I went to this place two years ago and the food was pretty decent..went again last wk to take my partner for a birthday surprise for high end experimental food.This experiment went highly wrong... and it almost ruined the date...we ordered the lychee drink and the fruit was rancid.The watermelon feta salad was at best o.k.sliced; watermelon, feta, and slushed mint....the paneer was disgusting, all heat but no flavor..the spinach tasted bitter, and left a film in your mouth.The skate was greasy, like it was sitting in old oil or it wasnt heated highly enough before put in to cook..the duck dish was dry like leftover shredded chicken..the only good tapa was the scallops...three bites of good food...90 bucks wasted on four tiny plates of food..I was so embarrassed...we ended up going to a nearby rrestaurant to eat a good meal after....never ever again....
Review Source:My husband and I love to explore East Village and Alphabet city. During one of these outings we stumbled across Graffiti. This is possibly one of the smallest restaurants I have ever been to.The tables follow a small communal style seating and the group we were seated with was welcoming and friendly. They made several recommendations off the menu which we made sure to try.
The chef, the hostess, the waitresses, everyone works well like the little gears in a time piece keeping perfect time.
Amazing flavors and textures, I am really so impressed that all these flavors can come out of such a tiny kitchen!
We can't wait to go again!
Tiniest place you'll ever call a restaurant, seriously! This restaurant symbolizes everything NYC stands for, namely eclectic, tiny and rather expensive.
The size of the space only adds to the experience. Awesome and delicious Indian food with a twist, and great tapas. Chef Mehta is phenomenal, finds time to speak to his customers. Chatted with our table for about half an hour.
Great food, special place! Be prepared to make friends with your neighbors because you won't have any other choice due to the spacial limitations of the place.
I visited your food truck at Madison Square Garden. Â I really hope the restaurant is better than this! I ordered a graffiti burger and garlic fries. For $9 I got an overcooked tiny burger the size of a slider, a toasted roll, lettuce, onions. Â Nothing special here. Came with a small handful of fries (can't taste any garic on them) and a chipotle dipping sauce. Â It took over 15 minutes for the appetizer sized burger to be ready after waiting 15 minutes to order. Â Seriously? Â I could have been through the line at Shake Shack faster and actually would have had a decent sized meal for $9 and a properly cooked burger. Do you get to charge more because you are serving out of a crowded little stand instead of a restuarant? I realize food trucks are all the rage but that was a waste of $9 and 30 minutes of my life.
Review Source:Pork Buns & Zucchini Hummus Pizza.....delish! Â Got a same day reservation for 9pm on a Saturday night. Â Ok, the place is really small, like 4 tables small! Â And the tables are communal....but for the price, the food is very tasty. Â I wouldn't bother with the shrimp but the port buns and pizza are amazing. Â Definitely want to try some other dishes.
Review Source:Be prepared to enter the tiniest restaurant in all of Manhattan, even by Manhattan standards. We had to wait for a table and since the place is so small we had to wait OUTSIDE because there wasn't enough space inside to wait (mind you, this was while we were the only 2 waiting for a table). In terms of the food, it was okay, but not somewhere I'd go back again. I really don't see what the fuss is about. Perhaps it's because I'm Indian so I'm used to my mom using similar flavors in her cooking, but I wasn't terribly impressed. I felt like I could probably make 1/2 the things on the menu. Plus, not only is the restaurant itself teeny tiny, so are the portions! The one appetizer we ordered came with 5 small naan pieces the size of my pinky finger. Very overpriced and not worth the hype.
Review Source:As good as a wine bar can get.
We were seated at the wine bar's new extension by Chef Mehta himself. The service was excellent and the food phenomenal. Graffiti offers small plates but boy did we wish they were bigger! My girlfriend and I ended up ordering the whole menu and dessert. Everything was sooo delicately delicious. The wine selection is great and surprising affordable too.
I will definitely be returning to this little spot.
