Profile

Café Condesa takes it name from Mexico City’s Soho stand-in, La Condesa, a district replete with wine bars and tiny boîtes. It’s the winning brainchild of former chef Luis Arce Mota (formerly of Jefferson and Bouley), sommelier (and current owner) Emir Dupeyron, and ex-barista Enrique Jardines, who all hail from the Mexican capital. Their West Village restaurant is diminutive—the storefront once housed a cell phone store—but it packs a culinary wallop. The kitchen has no gas range; the main preparations are done on magnetic induction cookers, which are basically high-tech hotplates. Latin American touches are added to French and Italian classics that are roasted, pan-seared, and poached. Roasted rack of lamb is meltingly tender and covered with chimichurri sauce. The interior is simple and lovely: exposed brick, wood plank floors, candles, and rows of hanging Edison-style light bulbs with exposed golden filaments. — Michael Anstendig

Roasted rack of lamb, $19.95