Osamil — Restaurant in New York

(In the words of Moira Rose)

Dearest reader,

Tuesday evening was meant to be an enchanting culinary sojourn — a soirée of spirits, sustenance, and scintillating conversation. Alas, what transpired was a veritable tragedy of manners.

My modest party — a mere five souls, hardly a throng — arrived ten minutes prior to our reservation, positively brimming with anticipation. Four of the five assembled in a timely fashion, and we, with the utmost decorum, beseeched the hostess: might we perch at the bar and partake in a libation or two whilst awaiting our final compatriot?

But no — No, no, no. The hostess, a grim sentinel of the entryway, declared with the ferocity of a border guard: “Sir, if your whole party isn’t here, we can’t sit you.” Not whispered discreetly — no — but broadcast for all within earshot to hear, as though she fancied herself a town crier announcing imminent doom.

The establishment, mind you, was riddled with empty tables and a barren bar — a veritable tundra of unoccupied furniture. Still, she clung to her decree like a cat clings to a velvet curtain.

So we waited. Like exiles in a foreign land.

Upon the arrival of our fifth, the saga worsened: we were informed with little ceremony and even less grace that another party lusted after our table and thus, our time to dine was grotesquely truncated — a mere hour and fifteen minutes to feast and make merry.

I, maintaining an admirable degree of composure, issued a firm yet civilized warning: “If you attempt to dislodge us prematurely, we shall escalate matters accordingly.”

With all the poise of a scorned understudy, the hostess flung our menus onto the table and departed, leaving behind only a trail of despair.

Blessedly — oh, blessedly — a waitress of divine patience and rare human warmth took us under her wing. She allowed us to sip, to savor, to stretch time as though it were spun sugar. The food? Sublime. The portions? Munificent. The waitress? A veritable seraph.

The hostess, however? A tragic failure in the theater of...

Came here for dinner on a recent weeknight. Reservation for two. I was early so I waited by the bar. It was one of those sweltering hot NYC summer days and it was nice to get inside. The AC was surprisingly not on full blast. Maybe they knew because the manager brought me a glass of water without asking while I waited. The place is a long boxcar of a place with a bar up front and seats in the back. The walls are lined with shelves of fancy bottles of spirits behind a decorative display case. Looking to the back was an open view into the kitchen. The place was dark, the noise level was a low energetic din. Our waiter was very pleasant and adjusted to our needs as we settled in. The service all night was terrific. Here's what we ordered. Mojitos - minty with just enough sugar to smooth it out and just enough rum to make you a little happier by the time you slow sip to the bottom. Sweet potato fries - nice crunch with a sweet dense inside but made perfect by a mayo dip that was addictively piquant. Soy garlic wings - excellent execution of Korean fried wings with a savory sauce that was a little more complexity than your average KFC (Korean fried chicken, natch). Gochujang chicken skewer and a pork skewer - the chicken was tender and had that smoky charred slightly sweet peppery flavor; the pork one was probably the only disappointment in that it was a little dry and far more muted in its flavor. Lastly we had the uni bibimbap - kind of smallish but very rich with hunks of uni that get smeared about as you mix up the dish. It comes with a small dark sauce which just turned out to be mostly sesame oil. It's served room temperature (great in summer) and had good flavors and textures. Overall, the food was very good. Warning, because the food is kind of tapas/anju style in support of making you buy drinks, it can quickly add up. This place is a good way to safely expand your Korean food repertoire while consuming alcohol, which in reality is how genuine Korean food is...

Cool spot with plenty of seating and a memorable food experience. Upbeat classy eatery, more suited for a casual date or a group experience. Gastropub feel, high class menu. Slightly pricey, but the menu options and flavor profiles make up for it. Highly recommend!

Food: 9/10 The food was phenomenal. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a wide variety of unique menu items I was more than willing to try. The mackerel was succulent and tasty. The Beef tartare was pleasant and most likely not a good rendition of traditional beef tartare's! The kimchi fried rice with flank steak was the highlight of the menu. The steak melted in your mouth, and the rice held such a strong flavor profile with a perfect amount of spice. The shishitos were good (it's impossible to make bad shishitos) but lackluster in comparison to the many places I've had shishitos. The fried (anchovies?) that served as a topping saved the dish for sure.

Service: 3/5 Took awhile to get our server to get our drinks and menu, but to be fair, it looked like he had every table in the restaurant. He was endlessly running around. There wasn't any real introduction, just what do you want to eat kind of thing. Once we ordered, the food was prompt and quick! Our wine glasses were constantly refilled which boosted the service in my eyes.

Experience: 5/5 This place had a spatious outdoor dining with a warming building built around it! The bar itself was very classy and cool. The various types of seating gave it a more creative look. The creative menu is exactly what I search for, and I had such a good time. I was glad I took my cousin from California here as one of our meals!

Value: 3/5 The portions can vary from small to fair. We split 3 shareable small dishes and one shareable entree, and it was enough for small eaters I suppose. When paying $10-20 for small plates I expected a little more. We had enough room to go up the street to an ice cream parlor and fill up...