Loved everything about this place....the intimate and cozy atmosphere, the friendly staff (even Chef Mehta stopped by several times to talk and he was busy working the restaurant), and the delicious food. Service was quite slow but I liked it that way - they weren't trying to hurry us out or stack a zillion plates on our tiny table like so many other restaurants do. We started with the paneer which had great flavor. Moved on to the pork dumplings (they were good but probably the least favorite dish we had). Next up was the eggplant buns - SO good! By far the favorite dish of the night. Our waiter convinced us to try these and he was right - great, great! Last was the graffiti burger - the burger itself had great flavor but the bun was a bit too much and took away from the flavor a bit....but overall still quite tasty.
I will be back!
Food was great! Went with around 10 people (occupied 90% of the space) so we ordered a variety of stuff and everything was flavorful with just the right amount of spice. Had enough vegetarian options for my friends which were delicious for once. LOVED the Lychee Martini! Had it not been for the very cramped space I would've rated it higher. If you have a large crowd be sure to arrive well in advance.
Review Source:I don't see what all the fuss is about.
Went here with a reservation on a weekday and the place was empty except for one couple in the front. Â The "hostess" insisted on seating my party of 2 in the very back by the kitchen, not even across or next to each other, but at an angle where one of our chairs was squeezed against the wall ("head" of the table) and the other was to the side. Â What the hell?!
When inquiring why we are given such uncomfortable seating, we were told "since the restaurant is small (maybe 12-16 seats) we have to make room IN CASE a larger party arrives." Â Are you for real? Â No, seriously, do you have any common sense?! Â You should just go take walk outside and think about it, maybe it will come to you.
We debated for a few minutes, clearly upset, but decided to try the food although this certainly put a damper on our night. Â The "hostess/waitress" now had a total of 4 (!!!) people she had to look over, yet it took almost a spotlight for her to come over to our table which was within 4 feet of where she stood. Â
Then the food, which is mediocre at best. Â Folks, you can spend $10 in Trader J's and make a tastier plate at home, honestly. Â The watermelon salad - meh. Â Green chili shrimp - meh. Â The wines are average and cheap. Â Just altogether uninviting - never coming back here solely for the terrible service.
We went to Graffiti one night while we were looking for a restaurant close by to where we live, and this restaurant is very close. The decor, lighting, and mood were all excellent. Perfect for a date, even. They only have communal-style seating, so it creates opportunities for you to talk to other diners.
Unfortunately the food was only so-so. What they're trying to do here is Asian fusion tapa-sized dishes, all served family style. We ordered a few dishes. The three cheeses were good, but that's just gourmet cheese, cut up. No cooking required. The coconut noodles were okay. And the chili pork dumplings were a bit of a disappointment.
Overall, Graffiti's food was okay. But it, like many fancy fusion Asian restaurants in the city, fails to deliver food that taste just as great as the many authentic and nondescript Asian restaurants found in Queens.
Excellent food, good wine, tiny space with communal tables. My friend and I lucked out and got the two seat-er by the window. Chef Mehta stopped by every table several times through the night (his winning personality gets the place an extra star!).
Must-haves: the chilli shrimp, the zucchini hummus pizza, the chocolate "caviar" dessert.
Can-skip: Green mango paneer
The service was generally pleasant, though later in the evening one of the servers kept trying to clear our plates while we were eating. We displayed enough surprise for him to offer up an explanation - "there are many people waiting for a table here..." Not sure I appreciated that - we ordered enough food and wine through the evening to not be rushed out. (I docked a star for that.)
My date looked up at me. Â "This tastes like ... food." Â I agreed with her... "yup... it's ... food." Â
A little background is in order: this was my second time out for dinner with a girl who is a vegetarian. Â Food is difficult: Â I am thinking it could be easier to just try and convince her that duck is a vegetable, particularly as I am realizing that exactly none of my favorite spots in the city are any good for people who inexplicably fail to appreciate my rule that you shouldn't feel bad about eating animals that are not cute. Â In any event, I had the great idea to bring her to Graffiti, since their menu is friendly for vegetarians.
As you might guess, I grade vegetarian food on a pretty generous curve because I love the whole meat thing. Â But this was ... well, what is everyone else talking about? Â Are the meat dishes really that much better? Â And if so, why are these vegetarian plates offered?!?
We had the zucchini hummus pizza, the veg dumplings (pile of dried ramin on top? Â why did that seem like a good idea?), the mango cheese thing, and the veg bun. Â Literally none of it was better than ... food. Â On the bland side (very surprising since the food was described as having a kick) and lots of flavors that just did not seem to want to go together.
Atmosphere is exactly as everyone else describes (which I actually liked), except that they weirdly were playing music from 2006 all night, and I am not sure "The Fray" is the way to go for this type of venue, or, really, any type of venue that is not 2006...
This place is great! As an Indian-American, I love Indian flavors, especially spun in original ways, so this place was perfect for me. I got the Argentinain Malbec to drink, and my sister ordered the proseco lychee martini. Both were really great (except I don't know if I'd call the martini a "martini")!
To eat, we got the chili mango paneer. This was amazing! Spicy, sour, savory, and perfectly chewy. This was a simple mimic of a common Indian dish, but it was executed very well! Next was the chili pork dumplings with the grapefuit confit. I don't love dumplings, so I found them to be just good. However, the dumplings were accessorized very well, so if you do like dumplings, I recommend this dish. Next was the duck portobello gratinee with the mustard onion confit. This was awesome. Not in the name of the dish, but it was served with a spicy goat cheese, which was amazing. This was my favorite dish of the night. We also got the graffiti burger. This was really good too. They didn't ask how we wanted the burgers prepared, but they still came out perfectly. Some of the best cooked burgers I've had. The chipotle mayo was great too. For dessert, we got the hazelnut chocolate caviar cupcake with the ice cream. This was amazing: hot, cold, chewy, crunchy, sweet, creamy. Blended so many flavors very well! The food was all great!
The atomsphere was pretty good as well. Another hole in the wall NYC place. They seat you with others, but we went late on a weeknight, so we were spared from the potential awkwardness for most of the night, fortunately. Also, they played contemporary pop music, which I found odd and frankly, inappropriate for the ambiance. Change that!!
Great place, definitely worth going to!
Met my cousin here for a little reunion of sorts. This restaurant is extremely intimate (tiny) but cute. There are communal tables and coat hooks on the walls (which you will need bc there is not space for you to put your coat comfortably on the chair behind you). One thing that struck me from the beginning was the service. I dont know who our server was, but she was very nice and attentive. We were trying to decide on a bottle of wine to get and she let us try two different wines before we decided on a bottle. I thought that was nice. I also thought it was nice that there was a wide selection of bottles priced at $28 so no need to select a bottle based on price. I have seen this at a few restaurants in the city and I really like this way of pricing. We split 5 plates, plus dessert - I was full but no need to unbutton my pants! ha
We had the the zucchini hummus pizza, pickled scallops, duck gratin, cumin eggplant buns, and then finally the coconut noodles. My favorites were the pickled scallops and duck gratin. They were very flavorful. Actually, everything was flavorful but those two were my favorites. The cumin eggplant kind of tasted just like the eggplant and tomato curry I make at home except it was stuffed in a soft bun. The coconut noodles were rich and creamy. All in all a lovely experience.
Every dish is good! Went here for my friends birthday. The restaurant is tiny but they do have a room for big parties (we had 10) next door. My favorite plates are the hummus pizza and pork buns. So good! It's also very affordable. For 10 people and two bottles of wine, we each paid $35 with tip and we had a ton of small plates :)
Review Source:Delish and unique food with a blend of multi-layered, diverse ethnic flavors. Â Be prepared for no average fair. Â Recommend the pickled scallops(my fav), eggplant buns, zucchini pizza and cheese dishes - skip truffle dessert- it was just ok. Â Liked the shrimp and chilis as well. Â Great inexpensive wine list. Â Also be prepared for a tight very small place with communal tables (only 3 in the whole place). Â The food is so good that you get used to it. Â The service is terrific and the staff is very nice. Â I have had the pleasure to meet the chef, an Iron chef finalist and he could not be nicer. Â His interesting blend of flavors and a former pastry chef of Jean George is someone to keep an eye on- Â this is only the beginning and you can say you went to his early restaurant.
