Mehtaphor

My sister reminded me that this was the venue of my 25^th birthday dinner LAST YEAR! Completely forgot, and did not write a review. Smh
I do however remember that I had the veggie burger sliders, and they were delicious! It’s amazing how I go to school a few blocks from there, and I’ve yet to return. I will be back soon, because not only was the food amazing; service and drinks were stellar too!

Mehtaphor is Chef Mehta’s second restaurant in NYC.
I went here after trying and really enjoy Graffiti, his restaurant in EV. The menu is set up in a very similar way, simple with a variety of fusion options.
We tried a The Vegetable Dumpling With Tomato, Chickpea Crunch which has an amazing mix of flavors and is friend korean style. The truffle goat cheese crab pizza sounded a bit too much, but it did not fail to deliver. The poprock oysters were more interesting than anything. For the veggies out there, I would definitely suggest the vegetarian sloppy joe with garlic fries.
Last I heard Chef Mehta, this place was closed for renovations, but should be back up and running in a couple months. Definitely will go back!

I ordered from here through seamless web and have to say that it was definitely good value. I took advantage of a 10% off coupon and got my steak frites for $ 17 including delivery.
Both the steak and fries were tasty and I liked the chipotle mayo (a condiment that I encourage more restaurants to carry as an alternative to ketchup). The salad beneath seemed a touch too acidic but it could have been meant more as a garnish rather than a thing to be eaten.
I would definitely venture over to the restaurant some time to check out more of their offerings as I believe their delivery menu is limited to the more portable items.

My friend and I came here for an early dinner last night. The atmosphere is beautiful and the menus are interesting and unique. We ordered the avocado ceviche and although it was yummy, it came with only 5 tiny chips for my friend and I to share. I requested extra chips and they brought us 5 more at no charge.
We both ordered drinks with sorbet, I got the lime (sans alcohol because I’m preggo) and my friend got the chili and I was a little upset to see that they charged me the same as my friend for the drink, a whopping $ 9 for a very small NA beverage. I asked the server if the pricing was accurate and she said that it must be.
The indian street burger was messy, and more like a sloppy joe, but absolutely delicious and very nicely spiced. We also shared the banana leaf tofu and you could tell the tofu was very fresh and probably made in house. It came with a spiced, toasty pea topping and some onion rings. I wish it had come with some kind of sauce.
They had a big party they were preparing for that night but it wasn’t mentioned to us, and we felt very rushed throughout our meal. We still had food on our plates and drinks unfinished and they servers were asking to take them away. Throughout our visit the servers were very nice, we just felt rushed.

Dined here on NYE. They were kind enough to accommodate a party of 10 folks (Tasting Menu, Ala-​Carte and Vegetarian Menu), the staff was excellent/​friendly and very lively. However, the food was average at best.
I tried the Truffle/​Crab/​Goat Cheese pizza and must say was quite disappointed by the lack of flavor (I could barely taste the crab. It just tasted like some sort of paste with cheese in it) I also tried the steak tartare which was delicious — but not sure if the avocado sorbet on top worked for me. Other guests on our table liked the cod/​chick pea dish and some of the sides on the tasting menu such as the bacon cranberry rice and cream corn. The sliders were under seasoned, and the fries that came with it was the only thing worth munching on. Overall, quite disappointed considering how much i admired chef mehta’s cooking on the food network.

A-​OK, that about covers it. Good indicator. Korean waiter does not speak even rudimentary Korean. Korean owner on the other hand speaks well enough, but smart enough to westernize the offerings to stay in business in the trendy zone.
If, like us, you’re stuck on a freeeeeeeezing cold night nearby and want something, anything hot and reasonably Korean, go ahead and stop on in.
AVOID the Korean pancakes. That is about all. CHEERS

What incredible customer service this place offers! Amazing! from a large dinner event set up, to out waiter Jonathan, to Emi W. for her extra effort. we will always remember Dec 2013 by the welcome at Mehtaphor.
My customers were thrilled, small apps and medium sides, main courses were superb (one customer raved about the lamb dish) the other was elated that Vegetarian options were so vast! Way to go Mehtaphor staff and chef!
Thank you all!

