Not having an Amex card means you have to scramble for the few remaining dinner reservations available during Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, by the time it was open to non-Amex holders, there were only a handful of restaurants left to choose from. I had to settle with a Saturday dinner at RED. I was hoping it would be good as I've enjoyed a number of meals at its sister restaurant Pure. Plus, the dinner menu sounded pretty amazing on paper.
Again we shared the appetisers and main courses to get a bit more variety. (Picture quality not the best due to low lighting and using a blackberry...)
beef carpaccio
This was probably the highlight of my meal. It was served with parmesan, rocket leaves, and the most delicious fried capers. Real light and perfect for summer.
organic tomato & mozzarella salad
Unfortunately, this was very subpar. I was envisioning tomatoes and mozzarella balls, or at least thick slices of fresh mozzarella. Instead I got the above. I would've happily eaten that cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich, but definitely not in a salad.
homemade gnocchi
This looked really unappetising coming out haha. There was just sooo much sauce on top and while it was described as a bordelaise, I'm pretty sure they meant to say bolognese. It was super hearty and a huge portion. The gnocchi was cooked quite well, and had more of the chewy, dense consistency which is okay in small doses but after just five pieces I was done.
duck confit
This picture didn't come out great either but it's meant to be duck confit. Duck was way too dry and the skin not crispy at all. Oh how I miss confit de canard at Cafe du Marche in Paris... The mashed potatoes were quite alright with the lentils and port wine jus, but it's a pretty sad dish if you eat more of the sides than the actual meat itself...
apple & berry crumble with vanilla ice cream
Luckily you can't go too wrong with crumble and vanilla ice cream. The crumble was yummy, and you could taste all the fatty butter and sugar :)
diva chocolate cake
The diva chocolate cake doesn't come with ice cream so we added $28 for another scoop of vanilla. This cake was a fail. We had asked whether it was an actual cake and the waiter confirmed this. However, when it came it was just chocolate mousse. It was also waaaay too rich. I could only manage one small bite and usually I deal pretty well with chocolate!
All in all, it was definitely a forgettable meal. The only thing I really enjoyed was the carpaccio, which meant the last hour of the meal was a huge disappointment. Plus, they were playing cheesy 90s pop in the background at full volume. Not great for dinner conversation.
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RED Bar + Restaurant
4/F Tower 2
IFC, Central
