Where Amy Ate – NYC Bar & Grill, Bawtry

Although my main reason for a child free weekend at Bee‘s was to go to SFCC when she posted about visiting NYC Bar & Grill last week I really wanted to go! With it’s New York theming, fantastic burgers and delicious looking cocktails Bee didn’t take any convincing into a girls dinner on the Friday I was there. It has been YEARS since the two of us went out for dinner together just the two of us, I think the last time was probably when we went to London together when I was 20! Nowadays we always have at least one or all three of our kids, or sometimes Bee’s other half and we’ve even managed to go out as a group with other friends. The fact it was going to be just the two of us and cocktails made me extra excited for the Friday.

NYC Bar & Grill is not far from where Bee is currently living, which is great news given there really isn’t anywhere in the actual town she lives in. The one we visited in Bawtry is actually the first in what is hopefully going to be a chain in the Doncaster/Lincolnshire area. Hidden away in a little side street NYC Bar & Grill is a complete gem, despite it being small in size it appears to be busy and is open from breakfast through to dinner. I would love to get back and try the pancakes, I’m always on the hunt to find places that serve American style pancakes! But since we were there for dinner I had to try a burger!

We hadn’t booked a table so when we arrived we had that moment where we were worried we wouldn’t get one since it was a Friday night, however we were barely at the bar for a minute before they’d found one for us and we were seated upstairs. With it being such a small place it was noisy but it was a good atmosphere. First we ordered drinks. Bee actually had two complimentary drinks and this included cocktails, so I went for a Raspberry Mojito and Bee went for a Lemon Meringue pie one. We had a browse of the menu and there was so much choice, burgers, ribs, chicken all reasonably priced (averaged at £8 – £12 for a burger depending on what you went for) and most come with chips and coleslaw. I was origianally going to get a bacon cheese burger and then upgrade my fries so they were topped with mac n cheese.. however Bee noticed there was a mac n cheese burger so I went for that instead with regular chips. Bee went for the Brooklyn burger with tex mex chips.

While we were waiting on our food to come we were presented with our cocktails. My mojito came in a tall glass and was made with fresh raspberry. It was delicious, the perfect drink to accompany a meal as it took a while to drink. It could have used a bit more mint and lime to give it the signature mojito taste. Bee’s Lemon Meringue cocktail was a little on the warm side and as someone who has worked in a bar making cocktails it would have worked better shaken with ice and then strained. Within a few moments another two cocktails arrived with compliments. One was Skittles, which funnily enough was the other one I wanted to try after the raspberry mojito and an amazing looking Key West Cooler. These were both long drinks like the mojito and perfect to go along with your dinner. The Key West Cooler was amazingly refreshing and fruity, the Skittles one just tasted like Skittles and was one of those that you could drink half and completely forget it does have alcohol in it! Definitely one to recommend to those who aren’t keen on the taste of alcohol but enjoy the effects.

Despite being incredibly busy our food didn’t take long to arrive and on first impressions you couldn’t doubt that it was freshly prepared. The burger was cooked perfectly, very juicy and just a touch pink. I loved the bun, it definitely wasn’t like the type you get in a NYC grill (having visited a number of them while in New York over the years) but I think that’s what made me like it more. It had a classier edge. I really liked the chips too, they were chips rather than the fries you get in the state but they were cooked perfectly and well seasoned. The presentation of the whole meal was excellent and everything tasted just as great. Bee also ordered a side of onion rings that were a little done for our liking, but still tasted good despite not really being that crispy. Over all you can tell that NYC Bar & Grill uphold their ideals of freshly made on site.

After finishing our meal and drinks we were far too full to tackle a dessert although they did sound delicious and I’ve been craving cheesecake ever since! They also offer milkshakes which again would make a great dessert.

The servers were great, very attentive and there was definitely service with a smile which reminded of the second to none service you get while in the States. The whole experience was thoroughly enjoyable and already we’re thinking about our next trip back. The place is very child friendly so I would be happy to take Little Miss with me but lets face it, if I was going to pick any time to go back it would be for another girls night with Bee!