Peacock The Peacock

The Peacock Awards

Yes, so British but modern British.
Openings: Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; Afternoon Tea 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m.; Dinner Mon.-Sat. 5:30 p.m.-11:00 p.m., Sun. until 10:00 p.m.; Brunch Sat.-Sun. 11:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Features

The Peacock, New York, NY


The Peacock Restaurant Review:


The peacock is an alluring and shimmering feathered creature. Less so is the solid, intimate but a tad stern décor of the restaurant --- with its old-time fireplaces and mahogany panels --- that bears its name. It is niched in a midtown brownstone perched on a pub dubbed The Shakespeare, preceded by a bar baptized The Library and crowned by a boutique hotel named The William. The ambience is warm, but nowhere near sloppy. This hospitality combo is British, very British. Even the light in the main room is diffused by a Wedgewood crystal chandelier manufactured for that special purpose. Chef Jason Hicks is British as well, modern British that is. He trained with American and French chefs and has mingled the trends and currents from everywhere into his national traditions. The result of this rapprochement is a success all the way. See the starters that offer a satisfying homemade ricotta with olive oil and balsamico on toasted sourdough, or the salmon tartare Britannia Yorkshire pudding. Main dishes are generous, like the roasted sea scallops, which are moist and tasty and accompanied by baby beets and carrots --- maybe a little bit too much of these as their natural sweetness is not indispensable to scallops. Shrimp risotto, Madras lamb curry with cucumber yogurt evocative of tzatziki, and other multinational imports play well in this British panorama. Desserts deserve special attention. It’s not that they are hyper-delicate and refined; on the contrary, in the apparent simplicity of the crumble, Cambridge burnt cream, sticky toffee date and banana they are irresistible and so tempting that they will force you to exceed your reasonable dose of daily glucose. But once in a while, why not, after all? The wine is international too and accessible. The Shakespeare serves ales galore and without concession the usual pub grub of fish ‘n’ chips, bangers and mash, and pear and apple crumble. For hot summer days an outdoor terrace is available.