NYCReview
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
King
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How much you like a restaurant obviously depends heavily on the food. Atmosphere is important as well—but sometimes what matters most is who you’re eating with. And at King, that’s especially the case.
On one visit to King, we came with someone we’re going to call a Kind-of-Fancy friend. This friend knows a lot about lighting fixtures, she can parse a wine list and pronounce Aglianico, and she doesn’t mind dropping $90 on a Tuesday night.
Then we came back with another friend. He also knows how to order wine without word vomiting on himself—but to happily drop $90 at a restaurant, he needs an obvious F*ck Yes Factor. This friend walked out of our dinner at King saying he probably didn’t need to come back.
We get it. King is across the street from Charlie Bird, and with its location and daily-changing, hyper-seasonal menu, you expect it to feel just as cool as its neighbor. It doesn’t. King is much more formal: There are white tablecloths, the playlist is barely audible, the menu is short, the crowd swings mature, and the steak is called “onglet.” None of these things are bad, but they do get in the way of the F*ck Yes Factor.
It is, however, definitely there—you just have to look a little closer. Once you accept that King isn’t quite what you expected, you settle in. You get ordering help from a highly charming, not-at-all pretentious server and drink a cocktail that tastes like a gummy bear but somehow isn’t too sweet. You order the onglet, and it turns out to be one of the best steaks you’ve had in a while. And everything else you eat (like Malfatti pasta stuffed with butter and sage) is delicious too.
So will you like King? If you’re with a Kind-of-Fancy friend or some Kind-of-Fancy parents, we’re pretty sure you will. Alternatively, take a page from the guy who sat next to us at a two-top solo. Sometimes you just need to experience a place by yourself.
The menu at King changes daily, but here are some dishes we’ve enjoyed this restaurant.