Resto

111 E 29th St., Murray Hill, NY

6.6

map & more

Neighborhood
Murray Hill

Cuisine
Belgian

Nearby
Gramercy Theatre

212-685-5585

Official Website

By Chris Stang
August 14, 2009

Let’s kick off this review with a few questions. Are you a dude? Is it February? Have you been fasting for any reason recently? If you answer yes to any of those questions, go ahead and add one full point to our Infatuation Meter rating. Resto is a Belgian “gastro pub”, and the menu is (apparently) very Belgian. The food is very heavy as are most of the beers, and it’s definitely a place more suited to getting drunk and gorging yourself during a blizzard than it is to a date. The burger is pretty damn good, as is the beer selection and many of the unique menu items including the pig’s head sandwich…yeah, you heard me. Unfortunately, Resto can be hit or miss, and lately it’s been a ghost town, leading us to believe they would be well advised to throw in some lighter options to balance the heavy fare.

Food Rundown:

Burger
This is one of the better burgers around town, served with gruyere on a soft bun, and the meat grind is beef cheek and hanger steak. A fancier take on the Burger Joint burger, but not as good.

Tete de Cochon
A roasted pig’s head sandwich served on toasted bread with sriracha, cilantro, and some pickled goodness. It appears that literally every part of a pig tastes good. Order this.

Moules & Frites – Spanish style
Mussels in a broth with saffron, chorizo, fingerling potatoes, and paprika. This is inexplicably flavorless and unsatisfying. If you’re looking for mussels, check out Flex.

House-made Tagliatelle
In an effort to eat something on the menu that didn’t once have a pulse, I tried this. Served with bacon, tomatoes, and basil, the pasta itself wasn’t bad, but it was a bit like when you have pasta in the pantry and no pasta sauce. Overall, this is pretty bland and not recommended.