I’ve been to this restaurant many times last year and the experience has always been a great one. However I recently went on a Friday night as a party of 3 and it was the worst dining experience I’ve had in a long time. There were a total of 2 employees in the restaurant for the night and it was easy to tell that one of them was brand new. He was unprofessional and didn’t know anything about the dishes.
We ordered the shrimp ceviche, the scallops, and the chickpea crusted squid for appetizers. They only gave us 2 of the dipping chips with the ceviche (we were a table of 3), and when we asked for more, only gave us 2 more. The scallops were a tiny portion, they were sliced to about an eighth of an inch thick, completely ruining the scallop themselves. Not to mention, the asparagus that came with the dish was grilled to a char. However, the squid was decent, we enjoyed that dish.
For our main dishes, we ordered the graffiti burger, the grilled shrimp over mirin bok choy, and the lamb shank. The burgers were good, and the lamb, usually either a hit or miss, was a miss. The grilled shrimp dish came with 6 shrimp that were overcooked. The dish also had some toasted rice as garnish. When asked if the topping was rice, the server was clueless. After going to the kitchen to ask, he came back and told us they were lentils. I didn’t want to stir up a scene so I dropped it. It appalled me though that they would put someone on the schedule that does not know all of the components of the dishes.
Bc we were in a hurry to get to another appointment, we asked for the check when we orded dessert (sundae, delicious). and then asked for it a second time when the dessert arrived. The check still hadn’t arrived by the time we were ²⁄₃ done with the dessert. So I went to the front to ask the other employee for our check. She rudely jabbed at the computer screen for my check and threw it at me without saying anything. I have never seen anyone so rude here before, or at any restaurant, for that matter.
Overall, the food was just mediocre and the service was horrid. They must have gone through some management or staff changes since I was there last year, because everything seems to have gone down the drain. I will definitely make sure that neither my friends nor I will ever be coming back againand I hope that you will have enough sense to do the same.

Goat cheese crab portobello pizza was perfect — contrary to another reviewer’s experience, I thought there were more than ample mushrooms on it. And I loved that they used phyllo crust, as I thought it was an inventive take on pizza.
Came on a Wednesday night, and we were only one of two tables with diners. While I enjoyed the privacy, I hope this is not the norm — because that would make Mehtaphor an egregiously underrated restaurant!
Small heads up: The restaurant is a part of and therefore adjacent to the lobby of the Duane Street Hotel, so you may hear a bit of noise from reception. Didn’t bother us, since it never got crazy.

I must admit I was a little weary to try Metaphor when I saw it’s Unilocal rating. My Husband and I had had such an amazing experience at Graffiti that we wanted to keep that version of chef Jehangir’s cooking on our palate. Décor-​wise Graffiti and Metaphor could not be more different; but cuisine-​wise both restaurants are fantastic and exceptional. Every bite has layers and layers of complexity, flavors and aromas.
Especially after having been to many «Iron Chef» owned restaurants I think history may need to be rewritten…

Gave a Mehta restaurant another try after Graffiti and was disappointed, again.
Grapefruit Oysters– Awful. Please spare yourself and skip this. The oysters were not fresh at all.
Vegetable dumpling chaat– flavors worked well but it was way too salty. I liked the crunchiness of the dumplings when it came out, but they became soggy sitting in the tamarind sauce a bit later.
Truffle goat cheese crab pizza– was coming apart when we got it; this was ok
Indian street burger– I thought this was the best thing we ordered, but I was still underwhelmed. The flavor of the potatoes and peas was good, but the idea behind it wasn’t mind-​blowing.
Service was good, but the waiter didn’t seem very knowledgeable on the items we were ordering. I wouldn’t come back, nor would I recommend.

Oh fusion delights! I checked out Mehtaphor for dinner last weekend. While they do not have a gluten free menu available, they will either tweak things so they are gluten free whenever possible (if said dish is not already gluten free).
For dinner I had/​shared:
— Banana Leaf Tofu: I was on my own for this one, and was sooo happy because it was amazing. The tastes, the spices, the GF onion rings. Ah. Maze. Balls.
— Chicken Satay: One of the best I’ve had, note it has quite a kick to it.
— Walnut Salad with Avocado: Would have liked it better if the avocado foam was not frozen.
— Sundae: Just do it. So good.
While I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to come back normally, I would be happy to eat here again. I have noted it as well for when dining with vegetarians for the excellent vegetarian menu (with several vegan options).

Earned Stars: Creativity and concept
Lost Stars: Execution — they just couldn’t decide which table to give us (we had a reservation), they then didn’t know they had vegetarian menus and tried to convince us there’s one 1 vegetarian thing on their menu even though their website shows a separate menu with several options, food came out without any pattern or flow, servers were MIA, and all in all, a very blah experience for an expensive meal that left us quite hungry too due to tiny portions!

