When I am invited to review a restaurant, I immediately check out the menu. When browsing the food at Kingsley, every dish looked quite fancy. I figured that I would just get the chicken or beef, because it's always the safe route to take.
Kingsley is a seasonal French-American restaurant located on the Lower East Side. The menu is designed to be a three course meal (four if you get dessert) that is to be shared. It is the perfect spot for a date or small group dining. The goal of the restaurant is delicious, inspired, and creative food and drink. When it opened in the Fall 2015, it was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in the city. That is mainly due to owner and chef, Roxanne Spruance. Not only has she has worked with renowned chefs, but she pushes boundries in the kitchen.
I kicked things off with The War Of The Roses, one their speciality cocktails. The wonderful concoction mixes pear infused gin, pomegranate infused vermouth, sage and bay leaf tincture. Kingsley prides itself on it's cocktail and wine list. All wines are selected by chef Spruance.
We recieved oysters sprinkled with rose petals to clean our palate. It was the nice touch. For the first course, I ordered the Grilled Winter Greens. A combo of greens, sweet onions, carrots, and pepitas. Then came the delicious Bacon Cured Sweet Breads.
While we were happily noshing, our friendly waiter, Remy, showed up with the Roasted Bone Marrow. The dish is a slow cooked beef tongue. I have to admit was I steering clear of it because it was a "tongue". Since the chef sent it out, I had to try it. It was absolutely delicious. Turns out it is one of the most popular appetizers on the menu, every table in restaurant had ordered it. Did I mention the awesome date-sherry shot that comes with it? The shot packs a punch.
For the main course we went with the Wagyu Basses-Cotes which is kobe beef dusted with nori paired with smoked whipped potatoes and fried rice. The beef was succulent and tender, perfect with red wine.
As for dessert, I asked if they had anything with chocolate. Remy told me that they do chocolate in a different way. I'm still not exactly sure what the dessert was. There were different textures of chocolate from crunchy to gooey. Let's just say this dessert was gone within a minute of hitting the table.
Toward the end of the meal, a young woman who looked like she was straight out of Williamsburg walked up to introduce herself. It was none other than Roxanne Spruance. She was incredibly humble for having accomplished so much at a young age. Spruance started cooking in a restaurant kitchen at the age of 16, she's been at it ever since.
When it comes to eating at Kingsley, believe the hype. After trying her food or spending a few moments with chef Spruance, it's easy to become a fan.