I celebrated my 30th birthday with a trip to New York and ate at the Maysville restaurant. Home to my favourite couple: fine food & bourbon.

Our table was booked for 2pm and, by the look of the menu, it was going to be a very boozy afternoon. And why not? You’re only 30 once, right?

As any normal person would do when planning a trip to a new city, I researched thoroughly beforehand. One of my pet hates is wasting time and money on even a mouthful of crap food, coffee or cocktails.

Maysville – an American whiskey bar and restaurant, headed up by Alabama-born Chef Kyle Knall – was one of those places that really stood out to me on my quest to find New York’s finest foodie joints. 

Its beautiful high ceilings lend a warm, golden softbox-esq glow to the diners seated below.

However, this is no New York, belt-buster, greasy-spoon type establishment. But it does attract a wide crowd, ranging from friends and dating couples looking at one another lustfully over a cocktail, to work colleagues catching up on gossip over a bottle of Pinhook, to business men and women trying to broker their latest deal. Maysville’s refined atmosphere lends itself rather nicely as a backdrop to the hubbub of New York city life. 

Maysville’s showpiece, and the thread that ties these people together, is a unified appreciation of good whiskey, displayed rather fetchingly on an illuminated whiskey wall. 

Whilst we were taking in what was on offer, we ordered a couple of cocktails from the extensive drinks menu. A Peaches n’ Herb for me: peach liqueur, mint, lemon and cava laced with Old Crow Bourbon, priced at $11. And a Noreaster for JMG: ginger beer, lime and maple syrup, $12, (which I think also had Old Crow Bourbon in too.)

What we ate…

To start

• Crispy grits with country ham & bourbon aioli
• Hay-roasted oysters, salsify & pickled shallots
• Deep-fried oysters
• Smoked whitefish mousse

Mains

• Chicken under a brick, corn, sour cherries and shishito peppers
• Slow-roasted arctic char, summer squash, sesame, yogurt, and grilled nectarines

Dessert

• Strawberry granita
• Chocolate peanut butter tart, blackberry jam, with salted caramel and bourbon ice cream

(More) cocktails

• Bourbon Ting
• Spicy Buck

I can’t say that I’m an expert when it comes to things like oysters but I was keen to give them a try. The presentation alone had me swooning!

Maysville offers a seasonal menu with the majority of ingredients sourced locally. With the exception being my slow-roasted Arctic char, which was the prettiest dish I’ve ever eaten. But not only did it look good, the combination of flavours made my palate feel like dancing. I love the pairing of fruits like nectarine and peach with meats or fish.

JMG also throughly enjoyed his choice. He described it as very creamy, with lots of flavours going on but nothing too complex. Basically: comfort food at the fancier end of the food scale. 

The music was brilliant too: very easy-listening soundtrack with a nostalgic indie-feel. Think: Beirut, Band of Horses, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Vampire Weekend, and the The Kooks. 

After devouring everything the Chef Kyle Knall and his team rustled up for us, I was keen to meet him and find out whether he had any British food heroes. Was there anyone whose food he admired?

When I asked this question, Kyle mentioned Pollen, owned by Sheffield-born Chef, Jason Atherton. I immediately got very excited. I was to be dining at Pollen in Singapore, in just a couple of weeks time, and couldn’t wait to compare the food I’d experienced at Maysville with the gastronomic delights it promised.

I would definitely recommend that any discerning foodies and whiskey/whisky or bourbon lovers check out Maysville, whilst in New York. Make a reservation and have the kind of mouth-watering afternoon that your stomach will thank you for.

Total bill: Dinner for two with drinks at Maysville cost approximately $160.

Maysville
17 W. 26th Street, Between 6th Ave. & Broadway, NY, NY 10010
Call Us: 646-490-8240 • Fax Us: 646-559-2636

Photography © Lucie Kerley