Location: 349 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Best Dish: The french toast and it’s amazing maple butter were superb, but the dish that stole our hearts was the “Bennie,” with many possible combinations the ingredients ensure that every incarnation will be a good one.
Overall: A great brunch service with a diverse crowd and delicious dishes. Ideal for a special celebration or a weekend treat.
TESSA is a stylish upper west side Mediterranean tavern serving up an assortment of Italian, French, and Spanish influenced dishes. The overall decor of the space has been described as industrial and urban with a rustic charm. The dining area features white washed exposed brick and iron gates cover the ceiling adding a stunning visual effect. We visited the space on a Saturday for a quaint weekend brunch. The brunch menu features an assortment of classic items as well as a few modern versions of brunch favorites.
One of the highlights of the menu is the chance to build your own unique “Bennie” or Eggs Benedict, with an assortment of tasty options. We completely revamped the classic dish and ditched the English Muffin, replacing it with crispy Lemon Arancini as our base. Arancini is traditionally a rice ball but for the bennie, the ball is flattened and crispy. We topped our unique base with sumptuous thick slices of pork belly and a rich savory herbed tomato bearnaise. The only traditional element we kept was the tender poached egg which oozed beautifully adding yet another layer of decadence.
Brunch isn’t just a late breakfast. It can be the cure from the effects of a wild night on the town. To aid in restoration, TESSA offers a dish called The Hangover Cure. The cure for any hangover is a big hearty meal. The Hangover Cure is a breakfast bowl made of slow poached eggs, pancetta, grilled tomatoes, gigante beans and chunks of delicious homemade chicken sausage.
Booze and brunch go hand in hand (especially in NYC) and we washed down our tasty meal with a twist on the usual. Instead of the traditional Mimosa and Bloody Mary, we went with the Sparkling Elderflower and the El Diablo. The Sparkling elderflower features bubbly, St. Germain and orange bitters. The El Diablo is a spicy mixture of Jalapeno tequila, and cactus pear topped with sriracha salt.
In addition to egg dishes,TESSA also offers an assortment of scrumptious sandwiches. One of the tastiest sandwiches of all time is Croque Monsieur. This tasty french snack features boiled ham and savory cheeses.TESSA’s Croque Madame is a similar dish but topped with a sunny side up egg.
The team atTESSA also makes their own pasta! We highly recommend the Rabbit Cavatelli. A savory rabbit and pancetta ragu is the topping for a bowl of smooth cavatelli pasta in a light buttery sauce.
Brunch isn’t complete without a sweet treat. We opted for the French Toast. The french toast itself is pretty straight forward and tastes as expected but the real star of the dish is the maple butter. This is the only butter we have ever had that can be enjoyed on its own by the spoonful. Trust us you’ll want a vat of this stuff once you’ve sampled its creamy goodness.
For a more traditional dessert option, we recommend the Opera Cake. Layers of moist almond cake held together with smooth coffee buttercream and a chocolate hazelnut ganache served with homemade dark chocolate ice cream.
TESSA is a warm fun restaurant and bar with a great staff, well-stocked bar, and tasty food. The staff is friendly and hospitable and if you’re lucky you may convince the resident Opera singers to serenade you between courses. If you don’t have any plans for Thanksgiving drop in on TESSA for a tasty holiday meal. This year TESSA will offer a prix fixe menu for Thanksgiving, for full details visit TESSAnyc.com.