The owners of Highlands, a contemporary Scottish gastropub, and Mary Queen of Scots have done it again, and this time with Gin. Whitehall, located on Greenwich Avenue in the West Village, is a Restaurant/Bar that is trying to capture the quintessence of modern British cuisine while crafting cocktails celebrating the complex, and beautiful aromatic flavors of an underrated spirit, gin.  

The dim lit restaurant sweeps you off the streets of New York City, and brings you to London where the structure and decor of the restaurant have been influenced by the city's green gardens and train stations, according to Whitehall's website. The modern light bulbs produce a romantic, intimate yet comfortable atmosphere, making it the perfect place to have a first date or dine with your closest friends.

The cocktails were incredible, and most of them were a perfect balance of tart and sweet. The Sloe Gin Fizz was exquisite and by far the best one. The velvety consistency just slides back so easily and it tastes like a treat. The Aviation cocktail made with gin, maraschino liqueur, creme de violette and lemon is the cocktail for you if you like things bitter sweet. They have mastered an all-time favorite, the Negroni by perfectly blending equal parts gin, campari and carpano (sweet vermouth). They even add a special touch of grapefruit bitters which really perfected this classic cocktail. 

What were our favorites? Everything! We started with the fish fritters served with aioli that were being offered as a special snack while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive. Soft and hot rolls served with a salted butter are made in house and baked to perfection.  

For starters the Pan Roasted Squid, with housemade spicy pork sausage, fingerling potatoes and relish, was incredible. All the flavors were nicely layered and hit the palate in a way that automatically transported you to a happy moment in time. The Oysters Kilpatrick with smoked bacon and worcestershire dressing featured our favorite flavor combination- spicy, bacon, smokey and sweet. The pressed Duck Terrine with homemade mustard and bread was very tasty. For this dish, it would not be much without the kick from the mustard.   The Whitehall Salad is light and sweet with Ouray cheese and topped with a poached egg. The sliced pears and pear vinaigrette are tossed in with the greens creating a simple but delicious salad to go alongside the other starters. 

For mains, the Grilled Lamb Sirloin is a must-have. Garlic Rosemary potatoes are put on the side with cos lettuce that has been lightly tossed in a dressing. Underneath the lamb, sits a mushed pea fritter and peas. The mint sauce adds a nice fresh flavor to the dish. It is first braised to make it tender then grilled, making this meat dish extremely tender and probably ranking as one of our favorites. The Roasted Chicken was paired with celery hearts, celeriac puree and a tarragon and watercress vinaigrette. The chicken was cooked to a tee and had the nice flavor of goat's cheese butter added to it. More into fish? The Grilled Mackeral was a lighter entree option, but still was able to compete with the other mains. The potato salad with pickled red onion and lemon mustard dressing really completed the dish, and brought out all the wonderful qualities that mackerel has to offer. 

Too full for dessert? Whitehall is not the place to turn down sweets to avoid the extra calories. Their Spiced Carrot Torte is topped with a scoop of toasted coconut sherbet and rum-raisin sauce. The icing is divine and pouring the whiskey hot fudge from their Bitter Chocolate Fondant dessert all over the cake, does wonders for the soul. The fondant is warm and delicious and has a scoop of earl grey-maple ice cream on the side. The Honey Crisp Apple Charlotte (for two) is what everyone recommends, we will have to go back to try it. 

The service at Whitehall is spot on. They are friendly, knowledgeable, and ready to promote the new establishment. The server outfits are adorable, with a unisex apron that criss-crosses in the back and plaid shirts. Our server, Lynn, gave great recommendations and never missed a beat with the timing of our meal. We recommend dining during the week because the weekends can be hectic. However their brunch menu, which is offered on Saturday and Sunday days, sounds like it would be worth dealing with a crowded establishment. The difficult part of this scenario would be choosing between the Whiskey French Toast with spiced mulled quince topped with whipped cream and maple syrup and the Banana and Brown Sugar Porridge.  

19 Greenwich Avenue (West 10th Street); (212) 675-7261; whitehall-nyc.com