Scenes From The Opening Of The Finch

Chef and Clinton Hill resident Gabe McMackin opened his long-awaited restaurant The Finch last night at 212 Greene Avenue (between Cambridge Place and Grand Avenue). Though staff made the decision not to heavily promote the opening, dozens of neighbors were in attendance to try the restaurant’s debut seasonal dishes including pork loin with Swiss chard (above), squid ink spaghetti and shrimp, lemon custard with sumac sugar, and more.

A large group of hosts, waiters, bartenders, and chefs served customers in The Finch‘s several distinct dining areas–one of the details Gabe and crew perfected in the year and a half they spent developing the space–taking painstaking steps of their own in both cooking and presenting the restaurant’s menu.

In addition to the pork loin, we tried the baby kale salad–served with pistachios and smoked ricotta–which gave us a whole new view on leafy greens. If we could go to The Finch every day, we’d be a lot more likely to eat a full serving of vegetables.

Next up was the chicken accompanied by delightful squash, yams, and a soft Cippolini onion. And sauce. More beautifully plated, gorgeously complementary sauce…

And for dessert, a chocolate caramel topped with a sprinkling of salt on top, as well as an apple tarte that, that even without the added creme fraiche, was as delicious and cozy as spiced cider you can eat with a fork.

Here’s a look at The Finch’s current dinner and dessert menus–though as a farm-to-table establishment, Gabe says, changes (or at least tweaks) to the menu will likely occur quite frequently.

Gabe says The Finch will be open, at least for the first while, from 5:30-10:30pm (or maybe until 11pm on weekends).

“It took way longer to open than we anticipated,” said Gabe last night in a moment away from the kitchen. “But it was worth it, and it’s a pleasure.”