Oversized/overblown Tribeca eatery Trigo, helmed by chef Aquavit alumus Michael Garrett has been open about a month now and already reviews are piling in from all corners. Its proximity to the Hilton Garden Inn may not be helping it yield a lot of savvy walk-in traffic but those in the know seem to be rolling in with some mildly high expectations. Early reports range from sublime, to middling, to downright wretched. Let's take a look at the news as it stands today: good, bad, and all points in between.
The Good News: This Eater commenter/potential shiller was more than pleased with the food and value: “Yes the place is beautiful, but the food also delivers. The octopus confit was beautiful I could eat a whole entree of it. At a mere $9 the Smoked eel was divine. The white bean soup with smocked hocks is the perfect soup for these frigid temperatures. What I find great about the place is you can come in get a bottle of wine and some meats and cheeses. And get out for well under a $100 or you can go all out and drop some serious coin, if that's your thing. Definitely worth checking out, despite a few new restaurant mishaps.” [Eater Comments]
The Bad News: This Yelper was disappointed with the service and portion sizes: “After so much hype what a dissapointment! The service was so bad and disorganized I couldn't believe it...Lots of attitude all around...they didn't know the winelist, couldn't be bothered with special requests and charged a lot for very small portions (I know tapas but still) What a waste of time in a city with so much great food!” [Yelp]
The Mostly Good News: One Yelper was also mostly pleased with the food and service: “The food was very good. From the tapas menu I wouldn't get the carrot salad again but both beet salad and pickled pumpkin were pretty good...the tomato garrotxa flatbread was a bit bland so next time we'll try the lamb one. My boyfriend had the monkfish tail and he loved it, I had the bass and loved it, too. Desserts were fantastic...” [Yelp]
The Mostly Bad News: Blogger Cleaned My Plate had a mostly negative early experience: “We were in a restaurant death spiral, plummeting towards the point of no return. Service had been abysmal. The first course was middling. The lengthy wait for our entrees had turned painful. Our shoulders sagged. Regrets that we had decided to eat at a week-old restaurant were voiced. Someone suggested we cut our losses and bail. But then the seemingly impossible happened; the free fall was stopped mid-plunge. The arrival of our entrees commenced an unprecedented turnaround.” [Cleaned My Plate]
The OK News: Another Yelper enjoyed the food and had mostly positive remarks on the service: “Service from start to finish was mostly lovely. Yes, there were moments when we felt like we had to flag a server down, but it *was* a busy night, and Trigo *is* new, so perhaps still ironing out some details. In any case, overall, the service definitely added points toward the net positive rather than taking them away. And it is so nice not to feel rushed... we enjoyed a really, really leisurely evening, with no sense of anyone breathing down our necks.” [Yelp]
