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It’s not always so easy finding a good date night spot in NYC. Often times at the popular places it’s tough to get a table without a long wait, or the menu is super-pricey, or the restaurant focuses more on ambiance than the food itself. I’ve certainly found some great (and unusual) places along the way, but sometimes you want a place that has the ambiance, good drinks, and upscale but accessibly comfortable food. That where’s the newly opened Bleecker Kitchen & Co. comes in. In my opinion, it is a great addition to the NoHo dining landscape which could always use a reasonably priced, quality date night spot.

I think the restaurant’s location might be one of its greatest attributes. Situated at the bustling corner of Bleecker and Broadway, right at the crux of Greenwich Village, SoHo, and the East Village in NoHo it’s very easy to get to from any direction. The restaurant’s decor is clean and classy with interesting looking golden wood patterns filling the space along with a beautiful, well-stocked bar as the visual focal point.

It definitely has the right vibe for a date night and would also make for a great spot for a meal out with parents. On this evening, I was dining with my girlfriend, Amy, and her parents who tend to enjoy properly executed American cuisine. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to check out this recently opened restaurant.

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The Restaurant

After getting seated at our table, we quickly looked over the cocktail menu since we all know that’s the first question the waiter is going to ask when he arrives. Though the restaurant lists a number of great, complex sounding cocktails, sometimes I just want to drink something simple. Ya know? That’s why, on this visit, I went with a simple Dirty Tanqueray Martini. It was executed really well with a nice, restrained use of olive brine, giving it that subtle twinge of sourness I wanted while still allowing the gin’s clean, herbal, natural flavors to shine. It was a solid drink to kick off the meal.

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Dirty Gin Martini

As a starter for the whole table, we decided to share a plate of Seafood & Chips. The platter consisted of impeccably executed, breaded and deep-fried, golden pieces of shrimp, scallop, and lobster along with freshly deep fried house-made purple potato chips and a creamy, spicy aioli. This was a great dish for us all to share and served as an excellent finger-food starter.

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Seafood & Chips

For Amy’s main, she ordered the Seared Salmon which was cooked magnificently. The top-side skin was golden brown and crispy while the flesh below remained moist, tender, and flaky. This large piece of fish was served over a bed of roasted green beans and a couple of huge orbs of caramelized cipollini onion. It was expertly prepared and shined though its beautiful simplicity.

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Seared Salmon

For my main, I couldn’t resist the Root Beer Braised Short Rib. I’ve been on a bit of a short rib kick recently and often feel a pretty strong urge or order it whenever it’s offered. Usually, short rib is a hearty, meaty, tender dish bursting with interesting flavors and this version was no exception. In fact the sticky, sweet root beer glaze was pretty extraordinary.

It successfully infused that bold root beer flavor into the tender meat and when eaten with the roasted carrots, mashed potato, and sweet potato crisps, it had an amazing texture and flavor combination. If I had to knock this dish in any way, I’d say that the chefs might have gone a little heavy handed on the salt. It was pretty aggressively salty, almost overwhelmingly so, but I still really liked the root beer glaze on this tender beef.

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Root Beer Braised Short Rib

So, if you’re looking for some place new in NoHo for a date night, head over to Bleecker Kitchen & Co. Most of the food on the menu is pretty accessible, but still exciting so that both picky and adventurous eaters will dine happily alike.

Got another great date night spot in NYC I should check out? Let me know in the comments below.

Bleecker Kitchen & Co.
@BleeckerKitchen
643 Broadway New York, NY 10012

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