Review Source:Eating here makes me feel so dainty. Everything about it is tiny: the tables, the plates, the kitchen. It's an excellent bite-size restaurant if you want mindful food but don't want to come waddling out with a food baby.
Standouts include:
Zucchini Hummus Pizza
Chickpea Crusted Skate
Braised Pork Buns
There wasn't really a dish that fell flat. Everything was beautifully presented, fresh and colorful. I think dessert could use some improvement, as there seems to be a lot of opportunity to capitalize on this "tiny but dainty" theme. We ordered the Warm Truffle Almond Strawberries, and while the dish was very inventive, I felt like I was eating breakfast granola doused in truffle oil.
Two prosecco lychee martinis and a cute waiter and this place is easily one of my new favorites.
Do you have someone in your life that you really like and want to sit super close to while eating delicious, small plates of Indian-Asian fusion made by an Iron Chef contender?
Enter Graffiti, a tiny little gem in the East Village, so warm and inviting, but barely seating 20 people at a time. Â Couples are seated side by side on square high-top tables, with intimacy enhanced by candlelight and soft conversations.
The galpal and I started our night with lychee martinis served in lowball glasses with slushed ice and subtle but sweet lychee juice. Â This little sucker had me buzzing after a few sips. Â (Prolly means nothing as I am the lightest of weights.)
+ Graffiti offers an assortment of vegetarian options, including their green mango paneer appetizer, which features tender cubes of paneer coated with an addictive, spicy tang.
+ The zucchini hummus pizza was surprisingly amazing - crushed pistachios adding a lovely, nutty crunch on a layer of smooth hummus that was spread generously on fried, crispy flatbread. Â So. Good. Â Want to wear this as a giant block on my head, and I'd eat my way out.
- Vegetable dumplings were covered in an Indian type of snack mix and accented with grapefruit confit. Â The wrapper was thin and soft, and the grapefruit added a wonderful citrusy note that lightened the dish nicely. Â I am really loving grapefruit cameos in savory dishes ! Â I am thinking the meat ones would be extra tasty.
- Our last dish of cumin eggplant buns came three to a plate. Â Chunks of soft eggplant topped with thyme relish were richly flavored, and perfectly bundled within soft, slightly sweet bao bread.
The four shared plates had us perfectly satisfied, full, but not uncomfortably so, with just enough room for dessert. Â (Good thing Dessert Club Chikalicious is just steps away!) Â
Definite recommend - definite great date spot.
I'll start with the good. The food is good. The paneer to the shrimp to the pork buns, almost everything was tasty and inventive. The truffle oil dessert was a bit too truffle oiled, but otherwise we enjoyed our food.
The bad - it's a "communal table" restaurant so you're placed at a table with other couples and groups. This could be fine except that where we were placed was very uncomfortable. Basically my friend and I had to share the head of a table and had no where to place our legs. They just attempt to squeeze too many people into one spot. Then when two people next to us got up and left we asked if we could switch to their seats and were told that other people were coming soon who had requested those particular seats (which seems unlikely as they were no special seats in a special area - but would have been more comfortable and roomy than our seats).
Like I said, the food was good so if you're ok with the communal aspect of it, you should come by to try the dishes.
Why are people rating this place above a three? Three is really the most i could ever see this being rated. The size of the place is about half as wide as my cramped manhattan apartment and the ambiance isn't exactly what i would describe as charming. After sitting our party of four down with another group of two to share a table that only 4 people at the most should be sitting at, we ordered a bottle of wine for the table and about a third of the menu worth of food.