I’ve been to both Graffiti and Mehtaphor and if you actually don’t look at the menu twice you might actually think you’ve gone to the same restaurant! Not to say there’s anything wrong with that because the food is original, very creative and has fantastic flavors! Mehtaphor is located at the lobby of the Duane Hotel, which doesn’t look like the swankiest hotel, but don’t let that fool you as the restaurant is decorated very nicely.
Mehtaphor is alot more spacious than the tiny Graffiti restaurant, which is located a tad further uptown, although it’s still not massive by any imagination. The menu and food is comparable to Graffiti’s, tapas style and very creative dishes! While at the restaurant our group ordered a plethora of items to try: The Truffle Goat Cheese Portobello Pizza, Three Cheeses, Poprock Oysters, Burgers and a few other items.
There was 1 item that really stood out with us and that was the creativity of the Poprock Oysters. Where do you ever see Poprocks on your food??? I have to give Jehangir Mehta some major credit here for taking a risk and impressing us! What was even more awesome was the Poprocks popping off in our mouths as we ate the oyster! The pizza was also another item that was very good. It was soft, crispy and the goat cheese spread was perfect.
Overall, Mehtaphor is a nice, casual restaurant located in a very quiet area, especially on weekends. I definitely recommend a visit to Mehtaphor if anyone is looking for a restaurant that won’t be jam packed, but will have enough people there to keep their eyes wandering. The food is imaginative and flavorful, but be prepared for the small tapas style servings and the high prices for the small dishes.

My issue with Mehtaphor isn’t with the food, but rather the portions/​value and the menu’s identity crisis. More on that later.
First of all, very weird vibe and layout. You walk right into this very small hotel lobby /​makeshift bar area, and the restaurant seating is beyond a partition. Not much seating, but enough I suppose. Ambiance was ok. A little dead on a Friday at 9:30, but that’s to be expected in this neighborhood.
Goat cheese, portabello crab pizza — favorite dish. Loved the flaky, puff pastry crust.
Shrimp kebabs with green papaya raita — great blackened taste, but not overcooked. Awesome. Raita tasted more like standard coleslaw, hmm.
Pineapple/​bacon/​chicken skewers — eh, skip this one. Tiny portion. What appeared to be BBQ sauce topping wasn’t very good.
Vegetarian friends liked the vegetable dumpling chaat the most. Go for the Indian street burger too. Easily shareable and delicious.
Cons:
1) tiny portions — not a great value, especially for the $ 17 entrees.
2) vegetarian menu and non-​veg menu are sooo opposite! Veg options are very Indian, with a slight twist, which is what this place is going for, but none of the meat dishes tasted like «Indian fusion» tapas at all. More like eclectic tapas. Little misleading.

This night was an absolute DISASTER as far of SERVICE that I could not help but feel sorry for Chef Mehta (Owner of the establishement) on his staff.
Let me start by saying that the original reservation was for a GNO for 6 to celebrate one of the girls birthday at 9pm. We added two more to the reservation and was told that this may increase the wait time, but it would be no problem. So 8 people it is.
Venue: ⁴⁄₅ This place is in the hotel lobby, but very pretty. It has one supper style table that would fit a big group of 12 – 14 people. The rest is set up for groups of 2 – 4 people.
When all the girls arrive at 8:45, we decided to order a round of lychee prosecco martinis (this is basically equivilant to perfection for a GNO). This order took 45 minutes to receive, 45 minutes! The bartenders explained that the Dessert chef was also the cocktail maker and that he was very busy and that we would have to be patient. Huh? Then the bartenders were annoyed that we were annoyed. We approached the hostess at 10pm to ask them when we would be getting our table, she expained that they had double booked their reservations in case of cancellations and to be patient. So this was the second person to tell our table to be patient.
Eventually we ran into Chef Mehta and said we have been waiting for at this point over an 1.5 hours. He was very apologetic and immediately sat our table, and said this was the first time he knew of this issue. He tried his hardest to redeem the poor service by bringing out tapas and providing our table with prosecco.
At this point our table was starving. Let’s just say that everything on the menu looked amazing. We ordered the following:
Lychee Prosecco Martini — (⁵⁄₅) Tasted amazing, but decided against the 45 minute preperation time to create it for a second round.
Truffle Goat Cheese Mushroom Crab Pizza: (⁵⁄₅) this is on a puff pastry. This tapa was perfect, TRUFFELE and Goatcheese no need to say more. I wish I had just ordered a few of these and ate.
Beef Tartar (⁴⁄₅): Good, but nothing amazing.
Calamari (³⁄₅): Good, but nothing amazing.
Vegatable Dumpling Chaat: (³⁄₅) Bland wouldn’t order this again
So Food was overall GOOD and I would have come back solely on the truffle goat cheese pizza.
SERVICE CONTINUES TO BE DISASTEROUS… As we began to think the evening was redeemed the service literally continues to go south. The waitstaff at this point were so annoyed at trying to accomadate us that their whispers of being annoyed were very evident. The ensured to whisper loudly near our table. I unfortanately had to leave early to meet some other friends, so I paid for my portion of the bill and had to leave. On my way out I had asked to talk to the Chef and was told by the wait staff that he was a very busy person and would not be able to talk.
Either way my friends had told me later on in the night that they tried to charge the prosecco and my portion of the meal that I had paid to the rest of the table. When asked to readjust the bill they were met with resistance.
All in all I would not recommend this establishment unless you want to be poorly treated. Note my reviews tend to be on the higher side of the scale, so this place really failed in service which brought the stars down.

