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“Cru”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	New American	West Village	Break the Bank	Off the Charts

the wine lists. There are two—one for red, and one for white. Each leather loose-leaf volume weighs in at about 3 pounds. (If you care to lift some light weights in between courses, be my guest.) To the credit of Sommelier Robert Bohr, the list is fairly simple to navigate, other than the tabs that are printed in a light brown font that is impossible to read without x-ray vision. But other than that, the 3,200 bottle list, which will grow to 3,450 bottles in the next few weeks, is quite user friendly—divided by country of origin, or region. (Prices range from $22 to $16,000 per bottle.) There are maps to help, and also a smart cheat sheet of recommended wines to help narrow your selection. If you’d rather go by the glass there are 52 selections, available by the 6-oz. and 3-oz. pours ranging from $7-$150 for the full glass and $4-$75 for half.

And now, for the bad news. While I was so impressed with the food at Cru—really, Shea is reaching high here and from where I sat the other night, easily making his mark—I must say the design of the restaurant is quite dire.

Located in the space that was the sunny, airy Washington Park, Cru is the polar opposite. It is a library as restaurant—quiet, serious, and sedate almost to the point of being dreary. This space is notorious for restaurant failures. It is one of those cursed locations. So I am worried. I know people will come for Shea’s food and for the matchless wine list. But the room doesn’t give you vibe. It doesn’t beckon. It is just sort of there. It is decorated with rich dark polished woods, wall-to-wall drab carpeting, muted tones, horrific post-modern light fixtures, and dark velvet covered banquettes (very comfortable, though, which is key because meals are leisurely here, not rushed, just right). Please, breathe some life in there. It feels like it belongs on the Upper East Side in an old crotchety hotel. And the crowd sort of matches the lifeless room—older, serious looking couples, crowds of men talking business, a few tables of women discussing their latest issues with their boyfriends and careers, and older men fondling children known as their dates. The room is stuffy and stuck in a state of ennui. The food is so full of life and passion and soul—it needs a setting that matches its shameless brilliance, not one that stifles imagination and shuns cheer.

Cru is located at 24 Fifth Avenue, corner of 9th Street, 212-529-1700.

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Posted: August 19, 2004

Other restaurants in West Village :
+ Jefferson-- Closed   + La Palapa Rockola   + Sumile   + Babbo   + Tasca   + AOC Bedford   + Home   + The Spotted Pig   + Barbuto   + Numero 26   + Mas   + August   + Alta   + Cru   + Blue Mill Tavern-- Closed   + Employees Only   + Lassi   + Metropol--Closed   + Turks and Frogs   + Bellavitae   + Yumcha-- CLOSED   + Gusto: SEE EARLIER REVIEW; THIS CHEF HAS LEFT GUSTO   + Perry Street   + Home   + Ditch Plains   + The Little Owl   + Cafe Condesa   + Cafe Cluny   + Gusto   + The Waverly Inn   + Morandi   + P*ONG   + Perilla   + Soto   + Market Table   + Centro Vinoteca   + Barfry   + Dell'Anima   + Bar Blanc   + Smith's   + Commerce   + Elettaria   + Bar Q   + Cabrito   + 10 Downing   + Minetta Tavern   + Braeburn   + Scuderia, by guest reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Bar Blanc Bistro by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Joseph Leonard   + Bar Henry, by Guest Reviewer Kathleen Squires   + Kin Shop   + Monument Lane   + Wong   + Bin on Bleecker, by Dara Pollak   + Ristorante Rafele   + Cole's Greenwich Village by Guest Reviewer Claire Jaffe   

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