Olmsted: An exercise in Scandinavian-American fusion

The secret to Olmsted’s success is its atmosphere of fine dining without pretension, and experimentalism without foolishness, writes Holly Baxter

Olmsted borrows from across the world rather than drawing its inspiration from a single country (Olmsted New York City)

Immediately beside Prospect Park – Brooklyn’s answer to Manhattan’s Central Park, designed with many identical features by the architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux – is an area in New York City known for strollers, parents clutching expensive coffees, and sympathetically restored brownstone row houses. This is Park Slope, the poshest part of Brooklyn bar the celebrity-infested waterfront neighbourhood Brooklyn Heights, and it shows. Park Slope bursts with activity, with toddlers and tea parties and poodles on leashes; proposals happen inside the park and dog trainers gather to train expensive pedigrees on Sundays; brunches are had along pedestrianised streets.

Yet despite its reputation for upscale living and its abundant restaurants and bars, Park Slope has a reputation for culinary disappointment. You can get a good slice of pizza anywhere along Fifth Avenue; there are a couple of impressive trattorias, such as the perpetually booked-up Al Di La; everything from all-day breakfast to bubble tea to upscale, even experimental, American dining can be had – and yet, while everything is good, it is rarely great. For greatness, you have to venture into one of the surrounding areas.