Lemóni

This is the new Mediterranean restaurant inside the recently opened healthy person’s complex Commrow. Lemóni is located at the last of the 4 square islands of food preparation coming from the Virginia Street entrance to Commrow on the ground floor. They specialize in Mediterranean cuisine, the idea being that it’s prepared well, but set up to go or at the counter for the person in a rush to get a drink or that doesn’t want to be bogged down by the trappings of a full service restaurant.
The island is surrounded by a steel bar about 4 feet high and chairs so you can sit and wait, watching while your food is prepared in the central cooking and preparation area. You order from the far (west) end of the island where you will find a cash register. You can also order here for Tar Tar Bar which specializes in tartares, ceviches, classy foods and sashimi grade ingredients. The atmosphere is mildly frenetic even on a slowish Friday 6 days after opening.
I ordered a swordfish tabouleh salad the first time here before checking out the rest of the place briefly. The guy doing the ordering seemed a little nervous, but punched me up quickly and efficiently so for 6 dollars and tax the food was mine. In addition I ordered one item from the adjacent TAR TAR BAR. When I came back down (maybe less than 10 minutes later) my swordfish was ready and a tattoed lady behind the counter asked if I was Ben to which I said yes and got my food. It was served in a small bowl and it was a fairly small portion, no more than 3 oz of cooked swordfish (cut nicely into strips) on maybe ½ a cup of tabouleh, if that.
I initially tried just the swordfish, then the salad, then the two together. The preparation was good in that the fish was still tender (it’s fish, after all so it really should be) and the tabouleh grain was cooked the right amount. The swordfish was still warm and the tabouleh cool and fresh. There was some lemony flavor as well as a light oil in the tabouleh, but it was less flavorful than most. I felt like they were on the right track, but that some real oomph was missing. The swordfish was pretty bland. Might as well have been cod, sole, or some other bland whitefish. Great if you hate fishy flavors, I guess.
It took a while to get my TAR TAR BAR ordered straightened out. I kept looking at the nearby order from TAR TAR, guessing it was mine and considering asking about it for maybe 10 minutes after I finished my disappointing and small portion from Lemoni. When I asked, they handled it right away, but the salmon there wasn’t mine, but rather someone else’s. So, perhaps a little improvement in communication was in order. Either tell me at ordering to go over there to pick it up or get it there sooner. They weren’t that busy.
Service was okay and will probably improve with time. The food hopefully will too because I love the idea, but felt the value and flavor were lacking, despite quality ingredients and what seemed like a good idea.
As part of this cool restaurant/​bar/​hotel/​music venue/​climbing/​rooftop bar complex, it’s nice if nothing else to have this choice.