West Village Newcomer Cafe Clover Will Charm You Into Eating Your Veggies
Jan. 14, 2015, 1:05 p.m.
The health-focused eatery makes eating nutritionally balanced food look a lot more fun.
A charming new health conscious eatery called Cafe Clover debuted this week on Downing Street in the West Village. The new restaurant—which boasts Market Table and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon alum David Stanridge in the kitchen—offers a modern American menu with an emphasis on nutritional balance, though you'd be forgiven for not knowing that from looking at the menu. Unlike the myriad juice bars and raw vegan what-have-yous in the city, the food here doesn't scream its healthfulness—the dishes actually sound pretty tasty!
Think appetizers like Roast Oyster ($15) with truffle and pickled shallot and Octopus a la Plancha ($17) with cauliflower, new potatoes and smoked chili. There are tons of veggies, as you might expect, both in salad form like the Sweet Gem Wedges ($9) with chia seeds, shaved roots and fine herbs and as a Market Crudite bowl ($12) with green goddess, smoked vinegar and sesame ranch dressings for dipping and crunching.
Entrees skew towards vegetables and seafood, like the Organic Scottish Salmon ($27) with spaghetti squash, turnip greens and black trumpet mushrooms, but there's also a Local Pasture-Raised Striploin ($21/$39) with Brussel's sprouts and an olive oil potato puree for beef lovers. On the opposite end, there's a meaty Cauliflower "Steak" ($17) with romesco and a vegetable chutney.
The triangular dining space is quite lovely, with a simple and elegant white and blue color palate by S.R. Gambrel Inc. The lighting was apparently derived from plaster casts of works by artists including Max Ernst; vintage mirrors were installed to reflect that lighting and warm the room.
10 Downing Street at 6th Avenue, (212) 675-4350; website
