The most creative kosher restaurant in NY.

Seasonal, progressive French food like you've never had it before

Pardes is the new standard for kosher food in New York. This downtown Brooklyn bistro offers a modern menu that changes every day. Pardes uses the highest quality ingredients--pastured meats, local vegetables, and house-made pastries. Chef Moshe Wendel mixes his classical French training with eclectic influences to create an innovative, breathtaking cuisine.

Moshe Wendel has been cooking since he was sixteen years old. After eating his way through France, he returned to Philadelphia and worked in some of the city's finest restaurants, under the most highly-regarded chefs in the area.

At the age of 24, he served as sous chef at the legendary Manon Restaurant under Jean-Michelle Dumas. He later served as chef de cuisine at Pif, and Executive Chef of La Boheme, and Django--all Philadelphia-area restaurants on the cutting edge of food culture.

While at Django, Moshe quietly started dabbling in Orthodox Judaism. He would take off early Friday nights when he could, creating massive Shabbos dinners with endless courses of improvised kosher-style food; trying to reconcile his culinary passion and his Jewish passion. Soon, he became a full-on baal teshuva, or Orthodox Jew.

Moshe tried to find a place for his skillset in the Jewish world. He was hired to revamp Mosaica, a kosher bistro in Vauxhall, New Jersey. He swiftly introduced a tasting menu, completely revised their selections, and established Mosaica as one of the area's premiere kosher restaurants. Following that, he assisted with the opening of an artisanal pizza cafe in Crown Heights, before deciding to open Pardes with his amazing wife Shana; a true "Mom and Pop" venture based on a dream.

From NY Magazine

Warning: Service at this Glatt Kosher restaurant, owned by a couple who found their love of cooking before their devotion to religion, is lacking; but it's worth the wait for the creative cuisine. The multiple sections on the menu make it easy to pop in for some apps and a glass of wine with girlfriends or to settle down for an anniversary dinner; for either occasion, opt to sit in the breezy back garden in warm months. In addition to a section of snacks, salads and sides, the seasonally evolving menu (it changes week by week) boasts both small- and large-format plates of fish and meat proteins. Dishes like a recent offering of exotically flavored steak tartare utilize Mediterranean spicing with French technique, and there's always an estimable burger and a creatively topped pizza. — Lauren Bloomberg

From Gourmet Kosher cooking

"We live in a time when most of us who live in larger Jewish communities have so many choices of where to dine. Cities are bursting with restaurants yet finding that unique eating experience is rare. Pardes, located in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York is quite an extraordinary dining experience. First, the style is casual yet chic; chilled out like the neighborhood. The menu changes each evening as the Chef, Moses Wendel, sees what is fresh and what those choices spur creatively. (We have been tracking him for about two years already as you may remember. GKC raved about Wendel stealing the show at the Royal Wine Kosher Food and Wine Show in NY 2 in 2010. Wendel went on to open the much acclaimed Basil and now has his own restaurant, Pardes) The food presentation is fabulous, with bright white plates of all different shapes and gorgeous food with vibrant color and stimulating texture . And finally, the general vibe is “enjoy the food” since it is served as it’s prepared, individually, not all at once, and with no rush to get you out. For a bunch of neurotic multi-tasking New Yorkers, this meant it was time to relax and just enjoy – which we did thanks to some delicious and unusual food and good wine.

We went with 4 other friends so we had a lot of food to try. Chef Wendel’s menu is unbelievable with dishes like “Grilled Treviso, beef heart, poached egg, red pepper” (the poached egg sat in the middle of the dish – btw, huge food trend in the treif world- incredible flavor and I never thought I would taste beef heart, super tender, melt in your mouth), “Duck with Root Beer, peanuts, celery, Ras el Hanou and Harissa”(Moroccan hot chili sauce), “Wild Tasmanian Sea Trout, red pepper sauce, corn crepe, pistachio leek fondue”, “Bluefish Bergamot (that’s a citrus fruit and when was the last time you saw bluefish on a menu?), and so much more. The trout was prepared perfectly with a seared crisp top and a soft, flavorful center. I had wanted double the amount of the pistachio leek fondue, which was hard to share with the others. Each dish is prepared individually and is spiced with intense flavors that balance and compliment the other flavors and yet never overwhelm the dish as a whole. The Beef Cheek Pizza, with 24-hour roasted tomatoes and fresh basil, was a particular favorite. Even my husband who does not enjoy spicy food found the flavor and intensity so perfect. Another highlight was the “roasted corn, grapefruit and fennel salad”. Sprinkled with arugula and sitting on a bed of corn pudding and mizuna (Japanese lettuce), and topped with corn bread croutons, I was sold on this restaurant at this course. Even the crispy fries are unusual, as they are served with this delicious onion parsley garnish, and amazing dips like garlic truffle mayo and smoky red wine ketchup (I really want to package and buy these for home use!)

Pardes was a food lover’s fun evening, as it was an evening to enjoy taste, presentation, and great company (people were sitting and eating all night). Get there to taste the summer’s freshest food and go often because Chef Wendel will surprise you each night with a an incredible creation you will certainly not find anywhere else. One of the best new great kosher restaurants around, for sure."