Midtown East has quite a lot for the everyday Manhattanite to enjoy, especially the area in and around the gorgeous Grand Central Station. Convenience is always at the top of the list for many NYC’ers, so when I found out about Park Avenue Tavern and its mere 3 block walk from Grand Central, I was super excited to see what they had in store for me. Distance taken out of it, this was one of the best restaurant experiences I have had in a while. For real.
Park Avenue Tavern, which is located on Park Avenue and East 39th Street, reads as an after hours high-end bar & restaurant of sorts for the Wall Street crowd, yet doesn’t have that arrogance that comes with the area. It is spacious inside, with seating available both upstairs and downstairs, and has a gorgeous bar smack dab in the middle of it.
Me and my friend were treated to a comfortable booth spot, right inside the location which gave us some amazing views of the street level and the ambiance of Park Avenue Tavern itself. Our server was warm, attentive and experienced in the menu itself, and gave us some great suggestions on what to eat. Each and every item that we tried was delicious, on point with execution, and really packed a lot of flavor and punch that left us comfortably full upon our exit.
Let’s start with their amazing line of cocktails that were available at our disposal. The bartender on duty made each cocktail perfectly, as the alcohol in it didn’t overpower the other flavors inside, and made for a pleasant start to our meal. We recommend The Spicy Passion Margarita with tanteo jalapeño tequila, agave nectar and passion fruit purée, and The Ludlow with grey goose pear, triple sec, pineapple and a muddled cucumber. Tasty, perfectly sized, and fun to look at. Not a bad way to start.
Speaking of starters, we had a bunch of their amazing appetizers that were incredibly diverse but all sang the same song of tastiness. The standout of the standouts for me was their Charred Octopus with orange, potatoes and castelvetrano olives. Octopus tends to be rubbery, however this wasn’t and had a great bite to it. I loved the fresh orange that paired incredibly well with the Octopus itself.
Other great starters that we have to recommend are their Crab Cake with peekytoe crab, arugula, and red pepper conserve, Lamb Lollipops with jalapeno-mint jam, peppadew, and finger potatoes and finally their NYC Burrata with roasted acorn squash, sage brown butter, pomegranate and balsamic. The burrata stood out, not only for the creaminess that it brought, but because the mixture of the pomegranate seeds, brown butter and squash really made for a delicious bite with the bread that came with the dish. The Lamb Lollipops star in it was that amazing jalapeno-mint jam. I’m usually not a fan of mint in anything, however this really worked. Finally, The Crab Cake tasted wonderfully and was a small yet plentiful bite to enjoy.
For the entree rounds, they have a great line of signature burgers, salads and main courses to devour. We opted for the main courses and kept it seafood-friendly for the most part. My friend tried their Maple-Roasted Salmon with cauliflower purée, miso potatoes and wild mushrooms, and I opted for the Spaghetti with Maine lobster, saffron, fennel and tomatoes. The minute I saw lobster in my dish, not to mention it being from Maine, I beelined to order it and was very happy with the result. I loved the mixture of the spaghetti, lobster, and the other components that made it semi spicy but went down great. The Maple-Roasted Salmon was a fantastic bite as well, as the maple infused fish went really well with its side components.
We finished our amazing meal off with their Trademark Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet, with trademark grind chocolate chip cookie, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. It sounded just as good as it looked, as it was melty, yummy, get all over your face goodness and a great finisher to an amazing meal.
I would definitely recommend trying Park Avenue Tavern out this weekend and beyond! For more information, check out their official site.
The hostess named Sarah is so friendly and helpful. Always has a smile on her face.