Review: The Noortwyck

Loved It

TLDR: The Noortwyck is a special restaurant. It’s everything you expect from a top tier New American spot without feeling fussy – you can come here any ol’ day of the week. Even more impressive, it takes the usual menu suspects and puts a twist on them that makes them fun and exciting again. I will be eating here at least 4 times a year to taste their new seasonal dishes and I think you should too.

Image credit: thrillist.com

The Noortwyck is an instant classic. I don’t usually go for “the L word'' after just one date – only 4 other restaurants in my repertoire that have earned a Loved It after a first visit – but the Noortwyck deserves to be among them. It’s got style, it’s got flavors, it’s got textures, and it’s the kind of place where you’ll be pleasantly surprised throughout your meal.

The Noortwyck could easily be confused as just another “modern millennial restaurant”. Its neutral, but warm space has the typical Scandinavian-inspired clean lines and warm lighting I’ve come to expect from such an establishment. But the vibe has so much more soul than that. It’s comfortable sitting in their big camel-colored booths. It’s not trying too hard to be the new “it” spot filled with instagram influencers. You can actually relax here, which makes the expertly executed food that much more enjoyable.

And the food is expert. True to the “New American” restaurant style, each plate looks like a little artwork, but fortunately one you’re not hesitant to ruin. My favorite thing about The Noortwyck is the way they take typical menu items and make them into something unexpected. Like the oysters, which come adorned with a seasonal sauce rather than your typical cocktail sauce. I tried it with the sugarplum and yuzu kosho and it kind of blew my mind – where has this been all my oyster-eating life??

Now, not everything fell into the mind blowing category (don’t get greedy!), but even the less exciting dishes were top notch. The kale salad and fois gras came with some wild pops of pickled fruit which surprised and delighted me. The agnolotti and bucatini were completely different from one another and an excellent spicy/sweet combo. I also loved the duck which was exactly the right temperature and had a plate-licking good sauce served with it. They have a pastry chef and it shows – anything baked is guaranteed to be well done. That includes the desserts, which weren’t my favorite flavors but were still so well executed that I ate every last bite.

I could go on about all the great things I ate, but to be honest it won’t help you that much. As a seasonal restaurant, the menu is constantly changing and even the staples like the oysters and duck will have rotating sauces or sides.

And that’s just perfect. Because that is the hallmark of a restaurant I can go back to again and again and again and never get tired of. The Noortwyck is an easy restaurant to say yes to, the trouble can be getting in. It’s not as bad as you would think for a restaurant the Infatuation already gave an 8.5 to. For 2 people, you can probably even walk into the bar at a pretty normal time. Fridays and Saturdays will always be a little tough, but you can swing a weeknight reservation a week or so in advance without having to eat like you’re 90 or Spanish and that’s good enough for me.

What can I say, it was love at first bite. I can’t wait to go back to the Noortwyck winter, spring, summer, and fall to try all the new menu items, sip a glass of wine, and just chill out.