Much has been written about the rough patch Allen & Delancey (115 Allen Street) has hit - the bankruptcy, revolving chefs, bizarre tweets from the current exec chef, etc - but the question these days is the place even relevant? Recently we dropped by on a Tuesday night for "Happy Night" - which apparently has been discontinued - to find a busy bar and a mostly empty dining room.
Truth be told, we weren't in a rush to get back to A&D but when we heard cocktails were half-off, we gave it a go. When we arrived, the bartender so far in the weeds he was muttering "I suck tonight." Once we got seats at the bar, we had to wait more than ten minutes to be acknowledged by him, which did not make us happy.
We perused the cocktail list by Alex Day, which is more convoluted than it needs to be with two options under each title, supposedly linked by a theme. Hey folks, we just want a good drink! So we went with Tinker's Stand #2 (rye, amaro, sherry, elderflower, benedictine, aromatic bitters) and L'Heure Verte #2 (reposado tequila, islay whiskey, agave nectar, absinthe, peychaud's and angostura bitters, lemon twist). Both drinks were good - actually L'Heure Verte #2 was quite good, but you need to tell the bartender to go easy on the agave nectar or it gets too sweet...and hope you don't get sprayed by the shaker's contents while the bartender is vigorously shaking (normally a bonus point but not with egg white landing on our faces). It just wasn't his night, was it? He did try to make it up to us with a free drink. But were the drinks enough to make up for the wait and grumpy, out-of-sorts bartender? Let's just say we didn't feel the need to hang around all night.
I won't comment on the food menu, which was small and not very appealing to us, except to note that Chef Skeen refuses to make pork toast for regular guests any more. Although he sent one to a friend sitting at the bar, this lauded dish (we've been fans since Skeen's Resto days), is no longer on the menu and the chef won't make one no matter how much you beg.
Perhaps this commenter on Yelp best sums up the experience at the bar: "The bartender seemed fairly dour, and it took a while for him to take my order. He actually ended up serving the guy next to me first, even though that guy came in five minutes after me." Chef Skeen recently tweeted that he couldn't find love in his food at Allen & Delancey and it seems there isn't much love at the bar either.
Truth be told, we weren't in a rush to get back to A&D but when we heard cocktails were half-off, we gave it a go. When we arrived, the bartender so far in the weeds he was muttering "I suck tonight." Once we got seats at the bar, we had to wait more than ten minutes to be acknowledged by him, which did not make us happy.
We perused the cocktail list by Alex Day, which is more convoluted than it needs to be with two options under each title, supposedly linked by a theme. Hey folks, we just want a good drink! So we went with Tinker's Stand #2 (rye, amaro, sherry, elderflower, benedictine, aromatic bitters) and L'Heure Verte #2 (reposado tequila, islay whiskey, agave nectar, absinthe, peychaud's and angostura bitters, lemon twist). Both drinks were good - actually L'Heure Verte #2 was quite good, but you need to tell the bartender to go easy on the agave nectar or it gets too sweet...and hope you don't get sprayed by the shaker's contents while the bartender is vigorously shaking (normally a bonus point but not with egg white landing on our faces). It just wasn't his night, was it? He did try to make it up to us with a free drink. But were the drinks enough to make up for the wait and grumpy, out-of-sorts bartender? Let's just say we didn't feel the need to hang around all night.
I won't comment on the food menu, which was small and not very appealing to us, except to note that Chef Skeen refuses to make pork toast for regular guests any more. Although he sent one to a friend sitting at the bar, this lauded dish (we've been fans since Skeen's Resto days), is no longer on the menu and the chef won't make one no matter how much you beg.
Perhaps this commenter on Yelp best sums up the experience at the bar: "The bartender seemed fairly dour, and it took a while for him to take my order. He actually ended up serving the guy next to me first, even though that guy came in five minutes after me." Chef Skeen recently tweeted that he couldn't find love in his food at Allen & Delancey and it seems there isn't much love at the bar either.
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