Profile

If walking into this dimly lit tavern gives you Raoul’s déjà vu, you’re not crazy. Serge Raoul was Seppi’s original owner, and the interior still retains all the elements he holds dear: walls cluttered with paintings and framed mirrors, tin ceilings, vintage wall sconces, and waiters with cheerfully thick French accents. Though chef Claude Alain Souillard took over for Raoul in 2001, the menu proves they have plenty in common. However, Souillard’s cuisine is much less strictly Alsatian than his predecessor’s: Interspersed among choices like steak au poivre and poisson du jour are Italian dishes such as spaghetti Ghitarra, with tomatoes, olives, and goat cheese, and risotto with shrimp and artichoke hearts. Even the traditional dishes can be a bit playful; his lobster bisque bobs with pillowy crawfish ravioli, and his homard sandwich is a delicious pile of lobster meat, crunchy bacon, and ripe tomato stuffed into a fat split brioche. That’s not to say Souillard doesn’t nail the standards. His aromatic, crisp-skinned, and meltingly tender carre d’agneau, herb-crusted rack of lamb, is perfect. And not unimportant: It’s some of the best food you’ll find in the neighborhood after midnight. — Sarah Gold

Rick Bogart’s mellow jazz trio (clarinet, piano, and stand-up bass) plays from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday nights, and during Sunday brunch.

Crevettes et St. Jacques, $16; three-cheese tarte flambée, $13; homard sandwich, $25; carre d’agneau, $32