I recently talked to my wife Jun about our experience in the DC area since we had moved here more than three years ago. After some misses, we had found some really good restaurants that we found ourselves visiting multiple times; Jun was quite adamant, though, that the overall quality of restaurants in NYC in terms of breadth and consistency is still superior to DC. Nowadays, when we visit NYC, we would often just go back to our favorites like Atomix and Frevo rather than try new places that could’ve given us a better idea of the latest state of dining in the city. On our recent trip in September, I wanted to try a few new places to check out what other chefs outside of our familiar circles were up to. The Noortwyck in West Village was one such place, started by a pair of alums from Eleven Madison Park (chef Andrew Quinn and sommelier Cedric Nicaise). We met with a couple whose wedding in Barcelona we had recently attended for early dinner, and found a lot to like about the restaurant.

If you have been to enough number of restaurants in big cities like NYC or DC, the menu at The Noortwyck might not look especially intriguing. Who hadn’t tried fluke crudo, heirloom tomatoes or duck breast at a sleek New American restaurant in a buzzy neighborhood, right? But then, the more we tried the dishes, the more realized that the kitchen was doing something special. Fluke Crudo, accompanied by cucumber and fennel, had spot-on texture, while grilled Romano beans with bagna cauda demonstrated the kitchen’s high level of competency with vegetables. If the heirloom tomatoes with stracciatella and peach jam are still on the menu during your visit, they are not to be missed. The restaurant also has a couple of pastas on the menu, and the agnolotti with corn and summer truffle showed lovely earthy flavor without being overpowering. The aforementioned duck breast was also one of the standout dishes from our dinner, wonderfully grilled BBQ-style to give juicy meat, as was the pork belly with tamarin and fennel that I thought had really great moist flavor and texture. All of us were quite stuffed at the end of the savory dishes and ended up splitting one dessert, a deconstructed expression of mille feuille with banana, stout caramel and pecan almost resembling a sculpture that ended up tasting quite delightful.

Thanks to its location and quality of cooking, The Noortwyck is one of the harder restaurants to secure a reservation, especially at the last minute. If you are looking to dine during prime time, especially with a larger group, advance planning is highly recommended. The typical West Village vibe of the restaurant full of younger crowds looking for a fun Saturday night out can feel somewhat chaotic at times but not uncomfortably so. Not surprisingly given the pedigree of one of the founders, the wine list was impressive, with some really interesting bottles from different corners of the world (I had no idea that there are red Burgundy wines produced nearby the all-white Chablis region until I encountered from the wine list a pinot noir from the nearby Epineuil appellation that was remarkably delicious without breaking the bank). After our visit to The Noortwyck, I realized that Jun was onto something in terms of the overall consistent quality of restaurants in NYC, knowing that, despite its precise and well-executed cooking, the restaurant has somewhat flown under the radar in the city’s crowded dining scene. Judging by how satisfied Jun was with the dining experience, The Noortwyck certainly deserves more attention from the foodies in the city.

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.25/10)

Address: 289 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10014

Website: https://www.thenoortwyck.com/

Reservation via Resy