Decoy — Restaurant in New York

4 1/2 stars

After watching a generational stage talent hone her craft (cough cough Sarah Snook in The Portrait of Dorian Gray cough cough), a nip was in order, and I had zero interest in lingering anywhere near the Broadway/Times Square area. My top-tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality and I initially Ubered over to nearby Orient Express (one of my faves), but it was too crowded so after walking past a few other packed establishments, we saw this - a subtle basement-level bar with a small handful of customers. My kind of jam. It also feels like being in a basement, in the best possible way. There's a lot of wood paneling that felt like the merging of my grandparents' finished basement from back in the day, but with a lot of modernist touches. And of course, oodles of art featuring ducks, the go-to decoy for waterfowl hunting. Very into it. It's dark so if you're looking for gorgeous lighting, I'd keep walking, but I think you sort of know not to expect that going in when it comes to basement bars.

The cocktail situation here was excellent and very innovative. As with the bar food, there was a distinct Asian influence, which isn't something I encounter regularly so it was a pleasant change of pace (though my favorite wine, gewurztraminer, has those vibes by virtue of its lychee notes). We tried a few items on this menu, but the best was probably Golden Yuen, which my chum LOVED, and she's pretty picky especially when it comes to tequila-based beverages. It had a sweet yuzu foam on top, and the ginger paired really well with the tarter fruits in it - you had a long of strong flavors that were kept in check, which was impressive. Really strong item. I also opted for a Nectar of Wukong, which was as close as I could find to a bourbon-based drink (it was scotch). Decent with a solid presentation value; per the accompanying pic, it had a bubble on top that was reminiscent of the toadstools from Mario. Little too sweet for my palate though.

The food rivaled the drinks, which is saying something. I wasn't insanely hungry but had bypassed dinner so the compromise there seemed to be some dumpling action - I'm always down for a dumpfest. We ordered multiple dumplings, including the Five Flavor Chicken (the bartender's recommend), the Pan Fried Lamb, the Shrimp/Snow Peas, and the Oxtail. We diverged considerably on our opinions here, but the Chicken probably WAS the best, though it was very peanut buttery - not something I'm always in the mood for. That's not to say I had a negative opinion of the other dumplings, but they were all pretty much on the same playing field for me, tasty and flavorful, but not quite to the level of the Chicken.

Honestly, the only negative, and it's definitely a "your mileage may vary" situation, is that it's pretty pricey. The cocktails were all hovering in the $20 range, and the dumplings were close to $25, despite only having four each in an order. We ended up spending over $200 here, which is fine and something we're both willing to do on a city excursion like this, but it's arguably not worth the price given the portion sizes. I thought the price point for the cocktails was the more reasonable of the two, when you considered how high quality they were and that you're in the West Village - this stuff is just going to cost a few more dollars than it would in the suburbs.

Really solid recommend overall. The service was excellent, and we both really appreciated that the staff let us linger and didn't try to push us out despite our being the only customers there for a significant stretch (I think they were still technically open the entire time, but the foot traffic was going into the nearby Alehouse - hard pass for me). And who doesn't like sipping on a cocktail whilst gazing at a...

When I found out that my husband had never had Peking Duck, I had to get him to have one. I have had really good Peking duck, and and then not-so-great Peking duck, and those were such huge difference that I knew that I had to take him to a really good place. After my research, I decided on Decoy, since it was said as one of the best place to have Peking duck. I quickly made reservation.

The inside is rather small. Most of the seating here is a long communal table. This could be a bit awkward if you are not used to sitting next to a stranger. Also, depends on where you are sitting, it takes long time to get in and out, making it difficult just getting to the bathroom.

Right by the entry door, there were two separate nooks with seating on each side. One side is a counter seats for three people. On the other side is a private table for two people. For some awesome luck, we got to have the private table for two!!! We were so happy… Good things happens to good people!

