North End Grill
New American | Battery Park City
104 North End Ave
646.747.1600
Notes: I adore the chef, Top Chef Master Floyd Cardoz. I adore the beverage director. The food is imaginative and mostly—though not exclusively—very tasty. The wines and spirits are lovely. I like the feel of the dining room, where the diners and the food serve as the accent colors. So why can’t I recommend North End Grill at this time? A couple of extremely disappointing experiences with service. Ridiculously long waits between courses. More than once. Or twice. After a splendid first visit when we met Chef and enjoyed a phenomenal meal (including the scrumptious clam pizza with truffles), subsequent visits were long and drawn-out (four-and-a-half hours!), as if the kitchen was operating at half-staff. Turns out, Chef was not on premises these other times, and it sorely showed. We truly appreciated the sincere apologies, but it doesn’t make up for a spoiled evening where the food isn’t worth such a wait and you’re struggling to keep your eyes open. To be fair, we have been graciously invited back, but with so many other dining choices in other parts of town, it’s not often high on our list for another visit. Plus the couple of times we’ve tried for reservations, we’ve been told that Chef wouldn’t be there the nights we chose, and it was suggested we shoot for a date when he will be. The restaurant started out so promising, so we will certainly give it another shot, but sadly, I can’t recommend it at this time.