Crossing the channel

Crevette (Greenwich Village)

RESTAURANTS • First Word

The Skinny: A coastal Mediterranean restaurant from husband-and-wife Patricia Howard and Ed Szymanski, Crevette is a departure from the British fare at the duo’s hit spots Lord’s and Dame. Opened earlier this month, it may exorcise the ghosts of the (many) failed efforts that previously inhabited 10 Downing St. in Greenwich Village.

The Vibe: Just before 5p on a frigid Wednesday, a line had already formed outside. I’d snagged the only thing available when booking two weeks out, an early seat at the bar, which overlooks a mostly white, oversized dining room, warmed up with ironed tablecloths, long-stem candles, whimsical bright murals, and glimpses of bright yellow and hot pink bathroom tiles.

The Food: The menu, large by New York standards, is divided into four sections: fruits de mar (raw bar), apéro (bites), appetizers, and entrees. Portions are small enough that you can make your way through all four in a single meal. Poached shrimp presented like small gifts, precisely positioned on the plate with two tiny bowls of aioli and Calabrian chili on the side like a bow to complete it. This was still more sauce than one needs for a simple shrimp, but worth holding onto for the courses to come. Next, bluefin tuna and guindilla over a perfectly fried rectangular tater tot (a welcome, novel tweak to spicy tuna over crispy rice) and a duo of excellent fritters — one rock shrimp dredged in chickpea flour, the other, basil and anchovy — are served with herbaceous basil aioli.

From the appetizers, the fennel salad exceeded expectations, with its softened and marinated sliced fennel, sweet bites of date, and chopped soft cheese. For an entree, seafood rice with saffron, razor clams and lobster was neatly portioned in a cast iron for one. The shellfish was buttery, though the socarrat (the crunchier rice bits often scraped off the bottom of a paella-style dish) were missed.

The Drinks: The beverage list is as long as the food menu, featuring multiple varieties of martinis, aperitifs, and three different Negronis. A spicy margarita is rimmed with a Basque staple spice, espelette pepper.

The Verdict: An excellent addition to the Village restaurant landscape and a hopeful bet to reverse the address curse at 10 Downing. –Sylvie Florman

→ Crevette (Greenwich Village) • 10 Downing St • Tue-Sat 5-11p • Reserve.