My spouse and I and a family member visited The Breslin for
brunch on a Sunday morning in early December 2018. (We previously visited the
restaurant in late November 2014 for drinks only, so this was the first time
that we sampled the food.) The Breslin serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays,
brunch on weekends, and dinner daily. You can book a spot using the online Open
Table reservation system.
The Breslin is located in NoMad/Chelsea’s Ace Hotel. Chef April
Bloomfield and partner Ken Friedman operate The Breslin, as well as another Ace
dining venue called the John Dory Oyster Bar. Chef Bloomfield also operates the
Spotted Pig and previously, Salvation Taco. (We visited The Spotted Pig in May
2016; see our review titled “Funky Atmosphere, Unique Food”. We also visited Salvation
Taco in April 2014; see our review titled “Modern Mexican Cuisine in a Casual
Atmosphere”, respectively.) 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 somewhat dark, with lots of wood
(floors, tables, chairs, molding). The outdoor fall-themed décor for The
Breslin, John Dory, and the Ace Hotel was on its last legs in early December,
dying to be replaced with fresh winter plantings. Inside The Breslin, all
manner of trinkets and knick-knacks with animal and hunting themes adorn the
walls. The bar area is located towards the front of the restaurant, with dining
at the rear on two floors. The street-level dining area contains a partially
open kitchen, and additional seating is available on a second-floor mezzanine
area. A few semiprivate nooks near the open kitchen are the choicest seats, in
our opinion.
The restaurant offers British gastropub cuisine.
Disappointingly, only the brunch menu was available to us, so we weren’t able
to try some of the more interesting nose-to-tail offerings available at lunch
and dinnertime (including oxtail borscht, venison en croute, sausages, chicken
liver parfait, pork belly, terrine board, beef and Stilton pie). Even more
attractive are the large-format meals available during dinnertime for groups of
8+ people, such as the whole suckling pig dinner (or alternates like the beef rib
or fried chicken), served with appropriate sides and accompaniments. (Guests
should reserve/pre-order the group meals in advance.) Our group of three shared
the Scotch eggs to start, followed by the lamb burger (served on a sourdough
roll, then topped with feta cheese and cumin mayo, served with thrice-cooked fries),
the grilled cheese, and the skirt steak and eggs with tomatillo salsa. We
ordered the apple panna cotta for dessert.
Our lunch at The Breslin was acceptable; the food and
atmosphere was better than the lackluster service.
