Why the West Village is better…again

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Central Park, the skyscrapers, and the bustle of Midtown may be the platonic New York ideal, but the tree-lined, brownstone streets of the West Village are certainly the romantic ideal. He’s been immortalized on screen in a number of romantic comedies, but it’s about more than that. It’s a historic creative hub, first for jazz musicians in the ’30s and ’40s, then for Beats in the ’50s, and in the ’60s for queer rights activism centered around Washington Square Park and the Stonewall Inn. Like much of Manhattan, the once-thriving counterculture hub fizzled out throughout the 1990s but, after years of stagnation, the Village is back in vogue again.

In January a new bistro of gab opened with chef Nate Ashton (formerly of Mimi) at the helm, serving New York cuisine with a relish of flavors from Japan, Italy, Spain, France and Central Europe. already have instagram shout of Sarah Jessica Parker, surely the most famous inhabitant of the West Village. The cafeteria and wine bar open all day. Saint Garden it has also been part of the new avant-garde. “Before we opened, we would go to Brooklyn every weekend to drink natural wine and eat simple food with elevated ingredients. We wanted to bring that to our neighborhood,” says Christa Alexander, who opened St Jardim with fellow West Village resident Andrew Dete in 2021. The restaurant has become a destination for locals, tourists and out-of-borough visitors who linger over have a coffee with milk. , plates and glasses of natural sparkling pinot noir rosé from Alsace. Another place to taste wines is Moon flower, a recent import from New Jersey, happy to serve a pet nat along with an ever-changing snack menu. On the neighborhood’s eastern outer edge, the boisterous ’80s inspired holiday bar opened last winter – it’s the “it” place for an espresso or lychee-infused martini, but also a place to sample coastal-world cuisine such as tuna on toast, jumbo chunk blue crab cakes and salads of Spicy meat garnished with fish sauce. .

Another cocktail destination is the much-loved and recently relocated East Village bar, angel part, on grove street. Try one of their inventive, often Japanese-influenced takes on classics like the Eastern Gibson made with Japanese rice vodka and garnished with a thin slice of cucumber.

Since June, two iconic dining spaces have been given new life under the aegis of two of the city’s leading restaurateurs. Matt Abramcyk, founder of Neighborhood Projects and former owner of the famed Beatrice Inn, opened the opulent golden swan in the West 11th Street row house that used to house The Spotted Pig. On the top floor, she’ll find a celebratory dining room where she can feast on dover sole and caviar while sipping on a mezcal martini. One, the first floor, is a more casual bar, for when you can’t get a reservation.

A 10-minute walk away, on 13th Street, you’ll find the classic literary spot Café Loup reimagined as by cecchi by Michael Cecchi-Azzolina, the celebrated maitre d’ of New York mainstays like Raoul’s and Le Coucou. It already feels like a New York institution à la Balthazar or The Odeon. You’ll find comfort food (steak and fries, a pickled green tomato burger) on the menu, along with tomato and white cucumber salad and roasted baby carrots from Union Square Greenmarket. The food is good, but it’s that fantastic “see and be seen” atmosphere that will keep you coming back. Another recent addition is Libertine, where chef Max Mackinnon has brought the quintessential French bistro to the Village with a patterned tile floor, Baumann chairs and a daily changing chalkboard menu. He does a convincing job of transporting you to Le Marais. Established West Village restaurateurs Jody Williams and Rita Sodi have also added to their growing empire with the Shaker-inspired tavern. the trading innserving up traditional dishes like country pork chops, cornmeal spoonbread, and seasonal tomato toast.

The neighborhood also has its fair share of kitchen and homeware stores – Brooklyn’s Food and Housewares Import Great night it opened its first Village outpost in May. “I wanted to bring Big Night to a whole new community of regulars, and I immediately felt the irresistible pull of the neighborhood,” says owner Katherine Lewin. Elsewhere, the pop up grocery store has popped up on the corner of Bleecker Street and 6th Avenue: its shelves are lined with products normally only available directly to the consumer, like Get Golden bars, Mumgry nut butters, and cans of the non-alcoholic Ghia snack. If you are looking to decorate an apartment with some greenery, the old yew you can provide a small citrus tree or ficus. It was opened last year by plant enthusiast August Laska, who will also help with plant care and landscape design if he needs it.

It’s impossible to say that the shine of the West Village has really faded. But now, with this resurgence of historic addresses and the influx of younger businesses, there’s a new buzz about the area. I, for my part, am reclaiming my Cecchi’s bar seat.