The wine was decent however the food was a joke. First off don't expect to order an app, entree, and desert and expect to go home approaching full. You will need to order at least two $7, one $12, and two $15 items (at least $46 before drinks) to approach a state of satiation. With every dish that was brought out my disappointment grew greater and greater as I realized I was sharing a cramped table with an awkward couple of strangers not to enjoy good food, but to get price gouged by a place trying to take advantage of a "hip" location and setting.
The best way to describe this place a weird indian/asian tapas bar that is anything but the "American" fare that it describes itself as. All this place really is, is a hole in the wall that puts triple the amount of spices on dishes that it should and charges triple the amount that the food is worth.
I wasn't too sure what to expect before I entered this restaurant and was pleasantly surprised by their unique menu selection and their large selection of wines. Their combination of ingredients and flavors somehow just works pretty well. The waiter is very helpful and describes each dish to you as they are served. I liked how they discussed the flavors of the dish along with the ingredients that makes up the different textures of the dish. Be prepared that most of the portions are small so unless you are prepared to order a lot of different dishes, you may want to eat something before you go.
Review Source:Only in New York City is it acceptable- no, wait, an "experience" to eat in an incredibly small restaurant and pay upwards of $30 per person. I'm sure by now you know that this place is small, so I'll focus on the food.
Most of the food here isn't memorable, but if you do come, the plate I would recommend to try is the Cumin Eggplant Buns. I've tried veggie buns at other places such as Ippudo and Momofuku, but I enjoyed these buns more due to their spiciness and added flavor. Another added star for their flexibility on reservations for weeknights.
Came here for my birthday. Small tables, great staff, and got to meet Chef Mehta!
We ordered everything off the menu...twice. It was that good. The Chef was nice enough and sent a couple rounds of shots since we were celebrating. The service was fantastic and on point. I'd definitely come back again...
One way to eat your way through the city is to follow the footsteps of fellow foodies. I am pretty sure that if I lived next door, I would start a weekly ritual where I would drop by casually, pick up a couple of tapas sized dishes, down that lychee slush martini, and then run off to start my night.
On to the food! (By the by, the lychee martini was great, reasonably priced, ($7?!) and tasted great. Way better than spiking your Kmart Icee.)
My friend recommended the Zucchini Hummus Pizza which at first I was reluctant to try because I don't like eating variations of 'fancy pizza'. Pizza is pizza. If you have a thin crust and then slap some goat cheese on it, I will eat it, but I don't like when it's sold as a fancy, overpriced option. Ok back to the Zucchini Hummus Pizza, wow. Crumbly goodness with wasabi. Scallops were small portions so that was slightly disappointing since when I order scallops I think of those half dollar sized white lumps of joy. Braised pork buns had a nice flavor..
Atmosphere is sitting with possibly others you don't know around a square table if you come in a small party, but I kind of liked that.
I've been here twice and have enjoyed it sense. Â It's a great spot to take friends visiting to get that New York non touristly feel - aka somewhere a local would go. Â It is a very tiny space, even the bathroom is super tiny you can barely walk in there. Â But, always a good time there.
Green Mango Paneer - I love paneer and though it's tasty, it's very salty - just a warning. Â
Zucchini Hummus Pizza - My fav dish I believe, the wasabi peas are awesome and add some crunchiness.
Portobello Gratinee (vegeterian version) - yum yum yum
Burgers - pretty good as well but not my fav of the dishes ( See Zucchini Hummuss above :) )
My friends who eat meat loved the pad thai/noodle dish as well and also the chicken tikka dish.
Wine selection is great as well!!
A foodie's paradise!
My roommate and I decided to come here last minute on a Tuesday night after I'd read some good reivews about the restaurant and the chef/owner, Jehangir Mehta, who was featured on the Next Iron Chef. It was pretty crowded for a week night but luckily we scored a cool bench/table to ourselves (Nice work Em!). The majority of the restaurant is communal seating and very cramped, but the food totally makes up for it.
