Went to Decoy on Tuesday night. Called last minute and got a 6pm reservation with no problem at 5pm. Early on there were many empty tables; place filled up with time.
When we called we were told that corkage was allowed at $25 a bottle. We brought 2 bottles and on arrival were told that we were misinformed and that corkage was in fact $35 a bottle.
Service was excellent: helpful and friendly.
Music was not too loudly played rap; it worked beautifully with the atmosphere. The place has a very comfortable, izakaya like feel (dark woods, low lighting, etc....).
One can order a la carte, but there is a $65 Peking Duck meal that is the obvious way to go. One freebie course, choice of 2 appetizers, the duck and the choice of one fried rice.
The freebie course is the fried fish skins, and they are perfect. Crispy and flavorful. The oil is fresh and these are light and delicious. The accompanying sauce is excellent (we asked about it and were told the scoop, but I can't remember....).
Next we chose 2 dumplings. Peanut and veggie: not heavy, tasty and exciting. Very thin wrapper. Delicious, among the better dumplings available in NYC. Shrimp and pea: vibrant, fresh shrimp. They offer just what one wants from this dish. Excellent in every way. (There were a number of meat options in the appetizer section, oxtail, Katz's pastrami, etc.... One is about to get an entire duck, why on earth one would want more meat at this point is beyond me....)
The duck is, as feared, served in one course, meat and skin together. It is perfectly lovely and tasty. The pancakes are the best I have experienced in this country. The three sauces are interesting. The classic hoisin is correct and, as always, one must endeavor to not use too much. The peanut is fun and interesting, but may just distract too much. I didn't try the cranberry. This was the low point of the meal, but don't let this confuse you, it was very good. Probably the best Peking duck available in NYC at the moment (not very high praise, I know, but we enjoyed it greatly....).
We ordered the crab and scallop fried rice, for a supplement. Clean, flavorful and freshly made. Tasty as hell. Leaps above what one gets even in the better NYC places.
With the food, the atmosphere and the service this was a great night. As previously noted, not a cheap night, but one well worth the tab. Especially as they never charged us for the corkage....
