Cozy Royale — Restaurant in New York

I’ve been shopping at The Meat Hook regularly for about 14 years, so when I heard Cozy Royale opened up, it immediately went on my “must visit” list in 2020. I finally made a reservation for last night. A couple of things made me pretty unhappy and feel the restaurant is not worth the premium cost nor the reservation.

My party of 4 was seated nearly 20 minutes late. While waiting for my table I ordered my favorite wine from Argentina since I saw it on the menu - the Pielihueso Torrontés - by name. The bartender goes “oh so you want the orange” and poured from a bottle I could not see. I thought the wine tasted much different, and it wasn’t until I asked a server later that they confirmed the Pielihueso was sold out and I had been given the Furlani Trebbiano. Weird!

Next: the food. Oof. The bone marrow lacked much marrow, it was mostly flavorless oil sitting on that bone. The steak frites made me very sad. That was the chewiest and sinewy-est steak I’ve ever had from a Meat Hook purveyor. You could barely cut it with the serrated knife. I ate it, because I was starving. But I was still hungry afterwards and went to get a slice of pizza elsewhere. If it were just me and my partner at dinner, I would’ve complained on the spot, but I didn’t want to risk commotion in front of my friends.

I add 3 stars due to our lovely server who was super attentive, refilled drinks often, and hooked it up with the Calabrian aioli...

I wish I had better pictures and better things to say about Cozy Royale. I love the Meat Hook and everything about their approach to food. The good: service was outstanding. Our server was very attentive, knowledgeable, and timely. The space is great, feels comfortable, and looks good. Food: the beet salad was inspired, gem salad with the steak was also outstanding. The Bad: I was sorely disappointed with the mains, and devastated by the $120 dry-aged NY strip. I like a med-rare, and this was a bit more rare than that. Bleeding. Bone in was a nice flare, but the steak was so fatty/gristly I couldn't eat most of it. Their other meat offerings were only so-so. Sticky sausages, not sticky. The burger was good, but... I guess I expected greatness. The drink list was lacking in several ways. First, the wine list was limited to relatively unknown grapes and styles (i.e. skin contact orange wines) that, while interesting on their own, were entirely inappropriate as pairings for the menu options. Second, while the cocktails options were interesting, one member of our group reported hers felt watered down and...

Decided to check our Cozy Royale on their third night after opening and it was generally a positive experience. Outdoor seating setup was relaxed and on a quiet street. Points to them for clearly outlining covid protocol when we were seated. Our waitress was friendly and knowledgeable. Drinks list has a great selection of cocktails, wine and beer. Had the corn salad and tuna dip to start - both were very tasty. Shared the pork steak, which was delicious. My only problem with the experience was that at 8:30, after an enjoyable 90 minutes, we had another staff member come to our table with the check, telling us that we had to leave because there were people waiting for our table and that we could take our wines to go. This was a little jarring given a) we were never told of a time limit b) had only just finished our entree and c) were considering ordering another drink and dessert. I'll put this down to teething problems but we definitely walked away with a bit of a sour taste given the end felt so rushed. Will try again in a few weeks when hopefully this...