House – Brooklyn, NY

I thought I’d post a review of this restaurant since it seems to not be talked about very much online. The dishes are listed in the order they were served.

Charred Manganji Pepper Crudités (manganji pepper, tofu, chickweed, capers, cornichon, anchovies, olive, walnuts, scallion oil), pictured: personally, I’m not a fan of peppers across the board for whatever reason. I just don’t taste anything. This is very much me, not them. But the rest of the dish was delicious and the plating was gorgeous, possibly the best of the night in that regard.

Yellowtail Tartare & Peach Sorbet (yellowtail, caviar, peach, shallot, kale, rice cracker, monaka), pictured: I will be thinking about this one for a while. Creative with its use of the rice cracker which you’d usually find in deserts. Salty, sweet, the perfect amount of confrontation of my expectations. Reminded me of the Caviar Kim at Jua but three times better (not to denigrate Jua overall; I love that place).

Stuffed Squid & Cherry Tomatoes (small squid, cherry tomatoes, couscous, red onion, paprika, harissa, coriander, starflower), pictured: I remember thinking this was solid in execution, but I don’t recall many details a few days later.

Mozzarella Burrata & Strawberry (burrata, strawberry tuile, pomegranate, blackcurrant sauce), pictured: this felt more like a dessert course, but given the actual dessert course was also cheese and fruit, it makes sense that they wouldn’t want to sequence them next to each other. If they wanted to lower the price of the menu a little bit, it would make sense to drop this dish, but maybe I’d protest. I loved it.

Grilled Eggplant with White Miso Hollandaise (eggplant, bottarga, white miso, bonito stock, pistachio, ginger), not pictured: probably the least memorable of the night for me since it’s pretty similar to something I had at Dirt Candy recently. My dining companion loved it though.

Red Sea Bream Spring Roll with White Leek Sauce (red sea bream, white leek, spring onion, hijiki, golden mustard), pictured: didn’t reinvent the wheel, but certainly the most perfectly constructed spring roll I’ve had in my life. Packed with perfectly cooked red sea bream, it’s not the kind of spring roll you just pop in your mouth. Take the photo with a grain of salt—I moved the spring roll a bit before I snapped it.

Grilled Shou Koji Venison with Mushrooms & Truffles (venison, burdock, truffle, chili pepper, mushroom, truffle, chrysanthemum, soy sauce koji, beef stock), not pictured: the venison was so tender, it was hard to believe. 

Eel Pilaf (eel, eel stock, bonito stock, japanese pepper), pictured pre-plating: what a wonderful way to end the savory courses. Just fills you up with warmth. I’ve read that previously they used foie gras, but I wouldn’t replace the eel with anything.

Blue Cheese Terrine & Apple Compote (gorgonzola, cream cheese, fresh cream, apple, cinnamon, olive oil), not pictured: maybe I’m uncultured, but how is this blue cheese? Where’s the blue? Just completely smooth and sweet, pitch perfect way to end the meal. By the end, the dishes were exactly calculated for my stomach. I ate 100% of every course, and while I had no desire for any other food that night, I could still walk home.

I also had three cups of tea as part of the tea tasting (for $50 which I thought was decent): Matcha (Yame/Fukuoka), Gyokuro (Yame/Fukuoka), Japanese Black Tea (Saitama). The black tea was probably my favorite. They also gave us complimentary tea at the end, but I don’t know the details of it.

Service was excellent. We talked to the FOH quite a bit, and they knew so much about what they were serving and they genuinely seemed to love what they were doing (or they were good at faking it). The location is a bit strange, at the back of a shop. We weren’t sure where to go exactly when we showed up a few minutes early. Then 6:00pm on the dot, they slid over a wall, and there was the counter seating. Just enough seating for eight people, very intimate.

It’s extremely odd that they don’t have a star. Personally, I liked it quite a bit more than nearly all the NYC one stars I’ve been to: Casa Mono, Rezdora, Torrisi, 63 Clinton, Gramercy Tavern, and Shmoné (underrated by the way), all of which I enjoyed. It’s closer with Jua and Dirt Candy, but I’d put it ahead of those two also. It’s on the pricier side at $180, but with places like Restaurant Yuu charging $300 now, you could maybe convince yourself you’re getting a deal.

I very much recommend House.