Tertulia
“For example, the Pan con Tomate needed more salt, while the Tosta Huevo Roto y Jamon Iberico was much too heavy on the potato.”
“But I'm partial to the brussels sprouts, jamon serrano, and an amazing sugar snap pea salad he did last summer.”
“The Cojonudo (Two bites of smoked pig cheek, quail egg and pepper) was excellent.”
Tertulia
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I really enjoy El Colmado in Gotham West Market, so I was long overdue to check out Chef Mullen's Tertulia.
The various small plates we ordered were incredibly tasty – the squid ink rice and grilled octopus were standouts. But while the food was really good, I didn't dig that my first glass of wine for the night – a rose – was quite warm and my second glass – a medium bodied red – was served quite chilled. Of course that didn't stop me from finishing either glass, but a resto like this should know how to store their wines properly. Service was a bit slow.
I'll stick w/El Colmado in GWM for my tapas fix.
Really great dining experience. Good and attentive service. Attractive laid back dining room, loved the intimate booths. We tried various tapas, really liked the jamon crockets, the octopus with quinoa, calamari with rice, and the papas bravas. All dishes were excellent except for the sausage with rice, found this dish to be mealy. Desserts were good, really enjoyed the churros dipped in chocolate.
I will never stop loving tapas. They are amazing for so many reasons. The main two being that 1) Spanish food is all kinds of YUM and 2) Sharing = trying many more things. What could be better?
Came here on a Friday night at 8:45 and the place was packed. Thankfully we had a reservation, so we had our table all ready for us when we got there. First things first: the service. A+++. Our waiter was awesome. Enthusiastic, funny, helpful, all of that good stuff.
Before I move onto the main event, just a comment on the general environment here. It's quite pleasant. Somehow it pulls off a slight intimate vibe despite being light and cheery. It's a lot of wood and exposed brick, which make it both fancy and homey. Really just exudes warm and friendly.
Now, the food. We were set on ordering something – anything really – with Iberico ham, so we started off with the Iberico ham platter, which was served with some crostini-esque bread. Absolutely delicious. I don't eat read meat too much, both for health reasons and because I don't particularly like the taste, but this stuff was packed with flavor – flavor that I liked very very much. The saltiness wasn't overpowering, and it was incredibly rich. We probably could've eaten that all night and left content.
When I order tapas, I typically like to order a mix of vegetables and meats/poultry/seafood. So next, we ordered the snap peas and the broccoli salad. They weren't out of this world great, but still very good. The snap peas were pretty heavily dressed, so any sort of potential for healthiness there was squandered. Not necessarily a bad thing, just the reality of the dish. And the broccoli was served with – if I'm not mistaken – lamb bacon, which packed almost as much of a punch as the Iberico ham (though comparing the two would be silly – the ham is the star of the show and that bacon could only stand as a supporting character).
Now for my personal favorite of the night – the smoked pig cheek with fried quail egg. GET THIS. DO NOT BE DETERRED/AFRAID OF BIG CHEEK IT IS SO WORTH IT. The only negative thing about this dish is that I only got one bite. Well, technically two, but that's only because I tried to savor something that is really meant to be enjoyed all at once. A tip for trying to savor this: don't break the yolk on the first bite. Otherwise you will be needing to ask for a stack of napkins. Take it from a very messy eater – I had to be careful with this. If you're not a weirdo who likes to make your food last an egregiously long time, just ignore that tip.
Now comes that sad part of the night. We were still waiting on the octopus and duck dishes, but much to our chagrin, we had both reached food baby status. So, with a look of defeat in our eyes, we cancelled the octopus because the duck had caught both of our eyes initially. The website menu isn't updated, otherwise I'd tell you exactly what was in it. The only thing I remember is that it was dry roasted or dry rubbed…..something like that. I'm only proficient in chef-speak – some things are beyond me. Anyway, the duck was fantastic, and I managed to eat a whole bite-sized piece. I should get a medal.
A note on drinks – the gin and rye cocktails are both decent, but nothing special. They are both pretty unique though, which was a nice surprise at a tapas bar. A lot of the tapas bars I've been to just serve wine/beer/sangria, so the cocktail option was much appreciated. Too much wine makes me fall asleep, which is not exactly conducive to eating.
Stopped by for dinner before watching a show at the comedy cellar. As our group walked in Terulia, a dry-cured ham was being carved up on one of the back tables.
Because this was a company event we were able to sample a bunch of offerings. Needless to say it was a feast and one of the best meals I had on my last trip to nyc.
Oysters – At a buck a pop we ordered a tray of them. They were a little on the small size but be sure to ask for their special hot sauce on the side. That was great.
