{"id":21134,"date":"2022-03-02T15:17:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T15:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.devourtours.com\/?p=21134"},"modified":"2022-12-20T17:05:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T17:05:58","slug":"west-village-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dev.devourtours.com\/blog\/west-village-restaurants\/","title":{"rendered":"West Village Restaurants: Our Top 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

There once was a time when Greenwich Village was an actual village. That was before the grid street plan for Manhattan in the early 19<\/span>th<\/span> century was conceived and the city slowly crept north, building around the already existing curvy and diagonal streets of \u201cThe Village.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pale
The West Village is one of the most unique corners of Manhattan to explore (and eat in!). Photo credit: Irakli Bagaturia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

City authorities who designed and instituted the grid plan in 1811 believed that curved streets promoted a kind of unwelcome, debauched way of thinking. Instead, they thought that straight streets\u2014a grid plan with a lot of 90-degree turns\u2014would promote more puritanical thoughts and behavior. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coincidence or not, the Village and its confusing street plan has long attracted (and welcomed) artists, intellectuals, bohemians, and anyone who lived a lifestyle that may not have been accepted in other parts of the city (or the country). And perhaps because of that, the neighborhood has long been home to some of the best restaurants in a city that is already considered one of the greatest dining destinations on the planet.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some of the best West Village restaurants. That is, if you can find them in the neighborhood\u2019s tangle of brownstone-laden streets. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bar Pisellino<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not an uncommon sight to be walking by Seventh Avenue and Grove Street and witness Italian tourists snickering and pointing at the sign of this handsome bar.\u00a0<\/span>But <\/span>Bar Pisellino<\/span><\/a> is much more than its risqu\u00e9 (in Italian) name. The stunning high-ceilinged, wood-and-marble interior looks as if some deity picked up the most beautiful, historic bar in Milan or Rome and dropped it right here in the West Village. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pisellino isn\u2019t necessarily a place to have a full meal. It\u2019s really a bar in the Italian sense. In the morning you sip espresso and munch on a croissant; in the evening you come for wine or a Negroni and eat light snacks before or after dinner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The owners, chefs Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, also own nearby Via Carota, Buvette, I Sodi, and newcomer The Commerce Inn.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Brown
No need to go all the way to Florence to get an excellent Negroni. Photo credit: Sophia Sideri<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dame<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

This MacDougal Street eatery began life as a pandemic-era pop-up mostly serving fish and chips. And when word got out that this oh-so-English combination was revelatory, hungry people began lining up.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dame<\/span><\/a> then went from pop-up to permanent and quickly became a destination eatery and one of the best West Village restaurants. The now-legendary fish and chips are still on the menu and first-timers should not forego reeling in an order. But consider casting a wider net, as the seafood heavy menu at this British-accented eatery has quite a few keepers\u2014such as smoked whitefish croquettes and braised beans with crab and \u2018nduja. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fried
Few things are better than perfectly fried fish and chips.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Empell\u00f3n Taqueria\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Chef Alex Stupak raised eyebrows when he left his gig at wd~50, the now-closed Lower East Side temple to molecular gastronomy, and opened this taqueria on the corner of W. 10<\/span>th<\/span> and W. 4<\/span>th<\/span> Streets. It seemed as improbable as the intersection it sits on. There\u2019s no razzle-dazzle, culinary wizardry going on here: just extremely solid and consistent Mexican-inspired fare.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If \u201cauthenticity\u201d is what you seek, <\/span>Empell\u00f3n<\/span><\/a> is not the place for you. But if you want some seriously inspired tacos to dazzle your palate, plant yourself here for an evening to nosh on homemade tortillas stuffed with things like pastrami and sauerkraut, brussels sprouts and spicy almonds, and ultra-tender lamb barbacoa. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Two
Incredible tacos at Empell\u00f3n. Photo credit: Edsel Little<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joe\u2019s Pizza<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

This <\/span>legendary slice joint<\/span><\/a> may have been founded by a born-and-bred Neapolitan, but the pizza<\/a> that comes out of the gas-fired oven here is Big Apple to the core. The bottom is crispy and appropriately leopard-spotted and the sauce is tangy. What more do you need?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The service at this almost-50-year-old institution can be brusque, and the slice slingers behind the counter are not always wildly friendly. But people don\u2019t pack the place for the service, anyway, and it’s still one of the best West Village restaurants regardless. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Large
Joe’s serves up some of the best pizza by the slice in Manhattan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Little Owl<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

