Profile

This venue is closed.

Located at the intersection of Chelsea, the garment district, and the Flatiron, Antique Café draws a mixed crowd: clutches of FIT students chatting between classes, neighbors in for a quick bistro-style meal, and the odd traveler on business. Originally opened in 1998 but relocated here in 2003, the restaurant is narrow and cozy with buttercream-colored wainscoting, wooden café chairs, and pastries displayed in quaint, old-fashioned glass cake domes. Though there are Mediterranean and Mexican outliers, the menu is mostly French-inspired. Steak-frites is juicy and flavorful, the accompanying fries thin and naughtily salty. A proud quiche stands taller than a fist and boasts a warm, creamy filling and a flaky crust. Confections like a sugar-powdered apple strudel look tempting but lack a delicate touch, and others tend toward the oversweet. A spacious outdoor pavilion opens in warm months and conveniently faces a small public green space sandwiched between two condo buildings across the street. — Edna Ishayik