We'd heard much about Williamsburg's Rye (247 S. 1st Street), which opened last year to a good bit of fanfare, but had been remiss in making a trip until recently. Finally we did and we're happy to report that advance notice was spot on - where many Brooklyn spots disappoint, Rye is the real deal with good food and great cocktails.
The cocktails skew classic and towards the brown liquors we at BoozyNYC love so. Let us count the reasons to love Rye: The Havemeyer (Rittenhouse rye, Fino Sherry, Carpano Antica and bitters) is a fine Manhattan-esque drink. The very good Classic Old Fashioned. The smoky Blood and Sand (black tea infused scotch, cherry heering, vermouth). The spot-on Sazerac. The terrifically spiced Hot Butternut Rum, a take on the classic using butternut squash butter in addition to aged rum and housemade falernum. However, both the Southside (gin, muddled cucumber, mint, fresh lime, soda water) and Stone Fence (Laird's Applejack, fresh apple cider, housemade ginger beer) were well made, if too sweet for our taste. All cocktails are $10.
The food lived up to advance billing for the most part - it stuck to your ribs, was tasty and worked pretty well with the drinks. The standouts were the grilled quail, which was the best quail we've had in a long time, and the house smoked sturgeon appetizer. The pork belly was merely good - nicely grilled edges but otherwise run of the mill - is NYC officially over pork belly or what? Less successful were the mac & cheese, which needed a bit more flavor not to mention creaminess, and the vaunted meatloaf sandwich - pretty good but completely upstaged by the crispy onions that crowned it. The meat, while moist, needed to amp up the flavor and the bread was superfluous.
The room is a somewhat endearing hodgepodge - the bar dating back to 1890 is majestically dark and imposing, providing a solid foundation from which to get hammered. But the rest of the space looks like a German restaurant circa 1900. The main room is full of large round tables situated too close to the bar, meaning that anyone standing at the busy bar are nearly pushed against patrons on the bar stools. The back area with a smattering of smaller tables gave off a bit of a Siberia vibe.
Rye is well worth a visit. It's priced right, the attitude is in check and there is real talent both behind the bar and in the kitchen.
The cocktails skew classic and towards the brown liquors we at BoozyNYC love so. Let us count the reasons to love Rye: The Havemeyer (Rittenhouse rye, Fino Sherry, Carpano Antica and bitters) is a fine Manhattan-esque drink. The very good Classic Old Fashioned. The smoky Blood and Sand (black tea infused scotch, cherry heering, vermouth). The spot-on Sazerac. The terrifically spiced Hot Butternut Rum, a take on the classic using butternut squash butter in addition to aged rum and housemade falernum. However, both the Southside (gin, muddled cucumber, mint, fresh lime, soda water) and Stone Fence (Laird's Applejack, fresh apple cider, housemade ginger beer) were well made, if too sweet for our taste. All cocktails are $10.
The food lived up to advance billing for the most part - it stuck to your ribs, was tasty and worked pretty well with the drinks. The standouts were the grilled quail, which was the best quail we've had in a long time, and the house smoked sturgeon appetizer. The pork belly was merely good - nicely grilled edges but otherwise run of the mill - is NYC officially over pork belly or what? Less successful were the mac & cheese, which needed a bit more flavor not to mention creaminess, and the vaunted meatloaf sandwich - pretty good but completely upstaged by the crispy onions that crowned it. The meat, while moist, needed to amp up the flavor and the bread was superfluous.
The room is a somewhat endearing hodgepodge - the bar dating back to 1890 is majestically dark and imposing, providing a solid foundation from which to get hammered. But the rest of the space looks like a German restaurant circa 1900. The main room is full of large round tables situated too close to the bar, meaning that anyone standing at the busy bar are nearly pushed against patrons on the bar stools. The back area with a smattering of smaller tables gave off a bit of a Siberia vibe.
Rye is well worth a visit. It's priced right, the attitude is in check and there is real talent both behind the bar and in the kitchen.
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