NYCReview
M. Wells
Updated January 3rd, 2022
The artist formerly known as M. Wells Steakhouse in Long Island City has dropped the beefy reference from its name. And for good reason. What once was a palace of bone-in burgers and tomahawk chops is now a friendly neighborhood bistro serving up wedge salads with pickled olives, really good fries, and just two types of steak.
People living in the neighborhood probably already know about this place and come here bi-monthly to sit at the bar and drink a martini with lemon-thyme oil or split the steak au poivre with someone they’re trying to woo. But in case you just moved to the neighborhood and/or haven’t heard of this place, M. Wells should be in your date night and celebratory dinner rotation.
Components of certain dishes could be executed better, like the excessively bitter aioli on the cod fritters or the overly coarse Toulouse sausage over lentils. But M. Wells changes their menu so frequently that these plates might not even exist when you go. The flavors of the dishes are rock solid, and, while the transition from steakhouse serving bone-in burgers to neighborhood bistro might sound boring, M. Wells is still a great place to have dinner.
The menu changes often, but here’s a snapshot of what you might see.
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Food Rundown
Cod Fritters
Crispy bits of fish with just a slightly-too-bitter preserved lemon aioli. Worth ordering if you go light on the sauce.
Frites
Delicious and salty. Order them.
Wedge Salad
Very much not your typical bacon-and-blue-cheese wedge. This kinda sums up M. Wells’ transformation into a neighborhood bistro.
Toulouse Sausage With Lentils
A solid starter for the table. The grind on this sausage is too rough for our liking, but the lentils taste really rich from soaking up all the sausage juice.
Steak Au Poivre
This steak deserves a place on the list of Best NYC Steaks Under $30. You get a good helping of beef with a super peppery seasoning along with some excellent scalloped potatoes. If you’re in the mood for more beef, go with the steak frites.
