Eataly’s Fish Restaurant
Under: Chelsea,Italian,Lunch,My Life,seafood,Things to do in NYC
Last Friday, a coworker and I decided to have a lunch meeting at Eataly. We went during the day thinking it wouldn’t be too packed but were definitely wrong; the general wait time for all of the restaurants was over an hour! We finally found the fish restaurant that didn’t have a wait time at all and sat down to catch up.
The restaurant is being led by Dave Pasternack, the chef from Esca, and features an oyster bar, lots of seating, and fresh fish from local waters. There were great specials for the day – we ordered a ton:
Oysters from Maine with an amazing mignonette sauce:
And a whole branzino fish on top of roasted potatoes:
For some reason, my entire portion of the fish was boney (Esther didn’t have any bones on her plate and my plate was FILLED with bones!)
We also ordered a seafood salad:
We ordered razor clams, seafood salad, and oysters as an appetizer and the branzino as a main course, but we received everything at the same time (very frustrating considering the table was tiny and we had to stack plates on top of each other so we could eat). The service is a little spotty but it’s okay considering it’s been open for less than a week! I think the tables need to be a little more separated from the general walking area (people were bumping into us with their shopping carts as we were eating) but I thought the food was really good.
We tried ordering a coffee after lunch but the lines were so ridiculous that we just went back to work. There were lines to get INTO the super store/restaurant/grocery store over the weekend, so I’m sure they’re just going to get better. Next time, I’m going to try their gelato and fresh pasta!
Reader Comments
Just had lunch there with my husband. We arrived at 11:50 when there were plenty of open tables, but the service was slow even though it was empty. I had the flounder with a side of arugula, olives and sun dried tomatoes that was tasty but overly salty. My husband had the branzino too and the bones were also difficult to avoid.
Honestly, it felt like we were eating in a shopping mall at prices higher than Gramercy Tavern. Tried it once, will return to my regular lunch spots.
(Separately, I love taking home the ravioli, bread, fresh produce, and prepared chickens to eat at home. Just not into the price/value offering of the restaurants.)
Judy – totally agree about the prices and that it feels like you’re eating in a shopping mall. I haven’t tried the homemade pastas, but they do look absolutely delightful!
Great blog. I actually work with this chef at Esca and wanted to make a small correction. His name is Dave Pasternack, not Doug. Just thought I’d let you know!