The Clocktower

If you are in New York, or will be visiting New York, please do yourself a favor. Drop everything you are doing and immediately book yourself a table at the Clocktower ASAP.  I've had my eye on this place since it opened in May. New York restaurateur + Michelin star chef and amazing reviews.

My husband and I recently went when a table happened to open at a reasonable time on a night we had the babysitter booked. The space itself is amazing. I didn't take any photos, but do a quick search you'll see this place is beautiful. My favorite was the billard room and bar area. Anyways, let's get to the food porn... (note, scrolling required)

Adult beverages started the night off - it was date night afterall. Of course I can't remember the name of my drink, but it had maple syrup and was really good (and effective). My husband and the Coldfashioned was I had a sip of and also really liked.

They had fresh gluten free bread for us. And whipped butter. And it was so good that even my gluten-loving husband wanted a second round. My only disappointment was the server offered a third one which never materialized.

I started with the spring leaf salad. The portion size was just right for a starter and it was very refreshing. Anytime there is artichoke in my salad I'm going to be happy though, in fairness.

For my main, I had something I very rarely have. In fact, I don't call off the top of my head when I had this any place but Asia de Cuba - I had the duck. It was ridiculously good. It was kinda perfection. Even the turnips were so good. I would go back just to have the duck.

This was where the night go really good - the only off the shelf gluten free option was sorbet. I wanted something real. The server checked with the kitchen for options, and they offered to make me the strawberries and cream omitting the olive oil cake to make it GF. I was sold. And I was so happy they did it, because lovely dessert. It wouldn't bring me back as a standalone, but it was a lovely ending to the meal.

All in all the food was impeccable and I will certainly be going back. The only two things I did not like: service was slow and deteriorated throughout the night - while this made it a genuinely British dining experience, it was really annoying when it took more than 30 minutes after dessert and drinks were done to get the bill. Also, only two toilet stalls in the whole place. The restaurant only seats 90, but 2 stalls. I waited 5 minutes when I needed the loo at the end, and it wasn't even busy at that point (read slow service) so it was quite annoying.