Guernsey Park
Sadly this restaurant has closed.
Have you heard the buzz about Guernsey Park?
Only open for a short time, Guernsey Park has already been nominated for OKC’s Best in the areas of Best New Restaurant, Best Vietnamese Restaurant, and Best Restaurant to Experience Something Different.
I began to hear the buzz some months back. Of course my curiosity got to me, and I scheduled a dinner date with my daughter. A few weeks later I made another lunch date with two friends which lasted five hours.
Yes I said “five hours”.
Hey, one was here from out-of-town and we had a lot of women words to get in! Right MJ and Lauri?
And besides, the food is fabulous! The cuisine at Guernsey is fearlessly daring with explosions of flavor that marry the spices of Thai, Vietnamese and Korean fusion with classic French technique.
You may not have seen the restaurant. If you drive down 23rd St. and reach Cuppies and Joe, turn in before you pass the cupcake eatery. It is located behind it and you’ll need to turn in on a small side street called N. Guernsey Avenue. If you overshoot that street, just turn in past Bubbas Bub-Ba-Q and you can make your way back to the tight parking lot behind it and Cuppies.
A new and beautiful space, Guernsey Park is light, airy, modernistic and classy. You feel it the moment you step into the downstairs entryway and bar.
The week Mr. Wonderful and I dined, the eatery had yet to obtain its liquor license, so the bar was bare and unattended. The owners assured me by September that it would be there and they would be in business.
I think the bright, airy, modern decor at Guernsey is most pleasing to the eye and you’ll be whisked away up the stairs to be seated in the main dining room on the 2nd floor, unless of course, you opt to sit in the sushi bar located on the basement level . It’s a tri-level establishment.
We chose to sit upstairs and… a word of warning. If you are looking for a quiet romantic date out, be warned that the dining space upstairs might better be suited for a fun group outing or such. The dining area is LOUD. However, it is really suave and smartly decorated and you might feel like you’re dining in a house in the woods instead of off 23rd Street.
Shall we talk about food? The cuisine is done well at Guernsey Park by native Oklahoman Chef Vuong Nguyen, a graduate of Kurt Fleischfresser’s Coach House Apprentice Program. Think Asian fused with French technique and you’ll realize the delicious fare you’ll get at Guernsee lunch menu offers some fantastic fare.
For a starter, we ordered the Crab Dip.
Housed in a beautiful cone-shaped glass bowl nested in crushed ice, the sweet crab meat was mixed with avocado, cucumbers, shallots, bell pepper, cilantro and a hint of jalapeño and was served with house – made butter crackers that were delicate and crispy.
Let me also show you another appetizer I had on my previous visit that is wildly popular at Guernsey Park. The Chicken Lollipops.
These chicken wing “lollipops” are dusted with a coating of Mochiko or ground rice flour, then served up with a gastrique (a caramelized sugar-based sauce) infused with Thai chili and a tiny salad of pickled vegetables.
Fora lunch main dish, I ordered the Duck Confit Bhan Mi.
Seared duck confit and pickled Vietnamese vegetables were generously piled into an open faced steamed bun and came with a huge helping of fried duck cracklings (think pork rinds, but made with duck skin). These are called GP Chips and I couldn’t even begin to work my way through the pile of them.
My friend Lauri ordered the Seared Scallop appetizer as her meal.
She continues to rave about them to this day. They were served a top an arugula and fennel salad dressed with a ponzu vinaigrette.
MJ ordered the Five Spice Chicken.
This is chicken marinated in the house five spice sauce, battered, fried And served with mashed potatoes, Moroccan green beans and a generous ladle of soy sriracha creamy bechamel sauce swam under it.
Guernsey also boasts a beautiful menu of sushi so the night the Wonderful guy and I went,, we opted to order Unagi Bites with Eel Sauce.
The Unagi was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and we will order this again without doubt. Man, I love Unagi!
We also ordered this Thai-inspired salmon.
This Curry Salmon?
Seriously, I make a mean curried salmon at home. But the salmon at Guernsey Park?
To die for! I listened in disbelief as my husband raved at Chef Nguyen about how amazing the crispy skin on the salmon was. And the disturbing part?
He was right.
It knocks my salmon out of the park. The salmon was cooked perfectly, with its crispy skin, it’s buttery inside, and it’s delicious sauce that hits all taste-buds, from savory to sweet to spicy. Accompanied by tiny crispy potatoes and tart tomatillos, I told Chef Nguyen he can never take this dish off the menu without a revolt.
I meant it with my life.
Equally delicious was this.
This my friends, is the Korean Cowboy.
Come on, say it with me….
YEE-haw!
This 12-ounce Ribeye beauty starts out by being marinated in Bulgogi marinade (usually the flavors of soy, garlic and sesame oil) then slow-cooked by sous vide, grilled to perfection, topped with a compound butter that suggest the flavors of bulgogi, and, in keeping with the Korean theme, there are also sides of Kimchi slaw and seasoned fries with bulgogi ketchup for dipping.
Oh, and the seasoning on the fries is made of dehydrated kimchi that’s been ground up. We both absolutely loved this dish. It’s tender and flavorful and pure genius.
For dessert we ordered Carrot Cake.
Topped with cream cheese ice cream, candied orange peels and candied pecans on a plate drizzled with rum caramel, this isn’t the usual rich and sticky cream cheese-slathered carrot cake you’re used to, but a lighter and fresher version, perfect for following a filling meal like we’d had.
If I haven’t tempted you with enough to run right over to Guernsey Park this instant, I’m not sure what will sway you. I haven’t heard my husband gush about a place like he has been ever since we visited Guernsey Park in quite awhile!
Guernsey Park
2418 N Guernsey Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
405-605-5272
Here’s a map to help you find Guernsey Park!
