Review of the Instinct Resturant and Nightclub - 8.16.2007.1

For those that are traveling to Toronto, Syracuse, or New York City in the other direction, even those just traveling around and seeing different parts of New York State you might want to stop in the Binghamton area. The reason for the side trip is a relatively new fine dining restaurant called Instinct.

Instinct is a unique concept in the area in that it is an upscale fine dining restaurant during the day, and on Thursday through Saturday evenings it is also a nightclub. While many that live in cities such as New York, Chicago, Cleveland and others may find such a concept to be the norm Instinct is virtually the only option of this nature.

It is obvious that the owners, Romanians by descent, wanted to bring a touch of Manhattan nightlife to the area and they succeeded. Just looking at the style and arrangement within the restaurant and bar areas would lead one to think they might have been transported to SoHo or Midtown Manhattan. There is a comfortable modern feel that is not crowded or impersonal. The lighting, mirrors and color of the walls combine to set the warm tone, which is excellent for eating or dancing.

By the way, the restaurant opens up for dinner at 5pm and there is a dinner rush. But you can easily find yourself one of a few diners if you go just a bit later, say at 7:30 on a Wednesday night. And have no fear of being distracted by the bar crowd. That section is adjoining but separates enough to be of no consequence to having a great meal.

I will be speaking about the nightclub aspect of Instinct separately, but the dining is quite good. The staff is all quite friendly and knowledgeable. Several of the waiter/bartenders come from some of the top upscale restaurants in the area. All of them are friendly and informative, especially about the wine cellar and menu. In my meal there I found the waiter to be around enough to keep up with my needs and yet not even close to hovering.

Starting of with drinks the bar is fully stocked. Take particular notice that several top scotches and multiple popular brands of liquors are available. The variety of selection is one of the best in the entire area. This diversity is also found in the wine list. Wines from Sonoma Valley, local wineries and Romania can all be had here. Take note though that the selections are by the bottle and not the glass, except for the house wine, which is Turning Leaf.

I was looking forward to a Merlot called Vampire, which naturally comes from Romania. Sadly this was not available as they had just sold the last bottle earlier that night, but there was no delay in providing several comparable choices. We settled for a Ronald Strong 2002 Merlot, from Sonoma. This was a full bodied wine that was quite enjoyable.

Continued in Part 2...