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Café Cluny 284 W 12th St, 212-255-6900
Price Range: $20-$30
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Ever since the opening of the Little Owl, the West Village has been blessed with a handful of intimate, dramatically lit restaurants that deliver solid fare instead of name-brand thrills or touristy ripoffs. Following this trend, at the intersection of West 12th and West 4th sits the French-American Café Cluny, from the team behind Café Luxembourg and Tribeca’s beloved Odeon.
The room is clean and classical, done in blonde and cream, adorned with sketches of New York’s restaurant and media glitterati. A flock of clay pigeons creates a lattice-like wall, breaking up the front and back spaces, along with a marble bar that’s perfect for an aperitif — finally a restaurant bar where you aren’t required to order food.
After a flute of delightfully overpriced Kir ($11), my girlfriend and I retreated to a comfortable banquette table in the romantically-dim main space and perused the menu. Even though it features a mere dozen items, we had trouble choosing: everything was just what we were in the mood for on one of those first chilly nights heralding winter. We started with the Frisee au Lardon ($12), a traditional French salad of sprightly, acidic greens with matchsticks of slab bacon and a poached egg. The smoky pork, crunchy endive, and bite of salt, pepper, and acid, all cloaked in the flavor-melding egg yolk is magical when done right, and it was.
My entrée of Braised Short Ribs ($28) was less impressive, tasting like a classic American pot roast, with the single cube of meat too suffused with singed tomato to taste like beef. A thick adornment of seared foie gras — the most delicious substance ever tortured out of a duck — kept me from complaining. My girlfriend had an appetizer portion of Sea Scallops with cauliflower puree and beet jus ($13) as well as an order of roasted Brussels Sprouts ($8). The scallops were delightful: barely cooked and fresh, made into a fall treat with the earthy cauliflower and sweetly tart beet. The sprouts were terrible. We love Brussels sprouts but couldn’t finish the tiny serving. Their only flavor was like the liquid from boiled cabbage. Dessert was also a washout, focusing on items like a concorde grape tart with peanut butter ice cream. Wow, I’ve never heard of someone taking comfort foods and gilding it; I mean reinterpreting. C’mon, Cluny, I thought you were better than that.
Café Cluny should stick to what they do best, serving nouvelle versions of timeless French-American dishes in a romantic, fun atmosphere without cutting corners: Taste everything before it goes out, revamp the desserts to match the
Café Cluny 284 W 12th St, 212-255-6900
Price Range: $20-$30
…………………………………………………………………
Ever since the opening of the Little Owl, the West Village has been blessed with a handful of intimate, dramatically lit restaurants that deliver solid fare instead of name-brand thrills or touristy ripoffs. Following this trend, at the intersection of West 12th and West 4th sits the French-American Café Cluny, from the team behind Café Luxembourg and Tribeca’s beloved Odeon.
The room is clean and classical, done in blonde and cream, adorned with sketches of New York’s restaurant and media glitterati. A flock of clay pigeons creates a lattice-like wall, breaking up the front and back spaces, along with a marble bar that’s perfect for an aperitif — finally a restaurant bar where you aren’t required to order food.
After a flute of delightfully overpriced Kir ($11), my girlfriend and I retreated to a comfortable banquette table in the romantically-dim main space and perused the menu. Even though it features a mere dozen items, we had trouble choosing: everything was just what we were in the mood for on one of those first chilly nights heralding winter. We started with the Frisee au Lardon ($12), a traditional French salad of sprightly, acidic greens with matchsticks of slab bacon and a poached egg. The smoky pork, crunchy endive, and bite of salt, pepper, and acid, all cloaked in the flavor-melding egg yolk is magical when done right, and it was.
My entrée of Braised Short Ribs ($28) was less impressive, tasting like a classic American pot roast, with the single cube of meat too suffused with singed tomato to taste like beef. A thick adornment of seared foie gras — the most delicious substance ever tortured out of a duck — kept me from complaining. My girlfriend had an appetizer portion of Sea Scallops with cauliflower puree and beet jus ($13) as well as an order of roasted Brussels Sprouts ($8). The scallops were delightful: barely cooked and fresh, made into a fall treat with the earthy cauliflower and sweetly tart beet. The sprouts were terrible. We love Brussels sprouts but couldn’t finish the tiny serving. Their only flavor was like the liquid from boiled cabbage. Dessert was also a washout, focusing on items like a concorde grape tart with peanut butter ice cream. Wow, I’ve never heard of someone taking comfort foods and gilding it; I mean reinterpreting. C’mon, Cluny, I thought you were better than that.
Café Cluny should stick to what they do best, serving nouvelle versions of timeless French-American dishes in a romantic, fun atmosphere without cutting corners: Taste everything before it goes out, revamp the desserts to match the
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