For our recent anniversary of two years of dating, Danté and I decided to do a brief staycation in Manhattan at the Iroquois Hotel…
We were invited as guests of the hotel but I didn’t promise blog coverage in exchange for our stay.
We arrived in our room to [literally] a very sweet welcome, featured in the photo above, of cookies and chocolates created in the Triomphe Kitchen and it got me immediately very excited for our brief stay. The way to my heart is always dessert or fresh flowers 😉
Danté and I don’t eat out much in NYC because we prefer to save our money for luxurious or otherwise captivating travel experiences. So we cook at home and we live rather simply. But the chance to dine at one of New York’s best reviewed restaurants with the promise of a good cocktail at Lantern’s Keep before dinner, was definitely enough to lure us from home.
Lantern’s Keep is billed as a speakeasy and I definitely understand how it could be labeled as such in some ways but it’s not a true speakeasy. It is dark and atmospheric for sure. It has a superb cocktail menu and the Aussie waiter’s accent was very fun to hear. But it is in the lobby and therefore not hard to find. Also, it was so cold when we were there that we could practically see our breathe (I had to run up to our room to get another layer of clothing, thank goodness we were overnighting so I could!) and therefore the small space felt, not cozy and intimate, instead just beautifully designed, but not well looked after.
How were the cocktails? I would return for mine, the Diamond Fizz was tres delicious! Danté felt his Tattletale was a little strong, but still worth the money. If you like Scotch, it has the classic flavors that compliment Scotch and a smoky element that is great in winter.
After our cocktails, we proceeded to the front of the hotel where Triomphe Restaurant has both a lobby entrance and a street entrance. In contrast to Lantern’s Keep, it was very very warm. As was our welcome where the maître d knew who we were and saw us immediately seated at a nice table for two in the back room. Triomphe has a luxuriously appointed interior with pre-war trim intact, modern oil paintings that have a serene landscape theme and thick white-clothed tables. The menu is high fine dining, with nary a burger in sight. It’s very dimly lit, (so dim it was uber difficult to get good food photos so my apologies in advance) very romantic. Very well insulated so that even sitting close to other diners, the conversation at each table is private.
An amuse-bouche was delivered, a root vegetable bisque soup that took the last of the chills from cocktail hour and banished them far away. I ordered the Cauliflower Cream and Truffle Gnocchi with a side of roasted root vegetables, Dante ordered the steak with Duck Fat Steak Fries (!!!!!!!!!!!!) — it was all superb. As was the trio of crème brûlée that we ordered for dessert. 
We walked out sated and very happy with even happier stomachs.
And then, after all our indulgence, we fell into this very warm and well-made bed to sleep the night away in ultimate comfort. (Such a great mattress!) It was far far better than schlepping home on the subway so late at night or trying in vain to explain to a driver how to get to our apartment on the other side of the river! 
All images taken with my Samsung Camera NX1.
