Agern
Good for:
Work lunches, and meeting those friends who take the train back to Greenwich for an early dinner. Hands down, Agern, or its more casual food hall café next door, are the best places to eat near Grand Central.
Atmosphere:
A Danish restaurant, with the Icelandic chef Gunnar Gislason (with roots from the Mothership Dill restaurant in Reykjavik), Agern has a minimalist, sleek Scandinavian sensibility. And the atmosphere is just the people who enjoy good food, even during the work day, wanting to maximize beyond the corner grab and go.
Why we like it:
These guys can bake. Whether you imbibe in the black bread with homemade butter, or have them break out their gluten-free for you, the bread should be considered its own necessary course. The food is excellent – it’s one of the more unique meals, even in NYC where we have an international selection of the best the world has to offer.
What to order:
If you’re really going to experience the breadth of the culinary skills at Agern, the eight-course-dinner-tasting menu is where it’s going on. Portions are perfectly sized so you get just enough of everything. There’s usually a lobster, (something Scandinavians are known for), sea scallops with horseradish beurre blanc, and 2-3 courses of desserts. For lunch, it’s a 2-3 course prix fixe, where the black bass with smoked yogurt is a standout, along with the beets with licorice seeds and oat cream.
**This restaurant is permanently closed**