We ordered the Mango Paneer, Zucchini Hummus Pizza, Duck Portabello Gratinee and Braised Pork Buns. All were absolutely delicious and we had plenty of food. After much debate we decided our favorite was the duck, but you really don't want to miss any of these things. Our waiter suggested the truffled strawberries with pepper ice cream for dessert, so we went a little crazy and ordered it too--WOW! It was incredible.
Wines are good and reasonably priced ($8 a glass) and service/atmosphere was great. I'll definitely be back here next time I need my foodie fix!
I'm very hard to please and at this place the food was fantastic. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is due to the space. I'm all for interesting experiences in New York, but being a crammed city as it is, sitting literally on top of each other with the strangers at the same tiny table is not my idea of a good restaurant experience. I think this is the only place where bathroom sink is placed on top of the toilet bowl. So 3 stars for the "restaurant experience" and definitely 5 stars for the food. The menu is tiny and changes constantly. The spices were just right, the portions were also. Here are some highlights for me:
GREEN MANGO PANEER - must have. Spicy but the texture and flavor is incredible.
CHILI PORK DUMPLINGS - somewhat predictable, but still very good.
PICKLED GINGER SCALLOPS - top notch.
DUCK PORTOBELLO GRATINEE - this was my favorite. The cheese and portobello mushroom, with the sauce were very nicely done. The texture of the duck with all the other ingredients made it my top pick.
The night we were there they also had shrimp - I would skip it. Shrimp was presented very well, but it was fairy bland and not interesting.
WARM TRUFFLE ALMOND STRAWBERRIES, PEPPER ICE CREAM - was pretty incredible. I wanted to have at least 3 portions of it, but luckily for my stomach was talked out of it.
and finally, you have to have at least 3 or 4 of PROSECCO LYCHEE MARTINI. Of course you won't be able to leave the table standing straight, but it was sooo good.
Enjoy.
Graffiti and Indian? The concept does not match but the food is amazing. I live on this block but have never made it here for dinner. Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, I managed to score a table for 4 on a week night without a hassle. It is such a hole in the wall place but it is worth it. We were seated right by the window and had not much elbow room so the seating is not very comfortable. Thankfully, I forgot all about the discomfort after food arrived.
We ordered pretty much everything the waitress recommended. We started with their Green Mango Paneer and it has such an interesting flavor and texture that it really made an impression on us. I just really wish the dish is larger. The Zucchini Hummus Pizza is another great starter although it is not as unique as I think it to be. Their Braised Pork Bun with Apricot Chutney is excellent and has a sweet taste to it other than the typical tender pork juice. The Green Chilli Shrimp is refreshing and and the flavor is interestingly entertaining.
We also tried all the desserts on the menu and I think the best is their Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Caviar. It is rich and creamy! The Strawberry and Pepper Ice Cream is not my favorite unfortunately.
The dishes here are tapas style so you do need to order a good number of them to be satisfied. It is always fun to sample so many different dishes and try out various flavors and textures in one meal.
Had dinner with a friend on Saturday night. Chef Mehta actually came out and talked to us! So nice to see a celebrity chef that does not have an ounce of pretentiousness. This is the world's tiniest little restaurant, but its food packs a big punch. Staff was also incredibly kind and attentive.
As far as the food is concerned, i'm not a vegetarian but everything we ordered was and I can honestly say that I did not miss the meat at all! Also all the wine is $8 bucks a glass and pairs really well with the food.
Must try dishes:
Green Chili Paneer
Zucchini  Hummus Pizza
Cumin eggplant buns
Loved it all and can't wait to go back! Cheers Chef Mehta.
Order everything! The menu is short, but sooooooo sweet.
After ordering and eating almost all items on the menu, my favorite thing is probably a tie the Green Mango Paneer and the Pork Buns. Â I also really loved the Watermelon Feta Salad - this dish sounds super simple, but its surprisingly interesting and delicious. Â For dessert the Strawberries with Pepper Ice Cream are very unique and should not be missed!
