​$ 13). I cannot personally speak to the wines other than to say that three in our party had five different wines during dinner and I heard no complaints. As for the beer, these are not your typical craft beers that you find in the local bar with 30 taps or your local brewery’s tasting room. I had a Black Boar Imperial Oatmeal Stout from the White Hag Irish Brewing company. It was excellent! To give you a feel for the other choices of brew that were offered, the menu included selections from Narragansett, Two Roads, Jack’s Abby, Almanac, Prairie Artisan Ales, Crooked Stave, and Anchorage/​Jolly Pumpkin.
In the back of the restaurant there is a chef’s counter that seats 5 and allows you to oversee the kitchen staff as they prepare the orders for the customers.
The servers are very knowledgeable about the menu and can easily explain away any questions you may present to them about it. It’s a brief menu, 10 small plates ($ 8-​$ 16), three pasta entrées ($ 14-​$ 17), four main entrées ($ 14-​$ 26), and a Seafood Tower for parties of 3 or 4 ($ 175 requires 24 hours advance notice). There are plenty of vegetarian dishes to be had. The night we were there only two of the small plates had meat, one of the pastas, and one of the mains.
While the menu is brief, it is not simple. Each dish is a complex combination of ingredients, textures, and flavors requiring painstaking effort in the kitchen. The small plates that were ordered at our table are excellent examples.
Shishitos — delicious little peppers with tuna conserva, cured yolk, and smoked salt;
23 Layer Potato — very thin layers of potato combined with gruyère frico, salsa verde, and merlot jam;
Wild Mushrooms — a blend of wild mushrooms, fregola, charred scallions, and hazelnuts.
Grilled Peaches — peaches with whipped ricotta, walnuts, and coppa.
I don’t know if it was because one in our party was celebrating a combination bon voyage and upcoming birthday, but the kitchen sent an additional complimentary small plate, Beets with preserved lemon, crème fraîche, and pistachio. Each one of these preparations was delicious, but the ones that we agreed were outstanding and would consider ordering again were the Shishitos, the Wild Mushrooms, and the Grilled Peaches.
As we moved on to our entrées, our water glasses were repeatedly topped off as needed. Two of us lamb lovers ordered the Tagliatella with lamb Bolognese, peas and ricotta. It had nice house made pasta, but the lamb was a bit overpowering. The Striped Bass came across as salty and fishy in the initial taste, but all subsequent mouthfuls, even with the pancetta, succotash, and tomato were fine and tasty. It was, however, brought to our table several minutes after the other three dishes were served. The Duck was, by unanimous consent, the favorite of the entrées ordered. The slices of duck breast were nice and rare, served with some chow-​chow, frisée, and hazelnuts.
All the dishes served were carefully and artistically plated. The prices charged were reasonable for the portions served, and an exceptional value considering the thoughtfulness and creativity that was involved in developing each dish. However, while most every dish varied in a degree of goodness, none had that really WOW factor. In spite of that, we decided to continue our search with dessert.
(This review is too long for me to cover our dessert reactions and our visit to the upstairs bar. I’ll have to add that section at later date.)

Get in here.
Part of me waited a long time to try out Peck’s Arcade because I just wasn’t sure if it could live up to the hype. But there is so much this place gets right that a recent weeknight dinner here was one of the more inspiring things I’ve encountered for a long time.
That’s not to say everything was perfect. But Peck’s isn’t trying to be Per Se, so I can look past the thickness of the pasta on the housemade tortellini, because the flavors were so so remarkably good.
I felt like I had to try the potato, given all the attention it has received on Unilocal and elsewhere. But in the future, I’ll skip it for some more high flying acts of culinary creativity.
It’s hard to make choices on the menu. Not because the menu is impossibly long. It isn’t. In fact, it’s gloriously short. And it read like an ode to summer. Tomatoes, corn, shishito peppers, watermelon, peaches, and eggplant were all represented. It’s hard to make choices because even with the limited menu, there are so many appealing options.
To get the most out of the menu, my wife and I opted for a variety of small plates.
Preparations sound simple, but the flavors are remarkably complex. Like those beets. Holy cow, those were amazing. It turns out the secret is that they are braised in citrus and chili peppers, before they are seared in a blazing hot pan and accompanied by bright and colorful elements that accentuate their beet-​ness.
It would have been fantastic if our small plates came out of the kitchen a bit more staggered. It would have slowed down the pace of our meal, and extended out pleasure. So next time, should we take this same approach, we’ll ask to start with two small plates and have the remaining two follow.
There was a fifth plate too. We were sitting at the kitchen bar and the chefs also made a small bonus plate for us of stracciatella, tomatoes, and ‘Nduja which was wonderful in its contrasts of flavors and textures.
Perhaps the hardest part was not ordering another round of small plates from the kitchen so that we could save room for dessert. It was well worth the sacrifice for the olive oil cake with oatmeal ice cream. The plate was like an ode to grain, and it was a great way to end our meal.
Which, with cocktails tax and tip came to under $ 100 for the two of us. Perhaps the greatest compliment of them all is that my wife, who is even fussier about food than I am, is looking forward to returning for another meal.
Bravo to the entire team. You’ve earned another fan.
P. S. Don’t forget to make reservations well in advance. Even if you want dinner at 6pm on a Wednesday. Seriously. Who would have thought that in Troy you would need a ressie for a weekday early bird. Clearly, the word is out.

This place is a yes place. Definitely a yes place. Ordered the 23 layer potato, the beets and the mushrooms (which by the way we’re the most scrumptious fungi my husband has claimed to have consumed) accompanied with the lamb bolognese entrée. Everything was a yes dish. Would I go back again? Yes. Would I have double orders of everything and then pack the leftovers and eat them guiltlessly for the next day’s lunch? Yes.
We ordered dessert too. How could we not?

We came here on a dark stormy night, literally– there was a tornado watch in Albany. My friend literally risked her life in her 2 seater sports car to make it and lived to tell the tale… She said it was completely worth it! Where to start…
Atmosphere– superb. Love the tunes on vinyl 70s, 80s… Do we need to keep going? Bonus: the actual vinyl cover is displayed while each song plays for our convenience… Genius. The venue is very warehouse-​chic which makes for the perfect boho-​hipster fusion.
The wine– I had 2 different reds, both were exquisite. I had the Gamay Noir– sweet, smooth perfect starter. Then I moved on to the Grenache, Syrah and something else blend– full bodied but smooth, just how I like my reds.
The food, I could go on forever, but I won’t I’ll highlight some «musts» and then let the Pics speak for themselves. This was probably my 5^th time here and I came for a girl’s night so we ordered a good majority of the small plates and 1 main dish. We had the RedHawk cheese, the wild mushrooms, the beets and the octopus and for our main dish we had the blue fish. Everything was delicious but my personal faves were the beets, the mushrooms and the blue fish. I would get the beets and the mushrooms every time (please don’t change these). As for the blue fish, this is served grilled with a perfectly cooked egg on top and bok choy. The bok choy– wow!, Perfectly cooked and paired exquisitely with the blue fish and egg!
I had the duck last time I was here and well, duck can be difficult because it has to be cooked just right… and it was.
At Peck’s you’ll get an all around unparalleled experience and delicious meal complete with REO speed wagon, Sade and Madonna (#luckystar!) on vinyl… Blast from the past.

To fully enjoy Peck’s Arcade, you need to be in the right mindset, and that mindset is that you are there to have a fun dining experience. How could you not have fun at a place called Peck’s Arcade? Peck’s is all I ever wanted out of a «special occasion» restaurant — delicious food, quality ingredients, nice atmosphere, and great service — but without the stuffiness and the seriousness sometimes attached to «fine dining» establishments.
Knowing the great experiences I’ve had at Lucas Confectionery, I booked Peck’s to celebrate a special day with my other half. Not expecting anything out of it (except maybe a nicer table), I mentioned our reason for celebrating in our reservation. After starting with a glass of wine at Lucas, our waitress lead the way through the «garden» at Lucas, through the Grocery (where I later stopped to check in on my favorite cheese — not available, but placed on the waiting list), and to the host stand at Peck’s.
We were about five minutes early, our table was not ready, but we were offered spots at the chef’s bar. On an ordinary day, I would have happily jumped on this experience, but since we were there to celebrate our relationship, we decided to wait for a table to make conversation a little easier.
We were guided upstairs to the bar. A young bartender sauntered over, popped a bottle of champagne, and offered us each a glass, saying that he heard «an attractive young couple was celebrating their anniversary with us tonight.» (That earned them a star right off the bat). After five or so minutes of watching the two bartenders craft some labor-​intensive cocktails, we were led to our table.
Almost immediately, a bubbly burst of positive energy came our way. His name was Christoph/​Kristoff (…I think that was his name… it was a little loud from the dj) and he was our wonderful waiter. So genuinely friendly and encouraging, he complimented my proper pronunciation of the wine and affirmed that my choice of the 23-​layer potato was definitely a good one. And it was. Yes, a little small for the price ($ 9), but the richness made me (a little) glad that it was not too much larger. That Merlot jam, what a great pairing!
For our main dishes, I got the Harissa lamb with smoked carrots ($ 24) and he got the ricotta gnocchi ($ 14). Before our entrée dishes could arrive, Christoph brought us (complimentary) the grilled asparagus topped with a fried egg. I need to come clean, though. Before this night, I had never eaten a fried egg. Never. Something about the runny yolk made me uneasy. But because it was free, and because Christoph brought it to me — and I trusted Christoph (and already had champagne and a glass of wine) — I put aside my food quirks and tried it. Can’t say I am a runny egg convert, but this simple dish ($ 9) was really good! A great first fried egg experience, for sure.
But the lamb. Oh, the lamb. Two or three good size slices and a couple of lamb sausages. The Harissa was flavorful but (surprisingly) not spicy. I would eat their Harissa purée ontop of pizza if I could (oh, take note Peck’s). It was the sausage that truly stood out… so salty, so tasty. Wish I had a plate-​full (or handful) of those sausages right now! The smoked carrots were so hearty and flavorful that it took me several bites to realize I was eating carrots.
The gnocchi was also fantastic. Definitely enough for an entrée (if you order an appetizer). So light, so airy, so flavorful, but not so heavy. Delicious pillows, as they should be.
We were too stuffed for dessert, but Christoph, undoubtedly sensing my secret desire to stuff myself further, brought us their (complimentary) chèvre cheesecake, sweetly decorated to say happy anniversary. It was so, so good — more tangy and smoother than even the creamiest cream cheese-​based cheesecake I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. It’d be worth a visit to Peck’s just for this cheesecake.
Ultimately, I can see why some other reviewers might have been thrown by the prices or the loud dj. I think these diners had not fully educated themselves for what kind of experience Peck’s has to offer. If you come with the right mindset and knowledge of what Peck’s is about, you’ll have a great time. The dishes are a little pricy and you probably won’t take home leftovers, but each carefully-​crafted bite is well worth it. And yes, the DJ is a little too loud, and at times I found myself shouting, but he was fun! (I often caught him dancing a bit with the bartender). If you come here knowing that you’ll get higher quality and delicious food for just a few more dollars, fantastic service, and a fun, whimsical evening, I can’t imagine you’ll be disappointed. Thanks for a really great night, Peck’s! See you soon!