Nuestras Patatas – crispy seasoned potatoes with a cream sauce on top. While not as good as Rally's ( or checkers ) season fires, they were addictive.
Cojonudo Revisited – smoked pig cheek, quail egg. This was interesting but I'd probably pass on it.
Tosta Matrimonio – black and white anchovies. I love these. The sweetness cut though most of the saltiness. I'd order this again for sure.
Pulpo a La Brasa – grilled spanish octopus – Looked cool, tasted okay.
Arroz Negro – squid ink – By far this was my favorite of all the Tapas.
Embutidos – 3 cured meats – Pretty good charcuterie board
Quesos Artesanales – cheese – Good selection
Great atmosphere, but the food is lacking (and I love tapas/Spanish food).
The restaurant is cute with a fun, open atmosphere. There were a bunch of people even just hanging around doing work on their laptops here. I came with a party of three for brunch at 1pm on a weekend and, although we had a reservation, we didn't need one.
We ordered the croquettes to start, which were delicious, but I'm such a sucker for croquettes. I was super excited for my chicken paella entree, as paella is one of my favorite foods, but although it tasted decent, it just really wasn't good paella…I'd go to Socarrat instead if you want paella. There was a salad on top of it too, which is never a thing with paella.
The other two people with me also complained about their food being cold or not great. Generally, I'd give this place a second chance because of the atmosphere/good croquettes/great waitress that we had, but wasn't super impressed on the first take.
KenScale: 7.5/10
Tertulia is a Spanish restaurant helmed by chef Seamus Mullen. I somehow haven't able to visit this place for dinner and have finally made a visit recently. My experience was somewhat mixed: while I loved many of the tapas style small dishes, the entrée and desserts had some room for improvement.
Tertulia features dishes from northern Spain, and consists of small bites, larger dishes and desserts. Pan con tomate would make a nice start to your meal, and I really loved the complexity of flavor and texture in various snacks. Black and white anchovies along with slow-roasted tomato and sheep's milk cheese were spot on with each delightful bite, as was smoked pig cheek underneath quail egg. Crushed egg, potato and Iberico ham on top of toast also shows how eggs are done right in Spanish cuisine. Unfortunately, the larger dishes were underwhelming. Arroz negro with squid ink, calamari, sea urchin, candied chorizo and avocado was not bad, but it sounded more promising than it tasted with somewhat muddled texture. Grilled lamb that came with marinated eggplant was slightly overcooked. Desserts further dampened my mood. Churros that came with dark chocolate to dip on were strangely lukewarm, and the bread pudding that came with raisins and walnut ice cream also had a bit funky texture that wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
The restaurant has a full bar, but the best bet is probably to complement your meal with sangria. Tertulia didn't use to take reservations but now it does, and compared to the past where getting a reservation could be a challenge, I had no problem getting a table for two on Friday the day before. I liked the vibe of the restaurant, a fun, casual dining space adjacent to the open kitchen and oven. Tertulia was by no means bad, but I would recommend it more for getting small bites along with a pitcher of sangria.
I cannot believe I've missed this place again and again. So glad I finally checked it out for restaurant week. My friend and I started out lunch off with Sangria, which was refreshing and excellently made. We then tried two separate appetizers which were okay, but the real winners were our entrees. I had the hamburguesa on an olive oil roll wit a side of homemade potato chips. Hands down one of the best burger's I've ever had, may be better than Umami Burger's across the street. The meet was so thick, tender, juicy, and rare–MMMMMM. The chips were surprisingly fantastic too. Very crispy withou being too oily. My friend's huevos dish was also excellent. Lots of rich Spanish flavors and a nice texture. But even despite some of the best food I've had, an amazing ambiance, and great service, I'm giving this place only 4 stars because the desserts were the saddest attempt at dessert I've ever had the misfortune of eating. The "flan" was more like bland squeegee rubber and the "chocolate mousse" was more like boiled egg whites soaked in brown food coloring and mild almond flavoring. Come for the food not the sweets.
Simply put, this place was a disappointment! Came for restaurant week, ordered from the prefixed menu and their normal menu and everything was just mediocre at best… Everything but the carrot cake!
Read reviews and there were so many positive reviews, I was expecting sooo much more, only to leave disappointed. A lot of the dishes tasted as if you could prepare them yourself at home, so to pay that much for meh tapas dishes, just felt like a waste! The only saving grace of this place is the cure rustic ambiance and the delicious crack tasting walnut carrot cake, that was amazing!
Most likely would never go back unless it was only for the carrot cake and nothing else!