Reknown Mario Batali opened a seafood restaurant. Holy cow! Haha great stuff, very fresh, well seasoned. Book in advance, it gets crowded. We got there on time and still had to wait for a bit to get seated, that was a bit annoying, but otherwise, was a good experience. Terribly pricey overall, and seemed a bit pretentious given that it is in the pseudo Hell’s Kitchen – Times Square area, you’d think it would be less. It’s close to my friend’s place though, too bad she’s allergic to shrimp, I’d go more often. The frutti di mare was alright, they have this great squid ink pasta that makes your lips blaaaack hahaa

I ate here somewhat randomly on a trip to NYC – it was the only place on my “to try” list that I was able to get a last minute reservation at. It seemed like they were holding some very small, somewhat uncomfortable tables right by the entrance for walk-in or last minute reservations (which was much appreciated). Service was excellent. We went for the tasting menu which was overall quite good. I have to agree with one of the other reviewers – sometimes simple is better, and there wasn’t really anything simple about the preparations here.

I like eating at the bar when Victor is bartending. While it is a Batali restaurant, this place is great due to the chef/owner Dave Pasternack. Dave is one of these NYC treasures kinda guy. If you order the raw oysters, they come by and shave fresh horseradish over them. That’s incredible. So simple . . . but why doesn’t anyone else do it? A lot of the crudo dishes here are great: the wild portuguese branzino comes to mind, as well as the sea urchin. The burata with spoonbill caviar is a super appetizer. Dave makes a bolognese sauce out of fresh tuna steaks, mackeral, pancetta, red wine, and marscapone cheese that IS INCREDIBLE. The guy is a frickin’ genius. He roasts pompano in alfalfa to give it a smoky roasted flavor. It’s heaven. And during salmon season he’s got these eskimos sending him the best salmon you’ve ever tasted in your life: Cooks Inlet and Yukon River are my favorites. He did a house smoked salmon roe this year that was phenomenal. Not to mention his Sicilian-style swordfish — the best swordfish I have ever eaten. No comparison. Seriously, this is a really great restaurant. I eat here all the time and never get sick of it.

For all it’s hype (well, Batali’s), Esca is nice and reliable, but not great. If you love your seafood untampered with, this is NOT the place to go (just go buy great seafood from a market somewhere and dump it in some boiling water, or better yet, have it raw, you lazy bastards). They do great carpaccio, and remember not to stray from seafood. Fish is flippin fresh, but flavour combos are ubiquitous – think butter, lemon, parsley and the like. But hey, no one said classic’s not good. Service is friendly and the atmos is Ame-refined, with dark timbers and white linens.