New York City: The Breslin (November 2014)

My spouse and I stopped at The Breslin on a Saturday morning for drinks in late November 2014, prior to a lunch reservation at the nearby NoMad restaurant. We did not make a reservation at The Breslin, although the restaurant accepts bookings using the Open Table reservation system. The Breslin serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays, brunch on weekends, and dinner daily.

The Breslin is located in the Ace Hotel in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. (FYI: The Ace Hotel does not own The Breslin, however.) Besides The Breslin, the hotel also features on-site dining at the John Dory Oyster Bar; Chef April Bloomfield runs both restaurants. (She also operates Salvation Taco and the Spotted Pig in NYC.) The Breslin is named after the original hotel space that it occupies; it is not named after Jimmy Breslin, the Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist. You can enter The Breslin from the lobby of the Ace Hotel, as well as directly from West 29th Street (between Broadway and 5th Avenue).

The restaurant space is dark, with lots of wood (floors, tables, chairs, molding). The outdoor fall-themed décor for both The Breslin and John Dory was gorgeous! Inside, all manner of trinkets and knick-knacks with animal and hunting themes adorn the walls. Overhead lighting resembles that seen in my childhood church, lending a personal feel of nostalgia for me. The bar area is located towards the front of the restaurant, with dining at the rear on two floors. In the winter, The Breslin employs one of those thick curtains at its door, as well as a temporary vestibule outside to keep the indoor space nicely climate controlled. The street-level dining area contains a partially open kitchen, and additional seating is available on a second-floor mezzanine area.

We ordered a few beers, as well as a non-alcoholic cocktail that contained cucumber, celery, soda, lime, and bitters. The bartender muddled some of the ingredients in front us before pouring the drink over quality, perfectly shaped ice cubes and garnishing the glass with a cucumber slice. He told us that the restaurant/bar is often so busy that regrettably, he does not always have time to hand-craft the cocktails to order, so we were glad that we visited at a non-demanding time. The brunch menu for the restaurant is less interesting to us than the dinner menu. Dinner (and weekday lunch) features items like a terrine board, sausages, pork belly, Cornish hen, scotch eggs, and beef & Stilton pie that are not available during brunch time. Even more attractive are the large-format meals available during dinnertime for groups of 8+ people, such as the whole suckling pig dinner (or alternate meats such as duck, beef rib, fried chicken, and curry), served with appropriate sides and accompaniments. (Guests should reserve/pre-order the group meals in advance.) The various puddings available for dessert sound deliciously appealing.

The Breslin features a funky, casual atmosphere, and we plan to return someday for weekday lunch or dinner, or ideally, with a group of friends to partake in one of the large-scale meals.