Angie and I met at The Ten Bells 247 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002 last night and I’m a little torn about this place. It has a cool vibe, with a U-shaped bar and no sign outside. Even though the inside is dark, I got a seat near the street where light streams in.

They have an incredible offer of $1 oysters before 7pm, daily. Last night we had Copp Island Oysters, which were pretty big and meaty, while extremely mild flavored. Also, the popular Malpeques: light, a little briny. Both are easy for beginners. They seemed difficult to shuck for the staff and some ended up with pieces of sand and shell, but I still ate nine of them.

Raw Oysters

One server handled our wine: Angie had a red and I had a rose. They buy in bulk from wineries and then bottle it themselves. All of their wines are sulfite-free and the list is long, so just describe to them what you want and they will likely find a perfect match for you. I didn’t like how small the wine glasses were, almost the size of cordial glasses.

Octopus and Potato Shrimp Nachos

After our oysters, we wanted to try other food. By then, the fun, almost flirty waiters, became hard to wave down. Going with what our waiter recommended, we got octopus (too salty) with potatoes; and an order of Shrimp Nachos. The shrimp were useless, hidden beneath black refried beans, cheese, and guacamole. Either dish could easily be made at home and we didn’t bother to finish either.

The portions were generous and the prices were just right, but the food was so mediocre we decided to go elsewhere.  I really wanted to like this place. I get the urge to want to hang out there. sip wine and eat tons of $1 oysters.  But then, I’ll have to find another place for dinner.

posted by jessica at 04:44 PM Filed under Restaurants, Wine Bar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.