This tiny new restaurant on the UWS has too many people and too much dressing. I tried Vai because it sounded so grazerly, with lots of salads, cheese plates and small plates (as well as some actual entrees and pastas for those who choose not to graze).
Upon walking in on a busy Friday night at 9pm, George (the maitre d') told us we'd have a 10-minute wait. It turned out he was able to seat us sooner. He brought over a wine menu and cheerily introduced us to our waiter, who quickly recommended some wines and offered us some tastes. So far, so good. But not for so long...
After bringing us our tastes, the waiter disappeared and didn't come back for a drink (or food) order for quite some time. When he did, he had little to offer in terms of answering questions or making recommendations. We ordered the pear salad, the golden beets salad, and the roasted clams. The salads had way too much dressing; so much so that I can hardly comment on the flavor of the salads themselves. The cheeses (goat on the pear and ricotta on the beet) didn't seem to work. The clams, on the other hand, were way too dry. Small, rubbery and unnecessary pieces of chorizo floated around the dish, taking away from the flavor - if there was any - of the clams.
On top of the uniformly bad food, the space is overcrowded. Tables are cramped and the room is loud. Not a great experience, but I'll give them half a carrot for George and another half for their very cool website.
- The Grazer
No comments:
Post a Comment