Owner Frank Gocaj and executive chef Victor H. Chavez have teamed up at Greenwich Steakhouse for an upscale New York City dining experience in the West Village that can hold its own against big-name Midtown competitors.
Steakhouses are a tough sell in Manhattan, only because there are so many great ones. But Greenwich Steakhouse has carved a niche of its own and recently marked its one-year anniversary.
It’s drawn such celebrities as Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live,” actor Armie Hammer and even former Gambino associate John Alite has dropped in for a meal.
Chavez is well known in New York City restaurant circles. He worked for 30 years as executive chef at another renown steakhouse, Smith & Wollensky in Midtown. He knows his way around classic tomahawk ribeyes, New York Strip, double-cut lamb chops, Dover sole and beef tartare, not to mention other signature dishes.
Chavez decided to come out of retirement when the restaurant’s location became available to fulfill his dream of his own intimate dining space.
“The restaurant life gets in your blood, and you miss the action,” he told The New York Times last year. “You dream of retirement, but then what do you do?”
The restaurant is located in a 2,000-square-foot townhouse at 62 Greenwich Ave. that offers dining experiences on three different levels. Converted by Yamir Perez and with Gocaj’s design touches, the restaurant exudes a casual, yet elegant atmosphere.
The interior is set apart by its unconventional light color palette, bold seating designs and striking architectural differences from floor-to-floor.
The first floor’s casual dining room features white brick walls, a bar with a marble counter top and turquoise, T-backed, studded bar seats. The main dining floor, on the second level, features indirect ceiling lights that showcase mural paintings from wall-to-wall.
The third floor is reserved for exclusive events and private parties. Wines are shelved behind clear, glass sliding doors. Crystal chandeliers add an air of opulence. The room can accommodate an extended dining table for intimate affairs or round tables for parties.
Of course, the name of the game is steak. Greenwich Steakhouse’s dry-aged steak options–USDA prime dried in-house– are its calling card.
Because the kitchen is smaller, he says he can give everything a more personal touch.
The menu includes filet mignon (10 oz or 14 oz); a 24 oz bone-in strip steak; a New York sirloin (18 oz or 36 oz), a 24 oz Cajun Ribeye Steak and a Tomahawk Ribeye Steak (24 oz or 48 oz).
All can be burnished with sauces, including Oscar, Au Poivre, Roquefort and Bernaise. Add-ons include Foie Gras, or surf and turf combinations with grilled shrimp or an 8 oz lobster tail.
The menu also includes the signature, Greenwich Steakhouse Burger with avocado, bacon, white cheddar and Leicester onion sauce; Surf & Turf which includes an 8 oz lobster tail and 10 oz filet mignon or Veal Scallopini with your choice of marsala or piccata.
For appetizers, there’s pan-fried calamari served over hot cherry peppers; Greenwich colossal crab cakes and thick-cut smoked bacon.
Beverage Director Zane Harris keeps it interesting at the bar. Chavez recruited the mix-master from Maison Premiere in Brooklyn to oversee construction of the 14-seat, 17-foot wide marble bar.
The cocktails are heavily seasonal and include produce and honey sourced from the restaurant’s private farm upstate in Liberty, New York. Drinks are ever-evolving every two and a half months.
Signature cocktails include Pretty Woman, a mix of Sauvignon blanc, grapefruit, rum, fresh blueberries and basil. The Greenwich Swizzle blends rum, pineapple, mint, lime and bitters.
Greenwich Steakhouse
62 Greenwich Ave.
New York, NY 10011
For further information:
Greenwich Steakhouse online