Cafe Charmant Gives the Classic Brasserie a Sense of Humor

Opening Shot is a column that peeks inside new hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops with interiors to drool over.

Cafe Charmant

Location: New York City

Designers: Rockwell Group

On Offer: The latest entrant in the Catch Hospitality portfolio (The Corner Store, The Eighty Six), Cafe Charmant landed in the West Village last month with the group’s signature sense of mischief intact, flipping the former Saint Theo’s space into a coastal-inclined French brasserie.

Longtime Catch collaborator Rockwell Group marries Belle Époque flourishes with a maritime palette. Turn-of-the-century tin ceilings trimmed in burgundy tiles are dotted with parasol-like pendants. The flowerpot logo is stamped on plates, matchbooks, and French blue menus. The walls balance mercury mirrors against works by Warhol and Basquiat.

“Just some local artists,” quips chef Jake Tyler Brodsky to Surface. “Good to support up-and-coming talent.” In true Catch fashion, the curtains remain shut, lest prying eyes spot anyone notable swiping their fries through bronzed au poivre.

Standout Features: Fresh off a stint at Palm Heights in Grand Cayman, Brodsky pairs bistro classics with a handful of more playful plates—the ones, he confides, he favors. The airy tuna Charmant is fashioned as a “build your own bite” of bluefin toro, nardello peppers, and Castelvetrano olives scooped with chips. Crispy shrimp Polynesian is fused with hoja santa leaves and squash blossoms before being drizzled with honey. Compact coconut duck curry pastels pack a tamarind chutney punch.