Mas is one of those restaurants which you pass by without noticing, it is located in the heart of Greenwich Village, on small side street that is very cozy itself. The restaurant is not small, it can seat around 50 people, but since the ceilings are low (typical for Greenwich Village venues) and the tables are very close to each other the place feels cramped. The food that is cooked and served here comes from local farms in New York and in a way the decor reflects modern barn feel.

Large table in the middle of the dinning room, reclaimed wood on the walls with large wine cellar exposed to the guests along with white tablecloths create a nicely balanced environment that is elegant and relaxed at the same time. In general the ambiance is romantic and very private, my only complain is about the tables being too close to each other. Basically you can eat from your neighbor’s plate. The chef Galen Zamarra serves modern french/american cuisine based on seasonal and local ingredients. There are many options how you can create your dinner menu: a la carte, 4 course menu, 6 course tasting menu. The 4 course dinner is an interesting idea, you can choose from sample menus or switch some dishes from the main menu. This gives you freedom to create your own 4 course dinner. We chose 6 course tasting menu and we did not know what we were going to be served. We have been on a roll recently with tasting menues and I think we are leaning towards variety that is why tasting menus became our choice every single time.

The bread and butter were served, nothing exciting or special.

Duck liver pate on a brioche - this amuse-bouche from the chef was served with caramelized onions. Perfect bite, rich, fatty and strong liver flavor with the sweetness of onions was a promising start.

Scallops crude with pepitas and hazelnuts on huckleberry jam - this was good but not excellent first course, crunchy pepitas and hazelnuts gave nice texture, very sweet huckleberry jam combined with raw scallops did not really work for me. Interesting combination but my taste buds were not amazed by it.

Fluke with brussels sprouts, chorizo, squash and tamarind sauce - the fish was perfectly cooked but since fluke naturally is lean and all other ingredients of this dish were dry, with no natural juices, the sauce was not enough to bring them together. I was missing some kind of binding ingredient that would give moisture and balance to the dish.

Skate with green onions pure, artichokes and parnsnips - I enjoyed this fish more than the flake, skate was nicely seared, crispy and flavorful. However, artichokes and parsnips were too bland for me. I would like to see one more ingredient that is a punch line for each bite. Other than that the dish was tasty and well executed.

Veal sweetbreads with caramelized pear and fennel - this was interesting and fun dish in a way. Sweetbreads paired with sweet pear and fennel was tasty combination that I enjoyed, this was exciting dish.

Lamb with risotto and maitake mushrooms - this is second week we were served lamb for the main course and I am becoming a fan of the flavor. This dish was the heaviest and there was really nothing special or different about it, juicy and tasty piece of meat with risotto, well executed, nicely plated but that’s it.

Pear and blood organs sorbet - served as palette cleanser

Hazelnut and chocolate crispy cake - this was one of two desserts we were served and this dessert was the better one. Dense chocolate layers with crunchy cakes produced original dessert.

Honey ice-cream with pear and lemon cake - the ice-cream was very good, the rest of the dessert was what is is supposed to be.

This week’s winner dish is veal sweetbreads.

In summary, the food is simply good and that was my biggest problem with Mas. Being good at this level is not enough. The food is well executed, nicely plated, you can see that the chef uses different cooking techniques but unfortunately there is nothing exciting or special about the dishes. The food is definitely overpriced for what it is. I also have a problem with using the same ingredients in multiple dishes without transforming them. I am a big fan of farm to table idea and using local and seasonal ingredients but a high end chef should be able to use the same ingredient in many ways that can transform textures and flavors. It was nice dinner, that lacked the experience factor. Mas is worth the visit, not worth the money.

Cuisine: Modern French/American/Farm To Table

Avg price per person: $100- $135

Attire: Smart Casual

Overall Rating: 4 plates