I finally got a chance to check out Ardyn, the restaurant that former Charlie Palmer Steakhouse chef Ryan Lory opened in the west village.
The space is beautiful, with a rustic, woodland feel to the dining room.
There’s also a beautiful bar with great cocktails and $1 happy hour oysters from 5-7pm (along with drink specials).
We started with a couple of raw fish dishes. Hamachi tartare and fluke crudo.
Both were awesome and pretty, but if I had to choose one to go back to repeatedly, it would be the hamachi.
Chef Ryan is becoming known for his gorgeous plating – very aesthetic. He also became known for his 50/50 burger at Charlie Palmer. It’s 50% smoked bacon and 50% brisket, with some dry-aged wagyu trim and fat in there to take it over the top.
The only down side here was the thickness of the pickled tomato slice. Half the thickness would be perfect, but that acidy pop did do a great job of cutting the buttery fatness of the rich and well-seasoned burger.
Make sure you don’t neglect the fries here with your burger. They’re amazing and possibly some of the best I’ve ever had.
All the sides were nice, in fact, from the shishitos to the carrots to the greens.
The pastas here are also excellent. We tried two: ramp garganelli with morels, and squid ink cavatelli with uni cream.
It was tough to choose a favorite between the two perfectly cooked and plated pastas, so I suggest getting both if you have room.
But the mains really shined.
First, this absolutely stunning duo of duck containing crispy sliced breast and a house made sausage.
The breast was nice but the sausage stole the show – like when Lex Steele stars in a porno flick with some ugly broad that has gross fake tits.
Of course we had to try the 45-day dry-aged Snake River Farms domestic wagyu rib eye.
This thing was incredible. It had a sexy, deep brown maillard crust on the surface and a rare cook beneath. You can still see the flecks of marbling in the flesh! It could have been cooked slightly longer, but the beef was so high quality that you could eat it like this even without the fat fully rendering out. 9/10.
Dessert was equally stunning. This choclate layer cake with pistachio ice cream was really rich and moist, like Paris Hilton in 2003.
This custard was light yet very satisfying.
And this asian style grapefruit/pomelo dessert was just the right kind of acidy and citrusy way to end the meal with a cleansed palate.
I definitely recommend this place. And if you want a seat close to the action, head to the back and pop your ass onto one of the stools that faces into the kitchen. Be warned though – it’s warm back there!
ARDYN
33 W 8th St
New York, NY 10011