Over all the concept is great… décor is nice, and it was great that for such a small place that they were able to accomodate a group of 12+ people. unfortunately… they put us on a table which could accomodate 14+ people… so they seated 2 other people at the end of the large table. It was a little odd… but we moved on.
As a large group, we orderd food in sections… a mix of veg and non veg dishes. The veg and shrimp civeches were both really good. We also really enjoyed the goat cheese pizza (goat cheese on a puff pastry base), as well as the shrimp kebabs.
The pot sticker chat was ok… a little salty for my taste. Also, the veg burgers (pav bhaji in a bun) was a little difficult to eat/​share.
Overall it it s great tapas concept, but the menu needs to be a little more concise… you really can’t consider a lamb shank as a tapas dish… as well as the burger, etc.
The tight space is also an issue… as it is a little crowded for my taste. The table we sat on also had a lamp hard wired into the table, which was at eye level, and just got in the way… between conversation… and also for the space we needed for food.
The place definately has a great idea, and i would go again if someone wanted to try it… However, not sure i would pick it as a place to go to.
I did enjoy the fact that the chef was walking around the restaurant and greeting guests. Always great to meet the creative mind behind the food.

I brought a friend here for Indian tapas. She’s a vegetarian and they have an entirely vegetarian menu!
They suggested 2 – 3 tapas per person but i thought 4 total (for the two of us) was more than enough. We ordered the avocado ceviche, truffle goat cheese pizza, vegetable dumpling chaat, and the indian street burger. Everything was really great, and on a weeknight, there are a lot fewer people here, and this was a perfect place for me to catch up with my friend.

I love Mehta’s Mehtaphor. I also love him — he’s got some great taste and when you ask him to come out to say hi, he surely does, if he’s around.
My pros are off the charts. I’ve tried the following items which were all good: dumpling chat, pot stick oysters (first time ever), lamb dish (good sauce with sweet potato as a pair), Indian street burger (veggie), goat cheese mushroom pizza (pizza on puff pastry is divine), tres leches (decent, not amazing), and avocado ceviche (the bomb, but please give us some more chips/​crackers on the side). It’s got a reasonable wine list which is not too expensive.
Service is fine, place is not so large but good enough — it’s inside the Duane Street hotel. Amazing place in my opinion.

Fun, inventive food that will keep your taste buds on their toes.
Chef Mehta himself took my coat! He was very friendly, very present, greeted many guests, shook hands, etc. I’m sure he knows — as diners, we love that.
For such an avant garde, anticipated restaurant, the service felt slightly amateurish. I got the feeling that it was the first job for most of the waitstaff. Drinks took a while, and they forgot one of orders altogether. The bartender was nice but he didn’t appear to know how to make a martini — he made us a kamikaze-​like concoction instead, which we drank — but he should have just said he couldn’t do martinis so he’d be happy to whip us up something special. The bar itself is tiny and their liquor/​mixers appear to be very limited — they seem to prefer that people order off of the specialty cocktail shortlist — if you don’t have the ingredients for a grey goose dirty martini that’s fine, just let us know what the deal is. They also have a limited selection of reasonably priced bottles of wine — as a table, we ended up enjoying a cotes du rhone.
The menu is short but pretty much everything is interesting and tasty. I wouldn’t get the pop rocks oysters again — it’s a cool idea, and I give him points for creativity, but I didn’t exactly like them — I guess I don’t like sweet with my oysters. The foie gras toasts were delicious, the truffle goat cheese pizza was perfect, and the main courses of cod and lamb were standouts. My god, that lamb! Falling off the bone tender, in a delicious sauce, with sweet potato fries. And get the spicy naan — not to be missed. The sundae and hazelnut soufflé desserts were very nice endings to the meal.
Final thought — they should give every table both the omnivore menu and the vegetarian menu — we weren’t offered the vegetarian menu, and I’m sure we would have ordered some dishes off of it had we seen it.