How To Eat A Rotten Apple: The Honey Well

Troubled Youth
Dec 19, 2020
3 min read

How To Eat A Rotten Apple is your food guide on how/where/what to eat in New York City. It is a guide that provides real reviews from a voice within the culture, on the quality of the experience of the restaurants we visit around the city.

It’s the weekend right before Cuomo shuts down indoor dining, AGAIN.

The streets were busy and just like everyone else, we were on a mission to find a restaurant for our last drink.. made by a real bartender, a meal.. prepared by a real chef, and some last in-person laughs with a friend, before going back to lukewarm food deliveries from Uber Eats and Zoom calls.

Although bitter-sweet, this was the perfect opportunity for us to try this spot uptown, called The Honey Well. Friends of mine recommended the spot before.. and all complimented the drink menu. So why not make this my last stop before 2020 is over.

The Honey Well (THW) is in Harlem, a few blocks before the threshold to Washington Heights. Located on the uptown side of Broadway between 148 St. & 149 St.THW was easy to catch a short Uber ride to. When we pulled up, the entrance wasn't that recognizable. The walls are covered in graffiti and the door is hidden, down a short set of old metal steps.. like we were sneaking into a speakeasy in the 1920's.

Once inside, we were warmly greeted by the hostess and seated quickly. It was the same routine as most restaurants.. we had to wear our masks until we were seated. And once seated, you could remove it (fuck COVID). But, as we were being escorted to our table, I was able to pick up on the vibe of the cozy bar/restaurant. It had an old fashion vibe, with low light, and a 70's Soul playlist. Perfect for drinking and comfort food.

The waiter came quickly prepared to pour our water but we stopped him short and asked for the drink menu, lol. We came to drink!.. We ordered a Monk Fashion & a If I D'usse So Myself... the restaurant is intimate, so we were able to watch the bartender as he created our drinks.. one bottle after the next, a dab of this and squirt of that.. garnish, lol. The D'usse came out in a bong (lol) and the Monk Fashion came out in a bee cup with smoke seeping out the top which a had scent that reminded me of the botanica store lol.. Both drinks were good. The D'usse drink wasn't too sweet or strong.. but perfect for the sneak up feeling. The Monk Fashion was strong, but dumb good.

The Honey Well only provides small bites, ideal if you were unsure of what to eat but wanted to try everything.. so we ordered a few options. We ordered the Fonduey Mac & Cheese, the Crab-cake Burger and the Shrimp and Crab Roll. The mac & cheese thoooooo!!! Fire!!! I could’ve had two orders by myself! The crab cake burger was good too, a little too rich for me so half of the burger is all I needed. The shrimp & crab roll was amazing! Good enough that I came back a few days later with another friend and ordered it again!

The cozy, intimate indoor feeling/setting flowed out into THW's backyard.. that made room to indulge in the food or just to have a drink and conversation with a friend.

Will we be back? Absolutely. Overall, we enjoyed the experience. The service was good, the food was great and the drinks were amazing! Nice spot for a date or drinks with friends.