Bedford & Co at The Renwick hotel is the newest solo venture for Chef John DeLucie (formerly of The Crown, Waverly Inn and other buzzy restaurants several years ago). This is a new restaurant of about two months old that is still working out the small kinks with service but the food was incredibly good. The restaurant is conveniently located two blocks south of Grand Central Terminal and in walk able distance from Bryant Park.
When we entered the place, it feels cozy and it’s tastefully decorated of modern mid-century with the exposed chopped wood stacked up on the walls. Leather chairs and banquettes and dark wood tables without tablecloths lent an air of casualness.
We started with cocktails of Probito (Woodford Reserve, Amaro Montenegro based drink) for my friend and the classic Moscow Mule for me. Both were made very nicely.
Our appetizers of beef tartare ($18) and wood grilled Portuguese octopus ($19) were excellently done. The beef tartare was silky but the puffed barley added crunch and nuttiness and the puree of celery root gave it creaminess and flavor. The octopus was tender and the squid ink vinaigrette added so much wonderful briny flavor with a slight zing of heat from the chili.
We were astounded how intensely flavored our plate of squid ink spaccatelli ($22) was. The squid ink pasta was cooked through but had enough chew. The delicate rings of squid contrasted with the piquant, spicy nduja and buttery breadcrumbs. We were swooning.
Since my friend was craving beef, we shared the Piedmonete grass-fed rib eye for two ($115). This steak was beautifully aged, nicely seasoned, tender 32-ounce rib eye, cooked to the requested medium-rare. Topped with herb butter, served with a side of a whole head of roasted garlic and béarnaise sauce, it hits all of the classics perfectly. The small side of watercress salad was a smart idea to refresh the palate.
The side of grilled broccolini ($10) was a tasty side delivering the pleasant bitterness to reset our palates from the heavy dishes we’re having.
The only dud for this meal was dessert. We split the bananas foster semifreddo ($10) and found it too sweet (I think it’s the caramel) and frozen too hard for a semifreddo. Otherwise, the flavor of the very ripe banana was deep and complex. We did enjoy the crispiness of the banana chips.
Based on this visit, I would definitely come back again for another meal. The savory food ranges from very good to excellent and the menu spans to accommodate most palates and diets. The service was friendly but has minor issues (unsurprising for a two-month old restaurant). This restaurant has lots of potential.
To see the entire photo set of this visit, please CLICK HERE or see some of the photos below:
[alpine-phototile-for-flickr src=”set” uid=”26389565@N00″ sid=”72157665043555994″ imgl=”flickr” shuffle=”1″ style=”gallery” row=”4″ grwidth=”1200″ grheight=”800″ size=”640″ num=”30″ shadow=”1″ border=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″]Information:
Bedford & Co. at The Renwick
Website
118 East 40th Street
(between Lexington Avenue & Park Avenue)
New York, NY 10016
Map
Phone: (212) 634-4040