Sailor sets a course in Fort Greene

RESTAURANTS • First Person

Sailor, the new Fort Greene spot from chef April Bloomfield and restaurateur Gabriel Stulman, is a small restaurant. Not surprising, given the way Stulman built his business on tiny restaurants (Joseph Leonard, Fairfax) with outsized impacts. But maybe all the hoopla around Sailor made me expect something grander in physical scope?

No matter. Half a block up from longtime neighborhood standard Roman’s, Sailor occupies an enviable corner, and offers a vibe to match. Alfredo Peredes, store designer for Ralph Lauren and the Polo Bar, designed the room, but it’s still vintage Stulman: quirky, cozy, and, on a recent Saturday night, rocking. 

And the food is knockout-grade good. On our four-top, for starters: smoked mackerel pâté, mussel toast, housemade brandade, and pork rillettes. And also, a bonus fifth offering, described on the menu as toast with green sauce. This was my favorite: the ‘green’ is an herb sauce of parsley, mint, marjoram, anchovy, and parmesan. Hello, April Bloomfield, we have missed you. For mains, smoked pork shoulder with fennel and olives, as well as a half roast chicken and roasted potatoes: both terrific, and the kind of food I want to be eating when the darkness starts creeping into the afternoon.

Packing all that Stulman-plus-Bloomfield buzz into this small space means it’s going to be tough to reserve here for a while. For those who like to play the game: each month’s worth of new reservations drops on the 21st. The eight-seat bar (says a FOUND correspondent of the dirty martini: “Might be the best in the city — I’d go back just for that”) and the two bar booths are held each night for walk-ins. Godspeed.

If this all sounds like too much for tonight, consider one of the nine new, bookable restaurants listed below. Or, drop by Stulman’s Jeffrey’s Grocery in the Village for a plate of oysters, or Jolene in Noho for the chicken Milanese. If Sailor’s voyage tracks like these neighborhood favorites, there will be plenty of time to come aboard. –Lockhart Steele

→ Sailor (Fort Greene), 228 Dekalb Ave. • Resy • Photo: Sara Whitney.