This The Eddy NYC Restaurant Review is one of our many Restaurant Reviews. Headed to New York? See all our posts tagged NYC.
One reason we decided to try The Eddy was that they were featured on BlackboardEats, with a 30% discount off the meal, including drinks (minimum one main course or two appetizers per person). Since there's been a dearth of interesting BlackboardEats offers for NYC, and we tend to always go back to a handful of our favorite restaurants in NYC, we decided to give it a try. I'd also heard good things about the Hungarian Langos (fried bread) appetizer, and that it's a must-order.
The Eddy Location and Hours
The Eddy is located at 342 East 6th Street, close to 1st Avenue. It's easiest to take the M15 bus either uptown on 1st Avenue if coming from lower Manhattan, or downtown on 2nd Avenue from upper Manhattan. If taking the express bus, SBS15, walk up from the East Houston Allen Street or 1st Street/1st Avenue stops.
If taking the subway, the closest stops are Astor Place (4, 5, 6 trains); 1st Avenue (L train); and 2nd Avenue (F train).
The Eddy is open for dinner Monday-Wednesday 5:30-10pm, and Thursday-Sunday 5:30-11pm, with the bar open until midnight Monday-Wednesday and until 1am Thursday-Sunday.
The Scene
There were just two other tables seated in the restaurant part, a couple and a group of three older women, but the bar was fairly busy, no doubt due to the 5:30-7pm Happy Hour. This also is no doubt why The Eddy is running an offer on Blackboard Eats; locals are happy to come by for discounted drinks and Langos, but few of them are willing to commit to an entire meal. We were seated at one of the two booths, which I appreciated.
Menu and Food at The Eddy
The Eddy serves a 5 course tasting menu for $75 per person, but given our experience with some of the dishes, I highly recommend just going a la carte.
The star of the evening was definitely the Hungarian Langos, with honey, gremolata and pecorino. The freshly fried bread was like the perfect savory doughnut, given the sharp tang of the pecorino cheese, with a hint of sweetness from the honey, and herbal notes from the gremolata. In fact, our evening would probably have been better if we'd simply placed three orders of these and shared the Brook Trout, over some drinks, although unfortunately we wouldn't have received the 30% discount in that case.
We'd have liked to have had our drinks, the Go Time cocktail I ordered and my husband's Blood Orange Sour Ale, to enjoy with the Langos, but unfortunately there was quite a delay, as the bartender was backed up with other orders, so we only got them as we were on our last bites.
I'd asked for a citrusy, tart cocktail, and the Go Time was ok, but honestly would have preferred a gin tonic.
Next, we sampled the Chilled Beet Borscht, with cucumber, pickled rhubarb and green onion. I always enjoy beets, and this was refreshing, but nothing special, and very overpriced at $12 given the small portion and how inexpensive beets are.
The Deviled Eggs Casino was delicious, with the smoked paprika and fried chicken skin garnish, but again, very overpriced at $11 for four halves, or just 2 whole eggs.
I'd heard good things about the Mussels with Paprikash Butter, but unfortunately the restaurant was out of this dish, so instead my husband chose the Shaved Radish Toast with Fourme d'Ambert blue cheese. This is a simple, very strongly flavored appetizer that he really enjoyed and I liked ok, but you have to be part of the 1% of the population that likes both blue cheese and radish in the same dish.
The Raviolo with Farmer's Cheese was perhaps the greatest disappointment. The taste was mild and fine, but it was literally just two ravioli on the plate, filled with farmers cheese, in an egg yolk sauce, for $24. As a main dish, it was way too small even for a kid. Not recommended.
The Pan-Seared Brook Trout, on the other hand, is the main dish you should order. Yes, it's pricey at $32, but at least in our case, it was expertly prepared, with beautiful crispy skin yet a still moist interior, with the most delicious nettle cashew pesto.
We waited at least 40 minutes after finishing our appetizers for our main courses, and expressed disappointment over this long delay to our server. When I asked if the kitchen was short-staffed, he admitted it was. Since we needed to get back home and didn't have time for any further long waits for dessert, he kindly arranged a complimentary crepe for us to take home with us, the Palacsinta with Strawberry Jam and Toasted Meringue. It was nice, but nothing special (and nowhere near as good as the palacsinta I've had in Budapest), and I wouldn't bother ordering it for the $12 cost.
The Verdict
I wanted to like The Eddy more than I did. It has a cozy, old world ambience, yet was playing some lively 80s music (not my favorite 80s songs, but still enjoyable) during our visit. Our servers were friendly and happy to help with recommendations when asked, and the Langos with honey, pecorino and gremolata, as well as the Pan-Seared Brook Trout with Nettle Pesto were both fantastic.
Unfortunately, though, our visit was really marred by the long wait for our drinks, and the very long wait for our main courses, and I felt that several dishes, particularly the Raviolo, Deviled Eggs, and Beet Borscht were very overpriced for what they were. They really should be about half the price, or provide double the portion size in order to justify their current pricing. My cocktail was also a tad pricey at $15; that's a dollar more than Blue Smoke, where we also enjoy the cocktails and where we've never had to wait as long for them.
It was certainly nice that the restaurant cared about our feedback enough to provide a complimentary Palacsinta with Strawberry Jam & Toasted Meringue, but I can't see us rushing back, given the overpriced dishes and pacing issues.
What's your favorite low key new American restaurant in NYC?
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