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After leaving Manhattan to spend years in the Michelin temples of France, chef Claude Chassagne returned to the city with an artistic and international sensibility that pervades the menu at this quaint culinary atelier. He uses the plate as a canvas, presenting carefully constructed dishes like duck shumai, shreds of duck stuffed into a delicate wonton wrapper and accented with dabs of bright orange red-pepper cream. Brushstrokes of truffle oil and a sprinkling of salty Parmesan make beef carpaccio—often bland in less capable hands—absolutely entrancing, while beef two ways is a juicy, meaty sculpture of slices of coffee-rubbed hanger steak resting next to soft, spherical oxtail ravioli. Desserts are perhaps the most eye-catching; a green-tea mousse with sake-steeped cherries shows Chassagne’s colorful affection for Asian flavors. One of the greatest attractions at Chubo, however, is the monthly “theme ingredient” tasting menu: four courses that can range from a study in swordfish one month to a portfolio of soft-shell crabs the next. The walls of the small but cozy brick-lined room double as a rotating showcase for neighborhood artists, too. — Kathleen Squires

Beef two ways, $23; green tea mousse, $9