The service is also pretty amazing - for an incredibly tiny kitchen, the food it pumps out is unreal. Â The head chef acting as a waiter and the shared tables, makes the dining experience very intimate. Â
Love  it here!
My bedroom feels bigger than this place. Â Not a good choice for a large group dinner, FYI!
Graffiti has been on my list of restaurants to try for a while now, so maybe my expectations were too high because I wasn't blown away.
Not too many of the menu items are vegetarian, but they do try to accommodate with some of the dishes. Â
Our waitress talked us into trying the hummus pizza because it was something different. Â This was a puff pastry-like base with some hummus, zucchini, and crushed wasabi peas on top. Â I thought this dish was lacking flavor and while I understand why the wasabi peas were added on top (texture), I'm not sure they complimented the rest of the dish.
Portobello Gratinee (minus the duck) - excellent flavor explosion! Â The mushroom was perfectly cooked, the spicy mayo was amazing, the bell peppers were delicious. Â yum.
Burgers - we got this vegetarian as well. Â The buns were light and fluffy and the patty was ok. Â The chili fries that came with this were quite delicious.
I'm not sure our dinner was worth what we paid for it, but I'm glad I gave it a shot.
I went to Graffiti for the second time yesterday and it was even better than I remembered. I'm not sure if American is the right classification - I would call it modern through an Indian lens.
I love the attention to detail here. The service is impeccable, the presentation is beautiful, and they have really standout accents like Japanese newspapers placemats and the softest napkins in existence. Plus, the bottles of wine are $25 and delicious! The space is the size of a shoe box so I was blown away by the amazing creations that they were able to make in such a miniature kitchen.
Here's what we had had in order of what I liked the most:
1) Zucchini Hummus Pizza - I was absolutely blown away by this dish. It wouldn't be my choice to order pizza at a place like this but I'm SO glad we did. This isn't pizza--it's an amazing combination of such different textures and flavors that just comes together perfectly. The shell is made of many super thin, flaky crisp layers; the zucchini and hummus adds softness, and on top, there's crushed wasabi peas that add an amazing crunch and just enough of a mild kick. This is a MUST TRY. Â
2) Watermelon Feta Salad, Mint Sorbet - This was probably the most interesting dish we had. It was 3 small squares of watermelon, topped with a tiny scoop of mint sorbet, then feta cheese and tiny alfalfa sprouts are sprinkled on top. It was really pleasant how the drastically different flavors all came together. It's incredibly light, fresh, and very unique.
3) Duck Portobello Gratinee, Mustard Onion Confit - I love duck but one of our friends who came with us didn't feel the same but she tried this reluctantly and LOVED it. It's a portabella mushroom cap stuffed with goat cheese, I believe, and then there's duck on top. It has a really nice rich smoky flavor. Sooo good!
4) Green Mango Paneer - This is definitely the most Indian dish we had. The Paneer cheese has a zesty spice with a hint of bitterness (in a good way) and you have it with flat bread. I couldn't really figure out which part was the green mango though.
5) Braised Pork Buns, Apricot Chutney - this was probably the least impressive. I think the chutney adds a really interesting flavor but overall it's a bit bland compared to the other dishes. Don't get me wrong, it's still quite strong but everything else was SOOOO amazing so it had tough competition.
Desserts:
1) Warm Truffle Almond Strawberries, Pepper Ice Cream - Since it's such a small space, I love that you often get whiffs of truffle throughout dinner when other people order this dessert. If you are a truffle fan, this is a MUST TRY. I can't even do it justice with words. Just get it.
2) Chocolate Caviar Cupcake, Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - for those of you who are chocolate fans, you can't go wrong with this. It's rich and decadent but not offensively sweet. The cupcake is moist and is sprinkled with little crisp chocolate pearls. And of course you can't go wrong with a la mode.
