Below is a report from one of Eater's regular readers. In a word: They are big fans of One Sunset. The gushing could almost---almost---be construed for shilling, but we'll throw it out there anyway. That giant grain of salt sitting in the corner over there? Yeah, go ahead, take it with you.
"Tried One Sunset last night, and really, I'm impressed. They're six months overdue, and it was worth the wait. I like One Little West 12th (NYC), and I like One Sunset a lot. It will become one of my regular spots, especially if I want to grab something late. Staff is great, room is friendly (especially as it fills up), drinks are outstanding, and most importantly: The food is really good to stellar. Could tell Ennis [chef Chris Ennis---Ed.]is a perfectionist, and he's had time to play---his dishes were artistic, not only in flavors and textures, but also visual appeal--the latter not in a fancy-schmancy Food Network-gourmand-cook-off type of way, but in a very simple architectural style, down to the serving plates themselves."
"They are doing the small plate sharing thing, but it's not really small plates. I'd say it's more "mid plates".(I hate it when you go to a small plates restaurant and they charge you $7-$20 for 3 snap peas and a quarter size piece of toast. Are you listening, Parc?) The dishes that we tried were a nice-sized portion, enough for two people to order two or three plus dessert and have a really good meal, or can go with a group and order a bunch of stuff and not have each dish be barely enough for two people to try. Likes: the crab dishes (pink grapefruit carpaccio w/Dungeness, and crab gratinee; the duck cobb; mini cheeseburger sliders; good fries; NY strip; house cocktails, even the strawberry shortcake drink. Dislikes: the coffee & molasses braised shortribs, but I'm not a fan of coffee flavors in the first place.
Space works really well. Multiple levels, a little loud at times, but not bad by any means---not as loud as Mozza when it's packed. Good flow to the room. There were a few hours where every table was full, including the centre bar tables, and it was a pleasant vibe not pretentious or ostentatious or feeling overly crowded, just nice. The candle wall at the back is absolutely stunning at night. Importantly, good bathrooms, too.
The Service was pleasant without being pretentious or overly gourmet. They know it's a casual vibe, but they're still very professional and they know their stuff and the food; if they didn't know something, they didn't bluff it either, they went and asked.
Doesn't feel like they're too Hollywood (yet), or too haute cuisine. Best way to describe: It's as if someone combined your friendly NY neighborhood restaurant/lounge with the best of Nobu 57 (minus the detached service/ridiculous prices) or Parc (minus the attitude/hassle/sometimes bad minute portions of food), then added a great chef and owners/management who cared about what they were doing. Then, stir and drop it on Sunset. Now---I hope it stays that way."
· Late Breaking: One Sunset Opens Soft This Weekend [~ELA~]
