Chinatown Brasserie (Restaurant Review)

NYC is filled with many mainstream and trendy Asian inspired restaurants owned by American Entrepreneurs who have taken Chinese Take-Out to the next level. I recently had the pleasure of dining at Chinatown Brasserie with co-workers for a celebratory toast to a successful end of Fashion Week.

So was it all that it was hyped up to be? Quite frankly, not really. Yes, it's a cool and dimlit restaurant that gives off the ambiance of swanky east meets west cigar/speakeasy type lounge. The architects and interior designers did a wonderful job decking out the place. The food and the service, well that's a different story. I've had better in the hole in the wall shop down in NYC's Chinatown. If you know where to go, you'll get the best $1 dumplings as opposed to paying $12 for only 6 dumplings. The food is a total rip for what it is. I hate to say it, but I think I can prepare better noodles than the greasy stuff that I ate for dinner...

I must say though, the food does come out piping hot! I took a photo of my little Vegetable Moo Shu just before I scarfed it down! It was definitely a bit oily as you can tell from the photo. The veggies were crunchy and the sauce in the noodles were tasty. Was it out of this world? No. It simply tasted like normal Moo Shu I could have ordered from the Chinese Take-Out around the corner from my apartment in Brooklyn. They were a little more successfule with their cocktail and drink menu. Very creative and new ways of mixing Chinese flavors such as Ginger and Orange Zest, which you will find in a lot of the fancier Chinese cuisines. I ordered a Kiwi Gimlet that contained gin, kiwi puree, lemon, and some lime. Not too sweet, but just enough tang. The only issue here was the tiny little kiwi seeds kept getting stuck in my teeth!

Overall, the food was mediocre and the service was slow (and it wasn't even that busy). I say don't waste your money if you want good authentic Chinese food. This is just another trendy Americanized Chinese Eatery where you're paying more for the ambiance than the quality of food. I can give you a whole list of restaurants and small shops down in Chinatown where you can find the same food at half the price or less and I gurantee you, the authenticity of flavors will satisfy your hungry tastebuds! Until next time, happy eating!