Tribeca Grill
I finally got to visit the famous Drew Nieporent restaurant Tribeca Grill. Co-owned by actor Robert DeNiro, this American New York staple is often filled with tourists and vacationers looking to spot celebrities and other famous actors that DeNiro might draw. The restaurant itself has a very elegant yet rustic look with the glass light fixtures, dark wood chairs and brick walls. Though, since the space is quite large, the restaurant is not as grand as I would have hoped it would be. Tribeca Grill’s atmosphere makes it great for a business lunch or a place to take your parents when they’re visiting the city but, like with most places like Tribeca Grill, I didn’t expect the food to be anything spectacular.
Normally, the American menu consists of entrees that are, on average, $30 and appetizers that are in the $18-$20 range. Since I didn’t want to risk blowing $100+ on a dinner that I wasn’t expecting to be worth the money I decided to go during their Restaurant Week period and to be honest, most of the diners in the restaurant were participating in the Restaurant Week special. Out of the three appetizers on the menu, only one seemed like a “real” option and that was the Shrimp Sausage (the other two were either a salad or a soup). The Shrimp Sausage consisted of about four pieces of, well, shrimp sausage in a Romesco sauce (garlic, olive oil, peppers and almonds). I did inform my server about my nut allergy but unfortunately, the dish with the sauce was still served to me. Luckily for Tribeca Grill I’m not too allergic to almonds otherwise this mishap would have been much more serious. The Maitre D did come by to correct the problem after I already ate the dish, a bit too late, but the staff did try their best to mediate the issue even after I was served the dish containing the almond sauce. None the less, the Shrimp Sausage was actually a very good dish. The sausage had light curry notes and was flavorful overall. Next I had the Grilled Pork Chop with a Fava Bean Salad. The pork chop itself was cooked well and was very flavorful. I could have done without the fava beans (it kind of looked like the kitchen ordered too many fava beans for the Pennette dish and decided to add the left overs as a garnish to the pork) but none the less this was an excellent dish to order.
To be honest, like The Darby, I expected Tribeca Grill to be a typical celebrity owned big, loud restaurant with overpriced and mediocre food. But what I found was actually a pretty solid dining option in Tribeca. Would I go back and pay $33 an entree after the spotty service? I’m not sure, but for $35 for three courses this restaurant is definitely worth it.
Ambiance: 5
Food: 8
Service: 5
Overall: 6
Verdict: Mirage
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