I like a place with history, or place that incorporates history in their own way. I found this place that provides fun Brunch called the Tipsy Tea, where you get a choice of entrée and a choice of one spiked teapot, containing two servings of cocktails. The price of this Tipsy Tea themed Brunch comes at $40, a bit too high for my taste… but, I still was intrigued by the early 20th century New York drinking house, I decided to check it out anyways.
It is an upscale, Prohibition-inspired cocktail bar, and it is named after the famed New York mobster. So, who is Tanner Smith? He was an American criminal and gang leader in NYC during the early 20th century. He was the founder and leader of the Marginals, or “Irish Paddy Gang”, which was active during the 20th century until his murder in 1919. During his mobster years, he was arrested and imprisoned for a while, which changed him and he quit his old ways. He became a successful businessman who gave back to his local neighborhood. He set up several boys clubs to keep the next generation out of trouble. But, you know how people say “old habits die hard”… In early 1919, he apparently returned to his former criminal activities, and was shot by masked mystery man.
The interior has really nice atmosphere, with old-fashioned black and white floor, wood ceiling and red brick walls. It was dimmed so that it brings out the relaxing, laid back, “secret” drinking house type of feel. The decoration had nice antique look to it, adding extra nostalgia emotion into the whole mix.
And when you think they can’t make it more perfect, they deliver perfection with live Jazz band! They have live Jazz every weekend during brunch hours, completing the look and sound of good ol’ days. And they were pretty good too.
They had several glasses and a large bottle of water on the table, so that we don’t have to keep asking for water. I think every restaurant should do this… The server still came around and poured us water from the bottle if we were not doing it ourselves. We also got a Brewed Coffee ($3) which came in a nice sized glass mug, and a side of milk. It was a good value for $3, for the quantity that we received.
We also ordered one cocktail called Footloose ($14). We chose this one because my mother loved cucumber. It is made with Dingle Irish craft vodka, cucumber, elderflower, fresh lime, celery, and fresh black pepper. The black thing floating on the top is not dust or anything like that, but it is black pepper. Quite interesting, and it gave a little extra kick and a kind of smokey-ness to it. The cucumber and celery gave somewhat earthy, veggie, refreshing flavor, with just the right amount of sweetness.
The first Brunch entrée was Smoked Salmon Benedict ($14), made with poached egg, béarnaise sauce on Texas toast. It is served with fries or side salad, and I went with fries. Now, out of all the interesting entrée items, such as Avocado Smash and Brussel Sprouts Hash, I made a mistake and ordered this rather boring item… and it was a bit disappointing… I guess in a way it was interesting, giving that it came with a little twist, using Texas toast instead of English Muffin. But, other than that, it was nothing special. The smoked salmon was a bit too salty for me. The fries were good though. I need to really give myself more time to look at the menu before ordering!
My mother did a better job choosing her entrée, as I basically spent most of my time looking at the menu for her, explaining what she might like to have. And yes, she loved my recommendation so I did do an excellent job assisting her. We got her a Shrimp N Grits Skillet ($14), with cheese grits and shrimp gravy. It came in a hot iron skillet, keeping it hot for a good while. The grits were cooked perfectly. and it was super tasty. The shrimps were plump, and shrimp gravy was just perfect.
My hubby also did a good job choosing a good entrée, and ordered Irish Breakfast ($17), which comes with Irish bacon, bangers, black pudding, roasted tomatoes, roasted mushrooms, baked beans, two eggs sunny side up, brown bread & butter. Yes, it has everything for a hungry man (or woman)! It was meaty and filling, you will certainly be full if not stuffed after this one. The meats were very juicy and packed with flavor, eggs were cooked just the way we like, and roasted tomatoes and mushrooms were really nice too.
The restaurant actually is a bit bigger, with more space in the back. If you are not in the mood for Jazz, or want less noise/music, you can get a seat in the back where it is a bit more quiet. Even though the live Jazz was good, it still makes it harder to have conversation with so much background music. In the midpoint between the front main dining area/bar and the backroom is where the bathroom is, right by antique looking Singer sewing machine.
Inside of the bathroom still keeps up the entire feeling and atmosphere of the rest of the place. Dimmed light, red brick wall, and using an old pipe looking thing as toilet paper holders – super cool!
On the wall, they had old newspaper clippings and such about Tanner Smith, if you are not in a hurry (and if no one else is waiting to use the rest room), you can read about him there.
We had a fun brunch here, minus my mistake of ordering my food. The service was friendly and my mother was happy with her grits. The Live Jazz added extra special atmosphere, I wish if their Tipsy Tea is not so expensive, as I would live to have “secret” cocktails out of an old-fashioned tea pot!
Tanner Smith’s – 204 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019