The Warren
“I happened on The Warren for happy hour recently, and I serendipitously found one of my favorite new places for food in the West Village.”
“$7 happy hour specials for food and drinks brought to you with excellent service.”
“Came here twice in 2 weeks and both the times the drinks and food were amazing, especially the double fried chicken, bacon mac and cheese, and the warren punch!!”
The Warren
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
4 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This spot is as versatile as it gets. Come here for happy hour with your work crew and gather 'round the bar. Come here with a date and sit at one of the cozy tables in back. Come here with a friend for a nice catchup dinner. The West Village really wins for spots like this, and the Warren is no exception.
Made a reservation for two at 7pm on a Friday night through Yelp's version of OpenTable. The host had a table for us all ready in the back, but offered us the much better alternative of sitting right by the window if we didn't mind waiting a few minutes. So with the alternative, we went (Yoda would be proud of that sentence). By "the window" I mean that you're essentially sitting outside–the storefront is open. So you have the luxury of technically sitting inside while still being able to soak in the lovely summer night (assuming the summer night is, well, lovely). This could actually make for a brilliant exit strategy on a date. Having an awful time? Just slide right out of your chair and you're immediately on the sidewalk. And then you can run. I mean, I really hope there aren't people that cruel out there, but it's fun to imagine, no?
So before anything else, I must mention the Warren's *Yelp deal*. Do you ever feel like the places that offer Yelp deals are never the places you'd like to visit? I suppose that's why they offer Yelp deals, though. Anyway, the Warren, along with being a wonderful bar/restaurant, also offers a free Warren punch with a Yelp check-in. Take advantage of this! It's yummy. The only ingredient I remember is Moscato but there's some other stuff, too, Rejoice in free things!
I heard the Warren makes a mean burger, but when I find a menu that's appetizer-heavy, I feel that it's my duty (yes I said duty) to take advantage of it. So we opted for small plates. We were planning on ordering 4-5 dishes, but our waiter seemed pretty convinced that this would be way too much food for us. So we went with three. In retrospect, we should gone with four instead of three plus a side, but we assumed (as any sane person would have) that the waiter knew better than us re: portion sizes. Apparently he has an unusually small appetite. In any case, everything we ordered ranged from good to delicious, so there aren't many complaints here. I will say that portions here likely vary greatly depending on what you order–we ordered dishes that were on the lighter side, but had we opted for others, our waiter might've been right on the mark.
The damage:
Grilled Octopus w/ escarole, caperberries, salsa verde (A)
I know people don't follow Yelpers like they do food blogs, but if you happen to have read any of my previous reviews, you'll know that I'm a sucker for octopus. I order it just about everywhere if I see it on the menu. The preparation–though simple–intrigued me, so it was a no-brainer. The octopus was cooked very well–some pieces didn't have that lightly-crisped skin that I so adore, but overall I seriously enjoyed it. The salsa verde made the dish for me–pulled the other ingredients together nicely and made the escarole far more tasty than it would've been on its own. Though I'm not a huge fan of caperberries, they were and interesting addition to the dish. This plate was definitely the winner of the night.
Red Snapper Crudo w/ radish, serrano chili, shiso (B+)
I'm a sucker for plates that are uber, uber flavorful. This dish, while aesthetically gorgeous, fell a bit short for me. There was nothing ostensibly bad about it, but the snapper itself didn't really hold its own. It could have been seasoned a bit better. That said, this dish as a whole was wonderfully summery. The radishes were seriously delicious, which was unexpected given that radishes typically don't strike a person as exceptional in any particular way.
Steak Tartar w/ frisee and grainy mustard (A)
Oh, serious yum going on here. My only complaint–a frequent complain for me–was that I wanted more. I get that it's an appetizer but…I just wanted to nix the frisee and double the steak tartare. The meat was light and fluffy as it should be, and the grainy mustard was a beautiful touch. Nice mix of textures and flavors here, which I always appreciate.
Crispy Brussels Sprouts (B+)
As I mentioned, in retrospect I'd opt for four small plates as opposed to three + one side. But how were we to know? We also had no way of knowing that these brussels sprouts were not going to be in the least bit crispy. I'm a health nut so I suppose I should be happy that these came out "healthier" than I expected, but when I order crispy brussels sprouts I expect the proper amount of crisp. Otherwise, these were completely fine. But you're better off forgoing these and ordering something else.
Overall, our bill was $66. Very reasonable! Other than a few hiccups (our waiter charged our cards the wrong amount and had to void/redo the transactions), the service was wonderful. Props to the host for checking up on us early and often–total gem.
I happened on The Warren for happy hour recently, and I serendipitously found one of my favorite new places for food in the West Village. The bar unfortunately only serves beer and wine right now due to a lack of a license, but they had some really fun and delicious cocktails using these. I loved the Michelada, which also is a great deal at happy hour prices.
I love a great burger, and I found one here. In fact, it may be my favorite in New York City. I love a simple burger on a beautiful bun, and meat that is rich, fresh and grilled with charcoal. What the Warren gets right here is that they go to the trouble to charcoal grill the burger, and not just flame grill it. The result is an amazing burger that still has me thinking about having another one. The fries and mixed greens also were excellent.
Other happy hour food specials include oysters and fried chicken, all of which looked inviting too. And oh yea, the space is industrial, hipster inspired and warm. Great service and good food in one of my favorite parts of the city – I'm coming back.
I had a delicious meal here with very warm service. The Chili Shrimp starter was tasty and had a nice spicy kick and the flank steak main was also cooked perfectly. Cocktails here are amazing too! Highly recommend this restaurant.
The Warren has been on my radar for a bit now, and speaking on behalf of brunch, it's the kind of place I can easily add to my regular rotation of West Village hangs.
It's summer, so the city tends to clear out on the weekends. The Warren was especially dormant when I popped in for brunch. Myself and my brunch companion were, in fact, the only people there at 1:00pm on a Sunday afternoon. For the unknowing, you might assume the restaurant sucks, but on the contrary, it's a lovely experience.
Though we initially wanted to get something healthy, we couldn't take our eyes off the short rib poutine and twice fried chicken eggs benedict. The poutine was a salty, savory mess of deliciousness with lots of meat, eggs, cheese, and gravy to go around. And the fried chicken benedict was a nice departure from the ho-hum versions you see at plenty of other brunch restaurants who don't work hard enough to wow you on Saturday and Sunday. I'm never a fan of paying for $17 eggs, but when you double fry some poultry (something I can't easily do in my own apartment) in place of Canadian bacon or ham, you've caught my attention. If you're in the mood for an indulgent weekend meal, these are two items that'll suffice.
Bonus points for having a Yelp check in offer for a free glass of brunch punch. It's a perfect accompaniment.