Saturday night, after hours of reclaiming our apartment from the Christmas decorations and clutter, Bo and I decided we deserved a date night reward. However, deciding at 7pm on a Saturday night that you want to go out to dinner in New York City isn’t the easiest thing. Even the lowest rated restaurants seem to be packed on this night of the week when anyone and everyone in New York City seems to dine out. There is even a weekly post dedicated to restaurants with last minute Saturday night availability each week!

It’s pretty incredible and insane at the same time. Therefore, last night as we paged through the New York Magazine’s recent restaurant edition, where Adam Platt proclaims his favorite 101 New York restaurants, we figured we had no chance in hell squeezing into one last minute.

Lucky for us, we were wrong!

Just down the block from our apartment sits the 5th restaurant on his list, Craft. Last night, they were able to graciously offer us to the last two seats at their beautiful bar, next to the plating area.

The atmosphere at Craft was sophisticated but not stuffy. It struck the perfect balance between being a serious and sophisticated space without reaching the level of a coat and tie restaurant. I especially loved the leather layered wall which brought a warm brown hue to the restaurant. In addition, adding to the atmosphere and experience, every waiter, hostess, and bartender we encountered was beyond friendly and very helpful.

When enjoying dinner at their bar, the bartender also serves as your waiter. Luckily last night our waiter and bartender for the evening was very knowledgeable about the menu and his service was impeccable, in line with what you would expect of a restaurant of this caliber. He never hovered but was still attentive and served everything in a timely manner.

Upon sitting down we were quickly greeted by their bread basket. Very basic in nature, the hunks of wheat and white bread and salted butter were delicious.

The kitchen presented us with an amuse bouche, a cauliflower soup with a truffle oil drizzle.

The soup was rich and creamy so the small portion was the perfect amount. In fact, the people next to us requested that this soup be made into an appetizer portion after seeing ours. I have no idea how they ate such a large portion.

Whenever we go to restaurants, we each often order items which we rarely cook at home. The appetizer menu featured two items we rarely conquer: artichokes and quail.

The artichoke and fennel salad was simple but delicious, cooked tender and drizzled in olive oil and fennel seed, paired with peppers and tomatoes.

Bo’s quail with aged balsamic was perfectly crispy on the outside but tender on the inside and seasoned perfectly. Though we were only one course through our meal, the appetizers stood out as they ensured that Tom Colicchio carries his mantra from Top Chef, “season your food” to his restaurants through the food.  Even the simplest of foods were seasoned perfectly and each flavor lasted on our tongue.

Choosing an entree from the Craft menu is an arduous task as they provide way too many options. Twelve options across both meat and fish left us both clueless as everything sounded delicious. Therefore, we trusted our waiter with our entree. We asked him what the most popular fish and meat dishes were. After his description of the steelhead trout with lemon and the guinea hen and black truffles we knew we couldn’t go wrong.

The trout, cooked rare, resembled salmon more than trout when first presented. I was a bit hesitant as I wasn’t sure I’d like trout this way but after one bite I was convinced and confused. The lemon and caper flavor was perfect for the meaty trout. While it was delicious, it reminded me a bit too much of capers and lox to order again.

Bo’s guinea fowl on the other hand was rich and delicious with a nice pan jus. The dark meat was more like duck confit but with more gamey taste. According to the waiter this is one of the dishes that has made Craft so famous. In addition to these two entrees, we enjoyed the hen of the woods mushrooms and brussels sprouts on the side. I would go back tomorrow for those mushrooms alone if I could.  They were sautéed in garlic and butter and then quickly seared to a light crisp under a broiler. After seeing desserts plated all evening, there was no way we could pass up an evening treat. We couldn’t decide between the donuts, which are the house specialty, and their delicious arrays of sorbets so decided to indulge and order both. Much to our waist line’s appreciation we also agreed that we would not eat all of the dessert. We each limited ourselves to one spoonful of sorbet and one (or two) donuts. This worked out perfectly, and while it wasn’t the price conscious choice, it left us full but not sick. 

The sugar and spice donuts are homemade and delicious but didn’t stand out in my mind. Many restaurants have donuts on their menu and these were nothing special. In addition, the dark chocolate and the lemon curd dips were just too strong for the sweet, delicate donuts.

The surprising winner was the sorbet and ice cream. We chose three flavors: earl grey, coconut, and roasted pear. Our favorite was the coconut sorbet and our least favorite was the way too strong earl grey.  Whether you’re visiting New York City or are a long time local, I highly recommend snagging a table at Craft for your next special evening. Their seven course tasting menu, priced at $120 per person, would make the perfect evening with a special group of friends or loved one!

I am already looking for an excuse to return to Craft Restaurant!