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With some help from close friend and consigliere Mario Batali, a chef recommended by Jamie Oliver, and a cadre of high-profile music-business investors, A&R executive Ken Friedman opened The Spotted Pig in the 100-seat West Village premises formerly occupied by Le Zoo. But don’t call it a restaurant: The Pig, despite an Italian-accented menu crafted by English expat April Bloomfield, late of London’s esteemed River Cafe and fresh on the heels of a stint last summer at Chez Panisse, belongs to that British subgenre called the "gastro-pub," a bar serving simple, straightforward food. Bloomfield’s interpretation transcends the steak-and-kidney-pie norm with crispy pork belly in broth with vegetables & fried squash blossom, or radish salad with basil and parmesan. Friedman, a Los Angeles native who says he’s enthralled by atmospheric New York taverns, justifies the "pub" part of the equation with a 100-bottle wine list, two cask-conditioned beers, and the compulsory Irish stout—an offering, no doubt, for bands that prefer to drink their dinner. — Robin Raisfeld

Gnudi, $16; hamburger, $20

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

• Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld's Full Review (4/5/04)

Best of New York Awards

• Best Comfort Food (2007)

Featured In

• The Best Places to Live in NYC: Our Critics’ Favorite Comestibles in Selected Neighborhoods (4/19/10)
• The Spotted Pig's Annie Myers on Being a Restaurant Forager (11/23/09)
• Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
• Dining Alone: No, Just Me (8/13/07)
• Gastropubbing in the City (7/30/07)
• Where to Get a Between-Purchases Bite in the West Village (12/11/06)
• A Gno-Mistakes Pasta Primer (10/2/06)
• Debating the Meaning of Gastropub (8/28/06)
• 101 Best New York Restaurants for 2006 (1/9/06)

Recipes at The Spotted Pig

• Left-Handed Negroni (2011)