Yankee season is winding down, which means Shannon’s reservation-pulling season is winding down with it. She got us into Gramercy Tavern, a place I genuinely have not been to in years. I mean years years. Wild that it took this long. I wanted to know if it still held up.
Walking in, the call to nature runs through the whole space, artwork and greenery everywhere, and it still has that packed but chill energy I remembered. There’s a wood fire scent in the air, not overpowering, just enough that you know most of what’s coming out of that kitchen has a char on it somewhere. We started with the standard martini order, because some rituals don’t get a vote. Great as always. Vodka, olive juice, a little dirty, the usual negotiation with my own liver.
The Flatbread Wins Before the Meal Really Starts
We opened with the grilled flatbread, three different dipping sauces on the side. I couldn’t tell you all three off the top of my head, there was a chimichurri and something like a hummus in there, but the cauliflower chipotle was the standout and it wasn’t close. Every dip was a genuinely different direction, not the lazy three-sauce trio you get everywhere else. I’d order this again on the strength of that one dip alone, and honestly I’d fight someone over the last piece.
Carpaccio, Corn Soup, and a Cavatelli Twist
The beef carpaccio came next, horseradish, lemon, golden squash, and it was the kind of refreshing that actually tasted like something instead of just being cold and thin. Full flavor, no notes.
Joey ordered the chilled corn soup, which sounds like a strange call in late summer until you watch someone finish the whole bowl without looking up once. He enjoyed it. Little guy had his fun, and I respect the commitment to a soup nobody else at the table wanted.
We also added the ricotta cavatelli to the appetizer round, and the tomatoes on it hit that very specific late-summer flavor, the kind you only get for a few weeks a year. Great addition, and yes, I’m aware “hot plate” is doing some heavy lifting as a joke given what happened next.
Here’s My Actual Complaint
The grilled sea bass and the brick press chicken came out next, and this is where the meal hit a wall. The food was cold. Not lukewarm, cold, to the point where we were joking that the spoons coming out of the dish room were warmer than the entrees. Flavor-wise nothing was wrong, it just wasn’t dialed in temperature-wise, and when you’re paying Gramercy Tavern prices, I want my food hot. That’s not a big ask. I’ve had leftovers out of my own fridge with more urgency behind them.
The Tavern Burger
The only entree that came out actually hot was the tavern burger, which, fittingly, wasn’t the dish I remembered being the standout here years ago Still a great burger but wasn’t as mind blowing as the first time. Funny how that works. You never step in the same river twice, and apparently you never order the same tavern twice either.
Dessert Recovered Some Ground
Dessert brought things back. We got the corn sundae, blueberries, cornbread, caramel, which was fine, solid, did the job even if I expected something a little more surprising out of it. The peach upside down cake was the more interesting plate of the two, genuinely tasty, and if I’m rotating desserts next time that’s the one leading the charge.
The Working Theory, and the Wine Thing
Our best guess on the cold food is that the kitchen fired everything at once but forgot the cavatelli was supposed to go out as an appetizer. It got sent out first anyway, so the rest of the table sat waiting under heat lamps while that one dish finished. The burger’s probably safe from that problem just because they run through so many of them that nothing sits long enough to go cold. Not exactly a defense, but it tracks. Feels like a burger factory shift-changed mid-service and nobody told the fish.
One more thing that bugged me. When Shannon ordered another glass of wine, they poured it into the same glass that still had a third of the previous pour in it, then charged full price for the new glass anyway. Not a huge deal in isolation. Just not a great look on a check that size, and not exactly the kind of math I want done at my table.
Final Verdict
Overall a really good meal that would have been a great one with hot food. The bones are there, the reason this place has been a classic for years is obvious even on an off night, and I’m coming back to give it a fair second shot. Mistakes happen on a packed Friday. Shannon, thank you for finally getting us in the door again, I needed the nudge.
As always, what do I know? I am just a fat guy from Brooklyn trying to survive the week, one martini at a time. Looking for more NYC restaurant reviews? Check out my Best Steakhouses in NYC, Best Burgers in NYC, and Best Restaurants in NYC lists.
I need to visit asap.