it’s not a secret that i love top chef and if i have an opportunity to try out a restaurant of one of the winners, i’m going to take it! last thursday i dined at perilla restaurant – which is the establishment of the first top chef winner, harold dieterle. nestled on jones street in greenwich village, i walked in and immediately felt a warm and comforting feeling. maybe because i was meeting one of my best friends from high school and it’s always so great to see him, but the ambiance at first glance was great. it’s a small restaurant with a bar that seats about 10-12, booths along one side and table along the other. it has a very clean and simple, but elegant decor.
i started off with the cool cuke cocktail which was refreshing and delicious. we started off with the Hand Cut Tagliatelle (maine lobster, guanciale, holy basil & fra diavolo sauce)for an appetizer and it was DELISH, it was also really nice of them to split it even though we told them they didn’t have to. for my main course, i had the Grilled Swordfish
(fried salami, cavolo nero, potato gnocchi & preserved meyer lemon sauce) – and again, i was very appreciative that they made it without the salami. brad gave the waiter the responsibility of choosing the “best fish” on the menu and he ended up with the Steamed Red Snapper (cashews, young coconut, crispy shallots & siamese watercress curry) –which i guess means that i didn’t have “the best.” HA! but i tried it and it was good – i think for my taste, i liked my dish better. as a shared side, we had this special mushroom gnocchi – it was being served with one of the specials of the night, but it sounded so delish, we were able to have it as a side.
overall – a great experience, i love how accommodating they were. it’s great b/c it’s intimate, but not too romantic so you can have a great dinner w/ friends or a loved one. 4 stars!
perilla restaurant | 9 jones street, new york | 212.929.6868
no tomatoes please 