It was our Aussie mate’s birthday celebration so we headed downtown to Bread Tribeca, near our old neck of the woods. The restaurant isn’t huge but it has really high ceilings, giving it an open, lofty feel. Surprisingly, Josh and I were the first to arrive so we had some drinks at the bar while we waited for everyone else. Most people were running late, birthday girl included, but we didn’t have to worry about them holding our table as the restaurant was totally empty. There were some people eating in the small outdoor seating area in front, but we couldn’t figure out why the rest of the place was unoccupied during prime dinner hours on a Saturday night. We’ve eaten here once before so we knew the food wasn’t bad. Maybe it was just a sign of the times, or everyone was out of the city during this gorgeous weekend.
Nevertheless, the emptiness of the restaurant gave us the opportunity to go into full party mode. We had a large table in the corner and commenced with the feasting and drinking. For appetizers, we decided to share two orders each of the bruschetta, the fried calamari, and a prosciutto and artichoke pizza.
First out was the bread plate, which had a few thin slices of a rustic loaf and one pretzel roll. The pretzel roll was delicious and had come straight out from the oven so it was warm and crispy and chewy. The rustic bread was a bit tougher, making me wish there were more pretzel rolls on the plate.
Regular Italian bread and a pretzel roll
Fortunately our appetizers started coming out so I turned my attention away from the bread. The bruschetta was a bright green pesto sauce on top of the same rustic bread, topped off with a roasted cherry tomato. The pesto was fresh and chunky but it lacked enough garlic and seasoning. The tomato was good, but it was only one bite. I wish they had put more tomatoes on top of the bruschetta, which would have helped to boost the flavor. One order only came with three small pieces, so they definitely weren’t worth the price ($7) and I wouldn’t order them again.
Bruschetta with pesto sauce and roasted tomatoes
The fried calamari fared much better, as the coating was light and crispy. The accompanying tomato sauce was bright and chunky, and I liked that the calamari was on top of a bed of arugula. We squeezed lemon over the calamari and the arugula, and I tried to get everything on my fork together. The saltiness of the calamari, the sweetness of the tomato sauce, the bitterness of the arugula, and the tanginess of the lemon really made for a complete bite. It was also a pricey appetizer, however, as it was a fairly small portion for $14.
Fried calamari with marinara sauce
The pizza had a super thin and crackly crust. The prosciutto cotto they used was more ham-like than the usual di parma variety but I think that helped make the pizza easier to eat, since really cured prosciutto tends to dry out and get tough in the oven. It worked well with the pieces of artichoke scattered throughout.
Pizza with artichokes and prosciutto cotto
The pizzas were larger than we thought they would be, and one pie would have fed all of us easily; two pies were excessive, given all the other food we ordered.
Underside shot
For my main course, I had the pappardelle with beef ragu. The beef was a bit tough and had a nubbly texture (it was ground beef), but it had a nice rich rosemary flavor. The pasta was cooked perfectly, and the dish arrived steaming hot. Despite the beef texture issues, I really enjoyed this dish a lot.
Pappardelle with beef ragu and rosemary
Josh had chicken Milanese, which was served with fingerling potatoes and a caper-sage-lemon sofrito. The chicken was not as crispy as it could have been and tasted like it had been cooked in butter, which soaked a bit into the breading. The accompanying potatoes were good though, and the sofrito, as well as a squeeze of lemon over the top, really brightened everything up. I still prefer Milanese to be served over a salad, however, as fresh vegetables will cut through the heaviness of the breaded chicken.
Chicken milanese with fingerling potatoes
For dessert, the waiter very thoughtfully sent out a slice of ricotta cheesecake for the birthday girl. I snagged a bite and it was creamy and not too rich. I originally just wanted a glass of limoncello for dessert but they ran out of it, so I ended up ordering the frittelle with chocolate-basil sauce. They turned out to be little round fried doughnuts that you dip into the accompanying chocolate sauce. The sauce was dark and bitter, and I couldn’t taste any basil in it at all. The doughnuts were freshly fried and crispy, but I found the dish to be too heavy and not quite sweet enough to be satisfying.
Frittelle with chocolate-basil sauce.
Overall the food at Bread Tribeca was pretty good, but a bit overpriced. I guess that can’t be helped in this neighborhood. The service was a tad overly attentive, but probably because we were basically the only people in the restaurant. I did think that the waiter was a bit heavy handed with the wine pouring, as he poured full glasses so that one bottle wasn’t enough to go around the table. He also constantly refilled everyone’s glass, even people who weren’t planning on drinking more than the initial pour. We ended up switching glasses around to accommodate, and didn’t succumb to the pressure to order more wine than we intended. It was really nice of him to bring the birthday girl a complimentary slice of cheesecake though.
The restaurant seems like a good place for big groups, and for people who are looking to have a nice night out. I think it would be a great first date kind of place. All in all we had a fun night, and hopefully the birthday girl had a blast as well.
Bread Tribeca
301 Church St. at Walker St.
New York, NY