My boyfriend wouldn’t tell me where we were going for my birthday dinner. It was a surprise! I had to be patient! We took the subway to Manhattan’s Lower East Side and walked a few blocks north. This was a good sign. One could easily argue that the LES is the hottest/coolest/lit/fire/chose-your-own-slang neighborhood in NYC. It’s an area known for nightlife and with intense competition, no mediocre restaurant survives much longer than a season. I still didn’t know what type of cuisine I’d be eating that night, but whatever is was would be delicious.

Thank god because I was hella/mad/totes/chose-your-own-slang hungry at this point. So when my fella stopped in front of a pawn shop on Essex Street, I almost yelled at him, “NO! FOOD NOW!” Wasn’t our reservation in 5 minutes? Can’t we be on time for something for once in our lives?!

Turns out the pawn shop was all a front. Yes, everything in the shop is for sale and specially curated so it’s pricey. It’s all really just a front for the beautiful restaurant in back!

Beauty and Essex Restaurant, Lower East Side NYC

The door to dining is under the guitars.

Once inside, the vibe is romantic and bright at the same time thanks to the combination of lanterns with an overhead skylight. Nothing is likely to remind you of a pawn shop back here in the dining area. This isn’t where you go to desperately sell your diamonds, it’s where you go to show them off under the lantern light.

The menu is contemporary American featuring many seafood dishes, along with prime cuts of meat, and even a full vegan menu. Calling food “contemporary American” seems problematic these days..indicative of Twinkies and white bread. I’d call the menu of Beauty and Essex New York American, you’ll find influences from so many different cultures and backgrounds in this menu.

The Seared Scallops were our favorite. Fresh, plump, and perfectly cooked with a harissa corn purée, leeks, fennel, roasted peppers, crispy potato. Everything was delicious, even the dishes I failed to photograph! The Lemon-Pepper Ricotta Ravioli had an incredibly flavorful sauce, we only wished the plate was bigger! Broccolini and the Jewels on Toast Crab Rangoo was yummy as well. 

The plates are all still relatively small and the menu prices are still surprisingly affordable considering the ofter assumed hoity-toity nature of such small plates. This was a lovely dinner, I’d recommend this place to anyone (even vegans!)

Had to take a mirror selfie on the way out