The Finch
“You should visit this unassuming Clinton Hill gem before they get their Michelin star.”
“We had the pork tongue and bread to start and the trout and the squid ink pasta and both were so good!”
“I loved the kale salad with ricotta and pistachio, the bass and mussels (literally melted in my mouth), the butter they make in house.”
The Finch
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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From start to finish, The Finch was impeccable.
We were greeted by a friendly hostess who took us to a quiet table in the backroom. The chef said hello to us as we passed the open kitchen. Our waiter was attentive and friendly.
We got two appetizers: the bread with homemade butter & honey, and the beet & burrata salad. Both were delish. For mains I got the beef in salsa verde with potatoes and spigarello, my fiancee got the pork with polenta. We both cleaned our plates. Also had an awesome reasonably priced bottle of wine.
The entire experience was wonderful. For a fancy date night out, I'd highly recommend The Finch!
Literally just popped in for 20 minutes to get a drink but I loved this place. It's sort of upscale without being obnoxiously so. There's an awesome brightly lit bar with plenty of seating in the front and some darker space in the back for a cozy dinner. The service was great, their wine menu is extensive and delicious (Pinot Blanc was out of this world). Can't wait to pop back in!
Yeah I understood Finch just earned its first Michelin star and there should be more applauds than criticisms; however I felt like it still has some misses that precludes me from rating it high.
My main dishes were actually served cold when they were brought to the table – I really hope I could enjoy my Arctic char in a warmer temperature. Probably our waiter just forgot to bring our dish to the table once it was just finished…Apart from that, Finch had an extremely small desert menu, with only three options plus the cheese platter choice. Not surprisingly, I did not order anything from there.
If there's one thing I enjoyed a lot, it would be the basil lemonade drink. Standing in between sweet and sour, the lemonade indeed provided me a refreshing feeling!
This was recommended by a friend who wanted to try it based on it's Michelin rating. Guess he wanted to try their winning dish. However there is no one winning dish apparently.
I liked the interior of the restaurant, Did not feel stuffed like you were in other people's conversation. They have an open kitchen so that's always entertaining to watch.
Highlights for me were the starter items-
-Chicken Liver Mousse with Pickled Cauliflower
-Toast and Charcuterie
-The Bergamonster cocktail
I wanted the Pork Shoulder dish but they did not have (or ran out) of Pork Shoulder so they were able to make similar using Roasted Chicken.
– The greens that came with my dish were very salty. Chicken was meh.
My ordered the Squid Ink Dish.
– They can do to include a little more seafood in the dish.
-What they served looked NOTHING like I've seen in review images that portrayed a nice seafood accompaniment. Don't be fooled. It was more pasta and a few clams buried within.
Maybe they also ran out seafood that night.
Nothing about the main dishes made either of us go "Woweee, we are eating good today!"
End of the day, I don't think it was money well spent.
I met up with another friend after, we went nearby restaurant (because she hadn't eaten dinner yet). Surprised to say, I ended up eating a huge duck sandwich and a salad.
Made me wonder what the heck I just spent $$$ at the Finch?
The food was a little creative but there wasn't much that was particularly interesting or exceptional in taste. The desserts were better than the savory courses. Service was pretty good though.
Food:
Japanese yams – good
Tongue lamb – good
Chicken liver mousse – ok; the sweet and sourness overpowered the blandness of the mousse which could've used a little more flavor; reminded me of pickled onions on buttered bread
Cauliflower custard – pretty good
Steak with spinach and mushrooms – favorite savory dish but steak was just ok
Sour cherry shortbread – very good
Lemon custard – good
Our server and the Arctic Char ($26) made this meal good for me. Our server was attentive and welcoming. The arctic char was delicious, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. The way they fried the skin was also very beautiful and adds a nice texture to the dish. The way the arctic char was cooked, presented, and tasted was one of the best I've ever had. Don't skip this dish!
The hostess seemed disorganized when we got there and we were seated at the table next to the hostess stand. I think the inner dining room tables would have been better.
The tongue ($15) was good but a tad too spicy side for me. The beets and burrata ($20) was just ok and the quality was not worth the price. The burrata was hard and didn't have the creaminess that I expected.
The squid ink tagliatelle ($28) had shrimp that were tiny and the quality was pretty terrible. The pasta itself was good though. The beef flat iron ($32) was chewy. The potatoes were probably the best part of the dish.
Everything was great! The arctic char & pork were both awesome entrees, and we had the butternut squash and beats/burrata small plates as well. Food was delicious, as were the cocktails (I don't remember what it's called, but one has gin & house-made absinthe and it's great!)
The waitstaff was super attentive and made sure we came away from the wine list with something we both loved. The space is so nice, too! We came at 7:30 on a Thursday and the place was surprisingly empty, so I'd recommend coming for weeknight dinner if you're not looking to wait.
The full experience was a little pricey, but you could definitely have a tasty dinner here on a budget. Will definitely be back!
There were some things that I loved about the Finch and a few, not so much. I love the atmosphere and the service. We were seated at the bar and were able to watch everything going on in the kitchen, easily the best seat. Our waitress was great as was the hostess the Somm and either the head chef or owner? The few gripes I have are 1. The bread that you pay somewhere between $8-10 is completely not worth it. I don't mind paying for bread if it's good, this was not. 2. $10 for shisito peppers? I think not. Surprisingly, the entrees far outshine the starters, much of the time that's not the case. The cauliflower starter was ok, the squid ink noodles would have been fab if the dish was a bit warmer and the pork entree was definitely the best dish. The wine list is compact but interesting and we had two pretty great bottles, one for under $40 and the second for under $60. I would recommend the finch for a nice date night; great drinks, interesting food and very friendly vibe.