The Warbler

I had the pleasure of joining the Warbler team for their soft opening and while I loved their incredible cocktails and the comfortable atmosphere I didn’t really dive into the menu. Last night, a group of 6 of us decided to test our luck and walk in for dinner at around 9:15pm. The gracious host sat us quicker than we expected (>5 minutes) in the cozy, intimate back room. We ordered several dishes at once to enjoy family style and the kitchen did a great job pacing them out. The absolute standout of the night were the baked mussels in a licking-the-plate delectable black garlic sauce. Umami for days!! Every dish amazing and balanced in flavor and texture. Other faves were the macaroni & cheese, bucatini, crispy cauliflower and peanut butter brownie which was decimated in a matter of minutes. Service was on point with the servers and food runners doing a stellar job of clearing our table and keeping our glasses full. Perhaps the greatest part of the evening was the bill! The food is perfectly priced and with a beer or wine each, we walked out of there satiated and satisfied for less than $25/person with tip. I can’t say enough wonderful things about the entire Warbler team and can’t wait to spend more time eating my way through their menu. A fantastic addition to the neighborhood and 100% my go-to spot for out of town guests.

Fresh and refreshing cocktails. The mushroom pasta with browned butter was spectacular. The tofu entree was cooked to a great texture but the sauce was lacking flavor. We also got the vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookie skillet for dessert which was the perfect way to end the meal!

Remarkable service, on par with Michelin starred restaurant in terms of their staff providing an exceptional experience. Tremendous flatbreads, but you can’t miss with anything on the menu. Wash it down with any of their cocktails (tried em all… no shame, all awesome). Strong recommendation and this will be in our rotation of Lincoln Square spots for the foreseeable future.

Best falafel I’ve ever had and I’m Middle Eastern! Every single dish had such complexity of flavors and was amazing. Wonderful service and atmosphere too. I loved the butternut squash salad so much too!

Very, very nice place in all ways except maybe one (will get to that). First off, easy to get to and easy to park if you're driving. Nice space with extremely nice folks staffing it. We sat facing the kitchen and it was clear that the work was serious but not angry. And the food that came out was excellent. 4/5 of us got pasta dishes, with the oddball doing a "soup & appetizer" thing. However, everyone at the table agreed that the standouts for the meal were the plates for the group that we got first (salt cod & bread, two vegetables) which sold the meal on their own. But that missing star needs explaining. To be fair, I'm older and so maybe I shouldn't go to these "casual hip" places that intentionally and reasonably are shooting for a younger crowd. I like friendly places with good food though so I will keep going back. The sound level though, well it bordered on "painful", enough that one of us had to go out onto the street just to get away from it for a bit (conversation suffered too). Not talking about the music, which was barely audible, but rather the din of people just having a good time. Additional sound dampening would go against the vibe that (I imagine anyway) they are going for so it would be unreasonable to expect, but I can wish. We will go back, I'm almost positive, but I expect we will wait for a table on the patio (which looked very chill) next time. And so an easy solid 4 stars, with a nod towards 5 if you can deal with the sonic assault.