The over-saturation of Italian restaurants in New York's West Village has reached almost comical levels. So news that Catch Hospitality Group – behind the exclusive The Corner Store, Or'esh and The Eighty Six – was bringing a coastal French brasserie concept by chef Jake Tyler Brodsky to the neighbourhood’s narrow, brownstone-lined streets was warmly welcomed. Barely a month into operation, and similarly to its predecessors, Cafe Charmant is already the hottest reservation in town: Paul McCartney, Tom Holland and Matt Damon were all in the dining room on one crisp, early-autumn Tuesday evening.
Wallpaper* dines at Cafe Charmant
The mood: Decadently nonchalant
For its fourth dining concept in New York, the Catch team turned to longtime collaborators Rockwell Group to transform the former Saint Theo’s space on Bleecker Street. Cafe Charmant’s interiors veer away from the dark, members’ club-like feel of the other Catch locations. Instead, the space is washed in a champagne hue that lightens the overall aesthetic and creates a more casual, day-to-night setting. Warm, even lighting and oxblood-red accents still ensure that the space feels seductive and indulgent.
Outside, the restaurant’s name glows in neon above a yellow-painted exterior and awning, which surround curtain-shrouded windows that maintain the privacy of those inside. Stepping off Bleecker Street, past the heavy red velvet curtains, a spacious, softly lit foyer welcomes guests almost like a theatre lobby. Another curtain – for extra dramatic effect – reveals the main dining space beyond. Here, brasserie trademarks set a familiar Parisian scene, such as steam-bent wooden dining chairs, leather-wrapped booths, coloured-glass table lamps and antique mirrors. Hints of New York peek through in the choices of dark wood, Art Deco-influenced pendant lights above the bar and a ceiling clad in decorative tin panels – each perforated with thousands of holes and concealing acoustic buffering to ensure conversations below can be easily heard, but not overheard.
The 70-seat restaurant manages to feel intimate yet spacious at once. Tables aren’t on top of one another, as they typically are in most West Village joints, and there’s plenty of room for servers to circulate uninhibitedly. But there’s still plenty of bustle and atmosphere, so it doesn’t feel awkward to strike up a conversation with the next table.
The food: Invigorated classics
'A coastal take on the classic NYC French brasserie', as it’s billed, doesn’t quite do justice to the inventive dishes composed by chef Jake Tyler Brodsky, who cut his teeth at Eleven Madison Park. Along with beverage director Lucas Robinson and wine director Emily Buse, the team has created a variety of clever spins on perennial brasserie favourites. Take the spicy moules gratin and razor clam pasta as examples. Meanwhile, the quality of the 30oz côte de boeuf bone-in ribeye requires no deviation from the original.
Subtle infusions of Caribbean flavours across the menu undoubtedly arose from chef Jake’s time spent in the Cayman Islands. The Curry Duck Pastel, a samosa-style bite, is filled with duck blended with spices and homemade coconut milk, and served with a sweet-tangy chutney. Another unexpected flavour reveals itself in the crispy shrimp Polynesian, which adds a hint of sansho – a Japanese numbing spice that the chef brought home from Tokyo – to the tropical sauce. Diners will have to wait until next summer for the return of the anchovy-laced Heirloom Tomato salad dusted with Mahón cheese, as the menu changes seasonally based on what’s available at the farmers’ market.
It was genuinely difficult to choose from the cocktail menu. Highlights include the refreshing vodka-based cucumber sour, beautifully decorated with slices laid like fish scales up the side of the glass. This was an ideal accompaniment to both the zesty, lime-drizzled diver scallop crudo and citrusy, marmalade-mixed maidai crudo. And while cocktail pairings with the dishes aren’t necessarily prescribed, several more matched perfectly with one another. The pear and honey martini, served with a sidecar and a slice of honeycomb for extra sweetness between sips, complements the light glaze over the tuna 'Charmant' tartare. And the peppery notes in the bar’s Negroni variation elevate the sauce accompanying the steak frites – a beloved staple on any brasserie menu.
Dessert options include a decadent Chocolate Mousse Service, which brings a giant ellipsoid scoop and a trio of toppings to mix and match, and a tangy lemon meringue posset handsomely presented in a silver coupe. Both the pain au chocolat old fashioned and a wonderfully hazelnutty espresso martini are a perfect end to the meal and start to the rest of the night – this crowd is definitely going out after dinner.
Cafe Charmant is located at 340 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014, USA