Le Chêne Is the West Village’s Next High-End Date-Night Destination | Eater NY
"A newly opened, art-filled 50-seat contemporary Parisian restaurant run by 29-year-old chef Alexia Duchêne — a former Top Chef semifinalist who trained at Passerini, Le Taillevent, Frenchie and opened Margotin Brooklyn — with front-of-house led by her husband Ronan Duchêne Le May, a former Café Boulud maître d’. The intimate yet lively dining room, designed by Fred Interiors and hung with works courtesy of Christophe Van de Weghe (including Basquiat and Warhol lithographs), features a semi-circular bar, orchids, jazzy French pop and watercolor-decorated menus. The a la carte menu is lighter than traditional bistro fare but can become as filling and costly as a tasting menu; complimentary Bread Story bread arrives with a marjoram-honey-sea-salt butter. Standout small plates include green bean beignets with tarragon sauce, a uni French toast topped with Japanese uni and bone marrow, a playful oeufs mayonnaise that evokes a tuna melt, a foie gras “brick” mortared with wagyu beef tongue and sea buckthorn purée, and a show-stopping crab thermidor brightened by vadouvan (the yellowtail crudo was noted as comparatively underwhelming). Entrees range from seafood (halibut with scallop quenelle) and lamb saddle to large steak options and a theatrical pithivier terre y mer — a puff pastry filled with potato gratin, pork farce and smoked eel, finished with beetroot ketchup — while desserts include a chocolate tart, blanc manger, rhubarb sorbet and a Trou Normand (apple-and-dill sorbet with tableside Calvados poured by the chef). Service is high-touch and friendly (many staff speak French), the sommelier is willing to offer interesting off-list by-the-glass pours from an expansive 44-page wine list (notable bottles include a 1959 Château Haut-Brion and accessible pours like a Domaine Jérôme Forneret Saint-Aubin), and reservations can be hard to get — check Resy for day-of releases or try for a bar seat before 7 p.m." - Justin Goldman
