Two weeks ago the team from design film/restaurant group AvroKO reconfigured their old Double Crown space to create new rooms, add some faux fireplaces, and erect a knife wall, and rejiggered the menu to focus on grilled meats, "aquatic delights," and homemade pots. Now it's Saxon & Parole (named after two horses) and the bar is a veritable scene starting at 6 PM every night. But how's the food? Early responders have been by in droves to find out. Here's what they say:
The Good Burger News: An Eater commenter is an early fan: "I had dinner there last Thursday and had the burger. It's friggin awesome, juicy and got real flavor to it. I'd much rather spend my bucks on this than the sorry $19 excuse they serve at Spotted Pig... This is possibly the best burger (with real quality produce in an up-scale restaurant) in New York." [Eater Comments]
The Rave An almost suspicious number of Yelp reviews are 5 stars from infrequent Yelpers, but hey, maybe the people just love it. Here's an "elite" Yelper: "Yes, this place has been open less than a week...but I've already been here twice, setting a dangerous precedent for weeks to come. The space is beautiful. They've taken the old, giant Double Crown space and carved it up into intimate dining rooms that are cozy but not claustrophobic. There's tons of greenery in pretty silver vases. I can see this being a very romantic date spot. My first sit down dinner started off with a seafood tower and a Portabello pot. The tower gives a nice selection of hyper-fresh oysters, juicy shrimp, and some amazing smoked mussels. For me, oysters are usually the end-all-be-all of starters--but then I met the House-made Pots. I can only describe them as "stupid good." The mushroom pot has a layer of creamy-mushroomy-truffle-oily mousse, topped off with some semi-sweet jam. You slather it on toast and don't stop until you're scraping the sides/have passed out from taste-bud overload." It goes on from there. [Yelp]
The Good News: The folks on Foursquare offer all positive tips including, "The short rib for two was amazing and the pork chop is one of the best that I've ever had," and "I wish all my work days could end with a 'seafood tower' and a mushroom pot from S+P, along with a celery gimlet. Or a glass of their Alsace Pinot blanc. Or both," and "Miso cured bone marrow is delicious along with the meat and cheese plate!" [Foursquare]
The Not Great News: OpenTable offers some raves, some pans and everything in between, like this: "The mushroom in a pot pate was the most amazing thing and presentation-wise great--in the little glass jar, it looked like a little terrarium. I would go back and eat like 5 of those. Unfortunately, the meal peaked with that great start. The wine pours were a little light. They either need to add another ounce or two or get new glasses that don't make the pour look so tiny. The branzino was well cooked (not overdone) but the stuffing was much too heavy for the texture and nature of the fish and the tartar sauce--just an odd accompaniment. Tuna salad was fresh and held some promise but was lacking in flavor. However the place just opened, I'll give it another shot in a month or two before I make a final analysis." [OpenTable]
The Sexy News: Per the only Menupages review: "Sexy decor, check - sexy crowd & staff, check - elevated comfort food that you want to eat everyday, check. Great new place, I'll go back." [Menupages]