French restaurants (Buvette, Boucherie) and pizzerias (John’s of Bleecker Street, Joe’s Pizza) are arguably the West Village’s best-known eateries, but the neighborhood has scores more worth discovering, offering everything from sushi to fish and chips, tacos to tapas. And every week, it seems, another new eatery is opening its doors.
Lenticchie (Italian lentil soup), house-made ravioli filled with butternut squash, fritto misto, and risotto with braised lamb shank are among the dishes that will have your tastebuds thinking they’re in Italy rather than the West Village. The brunch menu is more eclectic, with shakshuka and avocado toast offered alongside pancetta eggs Benedict and bucatini alla carbonara. The restaurant, which opened in January 2022, manages to be both cozy and airy, thanks to the beamed ceiling and pale wood furnishings.
The Shakers weren’t known for their cuisine. Nonetheless, James Beard Award-winning chefs Jody Williams (of Buvette fame) and Rita Sodi (of I Sodi) took inspiration from the Christian sect, which prized simplicity, and from 19th-century cookbooks for their newest restaurant, which opened at the end of 2021. Rarebit, cod cakes, and oysters on the half-shell—raw, fried, or pickled—are among the highlights of the slender menu. If you ever wanted to taste milk punch, this is the spot to do so.
Like the Commerce Inn, Marian’s opened in December 2021. But while the former focuses on early American dishes, Marian’s serves New American cuisine in a bright setting with glossy turquoise-top tables and floral-print pillows along cushy banquettes. Fluke crudo, broccoli served three ways with cheddar mornay and shallot wild rice, and short-rib pappardelle are among the dinner offerings; weekend brunch highlights include salmon rosti and shrimp roll.
A restaurant specializing in Southern food and handmade pasta? That’s the theme of this restaurant, which opened in November 2021. If that’s difficult to envision, a gander at its menu will help: Dishes include hush puppies with ham and honey butter, ravioli filled with potatoes and crème fraiche served with parmigiana sauce and bacon, and baby back ribs with Calabrian chili and apple cider agrodolce. You can choose the chef’s tasting menu, a three-course pre-fixe menu, or a fried-chicken dinner. The framed portraits of dogs in historical garb that adorn the brick walls add to the charm.
House-made pasta also features prominently on the menu of Jack & Charlie’s 118. The interior of the restaurant, which opened in November 2021, has a vibe that can lean both clubby and romantic; the food is hearty yet far from stuffy: Think sausage-and-clam chowder, strozzapreti with braised rabbit, wood-fire branzino, duck meatloaf. “Bar bites” include black-truffle toast with smoked bacon and shepherd’s pie croquettes with curry aioli, perfect accompaniments to a favorite cocktail.
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