Olmsted is a well regarded restaurant located in Prospect Heights which opened to many a glowing review in 2017.
The Resy blurb described Olmsted as ‘a culinary oasis disguised as a neighbourhood restaurant’, and with Greg Baxtrom having worked in top kitchens including Alinea, Per Se and Blue Hill at Stone Barns I was looking forward to a quality meal in a more relaxed setting.
Getting to Olmsted by subway is convenient, with a short 4 minute walk from Grand Army Plaza station (which is on the 2, 3 and 4 lines), which was a good thing given the frosty weather in mid-December.
In this post:
Olmsted Review
The restaurant is one long room with the bar followed by an open kitchen on the left and tables all the way to the back on the right. I had a reservation at the bar this evening and was shown to my seat by the friendly staff by the door.
I had a great view of the busy kitchen to my right and got to see all the cocktails being made right in front of me.
Olmsted Brooklyn Menu
One of the bartenders was also my server for the evening and presented me with the menu, which was folded up and handed over the bar. I quite liked the more casual interactions the bar seating encouraged.
Bread
Unlike more expensive restaurants, bread is an optional course here at Olmsted. The bread was served warm with a generous portion of herb butter, and reminded me of the incredibly wheaty bread at Blue Hill.
Carrot Crepe, Little Neck Clams, Sunflower
Now this dish is regarded as one of the must order dishes at Olmsted and I could see why. In addition to being a visual treat, the flavours were lovely and the sauce slightly sweet.
The server who delivered this dish mentioned that the bread was a great way to mop up the delicious sauce.
Grilled Scallops, Winter Slaw, Spicy Peanuts, XO Sauce
These grilled scallops were delightful, with a slightly smoky flavour and combined nicely with the slaw and peanuts. The XO sauce had just enough kick to it too.
Gingerbread Churros, Butterscotch, Quince
The dessert menu was presented, again over the counter, once the scallop dish had been cleared away.
The gingerbread churros felt like the sort of dessert for a cold winter’s night and was outstanding. Perfectly fried on the outside to be slightly crunchy yet light and fluffy on the inside, the churros worked really well with the ginger, butterscotch and quince.
A final touch was a passionfruit pâte de fruits that was delivered with the bill.
Olmsted Review Summary
I really enjoyed my meal at Olmsted. It has the relaxed vibe of a neighbourhood restaurant but food that showed the chefs background in Michelin starred kitchens.
Both seafood dishes were excellent and the churros really hit the spot for a simple yet memorable dessert.
The value here is excellent and also a good reason to see more of New York outside Manhattan.
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