A lot of people inadvertently stand in front of <\/span>The Little Owl<\/span><\/a>, anchored on the corner of Grove and Bedford Streets in one of the most twee swaths of the West Village. That\u2019s because the building that houses this restaurant was the exterior stand-in for the hit \u201890s sit-com \u201cFriends.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What most of those \u201cFriends\u201d fanatics don\u2019t realize is that The Little Owl might be the best neighborhood restaurant in the city. Chef Joey Campanero\u2019s menu leans toward the Mediterranean with dishes like a skate Milanese sandwich, expertly grilled octopus, and the Roman pasta classic bucatini all\u2019Amatriciana. This is a place you\u2019ll want to make friends with.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Exterior
The Little Owl sits right below the famous apartment seen in “Friends.” Photo credit: Ana Lanza<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mary Lane<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The team from The Little Owl opened this corner restaurant <\/a><\/span>in fall 2021. It wows West Villagers with market-driven dishes inspired by Japan and the Mediterranean. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Menu standouts include Long Island duck confit with grits, hamachi crudo sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts, and a perfectly cooked angus strip loin. The restaurant also has a nice (albeit early) happy hour<\/a> every day from 3 to 5 p.m. with select two-for-one cocktails and nicely priced snacks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Minetta Tavern<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

On a block that is flanked by comedy clubs, cheap falafel and taco places, and frat boy bars, you wouldn\u2019t expect to find such an elegant eatery. But there is <\/span>Minetta Tavern<\/span><\/a>, a onetime 1930s dive where everyone from Hemingway to Ezra Pound to E.E. Cummings got liquored up. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2009, restaurateur Keith McNally took over the place and turned it into one of the best West Village restaurants. The tile floors and the pressed-tin ceiling were refreshed and the kitchen began dazzling from day one. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The dry-aged <\/span>c\u00f4te de boeuf<\/span><\/i> for two comes with a hefty price tag, but is one of the best in this steakhouse-heavy city. The two burgers<\/a>\u2014the Minetta burger and the pricier Black Label burger\u2014are both great, but the former is better than the latter. The 70-seat, two-room space is dark, moody, and oh-so old New York. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Old
Stepping into Minetta Tavern is like traveling back in time to the 1930s. Photo credit: Wally Gobetz<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

St. Theo\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Housed in a spot that used to be a ho-hum diner for decades, Venetian-accented <\/span>St. Theo\u2019s<\/span><\/a> is anything but average. There seems to be a perpetual party going on here nightly, as the young and affluent (and the people who love them) pack the place, sitting under the freshly restored pressed-tin ceiling sipping potent Negronis while an \u201880s soundtrack adds to the cacophony.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the scene-y vibe of St. Theo\u2019s, the food that comes out of the kitchen shouldn\u2019t be this good. There are usually only a few pasta dishes on the menu, but they\u2019re usually standouts. <\/span><\/p>\n

One in particular, the linguini bathed in a buttery goodness accented by the textural crunch of preserved orange and sauteed guanciale, is so decadent yet simple. The red pepper sauce poured over the parchment-cooked scallops manages to add to the flavor of the scallop rather than eclipse it. It\u2019s good enough to consider a second order. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Insider’s Tip:<\/strong> Looking for a casual meal? Check out the top places for lunch in the West Village<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Semma<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The team behind lauded and buzzy Indian restaurants Adda and Dhamaka seem to have a hit formula. In a stylish setting, they serve dishes made in rural parts of India that have not really made the leap across national borders. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Greenwich Avenue\u2019s <\/span>Semma<\/span><\/a> hits that equation with a spicy bang, focusing on southern India. Dishes like snails in a tamarind-ginger paste, spicy, dried, fall-off-the-bone lamb, incendiary star-anise-laced venison, and Goanese oxtail may be like eating Indian cuisine for the first time. Except that then you\u2019ll want to have it a second and a third and a fourth time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T\u00e9 Company<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When is a tea house not a tea house? When the chef cooks up some of the best snacks this side of the Atlantic (or the Pacific, for that matter). One of the best West Village restaurants, <\/span>T\u00e9 Company<\/span><\/a> is a diminutive four-table spot (with outdoor tables too) that is run by a charming couple. <\/span><\/p>\n

Elena Liao expertly runs the tea program, which focuses exclusively on Taiwanese oolong. Frederico Ribeiro, who has worked in the kitchens at some of the best kitchens in the world, including elBulli in Spain and Per Se in New York, masterfully cooks up whatever he’s in the mood for. That means fork-tender slow-roasted Taiwanese pork, a perfectly cooked <\/span>tortilla espa\u00f1ola<\/span><\/i>, and his signature pineapple Linzer cookies.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Two
A perfect tortilla espa\u00f1ola<\/em> is a thing of simple beauty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Want to keep exploring this amazing New York neighborhood? Our\u00a0<\/strong>Greenwich Village food tour<\/strong><\/a> is calling your name. Join us to discover our favorite eateries and dig into the best local bites in the company of fellow foodies. Come hungry!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There once was a time when Greenwich Village was an actual village. That was before the grid street plan for Manhattan in the early 19th century was conceived and the city slowly crept north, building around the already existing curvy and diagonal streets of \u201cThe Village.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 City authorities who designed and instituted the grid plan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":21136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[2114,2102,2113],"tags":[2098,2099],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDevour Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/dev.devourtours.com\/blog\/west-village-restaurants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"West Village Restaurants: Our Top 10 - Devour Tours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The best West Village restaurants range from the classic to the avant garde. 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