The John Dory Oyster Bar at the Ace Hotel

The lobby of the Ace Hotel is already home to one of our favorite meat-centric restaurants in town (The Breslin), one of our favorite coffee shops (Stumptown Roasters), AND one of our favorite sandwich spots (No. 7 Sub). And now, with the opening of April Bloomfield's reboot of her Meatpacking fish restaurant John Dory, the sexy, sceney Ace also houses one of New York City's best oyster bars. Seems almost unfair... except if you live right nearby (as Waterside residents do) and then, who cares about fairness, pass the bivalves!  

We stopped by the John Dory Oyster Bar the other night for a drink and a bite and are already looking for an excuse to pop in again. Despite the sleek decor and handsome, hipstery staff, the atmosphere here is less obnoxiously cool, more convivial and food-focussed. The John Dory menu is still pretty limited--Bloomfield's clearly taking it slow--and it's all small plates and raw bar platters, as opposed to a more traditional appetizer-entree structure, but you definitely can get a nice dinner's worth of food for under $40.

Anyway, the most important to say about the John Dory Oyster Bar is this: get the Oyster Pan Roast. It was spectacular at the original John Dory; it is spectacular now. Served with crostini liberally slathered with uni butter (I know: what a world!), the Oyster Pan Roast puts a trio of plump briny bivalves into a thick, buttery broth, and is quite possibly the best thing we ate all year. 

Also good were our thick slices of Parsley and AnchovyToast... thick in the buttery bread, thick in the insanely rich topping piled high. Bloomfield and kitchen may not be subtle, but they do know how to balance intense flavors to make a thoroughly satisfying whole. In fact, the only misstep of our meal was the simplest dish we ordered, a too-bland, too-refrigerated Live Sea Urchin with Pomegranates. Kind of a waste, but still: we will definitely be back for more (and more... and more) of Bloomfield's fish magic. 

The John Dory Oyster Bar at the Ace Hotel is located on the corner of Broadway and 29th Street, and is open daily from 12:00 noon to 4:00 a.m., with menus changing from Lunch to  "Limited" to Dinner to Late Night. For more information and a look a sample menu, please see the John Dory menupages page, here.    

Posted at 05:47PM Dec 06, 2010 by Scott in 10010  |