Restaurant Review: Waverly Inn & Garden – West Village, NY, NY

Truffle shavings on Mac n’ Cheese? I’m there with bells on, rain or shine. So that’s pretty much all it took to convince me to dine at the Waverly Inn & Garden. Seriously, that’s a really good reason. Not only does it mean that there will be 1 of my most favorite dishes in the world, but I will most likely get to enjoy several others.

I read that this place was a hip dressy sort of place, so I dusted off my “dress” keeping in mind that it would be endurable for truffled mac n’ cheese. The evening started out pretty funny. We didn’t have any reservations – because the only way you can get one is by requesting it in-person at least 3 days ahead. We got there about 30 minutes before the place even opened, thinking it might improve our odds of getting seated. Well we certainly got a seat, at 6pm, on the front patio instead of a swanky indoor booth or back patio. It didn’t matter to us, we were so excited to order from our fantastic waiter.

We had the best waiter, had to be the best one. He was incredibly friendly, happily describing each dish with his suggestions, and providing us constant attention and refills. We were immediately served their mouth-watering hot butter biscuits, which disappeared instantaneously. Not too long after we started receiving our first dishes, it started to rain. At first, we thought this was our lucky break, that we would get seated at a swanky indoor booth! We were so happy – but wait, nope, no chance. We were seated at the bar. Yes, we were not given a break. However, this was what made our evening. Their bartenders will forever have a special place in my heart. We couldn’t have had better service even if we were royalty. I was probably treated to the very best drinks in the world, gratis, and of several varieties – to name a few, F.O.B. ( elderflower ginger syrup, peach nectar), fresh crushed raspberries with ginger-infused elderflower syrup.

The interior is truly beautiful with so much character and ambiance. The new yorker artist mural in the booth room is something to admire and the back garden patio is romantic. There’s no wonder this is such a hotspot where so many people want to dine at or mingle. It’s cozy but not cheezy. As for star sightings, there weren’t really any, except maybe Tony Hawk and Tommy Hilfiger.

Here’s the order: Crab cakes with Old Bay aioli, Mac and cheese with fresh shaved black truffles, Bacon-wrapped N.Y. strip filet, Skate with wild mushroom cabbage, Apple Crisp Vanilla Gelato, Crème fraiche Bananas foster, Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse

The food is excellent. Did you take a look at the top picture of truffle mac n’ cheese? Those are seriously generous large shavings of truffles. The cheese sauce is sharp, flavorful and piping hot. Perfect. This was the first dish served and so I did not even try to share or hold back. That made it extremely tough for me to fit in the upcoming dishes, but I managed. The skate was incredibly flaky and moist, cooked just right. The bananas foster and apple crisp were my favorite desserts. Everything was served to us steaming hot and cooked perfectly. This place is worth the wait and price – hands down.

Here are some of their menu items:
APPETIZERS
Oysters on the half shell with mignonette Market
New England clam chowder 8
Rocket salad with roasted red onion and shaved Parmesan 10
Country salad with frisee, Berkshire lardons, and organic poached egg 12
Crab cakes with Old Bay aioli 15
Chicken liver mousse with Dijon and cornichons 12
Organic salmon tartare with fresh horseradish and onion crème fraiche 14
Tuna tartare with avocado and Dijon emulsion 14
Whole steamed artichoke with garlic aioli and drawn butter 10
Greenmarket beets with Humboldt Fog goat cheese 10
Grilled vegetable salad small/large 10/17

ENTREES
Wood grilled mussels tossed in garlic and herbs 18
Braised short ribs with celery root purée 21
Hudson valley free range chicken potpie 19
Cast iron New York strip with fries 34
Organic salmon filet with beluga lentils and Tuscan kale 25
Dover sole with vegetable sauté and hollandaise 39
Amish organic freerange chicken with foraged mushrooms 3
Berkshire all natural pork chop with roasted NY State apple 26
Waverly Burger with fries 13 Add Cheese 14
Market vegetable plate with green curry sauce 16
Cedar plank brook trout with roasted carrots 24
Mac and cheese with fresh shaved black truffles 55

SIDES
French fries 7
Sautéed or creamed spinach 7
Roasted carrots 7
Sweet potato purée 7

DESSERT
Vermont Chevre Cheesecake Berry coulis 8
Bittersweet Chocolate Cake 8
Crème fraiche Bananas foster 8
Vanilla Gelato Crème caramel 8
Apple Crisp Vanilla Gelato 8

WAVERLY INN & GARDEN
Address: 16 Bank St Front, New York, NY 10014
Phone: (212) 243-7900
Hours: Sun-Mon, 6pm-11:45pm; Tue-Sat, 6pm-12:45am
Price: $19-$55

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