SURF & TURF

DINING

Exciting and elegant chophouses and seafood meccas are popping up across Manhattan and Brooklyn. We can’t wait to dress up again and check them out

FROM LEFT: The bar and dining room at Gage & Tollner; dry-aged ribeye with creamed spinach; a raw bar platter

BY LAUREN WATZICH

Brooklyn’s historic Gage & Tollner has been fully restored and reopened following its 2004 closure. With longtime friends and local restaurateurs Sohui Kim, Ben Schneider and St. John Frizell at the helm, guests can enjoy the restaurant’s fully restored Victorian interiors as they sip martinis and savor steaks, chops and dishes like devils on horseback and fried chicken with hush puppies. To end the experience on a sweet note, there’s the coconut cake topped with whipped cream, crunchies and minced fruits. gageandtollner.com

Skorpios, from chef and restaurateur Ioannis “Yiannis” Chatiris, now occupies the former home of Charlie Palmer Steak in Midtown. Offering a menu of classic Greek specialties including squid ink pasta, tomahawk steak and freshly caught whole fish flown in daily from Greece and Italy. Raw bar lovers should consider the Royal Tower with clams, shrimp, oysters, lobster and king crab. Echoing the Greek island feel, the restaurant’s white-washed, light-filled interiors feature four indoor waterfalls cascading down marble pillars, an expansive rock wall and a towering wall of sand

art. skorpiosny.com

Chef Angie Mar’s new fine dining restaurant, Les Trois Chevaux, is a fresh take on the great French restaurants of New

Razor clam ceviche at Skorpios York City’s past, showcasing both her passion for French cooking technique and her love of the Big Apple. Designed by BWArchitects’ Brenda Bello and Joel Medina, the Greenwich Village newcomer features chic design elements including midnight blue velvet banquets, Phillip Jeffries Sateen Inkwell wallpaper and crystal chandeliers from the 1931-era Waldorf Astoria, in addition to artworks by Picasso and Banksy. Surrounded by flower arrangements from renowned florist Raul Avila and served by staff in Christian Siriano–designed uniforms, guests can enjoy French-inspired dishes ranging from duck terrine and sweetbreads to pheasant and rack of lamb. angie-mar.com After a successful pop-up last summer, restaurateur Patricia Howard and chef Ed Szymanski (formerly of Cherry Point in Greenpoint) have opened Dame, a new seafood spot in SoHo, to much acclaim. The modern English seafood menu offers dishes like grilled oysters with green chartreuse butter, tuna tartare and bottarga on toast, fish and chips and

a whole grilled turbot out of an intimate space created by designer Anna Polonsky and her husband, the chef and ceramicist Fernando Aciar. Chef Szymanski and his team are sourcing seafood as closely and sustainably as possible to New York (fish from Montauk, oysters from Maine). damenewyork.com

Italian chophouse Carne Mare, located at Pier 17 in the Seaport, offers an elegant ambiance with wraparound views of the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge. The Martin Brudnizki–designed space features indoor and outdoor seating and a grand spiral staircase that leads to a banquette-filled upstairs dining room boasting an open chef’s kitchen, lacquered terracotta walls with artwork and eclectic objects reminiscent of the 1970s. Executive chef and restaurateur Andrew Carmellini (The Dutch, Locanda Verde and Lafayette) serves up snacks including mozzarella sticks with caviar and king crab lettuce cups with Italian chile crisp to start, along with salads like The Wedgini and flavorful tartares and carpaccios. Guests can choose from classic cuts including the Double R Ranch Wagyu sirloin bavetta and roast prime rib or steaks such as a gorgonzola-cured striploin. Those craving pasta can enjoy spicy lobster spaghetti or the Don Lasagn’ made with a ragu from the trimmings of the dry-aged

steaks. carnemare.com

Williamsburg newcomer Francie has the appeal of a neighborhood brasserie. The restaurant’s interiors, designed by architect Glen Coben, feature a warm dining room with an open kitchen. Chef/owner Christopher Cipollone, of Michelin-starred Piora, and owner/operator John Winterman offer up an approachable, European-inspired menu of shellfish, housemade pastas and meaty main courses. Must-try items include the lobster ravioli, heritage pork chop and côte de boeuf for two. Marcie Andersen, who previously worked as the head bartender at Daniel, mixes up classic cocktails such as a sazerac and Francie’s own take on a New York sour. franciebrooklyn.com

Named after the block-long street that became an extension of Sixth Avenue in the early 20th century, restaurateur John McDonald and chef Ryan Schmidtberger’s Hancock St. pays homage to the history of Greenwich Village. Designed by Swiss creative director Serge Becker to feel like an old-school neighborhood supper club, the restaurant provides diners with an indoor and outdoor space to enjoy an elevated contemporary take on New American cuisine. Aside from an extensive raw bar, the dinner menu’s highlights include steak tartare, Dover sole and crispy veal schnitzel. For dessert, guests can indulge in a tiramisu cake with kahlua tres leches, a chocolate layer cake and chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream. hancockst.com ■

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The bar at Les Trois Chevaux; grilled oysters at Dame; the bistecca alla fiorentina at Carne Mare; the bar at Hancock St.; lobster ravioli at Francie