Bread Tribeca

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene
White brick walls, granite-gray banquettes and stripped-down architectural columns create a stark impression by day, but at night a stylish second-date crowd and an open wood-burning oven warms the place up. On nearly every table, tall girly drinks--watermelon martinis, raspberry mojitos, coconut cosmos--add splashes of South Beach color.

The Food
Despite the restaurant's name, the menu is remarkably Atkins-friendly, from the nibble bowls of spicy fried chickpeas to the grilled slabs of salt-flecked, smoky rib-eye, succulent chunks of rosemary roast chicken and fat tubes of springy grilled squid. Arugula salad sparkles with lemon and parmesan, while spinach and ricotta-filled panzarotti are swathed in a lush walnut sauce. Not everything works: The rosemary-stuffed branzini can be dry, pesto pasta lacks flavor and the cutting board of cheeses and salami is generic. For dessert, fresh berries, vanilla gelato and flaky butter cookie come together in an elegant take on strawberry shortcake.