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“Metropol--Closed”


  Occasion: Cuisine: Area: Cost: Rating:
  Night Out French West Village Moderate Don't Bother

After dining at Metropol the other week, one fact was crystal clear. There are some people who open restaurants simply because their apartments are too small to accommodate all of their friends. Christiano Jannou, a music industry producer (who has worked on records for Madonna and Maxwell) is one such individual. A swarthy, handsome type, with a thick mane of dark hair that falls to his shoulders, deep dark eyes, and the perfect double kiss, and handshake-back pat combo, Christiano has a lot of friends, and his “living room,” now has a name, rows of sturdy bistro tables, a distressed mirrored back bar, and floor to ceiling panoramic windows overlooking the quaint corner of West 10th and West 4th Streets.

The thing about people who open restaurants as stylish holding pens for their crew of peeps is this: they need to understand that there will occasionally be people dining in their restaurants who are not their friends, and that these non-friends might actually like to eat food that tastes good and might enjoy being served by waiters who understand the menu, and are capable of (or at least marginally interested in) taking dinner orders and offering service. While friends of the host may not care, non-friends (also known as customers) will. And those non-friends (see previous parenthetical) will not come back. And then the living room, once known as a restaurant, will close. And the return to the apartment is inevitable. The sad thing for Christiano is that Metropol, a sexy faux bistro warmed with chocolate and ebony tones and slated with oversized black and whites of Nico and Edie Sedgwick, has the potential to be a solid neighborhood spot, but in its current incarnation, it is a first rate disaster.

To begin with, the noise level is phenomenal. I think dining under the soft purr of a 747 might be a more peaceful experience. I had lost my voice by the end of dinner. Noise aside, the service is careless, thoughtless, and basically non-existent. Why bother having people pose as waiters if they are not going to do anything? I’d rather take my own order and serve myself. But the menu—that reads well with classic bistro fare—turns out to be the most dreadful part of the entire experience. I mean it takes effort to make food that is this bad.

We started with the Frisee Salad ($11), a Caramelized Onion Tart ($8), and a Lobster and Artichoke Salad ($12.50, and curiously listed under raw bar). The onion tart arri ... [more, click below]

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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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