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted warmly by the manager, Craig. He took us to our nice private table, and once learned that this was our first time visiting Decoy, he took time to explain their menu to us. Super nice! When our waitress came over, she also explained the menu to us, they are all really nice here. The prix fixe Peking Duck menu comes with Homemade Pickles, Decoy Chips, Duck Consommé Shots, 10 Pancakes, 3 sauces, choice of small plates, and choice of fried rice or veggie side. The portion of each items are adjusted depending on your party size so that everyone gets good amount of food. As for duck itself, they provide 1 duck per party of 5 or less. So, basically, the less friends you bring, the more duck you will have… LOL

One thing I have to mention is their bathroom. I waited for a quite a while, almost made me wonder if there is really someone in the restroom, or if the door nob is broken??? After a while, a young female came out, almost running away. When I got inside, I realized that she was running away from her shame…she obviously could not figure out how to flush the high tech toilet!!! LOL! She could at least warn me and said “I am sorry, I couldn’t flush it…” So, they have this super cool Japanese toilet, TOTO. The control panel was installed on top of the toilet paper holder, and there you find the button function for “flush.” Maybe the restaurant should put out an instructional sign that indicates how to flush the toilet.

Ok, done with the toilet part. As I mentioned, the staffs here are very efficient, friendly, and they know their stuff. Our waitress was really nice too. Our water was filled, dirty dishes picked up quickly, and clean plates delivered without asking for it. The manager, Craig does a great job looking over the entire restaurant, constantly walking around, making sure everyone was happy. We certainly were super happy!

As this is a small restaurant, they do take the reservation very seriously. Once you make the reservation, the commitment to the duck feast needs to be given to the restaurant in a form of your credit card information. If you decide not to show up, they will charge you a penalty fee. They will also ask you to confirm the reservation either by email or phone. If you do not confirm your reservation by 4pm on the day of your reservation, they might not hold your seat. It might sound like an extra stress, but nowadays, many other restaurants call you a day before to confirm your reservation also. And most of all, it is totally worth the extra time and attention at Decoy! Read my full review of the restaurant and food on my food blog,...

They market themselves as having the "best peking duck in the city" as that is plastered outside their restaurant, so my friend from out-of-town wanted to give this place a try. He made reservations online for our party of four. The website wasn't clear to us that we ALL had to participate in the prix fixe menu as the menu on their website states there is a peking duck for $85. Hence when we got to the restaurant, we were seated and told that we all had to participate in the $75/person prix fixe menu. The manager told us since we made a reservation we had to all participate. Everyone in our party was shocked and surprised, and the manager said there was no way around it. We just felt like we were being pushed and manipulated into ordering the $75/person prix fixe menu. It didn't seem like there was another choice, and we had come here to try the duck, so we were basically forced without a choice.

For our party of four, we were told we could choose 4 small plates, 2 mains and one rice. We were already paying $75/person, and the menu asked even to pay even more for certain supplements to these small plates ad mains, which is just incredulous! The food-it was terrible! The peking duck was the worst duck I have ever had. If you have ever had authentic peking duck, you would know this is NOT it. This was a plain jane roast duck that was used to deceiving unassuming Americans who would not know better. The duck had no taste, the wrappers were too thick, and the sauces were just a terrible complement. Our party of four got served the same plate of duck as the party of two next to us. Does that make any sense at all when we paid double the price?!! This was just plain highway robbery.

During our entire meal, not once did any server or manager acknowledge our presence! We were not once asked how our food was or if we needed anything! There was NO service at all. We should not have left a tip because there was no tip to be given for zero service! Not only was there a lack of service, my party was being constantly pushed by customers and the servers. Our waitress kept pushing and bumping into the two people in my party who sat in the walkway area. It was a constant push and shove for our whole party, which I'm surprised if I don't have a body full of bruises.

After we succumb to ordering the prix fixe menu, we overheard our waitress say to the next table that they would not have to comply with the prix fixe menu despite them also having a reservation! Thus, I brought that up with the manager. He made an excuse that their party had gotten bigger since they made the reservation, so one person in their party didn't need to comply. If your restaurant has a policy of everyone needing to order prix fixe if they have reservations, then why was there an exception! There was no exception given to our party! I was just so appalled. The manager was had such poor customer service, and it was obvious he didn't know how to work in the hospitality industry. At the end of the meal, the manager then told me that we could have just headed upstairs to their sister restaurant RedFarm if we wanted the duck a la carte. Are you kidding me!!?? You tell us at the end of the meal that this was an option! Seriously this was perfect timing, so we could shell out our money without a chance to look back.

Everything about this place was terrible. I do not understand how it has gotten such high reviews. If you are looking to get proper authentic peking duck, then this is...