The Spotted Pig in New York is so hot right now – it was recommended by chef Gary Mehigan, from Australia’s MasterChef, and by another esteemed food, wine, and beer writer in Australia. A Michelin-starred gastro pub, the couple sitting next to us at Malaparte also said it was on their list of places to go. Reading reviews, many recommended avoiding the long queues by going for lunch instead of dinner, which is what we did.

The eclectic interior of The Spotted Pig, New York

Walking in, it felt like I’d entered a little pub in the English countryside. It was small, walls adorned with eclectic artwork, mainy depicting pigs. I felt a little sorry our friendly host who seated us straight away because we weren’t overly warm and friendly ourselves. We were tired and had been bickering about shopping versus eating. Of course, I opted for eating and by eating, I meant eating at The Spotted Pig in Greenwich, which involved a 20-minute walk back to almost where we had started, our hotel. Zorba was not impressed and made it very clear that he preferred to stay in where we were in Soho to shop. It’s got to be the only time ever he would rather shop than eat. So, after our host received our frosty return greeting, we asked him what beer they served. For me given I like lager, he recommended a Samuel Smith organic lager. It was clean, crisp and went down a treat. It reminded of Fat Yak in Australia and I enjoyed it very much. For entrée, we (rather, I) decided to share the gnudi with a sage and butter sauce, which is like gnocchi but made with sheep’s milk ricotta instead of potato. The little pillows of gnudi were gorgeously soft, light and fluffy inside. The sage and butter sauce was textbook perfect. It was a delicious dish. I was wishing I didn’t have to share it.

The delicious gnudi, much like gnocchi but made with ricotta, not potato, served with a burnt sage butter sauce

Upon our waiter’s recommendation, and because the menu wasn’t that appealing and we were finding it difficult to decide on a main, we choose the Cubano sandwich with a side of shoestring fries.

The cuban sandwich. It was fine, if erring on the ‘meh’ side of okay

The serve of fries was ridiculously large, the potato thinly cut, well seasoned and crunchy. I enjoyed them.

The shoestring fries were a winner

The Cubano sandwich was okay. I won’t say it blew my socks off. A ciabata with melted cheese tender meat and pickle. I think the Cubano is something New Yorkers love –  just like they love bagels and pastrami – and I don’t get it. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but the flavour combination wasn’t to my palate. However, the use of quality ingredients was evident.

Zorba on the other hand was quite cross that a sandwich and a beer cost us US$96. That wasn’t the case as such; we had the gnudi, fries, beers and sparkling water.

Verdict: A good meal but didn’t quite live up the hype. Perhaps we ordered badly, perhaps the dinner menu is better, or perhaps our expectations were too high. In any case, 8/10.

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FACT FILE

The Spotted Pig
314 W. 11th St, Greenwich Village, New York
Tel: +1 212-620-0393

The menu