Can't believe it took me so long to eat here! The food was divine & service was lovely. Caipirinha amuse bouche is a delightful way to start the meal. Definitely get the sea urchin toast & duck rice!
Aldea now offers weekly Chef's Counter dinners, which allows guests to watch Mendes in action while being served a 9-course tasting menu. Make sure to buy tickets in advance.
The sea urchin toast, shrimp, and fried octopus are incredible. For dessert, the carrot cake is the way to go. Sitting by the kitchen is also wonderful.
Came here for dinner and sat right in front of the kitchen to see the meals being prepared. Liked the ambiance - good for dates (not loud). Best dishes - cod croquettes, spanish octopus, duck.
Superb food. Snag the chef's counter at the back for a good view of the buzzy kitchen. We loved the beautiful green and white asparagus with hen egg & black truffle ($13). Read more
Sit at the bar!!! Knoll Krest Farms egg with cod, black olives and potato magically disappear but still lingers on my tongue #recommended Good food matters!!
Get a table at the back so you can see the open kitchen. The Spanish octopus and Mussel soup were amazing first courses. Nice sommelier, she recommended some very good wines.
Tasting menu totally worth it. Highlights: sea urchin toast, venison (substitution), chocolate tart...and olive bread! Short but good wine list at affordable prices. And Great staff.
Beautiful space, with airy design. Cool cocktails (the huntress) and friendly bartenders. Fantastic original choices on the menu: artsy salads, clams with foam, goat, shrimp/saffron. All good!
The lunch menu ranges from an affordable ham sandwich (with piquillo peppers) to a pricier dish of scallops, and the dinner menu is only slightly more elevated. Read more
From the heart of New York, Chef George Mendes take you straight to Portugal with dishes so artful you'll hesitate to eat them. Explore your culinary heritage too, where Chef Mendes earned his degree. Read more
When I eat here I have to have the suckling pig. I come from a farm, and I've eaten a lot of suckling pig in my life, but Chef Mendes fragments the pig in different textures.
You'd be crazy to not try any of the following: sea urchin toast, foie gras, and "Little Dream" donuts (complete with a trifecta of amazing sauces!). Go now!
Don't skip the stunning small bites and appetizers. During a recent meal, we loved the sea urchin toast with mustard seed and octopus cooked on la plancha: Read more
George Mendes innovative take on Portuguese is both impressive and adorable. Bonus points for the enjoyable ambiance, with one of the best chef's counters in town. [Eater 38 Member] Read more
Enjoy Chef George Mendes’ Iberian-inflected creations. The dining counter overlooking the master at work is perfect for a solo bite while the second floor dining room is great for a group. -Inspector
Listen, the duck rice is as good as everyone says it is, but the rest of the menu is wonderful. Order a rice for the table and then go to down on everything else. Oysters, lomo ham, pork belly, etc.
Good choices include the mussel soup with sausage, an open-faced sea urchin sandwich, plank-grilled Spanish mackerel in escabeche juice, and diver scallops with risotto and orange. Read more
Nice ambiance but would not return here. The menu is unique in that almost everything is pork! I'm slightly exaggerating. The portions are tiny, especially for the cost of an entree. Taste=strange
Try out the "very New York–ified, Manhattanized, upscale-refined treatment of Portuguese" Frank Bruni talked about in his NY Diet. He's a fan of the baby goat three ways and the duck rice. Read more
This place is one of my favorites- fantastic dishes, super food quality, a beautiful space, and a modern yet unpretentious space. It's also at a great price point. Read more