THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Toucan & The Lion

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The Toucan & The Lion Restaurant Review:

You know the gastropub trend has nearly hit its limit when it starts being translated into different cultures and languages. Enter The Toucan & The Lion, a pan-Asian gastropub in the East Village that is really just a casual restaurant with decent food and good cocktails. The menu mostly consists of pub classics that have been given an Asian spin. Meatballs, for example, are infused with curry. Puerto Rican mofongo is imbued with Chinese sausage. And the goat potpie is overwhelmed by massaman curry. Some dishes fail badly (the peanut-sprinkled calamari) and some are winners (the curry-laden short rib tacos and ultra-tender espresso-glazed, pumpkin-seed-encrusted pork ribs). If you happen to encounter an instance of the former, just order another house cocktail --- we like the Toucan (Yamazaki whisky, vermouth and bitters) and the Eastern Hospitality (gin, lemon, pineapple and vanilla essence) --- and all will be forgotten.