Not that 253 Greenwich Ave. has a revolving door, but if I did I might get the feeling I was permanently revolving in it, dropping in from time to time as a new restaurant opens on the old premises inside. Luckily these premises the former home of the Putnam Trust Co. building, designed by Rafael Gustavino Jr., no less are rather beautiful, so stopping in has never been a hardship. But having already seen restaurants such as Greenstreet, Dome, Gaia, Morello Bistro and Douro open and close on the site, longevity is not a word I would associate with it.
Is that all about to change though? Step out, K Dong and chef Steven Chen, who run the place, a duo increasingly associated with plush, high-Asian dining in the tristate area. They already have Miku Sushi and Hinoki in Greenwich, Kumo Sushi Lounge in Scarsdale, and Blu Sushi Bar at Blu on the Hudson in Weehawken, New Jersey, to their name. But Mōlì, heir new restaurant at the aforementioned 253 Greenwich Ave., takes the inventory one step beyond.
Inspired by the Shanghai of the 1930s and 40s, the restaurant evokes elements of that city’s French and British Concessions, expatriate-settled areas of the city where, in the first half of the 20th century, nightclubs, supper-clubs and speakeasies abounded. At the front of the restaurant, Bar Moli is an almost self-contained, atmospheric watering hole, with beautiful backlighting, sumptuous decoration and exotic crafted cocktails, professionally mixed by beverage director Anthony Carrera and his team. If you’re looking just to drink at the bar, or to get the measure of the place, a good starter cocktail and one you won’t find elsewhere is the Mōlì lemongrass-infused gin, Sochu, coconut, ginger and pandan. The house Champagne, from a 200-year-old Maison, by the way, is Henriot, small-bubbled and always stylish. I can well imagine how it was prized in the elitist French Concession of Shanghai.
On the main dining floor, Gustavino’s glorious tiles, recently restored, remain, but the vast wall panels, which climb all the way to the double-height ceiling, have been hung with a floral design paper that imitates brocade, with the same design used for the chairs in actual upholstery fabric.
It’s all about the details, K acknowledged, as we chatted and I cooed over the wonderful design elements, from the theatrical floor-to-ceiling velvet swags and massive, custom-made Italian chandeliers, right down to the ribbed and rather beautiful water jugs on each table and the individual cutlery stands and chopsticks wrappers. He also commented on how the flow of the restaurant continued in the upper dining room, which has a balcony overlooking the main dining floor. While the mood upstairs seemed somehow less urgent than below, it was a vibrant atmosphere nevertheless.
A monumental central display of white jasmine flowers or Mōlì, from which the restaurant takes its name dominates the downstairs room. Upstairs, downstairs, there are no bad tables.
Service, from what appeared to be an entire army of staff, was informed, intelligent and confident and dishes, from a comprehensive but short menu, were layered and complex. Take the shrimp, with honey and candied walnuts, all bound with a yuzu aioli dressing a perfectly balanced dish you will likely remember long after you’ve left the restaurant. Or duck spring rolls, the most fragrant duck meat almost whipped into a filling, inside the lightest, flakiest, crispiest roll, which shattered satisfyingly on the tongue. Although not recognizably Shanghainese, both dishes referenced that province’s cooking style, the shrimp with its almost sweet and sour dressing, the duck with its hoisin sauce. Another winning dish, advertised as scallop and shrimp but I think was indeed scallop and prawn (a larger, sweeter species than shrimp) was more straightforward, the shellfish almost braised in a rich, spicy XO-sauce. The black pepper filet mignon, with onion and green pepper was, again, not an especially authentic dish but still a certain crowd-pleaser nevertheless.
A couple of dishes seemed out of place, like a wintry beet salad, although it was beautiful to look at and tasted tangy and fresh, and a lazy side of grilled asparagus the vegetable that used to be celebrated during a short spring season but has now lost much of its luster by virtue of its being available year-round. And we thought we may have missed the point with Four Season beans, French haricots-verts (string beans) with Chinese preserved vegetables, as recommended by our server. That particular dish did not quite live up to its billing.
A high glamour quotient compensates for any shine Mōlì might lose from a one or two duff dishes. Mariah Carey has been in for dinner, as has Martha Stewart twice. (She raved about the fish.) And Clive Davis and Realtor-designer Greg Schriefer look as if they will become regulars, along with their King Charles spaniel, who is allowed to sit alongside them on the banquette.
On the night I visited, NBC Today host Jenna Bush Hager was holding court at the next table, and Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo another dog lover was hosting a small party in another area of the room.
Back at our own table, it was dessert time. There was a peach mousse cake, a wicked tiramisu and, should we have wanted to go light (as expressed by the server) jasmine ice cream. I did not want to go light indeed I seldom want to go light and so I opted for the mousse cake, a beautiful, shimmering, Barbie-esque pink cake, wobbling like a jelly as it was placed in front of me.
We were offered but had no need of further cocktails. The new patrons at the table formerly occupied by Hager were ordering them like they’re going out of fashion, and I felt myself getting more and more lightheaded just watching them and catching the fumes, like passive smoking. Is there such a thing as passive drinking?
Looking around the restaurant one last time before leaving, I was struck again by just how lovely and full of atmosphere this restaurant is. Old Shanghai and its Concessions may be long dead, but their spirit lives on in Greenwich.
I think Gustavino would have approved, too.
For more, visit moligreenwich.com
