We returned to 112 Eatery in 2022 after a long break (see here for my write-up) and since then eating there seems to be threatening to become an annual thing for us. We went back in October 2023 for the missus’ birthday dinner with the boys in tow—they’d also accompanied us in 2022 and loved the food (see here for the write-up of that meal). And when the younger boy was asked where he would like to go for his 13th birthday this year, he picked 112 Eatery. And so there we were again last weekend, sitting at the same table we sat at last year, feeling a slight sense of deja vu. Here’s how this year’s meal went.

The sense of deja vu was not dispelled by the menu, which hasn’t changed very much since last October. This is not unusual for 112 Eatery and, as I’ve noted before, the charm of the place is that old favourites on the menu never go away—even as they’re joined by a slow rotation of newer dishes. We would have rioted if the Stringozzi with Lamb Ragu had not been on the menu last week but there it was. Ditto for the Mocha Mousse Torte. We did, however, manage to order several other dishes that we had not eaten on our recent visits—one of them, it must be said, after some not inconsiderable struggle (more on this below). But first, let me tell you what we drank.

When the boys go out to adult restaurants with us they particularly love it if the place serves non-alcoholic cocktails. This is part of why they are fans of 112 Eatery. The older boy got the Something Delicious (cherry, lime and ginger) and the younger got the Basil Gallagher (watermelon, basil, lemon). They enjoyed their drinks very much. I’m sorry to say that the missus and I were not as enamoured of our own alcoholic cocktails. Her Pepino (white porto, aquavit, chareau, cucumber, lemon) tasted essentially like slightly alcoholic cucumber water, and my Smokey Passion likewise saw the mezcal all but disappear into the passionfruit puree, which was somehow not very passionfruity despite there being a lot of it.

To the food. We started with their Side of Country Loaf. As always, good bread, good butter. We also ordered their Steak Tartare. This is where the struggle happened. There are two steak tartares on the menu: the 112 Steak Tartare, and just below it Steak Tartare. On both our previous visits we’d attempted to order the regular Steak Tartare and had been served the 112 Steak Tartare. On both those occasions we’d rolled with it but this time we were determined to eat the other one. Accordingly, I asked for it. Our server for some reason then began to explain in great detail what the differences between them are (the 112 is pre-mixed, the regular is diy). Yes, I said, we’d like the regular tartare. Sure enough the 112 tartare appeared on our table. When I drew this to her attention she once again started explaining the differences between the tartares to us. Yes, I said, I understand the difference, it’s just that we ordered the other one. It was taken away. Luckily, there was no confusion with the two other smaller plates that had come out with the wrong tartare. Both the Fried Bread with Prosciutto di Parma and the (not-so) Spicy Shrimp Cocktail were very good.

The Steak Tartare then showed up. One large plate with toast and the tartare itself (with an egg yolk cracked into the middle) and another large plate with many little bowls of things to mix in to customize at will. This we all enjoyed doing for ourselves. Unfortunately, things soon got very hectic as all of the rest of the food arrived in very short order and there was barely enough room on the table to hold everything. We ended up having to distribute the bowls of tartare accoutrements all over the table so we could send that plate away to make room. The place was very busy and I guess our server did not ask the kitchen to pause the rest of our order once the tartare mixup happened. Luckily, the dishes themselves were tasty enough: yes, we got the Stringozzi with Lamb Ragu and it was again a highlight. We also got the Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Parmigiano-Reggiano, the 112 Cheeseburger (which they kindly cut into four portions for us) and the French Fries (also a hit as usual). I can also confirm that the lettuce served on the side with the burger makes very good steak tartare ssam.

And then dessert. I’ve already mentioned the Mocha Mousse Torte with Whipped Mascarpone. We made it disappear very fast. We also very much liked the Blackberry Sorbet (studded with bits of lime zest), even if it was more than a little ice-crystally in the middle.

For a look at the restaurant and what we ate and drank, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for notes on service, to see how much it all cost and to see what’s coming next.

The tartare mixup aside our server was present and attentive even though the place was hopping. There was one other mixup at the end but that wasn’t her fault. Our desserts—complete with birthday candle in the torte—were delivered to the table next to us by the person who ran them out from the kitchen. The people at that table were a bit confused both because they’d not got their other food yet but also since they coincidentally had a birthday at their table as well! They dutifully sang happy birthday to their table-mate only to then have the desserts whisked away from them and taken back to the kitchen to then come back to us. A little bit of comedy to end for which there was no extra charge.

There was also no charge for the Steak Tartare on our check to make up for the confusion with it. You’ll see that it’s listed as a comped item. You’ll also see the other tartare listed as a comped item—why that showed up on the check at all when it was not ordered and was returned uneaten, I’m not sure, but at least we were not asked to pay for it. Ah well, I guess when a restaurant is as busy as they were on that Friday evening a few things can fall through the cracks. So how much was our check? Without any tartares and with tax and tip we paid a total of about $235 or just short of $60/head. Of course it would have been about $260 with the tartare on the check. Either way, 112 Eatery remains as reasonably priced as ever. We’ll be back again next year—maybe next time we’ll steer clear of all steak tartares and see what kind of confusion might ensue if we order the tuna tartare instead.

Next up on the food front: the last reports from New York in May and Seoul in March. Probably on Friday and Sunday respectively. Let’s see how it goes.