Restaurant Review: My lunch at The Breslin Bar and Dining Room

Everyone knows I am a self-professed “foodie” who loves checking out the newest restaurants, out of the way coffee bars, and best gourmet markets. During my 20’s and early 30’s, I was practically a walking Zagat guide): always up to date on which chef was cooking where and the go to source for my friends and family for the perfect suggestion of where to dine.

And then it happened. I had two kids and all that changed. Well, sort of.

Part of my job is taking editors out to eat at some of the most fabulous places in town. But, these days I’m also on the lookout for great, kid-friendly spots to introduce (hopefully convert) my kids to the joys of fine dining. When the two converge, it’s a huge personal victory. But, usually they don’t. Which brings me to my recent editor lunch at The Breslin Bar and Dining Room.

The Breslin Bar and Dining Room, which opened in mid-October, is located in the Ace Hotel at 20 West 29^th Street. They don’t take reservations, which already was a red flag for me. With or without kids, I hate to wait for a table. To avoid the lunchtime crowds, we arrived at 12:15pm. Although the place was at least half empty, they wouldn’t let us sit down. They said it would be a few minutes and did we want to wait in the bar area? Well, it would have been fine to wait there, except there was not just one but two photo shoots going on, so we ended up standing in the corner until our table was ready. Now, if I had been there with my kids, we’d already be out the door and looking for the nearest Cosi or pizza place.

We finally sat down about seven minutes later, and overall, it was worth the wait. The room is very welcoming, with an old-fashioned, speak-easy vibe that I really liked. The menu is short, but well edited, though I wasn’t sure why three items out of twenty-three had Anchovy dressing. (Second red flag – no kid under the age of 8 likes anything with anchovies). I was also bummed because the one dish I was really looking forward to trying, Pork Scratchings, wasn’t available that day. My oven baked three-cheese sandwich with house-smoked ham and pickles was delicious, though not “life-altering” as my dining companion had promised. She had the Char grilled beef tongue sandwich with lentil soup. She raved about the beef, but I declined a bite, and opted to try her soup, which was fantastic. We also shared (though I ate most of it) the roasted pumpkin with pomegranates. The portions are extremely generous, so neither of us had room for dessert.

Overall, it was a fun (in a grown up kind of way) place to go for a hearty winter lunch. But, would I go back with my kids? Probably not.