Flex Mussels

“First off the have this tasty beer by SEADOG….has a light apricot flavor and goes great with oysters.”

“The Thai is in a pot with curry coconut broth, lemongrass, kaffir lime, coriander, lime ginger, garlic.”

“the sauce for both dishes was on a heavier side, but parma was definitely an overload of heavy cream and cheese.”

Flex Mussels

Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes

Price range.

$$$ Price range $31-60

8 reviews

  1. I. Love. Mussels. They are one of my favorites foods, so a restaurant dedicated to their worship is already starting out on a good foot with me. I came here with my mom on a weeknight, and it was crazy busy. We made a last minute reservation and were only able to get bar seats. She was less than enthused with the menu as she's not a fan of mussels, and I honestly don't even remember what she ordered.

    I think I got the Bisque mussels, with lobster and brandy in a tomato cream sauce. SO GOOD. So many mussels, and they give you bread to dip in the delicious sauce. If you're a fan of fresh seafood, you'll probably love it here! If not, there's approximately one option for you on the menu.

  2. I've waited to try Flex Mussels ever since moving to the city a year and a half ago and we finally went! It was as good as its reputation.

    I called ahead and made a reservation so we could sit in the dining room. We arrived early for the reservation and we were seated in the bar area to wait. I nursed a nice beer which was $8 for the bottle – not cheap, but tasty and not the run of the mill selection.

    We were seated in the dining room about 5 minutes after our reservation time. Our waitress saw us quickly and took our app order – we got the fried clam strips. They were great! Crispy, with some fried jalapeños mixed in and a creamy dipping sauce.

    Next we ordered entrees. Unfortunately my fiancé can't have anything with alcohol in it, and most of the mussel dishes at Flex are made with an alcohol based mussel stock. Luckily our waitress was gracious and helped my boo pick out some non-boozy items (grilled octopus and truffle fries) which were great. She was so patient with our request!

    I ordered the Thai mussels which were YUM. The portion size was so generous and the sauce and seasoning were AMAZING!! I would go back in an instant.

    We had a beautiful date night and I loved the food. Two thumbs up for Flex.

  3. Awesome! A little pricey for the amount you get. I was told the lobster roll would be plenty for 1… But it was a little small. Everything seafood related was great. The chowder soup was amazing and the service was also good. Definitely
    Will be back.

  4. Flex Mussels is purely a delectable dining experience. From the top tier and attentive service to the delicious dishes, my experience at this neighborhood restaurant was purely delightful. To start, I had 6 oysters and the kale salad. The kale salad, albeit simple, was elegantly crafted.  For dinner, I shared 2 pots of mussels – the Bombay and the Bruschetta. The Bombay was out of this world, and the best part about it is dipping your bread into sauce. The Bruschetta was just so so and I probably would opt for another mussel pot the next time I visit the eatery. For dessert, I had the donuts which were some of the best donuts I have ever had. This is one restaurant where you do not want to skip out on the dessert!

  5. This was my second time dining at Flex Mussels– and I like it, but am torn, because I feel like it's hyped up and just doesn't fully live up to the hype for me.

    The good: the vibe and service is always great, the food is always fresh & tasty, the ambiance is relaxing and intimate.

    They do some food REALLY well. I loveddd their donuts. The PB&J and Fluffernutter are incredible. We also ordered 4 types of oysters and really enjoyed the Flying Point ones. I've now had the Puglia, San Daniele, Bruschetta and Italiano mussel pots, and I much prefer the tomato based ones.

    The meh: I feel like the mussels are good, but I've had better! I really didn't love the Puglia and wasn't impressed by the broth in the Bruschetta. Many of the mussels were empty and/or floating around in the broth. Also, 3/4 types of oysters we ordered were just meh. I was disappointed that they were sold out of their 5th option, which our waitress told us was the best option.

    I think if this place hadn't been so hyped for me, I may have given it four stars – and I might reevaluate if I come back for the brunch (which looks amazing), but right now I just don't love the dinner food enough to give it 4 stars. But, I did enjoy the dining experience.

  6. We were staying in Chelsea for a week while doing a work/play trip to NY and the friend of a friend said this place has fantastic seafood.

    Having grown up in Seattle you learn to spot and smell good seafood quickly as well as the sheer volume of choices in Seattle weeds out the bad vendors.

    So I was worried we would get a "oh that's New York style" comment when I imagined eating this food and was braced to be polite.

    The problem with their food is I don't have a big enough stomach.

    The Bombay Clams were freaking awesome.

    It took almost an hour to get in so that sucked but the food presentation was very good, the quality of the food was fresh and we got a simple background on our food without going into a Portlandia "This chickens name was Carl, he grazed in Mrs. Lewis garden and had three friends"

    Great food, good service (they did let my water go dry but I pour my own in NY?

    Going back.

  7. The happy hour sounds like a good deal, but I couldn't get out of work early enough.  The restaurant looks small from outside but pretty large inside.  Very high noise level.  I love mussels and Flex Mussels certainly has the widest variation of flavors; but.. I found the mussels to be either not fresh or overcooked and somewhat disappointing.  Perhaps this is what you get in the City but as a mussels restaurant I'd expect better quality of mussels. It was ok but I wasn't satisfied. The service is very good though.

  8. This place is absolutely delicious. Make sure you get reservations ahead of time as it was packed on a Wednesday night. We had a group of four and everyone was very happy with their mussel entree. I had the Thai mussels which were some of the best I have ever had including a coconut cream lemongrass sauce that was to die for. For apps we had the guac and the fried clam strips. Both were tasty, but the real treat Is the warm donut for dessert. We went for the special coconut cream cheese and it was incredible. I would highly recommend coming here.

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East 82nd Street 174
New York 10028 NY US
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Monday, 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Tuesday, 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Wednesday, 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Thursday, 5:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Friday, 5:30 pm - 11:30 pm
Saturday, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sunday, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm