Sanzari's Oyster Bar & Grill

[dknyc1]

Anyone been yet?

I have been looking forward to the opening.

I used to work in the building when it was Le Chateau & cant wait to see what they did with the place.

Also, a big fan of Jamie.

[Jason Perlow]

Not yet, but something I'd like to do soon. They did a really nice job with the New Bridge Inn, so I'm curious as to what they did with the place.

[dknyc1]

Well...no other review yet so I decided to go.

This was sort of special for me as I used to work in the building when it was Le Chateau - it was owned by family friends.

I have to say Sanzari was a great experience.

Beautiful renovation - sleek & classy.

I got a sitter & left my 5 year old daughter home but there were a few small kids there - no problem - all were well behaved.

Went Fri 2/17 with my wife, who has a very resticted diet.

We started with Caeser Salad for me. This is one of my must haves out to dinner & this version was great - I didnt see it on menu but when you read more it is listed. It was like a wedge of romaine, with dressing drissled & then these awsome, warm, parmesan balls - croutons - very good.

My wife started with the mini montauk lobster roll app - very cute looking - 4 little, fresh, warm, hot dog rolls filled with lobster salad - I tasted & it was great.

For dinner I had the duck - I had heard Jamie brought a lot of the 90 Grande menu here & this duck was exactly like 90 Grande - perfect.

My wife had plain roast chicken & it was OK.

For desert we split a pecan pund cake that was wonderful.

Great service & perfect experience - we will be back.

Total bill - we had no alchohol - was $110.00 including tip.

PS - my parents went next night with 2 couples & also everyone loved it.

[Jason Perlow]

Do you remember what some of the other menu items were?

[dknyc1]

Pretty varied menu

Lots of raw stuff for appetizers - oysters etc

For mains there was Lobster Fricaze, many others & then a seperate, plainly grilled menu with chicken, steak, fish, etc

[whitetrufflechick]

Had a great meal on Friday night at this relatively new Tenafly establishment (in the space that formerly housed America). The couple we were meeting was running late and we initially spent about 45 minutes sitting in their downstairs bar sampling their raw bar offerings. He went for a variety of oysters and two oyster shooters, polished them off quickly and was hankering for more. A good sign. I ordered the crab cocktail which was made up of a generous portion of very large, very fresh hunks of crabmeat served in a lettuce leaf with sides of cocktail sauce and a pink sort of dip (guessing it was perhaps the cocktail mixed with a bit of mayo) served cleverly in two stumps of hollowed-out cucumber. Overall, this bar is a very cool little room, bordered by small tables. The walls are covered with stone/brick (didn't look all that carefully) but it definitely contributed to the very cool, very cave-like vibe.

When the other couple arrived, we were seated upstairs in the dining room. We were a little offput by the large bar in the main dining room with the wide-screen tv over it. Expecting a more formal dining experience on a Friday night, the relatively crowded bar and baseball game on the TV were a distraction visually, even seated on the opposite side of the room, especially after having just come from that downstairs bar.

Appetizer course, I had an endive and pear salad with a gorgonzola custard. The endive and pear were sort of julienned and served very cool with the warm gorgonzola melting over each bite. It was lovely. Others at the table went for the raw bar and salads with good results.

My entree was duck with a rasberry peppercorn reduction and a side of sweet potato fritters. The duck was perfectly cooked, the sauce the perfect complement and the sweet potato fritters had a touch of maple in them that left me wanting more. Can't speak in specifics about my tablemate's meals (from what I remember, the short ribs, the skirt steak and grouper perhaps?), but plates were cleaned and they seemed happy as well.

Service throughout the meal was prompt and efficient (though it was again a case of a list of very detailed specials being read quickly by a heavily accented waiter, no prices included).

We ordered the cheese plate for dessert. The cheeses offered were good, served with slim slices of bread and a tiny port wine creme brulee, delicious in combination with the cheese.

Our table location was in a quiet corner, perfect for us since two of the party had reduced hearing. Over the course of the evening we became surrounded by a LOUD... VERY LOUD... table of adults. Part of our discussion was whether we'd rather sit next to a table that included poorly behaved children or poorly behaved adults. The children won this night, hands down. It got to the point where our hearing impaired folks could hear the tables around us so very clearly, while not being able to hear us sitting at the table with them all all. I now know so much about that table of six including the fact that one woman has a limit of having sex with her husband no more than 5 nights a week, that one man at the table particularly enjoyed having sex with a 9-month pregnant woman in order to induce labor and the fact that one mom sitting at the table loved prancing around her home nude and shared the fact that her children were very comfortable with her doing so. Hearing them was unavoidable.

Since we were mid-meal when this began to escalate, our conversations at the table all but ceased as we could no longer conduct any type of dialogue, other than the sort of lean over to each other and shout into the ear of the person sitting next to me. Its a shame, but these things happen. Just wish basic courtesy could have reigned that night, with diners being a tad considerate of those around them.

On the way out, we passed a semi-private glassed in room where diners were seated. Acoustically, looked like it might have been a quieter option. Then again, its luck of the draw as to whom you are seated near.

Sanzari's Oyster Bar & Grill is somewhere I definitely look forward to returning. Its tempting this week to just sneak in there and sit at the downstairs bar for another crab cocktail and that great pear/endive salad. I just might.

Edited June 5, 2006 by whitetrufflechick (log)