In Tent

10. August 2006 New York Restaurant Reviews 0

231 Mott Street off Prince
212/966.6310
about $80 for two, with two drinks, without tip

In Tent is such a hokey name for a restaurant but the main dining room indeed has a removable tent made of rust-colored silk fabric because zoning regulations do not allow a permanent roof to cover a garden (vacated by Bot Restaurant).


A beautiful setup in the dining room with Moroccan lamps under a tent

Chef Francois Payard brings his experience as pastry chef from La Tour d’Argent and Le Bernadin and partners with several other chefs to bring In Tent’s Moroccan-inspired menu. The lamb burger with zucchini fries was excellent. The meat was so juicy and the bread crispy that I regret sharing it with my dining partner.


Lamb burger with zucchini fries

The grilled octopus with cannellini bean salad was tender; just how I like my tentacles. I liked the idea of the bacalao carpaccio but without the black olive emulsion, it would have been bland. In Portugal, fresh codfish is rarely eaten. Dried salted codfish, or what we know as the more expensive clipfish, is the way to go for South Americans.


Octopus with white beans


Black olive emulsion on bacalao

Our young server was attentive and even though In Tent was busy at 9pm on a Wednesday night, we were promptly accommodated without reservations after a drink at the bar. I’ll come back for more of that lamb.