Beauty & Essex

Beauty & Essex Restaurant Review:

It’s a pawnshop. No, wait, it’s a nightclub. Or is it a scene-y restaurant? The correct answer is “all of the above” at Beauty & Essex. The first room you’ll encounter sells guitars and jewelry and other knickknacks in its faux pawnshop. But walk through the next set of doors and the Lower East Side’s see-and-be-seen set will be on prominent display. If you order well, you can eat nicely. Orange-kissed salmon ceviche, tuna poke wonton tacos and crab Rangoon on toast are inventive and revelatory, while the truffle-laced oven-roasted chicken and sheep's milk ricotta meatballs are tender and very satisfying. Lobster mac ‘n’ cheese and braised short ribs are other temptations. Plan on enjoying a dessert, particularly the chocolate bread pudding with roasted pear ice cream. While the food menu is surprisingly affordable, signature cocktails and wine are not. Expect to pay hefty amounts for libations.