Plado Tasting Bar - East Village, NYC — Restaurant in New York

We were a party of 4 and wanted to try restaurant week before it ended for the summer. After doing some researching and looking through the menus, the food on this one looked really interesting. After calculating how much of a deal we would be getting for food (not including drinks) it was just $3 dollars cheaper. However, we thought maybe the portion size would be a little more than the regular menu to justify the tiny deal for restaurant week.

Food review: Garden Salad ($15): It was a great salad and was really flavorful. The ingredients mixed together complimented each other well. However, the portion size was the same as the regular menu. Cavoletti ($13): I love brussel sprouts and thought they did a great job on make them crispy and flavorful. However, it was a bit oily. Portion size was same as regular menu. Millefeuille of Aubergine ($16): This dish was good too. It was cheesy and the tomato sauce was good as well, reminded me a little of eggplant parmesan. It was a bit oily, and portion size was same as regular menu. Chorizo & Wild Mushroom ($17): This one was a bit too salty, but if I ignored the saltiness it was good. It was cheesy and the mushrooms enhanced the cheese and bread flavor. This was also the first dish where I felt like the size did justify the price. Brisket Croquette ($16): The taste of the crispy outside with the shredded beef inside was good, and the cream complemented the dish. There was no difference in the portion size. Veg Medi Paella ($22): This one was not worth the price. It was not flavorful and it was even saltier than the Chorizo & Wild Mushroom flatbread. I was hoping that someone would have came to check up on us (which most of the restaurants i've been to they always do ask) so i could have said that the flatbread and the paella was salty, but unfortunately that did not happen Chef Daily Selection (I think it's $12 based on the dessert menu): It was a tiny piece of cake that I don't think was worth the price, but the taste was good. It was warm and the fruits and sweet sauce complemented the cake. Gelato Tasting ($12): This was 2 scoops of ice cream of 4 people, so I guess it would have been $24? I have never paid $24 dollars in my life for 2 scoops of ice cream. There wasn't anything special about the taste. I couldn't even remember the flavor.

Service: The restaurant week menu had a mandatory 20% tip, which I am okay with. However, the same way that 20% tip was mandatory, the same way I expected good service. The waiters did not come check on us throughout the course of the meal, which I have never experienced before in other restaurants if it was a multi-course meal. I would have said something about the saltiness if they had asked. Also, they forgot the limoncello/coffee which we would have totally missed out on if my friend did not browse through the menu again.

Atmosphere: It was hot. nuff said.

Overall: So the portion size was not bigger, it was the same as the regular menu. So to me, restaurant week was not worth it as there was not a huge discount compared to other restaurants I have got to over the past few years. The mandatory 20% tip would have been fine if we were checked up on and the drink was not forgotten (i know people make mistakes however given that we were not able to change the tip, the service quality should not change either).

The whole meal for 4 came out to be $318 for 2 plates of the each item above, the ice cream was only one bowl though...

A friend and I met up here for brunch and I was pleasantly surprised. The food and service was good and the restaurant was cute. They serve both small plates and brunch options (on weekend afternoons) and we tried a little of both. My friend made us a reservation for brunch. I walked in a little after 1230pm and there was no one there except the staff and I. This was fine except they do require a credit card hold for reservations (or maybe it's Resy) which is a little strange and not needed.

I started off at the bar with a latte. The coffee was good and served as a much needed caffeine dose.

After my friend walked in, we moved to a table, which was slightly too small and was also right next to the table behind us. But the acoustics were fine, and I couldn't even hear the person sitting 6 inches or so away from me.

We started with the vegetarian "wings" which were battered and fried cauliflower and broccoli served with a sesame BBQ sauce and a thick parmesan /salty cheese flavored dip. Or maybe it was an aioli. The battery wasn't as crispy as I would have liked, but the dish was delicious. Definitely get this if you're with someone who doesn't eat meat.

Next, my friend and I shared the Ranchero which was on their brunch menu. This was delicious! The sauce was flavorful and well seasoned. There was enough spice on it that I didn't feel the need to ask for hot sauce. It came decorated with chips and those provided a great crunch.

Finally, we had the French toast with coconut, banana, and Nutella. This is where the small table became an issue as there were too many dishes on the table. If you go with a friend or order multiple dishes, I recommend asking for them to be brought out staggered. I was worried the French toast was going to be too sweet but it was not! The bread was cooked perfectly and the accompanying whipped cream was not sweetened which helped cut through the chocolate. The raspberries on the side provided a good tart note.

Overall the portions were big enough for two and the food was better than most brunch options in Manhattan, imo. I would recommend this place for a quieter brunch in the...

Me and my Fiancé were lucky enough to get the place to ourselves this Super Bowl Sunday. I picked this restaurant for our upcoming trip to NYC and when we walked in was greeted by a cozy and intimate decor or the first floor. We had a reservation but I saw the bar and since everyone was out watching the game we could kind of have it to ourselves. We were taken care of by the owner because she let her staff have off for the night which is lovely (coming from my restaurant background) she was pleasant and we got to learn a lot about the restaurant, the brand and her husband the chefs passion for making great food. We had a mix of some regular menu items and some happy hour. We had a small meat board with olives, bread, ricotta, jamon and salam. We also had hummus with these delightful little Italian crackers. We got brisket croquettes that were too die for. AN INCREDIBLE espresso martini, pisco sour and a gimlet. We finished off with a play on a Lindser tart but with a soft Bundt cake raspberry jam and unbelievable pistachio gelato. She gave us limoncello on the house as a palette cleanser. We were so impressed and followed her recommendation of our next place to watch the game. Overall 10/10...