Rhubarb and knotweed? Those aren't ingredients, they're the name of a shady firm of CPAs. Where's the food? I want my peacock tongues and lark livers. O tempora! O mores!
1
I read the photo captions -- They appear for a second and then are covered up with ads. Any idea how to get rid of these?
This will probably be turned into a dumbed down wine bar like Chez Sardine and Perla soon enough once the buzz dies. I'm not sure if that says more about the owner or the customers.
I did not realize Wes Anderson opened a restaurant in the City.
So, given the noise level, this is really a 2* bar serving meals?
The name. Simon & the Whale. Clearly 'inspired' by restaurant Serge et le Phoque (Serge & the Seal) in London & Hong Kong. It even has the same back story! Serge is the owner's young son and his favourite stuffed toy is a seal (phoque). Of course, the original french version has an added zing to it that got lost when these guys copied it.
I call it: blatant plagiarism.
I now know why the waiter put an action figure on our table. It was so loud in that dining room, we never heard the explanation from the cheerful waiter. Food was delicious; service slow and distracted; volume intolerable.
2
Slow, distracted service and a loud dining room are enough to keep my away from any restaurant, regardless of the food.
3
Thanks for the info about Fedora, a dear sweet woman. Her husband Henry was the bartender for years. She started out as a coat check girl at the Stork Club. After doing the prep-cooking she would go upstairs to freshen up. We all applauded when she made her entrance. Many happy memories of Fedora and that era.
5
A general, or perhaps lieutenant, complaint: Risotto is made with rice, not barley. While I have no brief against clever names, they should at least describe the main ingredient correctly. Call it what it is: barley porridge.
2
Risotto is a style of cooking. It is not limited to only rice.
2
I finally managed to get to this place (5:30pm reservation!) on Monday and it was one of the best new restaurants I've tried in ages. The dishes were beautiful to look at and delicious, and that pine ice and rye pudding dessert was a revelation. As an added bonus the place looks great and the staff were incredibly friendly. I'll be back (if I can get in!)
6
It surprised me to see this place when I passed it a couple weeks back, as that section of 23rd St. retains much of its 1970s grunginess. The bar looked very inviting though, not quite fitting the New York cookie cutter design of a pioneering watering hole. A young woman sat alone in a window booth with an open laptop nonetheless. The name brought to mind a film about a divorced family in Park Slope, The Squid And The Whale. But the day was still a bit young to step in for a drink. Next time.
6
Under no circumstances, parameters, or metrics is this a two star review as written by Mr. Wells. I truly wish he had focused more on the food and less, much much less, on the clapping.
1
@ Carmela Sanford Niagara Falls
Do you take the star ratings so seriously? I regard them with a jaundiced eye, like the Nobel Prizes in Literature or for Peace. The best is to read the reviews between the lines and draw one's conclusions from there. A reviewer can only rarely dare to be explicitly negative about the eatery that he reviews.
9
The comments often provide the most accurate review.
1
Food? in a NYTimes restaurant review? Too many names to drop, too many zingers to zing.
Cute.
2
I recently dined at Simon and the Whale and it was delightful experiences, from food, to wine selection to services. My favorite dish was the squid confit that surprisingly not featured in this article. The slightly crunchy squid was dressed in its own ink and decorated with paprika, beech mushrooms and smoked mussels. Light yet packed with flavors.
I have also been to mr. Stulman's other restaurants in the Village; I can see the same "family traits" at Simon and the Whale. #downtownchic
It is a great addition to the otherwise boring neighborhood food wise.
P.S. people who criticized below have not even been to the restaurant - they are no even living in the city. So whatever opinion they hold is pure speculation and thus lacking credibility.
16
"Until it swam off the menu, there was an intriguing sideways version of squid ink risotto that had beech mushrooms and very tender squid confit over a black porridge of barley."
That counts as a mention, no? Particularly if it's now off-menu, it's probably more mention than it warranted.
4
So you are saying that people who do not live in the city shouldn't write a comment about a restaurant? By the way, I have eaten at many of the top restaurants in the city even though I don't live there. As far as your other comment about people who have"not even been to the restaurant" this is why we read the review first.
3
I'm sorry but I didn't read a 2 star NYT critics pick review here.
The food doesn't sound very appealing to me. I've also checked out the menu before this review came out and wasn't impressed by the choices either. This is one restaurant that I will pass on.
2
There's a wonderful old French term for the sort of food combinations promoted by this sort of restaurant: préciosité. And it's not really flattering.
8
@ Carl Ian Schwartz Paterson, NJ
I agree with your definition. It is, however, amusing to see the owners of eatery-chains inventing new names for their multiplying joints.
The sitting at the bar (slide 4 ) is tight. The only photos that appeal to me are the fish sandwich, although the fish is unspecified (slide 3), and the clams with olives, but without tomatoes and spaghetti (slide 7).