Off the Menu
Oases takes an Ayurvedic approach to cooking, the chef Francis Mallmann comes to New York and more restaurant news.
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Bar Mercer
The spotlight is finally catching the chef Preston Clark. He is a son of Patrick Clark, a chef who died at 42, notable for his stint at Tavern on the Green some 35 years ago and his influence on new American cooking. Now, after 11 years at John McDonald’s Lure Fishbar, Preston Clark has taken the reins as the executive chef of the moody new bar and restaurant that replaces Mr. McDonald’s Bar Tulix. The chef’s menu, with blackboard specials and items that flatter a classic drink, features filet mignon au poivre, chicken liver mousse, fish and chips, and pigs in blankets. “Pigs in blankets transcend class, which is what I like about them,” Mr. Clark said.
25 West Houston Street (Mercer Street), 212-334-7320, barmercer.com.
Breva
Apicii, a national consulting and management company, has planted its flag on the boardwalk at Brighton Beach. In a refurbished building that’s 100 years old and previously housed the vodka-soaked Volna, the new restaurant offers a contemporary menu that nods to the neighborhood’s Russian tradition, with caviar atop tater tots, potato dumplings, and roasted beet soup with sour cream. The rest of the chef Travis McGinty’s repertoire covers familiar ground with tuna tartare, a double cheeseburger, pan-seared salmon, rigatoni Bolognese, and steak frites. There’s a crispy chicken sandwich at lunch.
3145 Brighton Fourth Street (Brightwater Court), Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, 929-470-4133, brevabrightonbeach.com.
OASES Restaurant & Bar
Steps from the bustle of West 14th Street and an antidote to deafening restaurants is this pristine new retreat from Sonam Sangmo, whose Indian and Tibetan heritage has her steeped in Ayurvedic principles. She opened a cafe and shop last summer, and soft-opened the restaurant and bar during the holidays. It’s now up and running with a menu by Georgie Castillo, a veteran of Atoboy and Manhatta, that gives only subtle nods to a wellness approach. Ayurvedic seasonings, notably cardamom, dress items like tuna tartare, Hamachi crudo and Tibetan momos. A few vegetarian and vegan options coexist with a burger.
101D West 14th Street, oasesnyc.com.
Dante Accademia
It’s time for class with Caffe Dante, the historic Greenwich Village bar. Its new adjacent space is dedicated to the art of the cocktail, with sessions that cover the martini, Negroni and more, at times with guest experts on hand. When not messing around with bottles of gin and Boston shakers mostly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, visitors to the new space can drink and dine. From the expanded kitchen the food is not just from the Caffe Dante menu, but also from the Dante West Village location, including fire-roasted chicken alla diavola. There are cocktail classes coming up on Friday and 22 ($150).
85 MacDougal Street, 212-982-5275, dante-nyc.com/reservations
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