Review: The Spotted Pig


February 23, 2004 Continuing our quest to dine as much in the west as we do in the east this year, we ducked into West Village newcomer The Spotted Pig (W. 11th @ Greenwich St.) early Sunday night. The space that formerly housed Le Zoo has been remade in the image of a British pub—perfect for the place that aims to make the gastropub as big a trend in NYC as it has become in Britain. We sat at the bar—plenty of open seats at the early hour we chose—and ordered a pint of the Spotted Pig Lager, brewed for the place by Brooklyn Brewery. (Our advice: stick with Old Speckled Hen.) Mario Batali (an investor, it seems) chose the chef, 29-year-old April Bloomfield (see second item), who comes to the 'Pig by way of London's famed River Cafe and a summer in the kitchen at Chez Panisse. We just did appetizers, but the results were tantalizing: first, a fleet of half a dozen oysters; second, an order of gnudi, a sort-of dumpling/ravioli hybrid stuffed with ricotta and served with baked sage leaves. Enough to convince that a return trip is in order.


Comments about this post (4 so far... Post yours below)

well, hello. i just googled my lovely cousin s. takesh, and your site came up. so i opened it up, and the first thing i saw was a review of my friend april's new place. what a small world is this. i, too, am going to pakistan (and thinking about asking sarah to go see her) in a few weeks, and your pictures were great for me to see. what a lovely site. thank you. and i am glad you had only good things to say about april. i was with her at cp in the summer, and now i live in italy, but the woman makes the best gnocchi i have ever had. if they are ever on her menu, i beseech you to order them.

Posted by: samin at March 1, 2004 06:02 AM

the pig is awesome. great beer. great great food!

Posted by: lew at March 5, 2004 03:38 AM

Return trip surpassed the first. Advice: dine here IMMEDIATELY.

Posted by: Lock at March 15, 2004 09:45 PM

I really liked this place but the skatefish was so so so salty my lips hurt after the second bite.

Posted by: Robyn at May 18, 2004 09:43 AM