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In restaurant land, like everywhere else, there’s a quirky, unfathomable quality to the wisdom of crowds. Some places never get off the ground, some take off after one good review, and some are popular the minute they open their doors. 10 Downing, which opened in an angular corner space on lower Sixth Avenue, appears to be one of the lucky ones. Possibly it’s the Euro-accented name, which also happens to be the restaurant’s address. Or maybe it’s the carefully contrived downtown vibe, which includes a Damien Hirst poster in the bathroom and lots of jumbled artifacts on the walls, among them a pair of entwined antlers and a lush landscape photo of somewhere in Mexico. Even though the place has no hard- liquor license, the patrons were three deep at the bar, waiting for their tables, when I dropped by a few weeks back. On a recent Friday evening, the party was still more or less in full swing, even with the city sunk in its deep recessionary gloom. One of 10 Downing’s proprietors used to run a buzzy Village bistro called Le Zoo, among other establishments, so they know a little bit about the delicate alchemy that goes into creating a trendy restaurant. It helps to have an eye for real estate (10 Downing is across the street from Da Silvano; Le Zoo used to occupy the space that now houses the Spotted Pig), an energetic publicist (the food blogosphere has been chronicling the oft-delayed project for months), and the services of a chef who cooks the kind of food that even the most addled hipster might actually wish to eat. The person they’ve chosen for this challenging job is a talented though star-crossed young cook named Jason Neroni, who made his reputation creating inventive, high-wire recipes at the prominent Lower East Side restaurant 71 Clinton, then almost ruined it in a murky, much-blogged-about dispute with the owner of a now-defunct restaurant in Brooklyn.

At 10 Downing, however, Neroni seems to have found his balance. In accordance with the fashions of the day, the menu is filled with rustic specialties, like pork rillettes served with a spoonful of delicately minced apples on the side, and the vinegary cocktail-size cassoulet studded with tiny duck meatballs. Nine dollars buys a helping of sautéed Brussels sprouts inventively swimming in a bagna cauda of anchovies, garlic, and olive oil, and topped with a wobbly poached egg, and for a few bucks more you can get a helping of delicate house-made agnolotti infused with squid ink. Neroni procures his tasty and rigorously organic chicken (served for two over a generous panzanella salad tossed with currants and crushed almonds) from a group of conscientious, poultry-raising upstate monks, and the hanger steak, on the night I ordered it, was cut not from a normal cow but from a free-range buffalo, and served with patatas bravas and an egg cup of fresh-whipped romesco sauce. This kind of diligent fussiness can turn cloying on occasion. The $30 lobster special I sampled one evening was bizarrely sweet and smothered in too much sunchoke purée, and the otherwise presentable arctic-char entrée was overwhelmed by oversize bacon lardons. But if you’re in the mood for a classy platter of braised short ribs, you’ll find it here (layered with a rich mash of shiitakes, Savoy cabbage, and onions), along with other neatly rendered bistro staples like Provençal-style lamb chops (with a chickpea panisse), and that old locavore favorite wild striped bass, garnished with pears and buttery chanterelles. The modest desserts include the inevitable offering of “farmstand” cheeses, a passably rich chocolate cake presented like a soufflé with a scoop of malt-flavored ice cream in the middle, and a helping of old-fashioned lemon curd, which is enlivened with a stick of fresh-baked pound cake and a cloud of whipped cream touched with lavender. — Adam Platt

No hard liquor is served, but the bar compensates with a varied list of suitably snooty designer beers.

Marinated Brussels sprouts, braised short ribs, Meyer-lemon curd.

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Adam Platt's Full Review (2/2/09)
• Gael Greene's Full Review (11/24/08)

Featured In

• Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2010 (1/4/10)
• Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2009 (1/5/09)
• The Best of Fall's New Restaurants (9/3/07)