I personally feel like New York City has too many natural wine bars, but over time my impression of natural wine has changed quite a bit mostly because I did try some pretty good ones without the distinctly funky taste that I hated so much when I tried the first natural wine. When I heard of another natural wine bar opening in West Village, my thought was “Urgh, how typical.” But then I started hearing some good things about L’Accolade so I figured I could use this for a casual Friday dinner date with my wife Jun. Overall, it was a solid dinner.

The menu at L’Accolade resembles that of a modern bistro in Paris, with French-centric dishes that are intended to go well with the wines. The restaurant has a la carte options as well as three-course options at $45 per person. We opted for the latter to try as many dishes as possible. For the starters, the Hamachi crudo with dashi and citrus was a solid one, although we would’ve liked a few more pieces. While I liked the touch of pomegranate sprinkled throughout the braised endive salad accompanied by chicories and walnut, the flavor of some parts of the vegetable was a bit too sour for my taste. The more successful dishes came from the main menu. Since we recently came back from a wonderful trip to Iceland, we were tempted to try the Icelandic cod with braised burdock, buckwheat and watercress that was quite delicious. Chicken, accompanied by petite vegetables and bacon, also displayed good texture and the seasoning was well-balanced. For the desserts, the concord grape and peanut accompanied by yuzu ice cream was solid, while the combination of spiced pear compote and vanilla parfait was a bit overpowered by the spice of cinnamon meringue.

Getting a reservation at L’Accolade wasn’t too difficult but the place filled out quickly on a Friday evening, so I do recommend booking in advance if possible. The charming modern bistro décor of the makes the restaurant a great option for a casual date night in West Village. Interestingly, the staff on our visit was mostly French. Our server gave us an opportunity to taste a couple of reds before we settled on a bottle from Languedoc, one of the regions that produces large quantity of natural wine, that was complex without the funky finish. The food at L’Accolade wasn’t perfect but it was well-designed to eat alongside the wine. If you are looking for a new venue for dates, it is worth exploring the wine and food options here.

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

• Creativity: 8.0/10
• Execution: 8.0/10
• Ingredients: 8.0/10
• Flavor: 7.5/10
• Texture: 8.0/10
• Value: 8.0/10

Address: 302 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10014

Telephone: (917) 409-1407

Website: https://www.accolade-ny.com/