Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Cooper Square Hotel Finally Has Critic-Approved Food, And Other Restaurant Reviews
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 20, 2011
Modified Jul 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 4
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jul 20, 2011
Modified Jul 20, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
No Sam Sifton review in the Times this week, but that doesn't mean that most of New York's food critics aren't still on duty, which means we've got some restaurant reviews to parse! Over at the Post Steve Cuozzo dines at Daniel Boulud's latest biggie, Boulud Sud, and leaves the Mediterranean restaurant with a two-and-a-half star review. "There are more flubs than you expect after three months, such as sloppy, sticky baby goat orecchiette," but over all the restaurant is a pleasing, grown-up experience. The decor is "sheer Manhattan-modern" and makes "all look young" and the food? Well "Forget 'Mediterranean'—this is modern-American cookery at its chameleon best, the fish serving as a platform for uncompromised seasoning that doesn't nullify the main event."
The big surprise of the week comes out of the Voice, where Robert Sietsema checks out the food at The Trilby in the Cooper Square Hotel and found its fare to be "unexpectedly grand." After the space floundered under Govind Armstrong and Scott Conant it seems to have found its footing without a celebrity chef. And the food at breakfast, lunch and dinner really ain't bad. The oyster service is "sterling," the carrot cake blows a person away, and the breakfast (think "a stack of blueberry pancakes that easily beat IHOP's, served with a goose egg of good butter and maple syrup") is really good. Only problem seems to be that the service is, well, lacking.
Meanwhile Time Out's Jay Cheshes crashes The Beagle in the East Village and finds "a restaurant that only looks and feels like a bar." All in all though, chef Garrett Eagleton gets three stars from the critic thanks to the fact that the space has "plenty of good things to eat." He explains that the Portland chef's "food embodies all the latest gastro obsessions connecting New York to its soul sister out West—birthplace of Stumptown Coffee, future home of a Frankies Spuntino—celebrating our shared obsessions for house-cured charcuterie and offbeat animal parts, for accessible luxury and things locally sourced." But there are some downsides, as "Eagleton's talents can seem as inconsistent as the Beagle’s premise." So if you go? Skip the fluke, but get the brick-cooked chicken. It is a "blockbuster dish, hiding under its succulent flesh and crackling crisp skin an explosive mix of foie gras, fresh sage and artisanal cheddar."
Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton is a fan of the food at SoHo Spot Niko (it "is downright great") but the place itself? "Eating here can be a deeply unpleasant experience because [owner Cobi] Levy and his team seem to go out of their way to make commoners feel invisible." Want some water? "You must hail Niko's waiters like taxi cabs." Still, the food really is good. "Niko, like Megu and Nobu, is an uber-izakaya of sorts, specializing in anything Japanese and somehow doing it all pretty well, service notwithstanding."
Finally the New Yorker wanders over to the Midtown Korean restaurant Danji for fare that is "neither orthodox ethnic nor smarty-pants fusion. It’s not K-town or Nobu. It’s comfortized Korean served in well-presented tapas portions, by friendly people, in a clean, well-lighted place with a well-tended bar."
Tagged
boulud sud
danji
midweek special
niko
review roundup
the beagle
the trilby
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .