I first dined at Pera Midtown ten years ago; since then I’ve been dining at and enjoying their SoHo location.

​I met a friend who had just moved back to the city; the restaurant was about halfway. We shared a bottle of Cortese, Moncalvi Gavi di Gavi, Piedmont, Italy ($45) while nibbling a few apps.  We started with the Pera dip trio ($17) that oddly was served with fried pita chips instead of their soft and warm traditional bread. Disappointing.

Also not up to par was their spicy pepper “muammara” with marinated pepper paste, roasted bell peppers and walnuts as the nuts had turned rancid. Our waiter replaced that with another serving of the smoked eggplant.

We did enjoy the tender grilled octopus ($23) with the Gigante beans (the very large white ones) and the sliced grilled artichoke ($14) with a green pea puree and fava beans.

Pera’s quality isn’t up to what I expected yet that’s been standard during COVID. That said, I will continue to dine out to support the restaurant industry as best I can.

 

Pera
Midtown
303 Madison Ave
(Btwn 41st & 42nd St)
New York NY 10017
212-878-6301
Pera Mediterranean Brasserie Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato