We hate the New Year's Eve crowd and so, instead of going to a restaurant that day, we decided to go the day before, a sort of New Years's Eve's Eve. And we picked the Bryant Park Grill, the setting with the park and all the lights being perfect for a magical evening. I admit that I was not sure what to expect and was quite surprised to see such a big place, with its large dining room on the left side and its covered patio.

Dining room at Bryant Park Grill in NYC, NY

As we just came back from Europe and enjoyed quite a lot of great (but heavy) food, I surprised myself by not ordering an appetizer and go straight to the main dish: well, it might be due to the closeness of the New Year and its resolutions, although, with me like with lots of people, they do not hold too long...Anyway, I decided to go with their duck confit, but, few minutes after we ordered, I was told that there was a "misunderstanding" and the Chef advised there was no more duck. I was really disappointed as I love duck, but found myself happy with their Bryant Park sea grill that was composed of a whole Maine lobster, diver scallops, jumbo shrimp, on top of a saffron tomato rice. The presentation looked beautiful and I was surely not disappointed: everything was cooked perfectly, from the seafood, to the rice that was really tasty.

Seafood grill at Bryant Park Grill in NYC, NY

No wine with my dish, but a cocktail: the Bourbon Cider, made with Old Forester Bourbon, fresh apple cider, cranberry juice and lemon. Simply delicious, of course if you like bourbon!

Jodi went for the miso crusted sea bass, served with stir-fried vegetables, broccoli florets and sesame rice. That fish was amazing: perfectly cooked, flakey and moist. The rice was in some sort of rice balls that were so good, I could have eaten a full plate of it.

So far it was very good and we were looking forward for our dessert. Jodi ordered the chocolate coconut pot de creme that is a good dessert if you like dark chocolate, but kind of fell short in term of coconut taste, including the coconut whipped cream that was not coconut-y enough.

On my side, I chose the deep dish apple pie (so I could say I ate fruit). It looked amazing and was very good, especially the crust that was buttery.

That was a nice evening and I have to say that I was impressed by the food at Bryant Park Grill. I would surely go back, maybe when the temperature permits a nice meal on the patio, overlooking the park.

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment. Merci!

Bryant Park Grill

Celebrating the Year at The Bryant Park Grill

I Just Want To Eat!