I had the chance to finally re-visit Graffiti this weekend and felt the need to immediately update my review! I was absolutely in love with everything I tried this time. I went with a larger group (7 ppl), which conveniently had folks who wanted to sample all the veggie items. This was absolutely key to enjoying the experience here!
I had some more of my much beloved lychee prosecco martini and shared many items from the menu: zucchini humus pizza (which was absolutely crispy and yummy this time!), eggplant buns (spicy and crave-worthy), portobello mushrooms with creamy cheese, tomatoes and some spiciness to add a kick (my fave item, btw), veggie dumplings with crispy noodles on top (wonderful display of Chinese meets Indian flavors), mango paneer with naan, pork buns (my husband's favorite last night), ginger scallops, and the shrimp dish (the least favorite dish of the night according to my informal survey). I am getting hungry again!!!
I was so impressed with the meal last night, I'm going to take my brother this week and possibly book some friends for a dinner next weekend at Graffiti.This place is  absolutely awesome and my mouth is still salivating as I sit here and think about those eggplant buns!
Unfortunately, Graffiti did not live up to my expectations. Â The food is ok but it is way too gimmicky. Â Mehta concentrates way more on playing with textures over creating tasty food. Â
The best things I had were the Prosecco Lychee Martini (very tasty and interesting, here's a case where I enjoyed the playful textures), the Zucchini and Hummus Flat Bread, and the Duck Portobello Gratinee. Â
We tried the Eggplant Buns and the Pork Buns. Â Neither was particularly impressive especially after indulging many times in David Chang's Pork Buns. Â The Hazelnut Chocolate Caviar Cupcake was also pretty disappointing. Â The ice cream was a very strange texture which was definitely reminiscent of Mehta's struggles on the Next Iron Chef. Â
Ultimately, I would not return here. Â It is way too small and the food is not worth the leg cramps.
Headed here for dinner. Was able to make a same day reservation at this intimate and cozy dinner eatery.
Here's what was ordered:
-pickled ginger scallops ($12): thinly sliced slivers of scallops. I liked the texture of the soft scallops with the crispy polenta on top
-chili pork dumplings ($12): think kimchi and dumplings
-shrimp ($15): cooked shrimp on a bed of citrus-y salsa
-duck gratinee ($15): delicious but I think it was the cheese that made the dish
-braised pork buns ($15): 3 in an order and nothing too spectacular. The pork buns at Momofuku and even Ippudo are much better
-chicory chocolate ($7): average chocolate dessert
-pineapple tarragon ($7): different and delicious with the tequila ice
Although the dishes had flavors and textures intricately mixed together, I found the dishes we ordered were only so-so. And for the price of an only okay dinner, I don't see myself coming back.
On the upside, service was friendly and attentive. The place is very small and expect to share a table with others. Plenty of hooks on the wall for coats and purses. I loved how they were able to make the place feel authentic with local newspapers as placemats and shelves of trinkets on the wall.
I eat in cramped restaurants in Chinatown all the time. Â I'm not above sharing tables. Â I'm not even above bending over every time the waiter needs to walk by because of the utter lack of space. Â But Graffiti is just too much. Â Don't pretend to be some hole in the wall hidden gem and then serve food that is totally overpriced (I think the pork buns cost more than Ippudo and are a lot less delicious). Â Everything was also drowned in oil.
This place sucks.
I am not sure what to make of this place. Sure, the food is quite innovative, melding different flavor combinations and unexpected textures i would not even begin to think of. While some of it familiar from my Asian upbringing (i.e. wasabi peas on the zucchini, heavily-spiced mango chutney on the paneer), most of the combinations were just border line acceptable. Especially the dessert, where the strawberries paired with truffle oil was "interesting" at best and I don't know who made up "chocolate caviar" first but seems like it a craze around NYC pastry chefs to put them on desserts. I can't say it was bad, but I can't rave about this place like the other foodies.
And it was super small. My six foot frame was pushed up against a corner, so claustrophobic diners need not apply.
I still enjoyed watching Chef Mehta on Iron Chef America and applaud him for thinking outside the box.
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