Bread & Tulips — Restaurant in New York

Drinks: -Cucumber Detox -Sancerre

Food: -Baby Beet Salad -Grilled Octopus -Housemade Ricotta -Black Tagliatelle -Black Sea Bass

This was how my evening started at Bread and Tulips. Ordinarily, I would only stay in a restaurant for 2 1/2 hours, max (New York City times) and move on. In this particular case, we stayed for 4 hours. The dinner was beautiful. The food was described as a focus on the "craft," rather than "art," as the focal point came from the quality of the materials chosen, the flavor/ taste and how it was prepared, rather than the look of the preparation. I found that terminology interesting and didn't really get it until I took a bite of the grilled octopus... and didn't realize that it was actually grilled octopus. It was soft and tender and perfectly grilled so that the outside has a firm crisp, while the inside was soft. I won't even mention the fact that it Wasn't chewy or sinewy. It was also extremely fresh and delicious paired with my Sancerre. My friend, the fabulous Dana, suggested this place to me, but couldn't make it. Instead I was accompanied by my friend Tiffany, the vivacious lawyer and ex-Stuy classmate. She paired her food with a Red (Italian - Not sure which one, will ask). We ate and chatted about our respective love lives and professions, as dish after dish arrived. The service was excellent and the servers were extremely knowledgeable.

I love a good beet salad, but this one was delicious. Baby beets are sweet in general and these had a sweet and tart pomegranate vinaigrette that awakened my senses every time I took a bite. Then came the entrees. Black Tagliatelle and Black Sea Bass. I liked the Sea Bass in particular. The Tagliatelle was good and actually conjured up memories of making chorizo with an ex. All of the food was very comforting and beautifully presented. Simple, yet delicious. Unpretentious, yet high quality and done perfectly.

The owner, Riccardo, sat down with us and spent time chatting with us every so often throughout the night. He was a joy to converse with. While eating through forkfuls of pasta, gulps of wine and laughter, we decide to move on above to the rooftop (Hotel Giraffe Rooftop) where the the ambiance changed to a nice clean airy open feel. We sat right next to the edge and took in the city-scape. The food, the drinks, the service, the ambiance and the space makes it impossible to fight off romanticizing the city.

(from Senpei H's Yelp Review of...

Had a great time here with family on a Friday evening. Food was delicious, ambiance was great, decor was a touch eclectic which gave the restaurant a cool vibe - large upside down wicker baskets were used as lamp shades over one table, 8-10 different lanterns hung over the partial wall that separated the bar area from the dining area downstairs, etc. Portion sizes were smaller than I expected from an Italian place, but by no means insufficient. It was nice to order a carbonara dish and not walk out hating myself and feeling like there was a bowling ball in my stomach. We started w/ the meatball and burratta appetizers and also split the burratta pizza. Between all of us, we ordered the duck, the lamb pappardelle, the strip steak, the roasted chicken and the carbonara. And a side of brussel sprouts and pancetta, and a side of sauteed broccoli in garlic and oil. Very pleased with the meal.

The only thing that kept this from a 5 star was the service. The waitstaff was attentive when they were present, but that was a little off. There was no hostess when I entered the restaurant around 5:30pm so I awkwardly walked around looking for my family at their table. A few other employees were on their cell phones, so I didn't bother asking for direction. The server was very thorough, and had great suggestions as we asked what was popular from each category. We found that a few times throughout the meal we were needing something but had no one in earshot or eyesight to come save the day.

I will be...

My boyfriend and I visited B&T this weekend for a celebration dinner date and we were blown away! Our server, Ashley, was very warm and knowledgeable. She made fantastic suggestions and answered all of our questions with ease. The food and cocktails were 5-star! I will be returning and cannot stop talking about this meal.

We both ordered house cocktails that were served promptly and were greeted with freshly cut house made bread. I highly suggest the Grilled Octopus as a started-- it was flavorful and fresh. The Hen-of-the-Woods pizza was delectable with an earthy flavor and kick of heat from crushed peppers however, it could have done with out the fresh arugula topping. My boyfriend (a New York chef) and I were surprised at the lightness of the house-made Pappardelle pasta. It was complimented with a rich braised leg-of-lamb Bolognese that was too good to leave any behind. We finished the meal with the Pear Tart-- a perfect combination of semi-sweet pastry and passion fruit sorbet, again so light and flavorful.

I love when I can leave a long dinner satisfied and full but not weighed down and ready for a nap. I could not have asked for a...