NYCReview
Included In
Whether we like it or not, living in NYC makes a person more competitive. If there's an e-bike docked at a Citi Bike station, we walk fast to snag it. When a respectful, liberal, and employed boyfriend candidate appears on Hinge, he’s sought after like fishermen seek out 400-pound tuna (or, more likely, he’s a DJ). And if an iconic restaurant offers a bar menu as well as an “elegant five-course tasting” so famous that your family members who don’t care about restaurants have heard of it, New York life has programmed you to think you want the latter.
As it turns out, the dinkier option isn’t always worse than the first-prize pumpkin. In Gramercy Tavern’s case, dinkier means an incredible burger and a room so alive you could never mistake it for anywhere else.
Gramercy Tavern operates as two restaurants in one. The back dining room is reserved for people working their way through a $158, five-course tasting, and the front tavern area has its own casual feel and à la carte menu for walk-in diners. Go against your impulse to take this Union Square fine dining restaurant as seriously as it takes itself, and skip the tasting. Instead, treat Gramercy Tavern as the fun neighborhood spot your Thursday night self would more likely prefer. In the end, you’ll have gotten the best of the best anyway. And you’ll have spent a lot less money.
photo credit: Giada Paoloni
Let's regroup: Gramercy Tavern is Danny Meyer’s second-born restaurant specializing in American food that takes advantage of whatever seasonal produce is in its juiciest prime. If dodgeball were a culinary sport, Gramercy Tavern’s alumni network would make a very good dodgeball team. The words “James” and “beard” are likely said in tandem in this kitchen more often than they’re used to talk about dudes named Jimmy or nice chin straps. That’s all fine. Moving on.
If you’ve eaten at a fancy downtown restaurant in the last five-to-seven years, you’ve had the Gramercy Tavern tasting before–just in disjointed puzzle pieces rather than via an 80-minute progression. There might be a hamachi crudo (because of course there might be), and, in the past, we’ve tried nicely-cooked lobster pasta with sweet rock shrimp in a buttery tarragon sauce. Don’t be surprised if you see duck breast on the menu, and don’t be surprised if it’s delicious. We’d eat each of the tasting menu dishes again. But it’s not like we need to whip out our calendar right now to ensure it.
photo credit: Maura McEvoy
The fun of Gramercy Tavern happens up front, like a reverse mullet or the general admission section at a concert. It’s here that you’ll see people drinking beer with coworkers and ignoring their forks to bite into thick, pink burgers lined with cheddar and bacon. At Gramercy Tavern’s bar, nice tourists who just arrived from Louisiana might tap you on the shoulder and ask if you’ll take a horizontally-oriented picture of them. They’ll order cosmopolitans without a smidge of irony and say they feel like they’re really in New York City. You’ll sip a martini, text a friend who's running late because of subway drama, and realize you’re really in New York City, too. If that feeling isn’t enough to lure you into a restaurant, then what are you even doing here.
photo credit: Maura McEvoy
Even if Gramercy Tavern’s tasting menu were more distinct, the energy of the tavern room would always outshine the yawningly-large dining area. If you’ve never been to this restaurant or a long time has passed since you have, make a mental note to stop by on a day when you’re already in the area. Don’t plan months ahead or stress yourself out about it. Just let it happen naturally. Stop by at 6:30pm one day for a burger and a great salad, or maybe get a warm chocolate chip cookie served with a glass of (we’re not kidding) cold milk the next time you’re near Union Square and feeling a little wild.
Just because you’ve heard about something glossy, it won’t necessarily make you happier than the regular old alternative. So make up your own rules about what Gramercy Tavern is, and take a break from competing to experience all the Best Stuff In NYC. If you’re anywhere near Union Square, it’s right in front of you already.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Giada Paoloni
Tasting Menu
photo credit: Giada Paoloni
The Tavern Burger
Golden Beet Salad
Chicory Salad
Seasonal Pasta
Duck Meatloaf
photo credit: Hannah Albertine