Covina
“To start, we had the Hungarian fry bread and the asparagus "cacio e pepe."”
“Hungarian frye bread, mandilli pasta, and brussel sprout pizza are all a MUST!!”
“Several of the side dishes stood out, such as the charred broccolini and the Parker House rolls.”
Covina
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I thought the food was mediocre, but the service was good. Dessert was the best part.
Food:
Salmon tartare – decent
Asparagus cacio e pepe – could have used more flavor
Bread with smoked salmon – ok
Chicken liver mousse – good
Mushroom pizza – burnt crust
Margherita pizza – pretty good
Salmon (asked for rare) – got medium; OK fish
Panna cotta – delicious
Cherry sundae – good
KenScale: 8.0/10
New York has lately seen quite a few chefs outside the city come over and open a new restaurant to make their names in Big Apple. One of them is Tim Cushman, known for the expensive but supposedly fabulous omakase place O Ya in Boston, who opened the New York outpost of O Ya. I haven't been to O Ya due to its prohibitive price (I still wouldn't mind going for a splurge, but it was hard to find a dining companion who would tag along with me), but not shortly after opening that spot, chef Cushman decided to open another spot in Park South hotel, this time showcasing a blend of California and Mediterranean cuisine. The concept seemed all too predictable and I was wondering whether Covina opened just for playing safe, showcasing a lot of crowd-pleasers without really pushing the culinary envelope. For me, while creativity is an important factor in rating a restaurant, execution is just as important. Even if you play with safe menus but execute them beautifully, I still would remember that restaurant. Fortunately, Covina is that type of restaurant where I had some really nice dishes.
My meal at Covina didn't start particularly well. Everyone who had visited the restaurant has talked about the Hungarian fry bread with smoked salmon, kefir ranch and fresh herbs. Fry bread was something new to me, and while I did like the texture of the bread, I felt the combination of smoked salmon and ranch was a bit too imposing. I was debating between curried cauliflower and spring asparagus "cacao e pepe" and chose the latter just for novelty factor based on its name, but it wasn't wonderful enough, just shaved piles of asparagus that weren't particularly memorable. Things started to get a whole lot better afterwards, though. The colorful mandilli pasta was a joy to look at, and I was a fan of the nice balance of flavor coming from the basil almond pesto (hence the green color of the shell) and the housemade ricotta inside. The star of the dinner, however, clearly belonged to fontina and brussel sprout pizza. There was $2 supplement for adding egg at the center of the pie. I asked the server whether we should play along with what I conceived as a rip-off. Well, I didn't realize that egg could make so much difference; along with the flavorful fontina cheese, it turned a very good pizza into one of the best I've had in a while! The crust was on the thin side to my liking, and I just couldn't stop eating slice after slice even after my dining companion was nearly stuffed. For dessert, the warm medjool date cake was absolutely delightful, working beautifully with earl grey ice cream, caramel and roasted pear for an earthy feel without being overly sweet.
While the restaurant's dining space is relatively large, booking in advance is always recommended (or you can take your chance at the bar). Covina has a full bar with quite a diverse range of wines from all over the world that you could complement your meal with. Overall, the vibe is pretty casual and not really stuffy or kitschy like you may see at other hotel restaurants. I would be happy to try other dishes at Covina to see how the kitchen is preparing other dishes. It certainly is more of a crowd-pleaser than a restaurant with experimental spirit, but I'm not complaining as long as the kitchen continues to make solid dishes. Now that the summer is approaching, perhaps you can go to the rooftop at the hotel before or after your meal to enjoy the beautiful view of NYC, an added bonus to your dining experience.
Best new spot we have tried in a while. Food was awesome. We had gone out for drinks before dinner so we arrived ready to eat. The manager took our drink order and we hadn't seen a server. My husband was hangry so he called the manager over and asked him to take our order. My husband was a little rude but the manager was so nice about it. He gladly took our order of Cauliflower, chicken liver and foie gras, and then we shared a burger and pizza.
We started with out appetizers. Cauliflower was good but very india. Loved the chicken liver. Very rich and tasty. Then, to apologize for the delay in service, they brought us a really light and refreshing asparagus salad to cut some of the fatty deliciousness from out appetizer.
The burger was really good the but pizza was the star. We didn't eat much of it though because we were so full but I took it home and enjoyed it over the next couple days. It was perfectly doughy and charred. A must try from Covina.
Can't wait to come back
Loved this new(ish) resto! So much hype around so many new places and this one delivers! It's crowded and popular…but completely unpretentious…it's quite relaxing and homey. They serve delicious food with excellent service….sounds simple enough, but so many places fail to do this!
Arrived before friends and it was nice to have a drink at a bar that, while crowded, was civilized without tons of people hovering over me or elbowing me. Bartender was friendly and offered advice on his menu favorites.
We sat right overlooking the kitchen which made for a fun dining experience to see all the chefs in action.
The food was great. The Hungarian Fry Bread – oh my, definitely get this! It was light and flaky and just incredibly delicious…we ended up ordering another one on the spot. And we shared some pizzas…all tasty and crispy. The fontina/brussel sprout one was our favorite. So different, but spot on!
Nice wine selection and due to us ordering a good amount of it, it resulted in lots of laughter where our server noted how much we were enjoying ourselves and that it was nice to see. Isn't that what a night out with friends is supposed to be…good company, good food, good drink and laughter? A restaurant's food and service really does make or break your enjoyment, so when one does it quite well, don't miss it!
Unpretentious, relaxed, hotel lobby restaurant with a cozy feel. They really make you feel like home here.
The hostess was warm and friendly. The rest of the wait staff was accomodating, courteous, and caring.
They sat us at the little bar in front of the pizza oven. It was intimate and a great conversation starter.
I had a couple of light bites – the salmon fry bread and pizza.
Really enjoyed it. Will definitely be back.
been here 3 times now, and have enjoyed each visit.
the service is pleasant and knowledgeable, but the hostess was a bit pretentious on the first visit.
Burger is great… pizza is good
What can be said that hasn't been already?
Covina is an amazing new space that manages to pull off in unison several things that would alone make it worth coming for.
Perfectly cooked, interesting and absolutely tasty brick oven pizzas.
Fantastic cuisine in a relaxed but beautiful interior.
Cafe with mouth-watering pastries.
A bar with creative cocktails where you can have a conversation with your bartender.
I'll focus on the last one for now. Since moving to New York, I've been continually disappointed by my experiences at good cocktail bars. Many of the drinks have been wonderful, and occasionally there's a glimmer of hope, but by and large they are transactional experiences. I miss my stronghold of places in Boston like No. 9 Park where you could come without a plan and have a wonderful evening catching up with staff and regulars and be treated to wonderful concoctions. Covina was created to fill that hole and I'm hoping to watch it grow into the kind of inviting, inventive and inspiring experience that New York deserves.
Yet another pizza/wine bar-ish place in NYC but there's a reason there's so many of them- they're great when done well.
And Covina is fits that bill. Food and wine were great, along with stellar service and great ambiance. Got the meatballs and hummus to start- both of which were slightly above average. The fry bread was great and novel. But the margerita pizza and Brussel sprout pizza were both standouts.
Will be returning to try the other pizzas.