Gramercy Bar and Kitchen completed a refurb of the space previously occupied by E Cucina late last year. I’d only been there once under that previous banner but you know how it is with so many new places opening, I just never got around to heading back. Late last year though, an opportunity presented when a quasi work Christmas lunch was proposed and off a group of us headed to Gramercy. It was the first scorcher of the Summer when we headed out. A belting 39 degree day that had you scrambling for shade. We were sat in one of the booths at Gramercy, which is all very open, overlooking the leafy Central Park courtyard and they had fan spinning lazy loops to keep the air circulating. It was warm but we acclimatised fast enough and I actually didn’t notice it even though I’m someone who doesn’t like to overheat.
In our section it was counter service, so we perused the menu before one of our group wandered up to place our collective order. We were going to kick things off with a few serves of their arancini of the day, which of this day was buffalo mozzarella and chilli, which sounded very good to me! They were red hot when they arrived, complete with a pretty dusting of parmesan. They were indulgently cheesy, perfectly crisp and just very, very yum. I think I enjoy arancini all the more because I’ve made them a few times before and they are a bit of a pain in the chops to make, so it is delightful when someone else has done that work for you.
On the mains front there were a few similarities in orders around the tables. Two had gone for the gnocchi – one the vegetarian option, two of us, including myself couldn’t resist the risotto and the gent amongst us ordered the Reuben. Everything looked very appetising when it arrived. The variance with the gnocchi dishes was that one was Parma ham, while the vego option subbed out the ham for mushrooms. It looked really good and I was fortunate enough to sample one of the gnocchi and it was like a soft pillow of deliciousness. I think this was the first time I’ve had goats cheese gnocchi and it was fair to say from this initial bite I was a big fan. Thinking I might have to try making it at home at some stage! How good is gnocchi?!
Despite my adoration for all things gnocchi, I had no regrets about the risotto I ordered. It had a beautiful flavour, the right amount of chilli spice and plenty of chunky pieces of crab. There was crunch from the spoonful of crumbs it came served with and also from the slices of crisp green asparagus. The cherry tomatoes added some sweetness and they had elegantly scattered on a few microherbs that I think made the dish look quite pretty. An artful risotto.. I really enjoyed it and it was a filling lunch option, especially after an arancini or two. Quite a rice heavy lunch now that I think about it but ain’t nothing wrong with rice.
I enjoyed my debut visit to Gramercy. The place has a nice casual vibe, almost a bit of a fancy pub feel to the menu and they are serving up tasty, generous fare for very reasonable prices, which is always well received by Perth folks 🙂
perthmunchkin 
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