Food is very good. I would not necessarily call it a meal though. Portion sizes are very small. They only have a few wines on the menu because it is all about the cocktails which I have to say are pretty incredible. They do have all of the wine from Contra off list but you have to be willing to have a discussion around it to find what you want and I am not sure if they do it for everyone.
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I agree. Have seen for $225 elsewhere. The champagne markups at musket room seemed especially sharp.
I had a work connection that hooked me up with a reservation at Fly Fish Club last night. Itâs not the type of restaurant that I would be chasing, but my kids are seeing it all over social media so they wanted to try it.
The menu is big and ranges from sushi to pasta to various mains and then steaks. I feel like itâs in that Corner Store veinâŚchicken nuggies, chicken caesar salad, crispy rice, etc. Nothing that I would call fancy, but all executed well.
The room is great and comfortable. The vibe is most definitely tik tok friendly. The chef, Josh Capon, is walking around the room and glad handing. I found him to be charming as did my kids. The service is an 11/10. I canât get over how much staff was on hand. It felt like there were two staffers per table. The were literally lined up on the side of the room. Gary Vaynerchuk was there so I said hello and reminisced for a minute about the early wine library days and that he and I were in the same fantasy baseball league for a bit.
Am I rushing back? Probably not. Did my family have a fun time and enjoy? 100%.
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Never went to Contra but we loved Dave Arnoldâs bars (rip Booker and dax) so we went when it first opened.
Food was good but portions were small, the space is cramped (basically elbowing the tables next to us), and the cocktails were good but didnât move me. Granted they had just opened but I probably wonât be back for a while.
Never heard of it, but google says itâs a private club, which seems extremely unappealing.
BUT, in light of all the ongoing conversations about how the restaurant industry is struggling to find a workable business model, I can see how the private club model is potentially more sustainable. Locks in clientele and gives them incentives to be repeat customers in a narrower range of places (their club, or handful of clubs). That was certainly how it worked in the 19th and early 20th century. Far from the same dynamism weâve seen in recent years, but whatâs old is new?
Nice flag. Just skimmed list. Great list! Clearly someone who love bev.
This is a pretty big thing in Buenos Aires referred to as puertas cerradas or closed doors. Theyâre not really private clubs. Basically anyone can go but theyâre pretty much by reservation only and theyâre usually in an unmarked location. Similar things in other cities but, to my knowledge, less prevalent and on a smaller scale. Done for various reasons. Oftentimes theyâre done in places/homes which are not up to code and my guess is owners are not declaring income on their taxes.
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pretty much this.
we tried to get dinner at haâs snack bar but didnât want to wait. btw, it smelled excellentâŚwould very much like to go.
we ended up at bar contra and i regretted it as soon as the host asked me for my water preference before i took my coat off. the place is cramped but the table next to us was empty. overheard lots of talks about AI and crypto which was a turnoff. i asked about any bottles of wine but noâŚthere was i believe one white and one red option for ~$25 a glass. as i have been taking january off, i opted to drink sparkling to the dismay of my server.
had 6-7 dishesâŚall fine but nothing outstanding and yes, small portions. enjoyed the celeriac crumpet and the carpaccio the most. we decided to leave before having more and ended up at cervos instead for another plate or two and dessert.
some restaurants (or bars in this case) are clearly one-sided and not in your favor. i felt like bar contra is trying to get one off the patron and i wont return. it is indeed more bar than restaurant thoughâŚi think we were the only table eating.
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Interesting, although that does sound more like a standard restaurant in terms of interfacing with the customers. Just not with the permits and the taxes!
But a world with a return of private social clubs would have many implications for the public sphere.
A bit of harsh review considering you went to a cocktail bar and did not have a cocktail 
Tried for last minute res at Claude on Tuesday (as was nearby grabbing 70mm showing of Brutalist). They were very nice when i emailed but nothing until later in evening. So we stopped in at Chambers on the way home after the movie, and had a lovely Spanish white, full mouthed, dense yet low in alcohol Couto Mixto⌠& a marvelous Chisa Bize Savigny-lès-Beaune Aka ⌠could taste Japanese tea influence âŚ. Delicious.
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what is the vintage on that aka? 21?
11.5%! did that seem accurate? would love to see a shot of the color if possible 
Nope. Sorry. Didnât take a shot of the color. Leaned lighter if memory serves correctly (not dark fruit color).
Is this AKA no SO2 wine?
Yes, I believe it is bottled with no added SO2
I had one at Les Soleil alongside the version with SO2. Very cool comparison. I liked both.
Nice ! Must eat there some day ⌠heard good things âŚ
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Iâm following up on my earlier post on dining in the Madison Square Garden MSG-area just to add to specific asks here.
After the Knicks afternoon matinee on 1/12, reserved (recommended), went with niece to Izakaya Mew. Iâd go here again if Iâm looking for a safe play in the neighborhood. The fried chicken dish and Kurobuta pork hit the spot! Down them with some dry sake from the relatively-deep list.
Knicks won big time against Bucks, so my enjoyment level may have already been amped up.
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