One of the season's more buzzed-about restaurant openings is The Breslin, which will soon be joining Stumptown in the trendy Ace Hotel in the Flatiron District. The hype in this case is not without reason, as the proprieters here are restaurateur Ken Friedman and chef April Bloomfield, of The Spotted Pig fame.
At the end of the summer, the duo closed down their crazy-looking seafood-centric restaurant The John Dory, which one assumes enabled them to focus even more closely on the ambitious undertaking at The Breslin, opening for breakfast and lunch on October 28th, with dinner to come at a date and time of Chef Bloomfied's choosing. The menu is still being finalized, but we're told it will be "super meat-centric, with rich, roasted, salty flavors predominating." There will also be a variety of fresh seafood, with some daily house-made pasta specials thrown in for the herbivores.
The bi-level space, designed by Roman and Williams (who also did the gorgeous Standard Grill and rooms in the hotel) is adorned with taxidermy and flea-market treasures, with vintage bars on each level reclaimed from the ghosts of binges past. As usual, we're chained to our laptops and haven't visited in person yet, but photographer Katie Sokoler reports, "This place was so romantic! It's bright by the big windows but further back in the restaurant it's super dark and some of the booths have curtains for privacy. The restaurant is filled with tiny animal statues. It's fun trying to spot them climbing on the beams and the chairs!"
The Breslin, 20 West 29th Street; (212) 679-2222
