Ed and I treated ourselves to a tasty meal in the even tastier restaurant, the Oscar Wilde, on 45 West 27th Street in Manhattan.

“A Public Place for Private Affairs”.

The name of the restaurant may be Oscar Wilde, but the decor is largely influenced by Lewis Carroll. (Having written an Alice in Wonderland inspired musical, I had extra incentive to explore this place.)

As you wait to be seated, a statue of Oscar Wilde hands you plastic baggies for your wet umbrellas, while an array of Carrollesque characters enjoy a tea party.

I dare say the statue refines Wilde’s cheekbones and nose in a manner than makes him resemble Hugh Grant in “Maurice” a little more than the original article?

The bar area at front is teaming with visual treats.

And then one walks into the restaurant proper…

Quotes from Oscar Wilde are scattered throughout the premises. The one below the bar counter in the picture above reads: “Books of poetry by young writers are usually promissory notes that are never met.”

I trust the other quotes are legible enough in the photos:

The quotes on the poles are perhaps better reprinted here:

“Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.”

“Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.”

The QR code takes the patron to the menu.

You can order “Wonderland Inspired Cocktails” as well as “Gin and Tonics inspired by Artists of Irish Descent”.

We ordered the “Twinkle Twinkle Little Alice” and the “How Soon is Now (The Smiths)”

Mmmm, includes Passion Fruit…

Even the Open Restaurant sidewalk and/or roadway seating area (that’s the official NYC government term for the curbside restaurant shacks that sprung up during the pandemic and are now permanent fixtures of NYC street life) for Oscar Wilde is wondrously designed and decorated.