The Bazaar by Jose Andres

Reservations: Easily available on OpenTable.

Experience: The Bazaar is stunning. You enter through the elaborate hotel bar at The Ritz-Carlton and after checking in you’re whisked upstairs to the formal dining room. It’s mildly overwhelming, as if the designers couldn’t quite agree on a single theme, but beautiful nonetheless. The service is impeccable but slow. We were not seated with menus in hand and had to ask for water repeatedly.

Food: The Bazaar is a tapas restaurant in disguise. The menu is primarily small bites with a few large fish and meat dishes but seemingly no complete “meals.” The result of the Spanish and Japanese fusion is a mix of Jose Andres favorites (Chicken Croquettes, Patatas Bravas) and Japanese inspired “Top Chef-style” dishes (Japanese Sea Urchin Cone, Wild Black Cod with tomato miso broth). We opted for a variety of dishes over the tasting menu and found the cost to be about the same. The only bite we didn’t like was the Seared Baby Squid in Ink Sauce.

Who to Bring: I wouldn’t recommend coming here for a boozy pre-club dinner. Aside from being extremely expensive (craft cocktails start at $20), it’s just not the vibe. The Bazaar is the perfect place to impress a date or your parents, or to take a few foodie co-workers. The music is quiet and uninteresting, making this the perfect place to hold a quality conversation.

What to Wear: The restaurant is classy enough to dress up, but the clientele is down to earth enough to opt for a more casual look. I would not recommend sneakers, hoodies, etc. but you can certainly feel comfortable in jeans and an elegant top. When deciding on shoes, note that you have to go up stairs to get to the restaurant (although I’m sure they have an elevator as an option).

Clockwise from left to right: Downstairs bar interior, Japanese Sea Urchin Cone, Spicy Tuna Pillow Bread, Tuna Empanadilla, Wild Black Cod, Patatas Bravas, Seared Baby Squid in Ink. Sauce, Flan.