Dowling’s at The Carlyle Is Pure Old New York Charm

1. They’ve got retro classics that never went out of style.

Timeless dishes have always been at the core of the menu at Dowling’s. That’s not changing, but chef Reaume enjoys putting a contemporary riff on them. “The throwbacks will still be there,” he says.

At the moment, he’s particularly excited about his spin on a Manhattan chowder, the lighter, tomato-based cousin to New England’s creamy clam soup. For his halibut Manhattan chowder, he keeps all of the traditional components, but dramatically reconfigures the presentation so that the mirepoix, the bacon lardons, and the whole clams are all distinctly visible.

“I’m doing a tomato clam fumet, which is like a deconstructed version of a clam chowder,” Reaume says. “The halibut is seared, so you have a nice golden crust, and then topped with a potato hay, which adds a nice extra texture. Then this tomato clam broth is poured all the way around in a circle. It just exemplifies a dish that’s really comforting taken to the next level.”

Equally comforting and elevated is the roasted half-chicken with a honey butter brioche stuffing underneath its golden skin. “I’m pretty proud of that one,” Reaume says. “It has this salty sweetness and the brioche stuffing under the skin gives it an almost Peking duck look.” It appears on the plate with a puddle of Parmesan jus — essentially Parmigiano-Reggiano in liquid form.

2. Order cocktails from Bemelmans without having to get into Bemelmans.

Even if you don’t get a bar seat at Bemelmans, you can order from the very same expert staff here. “We offer up our beautiful signature cocktails that our Bemelmans bartenders create and craft every night,” says Jill Mott, wine director at Dowling’s. Over at the bar, guests are presented with a dictionary-sized tome, but here the menu is more succinct. “We have narrowed it down to just shy of a dozen selections for our guests.”

That line-up includes all the classics, plus a few of the bar’s signature staples like the Bemelmans Martini.

(And if you’re still wondering how to get into Bemelmans, we’ve got you covered here.)

3. Tableside presentations add a touch of drama.

In keeping with the old New York vibes, tableside preparations have always been an essential component of dining at Dowling’s. Think branzino excavated from its salt crust and plated with a silken beurre blanc, or a platter of bananas foster licked by blue flames.

Chief among these showstoppers is the steak Diane, a dish Reaume says he could never take off the menu. First popularized in London just before the onset of the Second World War, the dish ups the ante on steak au poivre with a glug of cognac set ablaze. Here, the filet comes accompanied by sautéed morels with copious amounts of butter.

“There’s something so classic about the whole presentation,” Resume says. Diners have been known to gasp as the finishing flambé sends notes of rosemary and thyme wafting into the air. “It’s also a moment for our captains to feel like they’re chefs.”

4. Don’t sleep on one of the best lunch deals in town.

If you’re spending the afternoon at The Met or the newly reopened Frick Collection, swing by Dowling’s for one of the best lunch secrets on the Upper East Side. For $45, you can have any entrée or salad, plus a glass of wine. That might mean a blush-rare steak frites with green peppercorn sauce — normally $65 — with a glass of Bordeaux that typically runs for $29.

Also on the menu you will find Faroe Islands salmon, seafood salad with lobster, shrimp, and Jonah Crab, and “Jackie O’s Cobb Salad,” so named because the late First Lady ordered it so often when staying at The Carlyle. Best of all may be the lobster roll, served Connecticut-style — warm, dressed in molten butter—with a generous portion of crustacean.

“You’re literally getting almost a pound of lobster onto a roll and served with fries,” Reaume says. “And you can have that with a glass of Champagne all for $45. I’d be in heaven.”

5. Expect a wine list that’s anything but predictable.

While there is no shortage of places to splash out on wine on the Upper East Side, there is a dearth of interesting ones. Mott was determined to take the wine list at Dowling’s beyond the usual California Cabernets. “We are equal opportunity drinkers here at The Carlyle,” she says. That means the menu skips nimbly from France and Italy to Austria, the Czech Republic, and even China. “It definitely runs the gamut from New World to Old World.”

At most restaurants, the true breadth and depth of the wine list is only available to diners willing to commit to a bottle. Mott hopes to loosen things up a bit. “It’s really fun to showcase producers like that that are normally only by the bottle,” she says. “We’ve got two really, really delicious grower Champagnes [Mousse L’Esquisse Extra Brut NV and Franck Pascal Fluence Brut Nature NV] that you can’t find elsewhere by the glass unless you really dig deep.”

Above all, she wants diners to have fun with the experience. “What I love about the space is it’s possible to be comfortable but also be surprised,” she says. “Last night, I opened up a ’95 vintage port and I just felt like, why not? I’ll open a new natural wine that hails from southern Spain that nobody’s ever heard of and serve it by the glass.”

Dowling’s at The Carlyle is open daily for breakfast, lunch (including brunch on the weekend), and dinner.

Diana Hubbell is a James Beard Award-winning food and travel journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Atlas Obscura, VICE, Eater, Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire, WIRED, and Travel + Leisure, among other places. Previously based in Berlin and Bangkok, she currently lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.