Hancock Street Is Brand New But Evokes all The Charm Of Old Greenwich Village

At a time when so many restaurants are either outlandishly decked out or barely decorated at all, Hancock Street comes as a refreshing lull of a place where a sense of Old New York intimacy is key to its considerable charms. 

 The city has few such places left that evoke a less frantic “scene” in which concept takes precedence over hospitality and cooking. The Waverly Inn, Gage & Tollner, Landmark Tavern, Pete’s Tavern, P. J. Clarke’s and One If By Land, Two If By Sea are all still open, all still open, and Hancock Street is most certainly one of the best both in terms of creature comfort and comfort foods. You might expect that from Mercer Street Hospitality, headed by John McDonald, which also runs the affable Lure Bar, Bistrot Leo, Butterfly Soho and Bowery Meat Company. And the experience of Chef Ryan Schmidtberger, formerly of Lure Fishbar and The River Café , assures a modern take on American cuisine. They even have a “Prime Rib Night” on Saturday, which quickly sells out with local residents.

On a cold winter’s night Hancock Street (named after a long-gone street in the West Village) provides a neighborly respite. It’s not a big place so it’s rather cozy, with expanse of polished wood walls, velvet curtain, a beautifully lighted bar, white tablecloths, thin stemware and a vividly colored mural that reflects, mirror-like, the dining room itself. Soft lighting throughout is crafted to provide warmth. The only off-note one night was some off-putting loud piped-in music I asked to be turned down. (As in all the restaurants in the world that have background music, it should stay there.) 

     Even the restaurant’s outside dining shed, in contrast to so many barebones, jerry-rigged eyesores around town, is here beautifully lighted and set with greenery and anchored by a glowing old-fashioned street lamp.  It almost makes you think a police officer in a long, brass-buttoned coat will come down the block twirling his nightstick and whistling “Sidewalks of New York.” 

What I find remarkable about Schmidtberger’s menu is that he is showing off a talent for balancing, redeeming and refining classic dishes you might find at any number of restaurants in New York by using his own bright new ideas. He does so with a panache that makes his seemingly simple tartares the best in the city—perfect temperature, subtly seasoned and textured, accompanied by just one or two other ingredients. Thus, yellowfin tuna with sesame, truffle-yuzu sauce and scallions comes on crispy potato hash browns ($21), while beefsteak with its own deep flavor is impeccably chopped into a tartare with a Coloratura anchovy vinaigrette, spicy tofu sauce,  crispy wontons and celery leaves ($23). Schmidtberger uses nothing less than Scottish salmon as a palette for crispy potato, capers, cucumbers and sesame soy ginger sauce ($18). If you’re up for it, you can go all in with a service of osetra caviar (four at $165 to eight ounces at $295) with sour cream and onion potato chips laced with crème fraȋche.

Before I go further, I must beg you to  order the biscuits at Hancock Street, for while they are far from traditional Southern-style they seem to take the best of that idea wedded to a Parker House roll. (They remind me of the rich, yeasty Cajun buns Paul Prudhomme used to serve at K-Paul’s in New Orleans.) 

Everyone else in town has pastas on the menus, and so does Schmidtberger, but again, while not particularly true to any Italian region, they are expressive of his desire to please. The flower-like campanelle and Italian sausage are sautéed with cherry tomatoes, burrata, shaved fennel and chili flakes for real bite ($29), and whole wheat rippled-edged malfadinewith a rich duck bolognese contains shiitake mushrooms and rosemary Manchego cheese ($31),  both  in portions worth sharing. I shied away from an item called “Adult Kid’s Pasta” ($27), but Schmidtberger urged me to try it, and the description is happily apt. For although it’s basically shell macaroni with butter and cheese, the cheese is first rate two years’ aged Parmigiano-Reggiano and the butter is cultured in-house. It is marvelously rich, wholly satisfying and will bring out the child in anyone no matter what your age. 

A grilled Mediterranean branzino ($39) is as good as most—isn’t there any other fish in the New York market a chef can offer? —with grilled artichoke hearts, preserved lemon vinaigrette and a lovely tangy remoulade, while a roasted Amish chicken with Brussels sprouts, onion and truffle ($36) is very generous, with crisp skin and a deeply flavorful reduction. You can get steak frites all over town, and Hancock Street’s, made with grilled sirloin ($58) comes with tarragon-dusted fries, chives and a mildly hot pepper sauce. The slightly smoked double pork chop ($46) seems fashioned to allow half of it to be brought back for one’s lunch,  receiving its flavors from butternut puree and a grain mustard jus. 

Crispy veal schnitzel with dill potatoes, lemon caper butter ($46) is as close as you’ll come to any outside of Vienna, and the Schmidtberger Burger with pickle, onion, lettuce, white cheddar, yellow mustard, ketchup, mayo on a sesame brioche bun with terrific fries ($28) is just shy of gilding the lily at a time when too many chefs just load things on top of the meat and bun without any sense of excess.

 I suspect the child in any adult will also love the chocolate mousse layer cake with candied violets and ginger ($15); the apple pumpkin cranberry crumble with salted caramel ice cream and a touch of thyme, which is just about perfect for a blustery January night; and, as you might expect by now, a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies with dark chocolate ice cream and a sprinkling of sea salt ($14) typifies the homey cast of Hancock Street’s intentions.

 So, if you are a New Yorker, you will find Hancock Street both a throwback and a beacon of good, old-fashioned taste with thoroughly contemporary flair. If you are an out-of-towner, Hancock Street will give you a gratifying sense of the way Greenwich Village can still be.

HANCOCK STREET

257 Sixth Avenue

212-645-0193

Open Tues.-Sat. for dinner