HOW TO DECIDE AMONG THREE NEW DRESSED-UP MANHATTAN SPOTS

This past winter has been a banner season for Manhattan restaurant openings, particularly polished, high-dollar spots that the average diner may reserve for special occasions. Among the strongest there’s the Basque Upper East Side Chez Fifi, from the brothers behind Michelin-starred Sushi Noz and Noz 17; the West Village Provence-leaning Zimmi’s; and the posh Crane Club from chef Melissa Rodriguez and Jeff Katz — now under Tao. All three come from teams with established restaurants in neighborhoods where rent is high, with prices to match.

So aside from location, how do you decide what restaurant you’d like to go to? Here’s a breakdown of these three newly opened restaurants.

Chez Fifi

140 E. 74th Street, at Lexington Avenue, Upper East Side

Go here on a date, for a semi-private dinner (if you can snag a booth), or with your uptown gourmand friend who tracks potential Michelin star recipients. Packed in an elegant townhouse, the 44-seat restaurant that opened in mid-December features wood paneling, and high-backed booths just right for two or four. There’s also a big table in the back of the restaurant for six to eight people that’s nicely lit and cozy.

While both Chez Fifi and Zimmi’s are small neighborhood restaurants, this one, by virtue of its Upper East Side location and the history of restaurants from Joshua and David Foulquier, seems more aspirational. Some prices can be hard to swallow unless someone else is footing the bill. There aren’t many other restaurants of this size that seat diners so close to actual works of art from Calder or Miró, nor are there many that have multi-page drink menus with drawings that tell a story of the owners’ mother who escaped from Iran in 1962.

What to order: The food from executive chef Zack Zeidman, who worked with Ignacio Mattos, pulls influences from France and the Spanish Basque region, offering dishes like a deviled crab ($42), a rich and luxurious slurry much like a gratin (made with Dungeness and Jonah crab in a sofrito of tomatoes, leeks, and pimentón) that you scoop right out of a shell. Also among the starters, the bluefin toro ($49) suggests Zeidman has spent time working with Noz chef Nozomu Abe. For mains, there’s an expensive yet delicious poulet rôti, which features a half or whole chicken with foie gras jus, amazing fries, and a nicely dressed simple green salad ($82, $160). The Dover sole a la plancha (cooked like their grandmother made it, a simple chicken stock-capers-and-brown butter sauce) is also glorious, but at $160 for a fish, it’s a commitment. As exceptional as these dishes are, both remind me of the widening gulf between New Yorkers making tons of money who can regularly go to all these places with hundred-dollar entrees — and everyone else.

Tips: Ask a server to guide wine selections, as there are some unusual offerings from Spain and Southwest France. And you don’t need to have dinner to stop by the 30-seat salon upstairs, a chill cocktail bar for a nightcap (in the $21 to $26 range).

Zimmi’s

72 Bedford Street, at Commerce Street, West Village

The 40-seat Zimmi’s that opened in early December feels the most laid-back and neighborhoody of these three restaurants. Go here for Maxime Pradié’s homey Provence-influenced French dishes executed with skill. The dining room is warm, accented by tables dressed with gingham tablecloths that evoke a farm dinner at a French vineyard. This restaurant feels like a quintessential New York bistro, a classic for the long haul, with a tiny bar — good luck getting a seat — and tables tight enough that you’ll graze the one next to you on your way in and out. And for sure, this is less expensive than Chez Fifi and Crane Club.

What to order: The cooking feels more freewheeling and gutsy than the other two restaurants. The artichoke soup with foie gras ($32), is a lovely pairing. That pissaladière is a must, an onion tart that’s already a signature dish ($16). Pasta Davia with pesto Genovese and beans is a hearty offering that speaks to winter, brightened up with herbs ($26). The lusty lamb stew with potatoes ($38) is a stunner, as is the intensely savory pork collar with hazelnuts, dandelion, and jus ($44). For wines, consider half bottles — it’s an awesome offering in that there are 100 to choose from.

Tips: Zimmi’s is tight quarters (save your blind item gossip for elsewhere) and the room can get loud.

Crane Club

85 10th Avenue, at W. 16th Street, West Chelsea

This new Tao restaurant opened mid-November and is the most sceney of the three. There will be finance guys in suits and women with sequined gowns, so if you want to dress up, it’s an option, but there’s technically no dress code if you’d want to go in jeans.

Let’s talk about the space. Restaurants that had been in this location (first Del Posto, and then Al Coro) had to navigate a cavernous room that, for restaurateurs, might have been an albatross in the Siberia of the west side. (And it was a bit weird for diners, too). So while this is the same windowless room, Tao has done well in making it more intimate. The formal tables form an archipelago throughout the room. The sculptured chandeliers add texture. With red velvet banquets and a throwback vibe, this is the fanciest option, with the most polished service of the three. Look for details like actual tall candles on the table (as opposed to the ubiquitous lamps) and an expansive raw bar cart.

Go here for choose-your-own-adventure luxury dinner menu from Melissa Rodriguez, with Jeff Katz seamlessly running the dining room. (Speaking of Michelin stars, Rodriguez and the team landed two — mere months after opening the previous iteration of this spot, Al Coro.) With much of the food cooked in the custom Spanish Mibrasa grill, some dishes lean French, some lean Italian, while other options feel like a steakhouse. And then there’s a long list of vegetables, a couple of which could serve as dinner, too.

What to order: In addition to the raw bar, get the savory sfogliatelle with caviar, potato, and fontina ($23). Consider the spaghetti with seafood, glossy with saffron, stacked with mussels, lobsters, squid, and shrimp ($36). If not pasta, then order the sweet little roasted cherrystones ($29). Don’t skip vegetables, be it sweet fennel with sharp pecorino and apples ($17), the stylish caraflex cabbage ($16), or the umami maitake mushrooms with green peppercorn ($25).

Tips: No need for everyone to get a meat dish: strategize. Order an anchor or two (if you’re a table of four), like the satisfying bone-in rib-eye ($115) or the Iberian pork chops ($79) — and fill in around them. If you want to order a mere glass of wine, an appetizer, and a main, dine in the bar room.

Final suggestions: The most versatile among this trio is Crane Club; the best place to straddle casual and special occasion is Zimmi’s; while Chez Fifi is the restaurant among the three that might surprise you the most.

2025-01-10T14:05:56Z