Last night my family and I went to Lure in Soho. Lure is a cool seafood restaurant that evokes the inside of a yacht. It's a big space that looks great.
The first sign that this was going to be a great experience is when they put a bowl of warm potato chips on the table. These might have been the best chips I've ever had, and I never had potato chips warm. We were informed by our waiter Timmy that they had balsamic vinegar on them, which was very subtle, but a great touch.
We ordered some nice white wine for the table and they then brought out some warm biscuits. These bicuits tasted very fresh, like they just came out of the oven, and they were great.
For starters, we had the medium sized Seafood Plateau ($49) which came with 6 oysters, 4 shrimp, 4 clams, 4 jonah crab claws, and seafood salad. All the seafood was great and fresh and I really liked the seafood salad which had the perfect amount of acidity as well as crunchy vegetables that gave it the perfect snap. Another nice touch was a condiment of mayo they brought out (along with cocktail sauce and Worcestershire sauce) which had a hint of honey mustard to it.
Next was the two sushi rolls we ordered; the spider roll (soft-shell crab) and a spicy scallop roll. That spicy scallop roll was amazing! I didn't expect a restaurant that didn't only focus on sushi to have good sushi, but that roll was one of the best I've ever had; it was warm, fresh, tasty and delicious!
I always like to order calamari at restaurants, for comparison, so we had Lure's ($10) which came with a smoked chili glaze. This calamari was again one of the best I've ever had as well. It wasn't overly fried, so it was just lightly coated, and each ring was thick and the squid flavor was able to come through. The chili glaze was awesome too. Usually one would expect to dip calamari into a marinara sauce-this did not need any sauce. It was truly a great bowl of calamari.
Timmy also brought out Lure's version of Tempura Shrimp ($14). It was on the house because he thought we should try it-he was right. It came with a black sesame mayo which was great. Just the right amount of sweetness and kick to it, and the black sesames gave the shrimp a little extra crunch. This was a great dish.
For entrees we ordered the Seared Yellowfin Tuna ($25), the Roasted Halibut, and the Steamed Lobster tails. And now, this is where the night gets interesting.
You see, earlier in our meal I did mention to our waiter Timmy (who is great and very personable) that I was doing this NYCFOODIE website and that I was a magician. So, as the true Entertainer I am, I decided to show Timmy a magic trick. Well, I blew his mind with the first trick, and the next thing you know half of the waitstaff was in our private dining area watching me perform. Everyone was amazed and it was awesome! I ended up doing magic to many of the chefs, managers and waitstaff all night long in fact. I was so focused on entertaining everyone, that I forgot I had some entrees waiting for me. So I returned to try just a little of each.
The Steamed Lobster tails came with roasted corn, tomato, and citrus butter. It was excellent and soothing, and I loved how that corn gave an added texture to the dish.
The Yellowfin Tuna was nori crusted and came with shiitake mushrooms, edamame, and a dashi glaze. It was a fine dish and I only had a little bit, for I lost my appetite from all that Entertainment, but I was not blown away by the dish.
The Halibut came with artichokes, peas, fingerling potatoes in a lobster broth. It was nicely cooked with a crisp top, and tender meat, and the broth was nice too.
Pretty much stuffed from the meal and from all the energy I exerted from entertaining everyone at Lure, there was was no way I had room for dessert-or so I thought.
Timmy asked if we would like to see the dessert menus. I said, "let me ask the crew here," and before I could ask my fam, he said "nevermind, I got it." I always have room for free food and dessert! And, not only did we get three desserts on the house, the sommelier brought us all a fantastic dessert wine. Now that is real magic!
He brought us the Warm chocolate cake ($8) with chocolate chip iced cream and chocolate panna cotta, the Peach-Blackberry Crumble with buttermilk ice cream ($8) and the assorted ice cream sandwiches (8$).
All the desserts were great. I truly loved that Crumble though. Now, I would not consider myself a "crumble guy" but this dessert was a standout. It was delicious and that buttermilk ice cream was a perfect compliment with the warm fruit inside.
I also like those ice cream sandwiches a lot.The cookies were fresh, including one oatmeal cookie that had a burst of cinnamon that exploded in my mouth.
So, Lure is a great restaurant. This was truly one of the great dining experiences I have encountered. I guess since I ended up entertaining everyone, and they all surrounded me, it did feel like one big family. It seemed everyone was happy, and that really came through when we were being served. The food is great with some memorable dishes like that Tempura Shrimp, Spicy Scallop Roll, and Peach-Blackberry Crumble. I definitely plan on coming back, and it's not just because the Manager offered me a free high-end meal for two, after I blew his mind with an amazing card trick, it's because Lure is a great restaurant.
So, if you are interested in a great dining experience (I cannot promise magic, unless I am there), with great seafood and great service, in a great space, then Lure is a great choice.
Lure
142 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10012