Le Crocodile is now open at the Wythe Hotel
Le Crocodile/ Liz Clayman
We still miss Reynard, which closed quietly back in September. Thankfully, we’re happy to report that a new restaurant has opened in the same space on the ground floor at the Wythe Hotel. Le Crocodile is a French bistro from the same people behind Greenpoint’s Chez Ma Tante serving up classic dishes like Grilled Chicken and Fries, Duck Leg, and Steak Tartare. The space has been updated with warmer lighting and a handful of comfortable booths up front. The service is outstanding, as is the food. In short, we highly recommend it. From TimeOut:
If you’ve been to the hip Williamsburg hotel, you may remember it for its former restaurant, Reynard, once a part of Andrew Tarlow’s hospitality group, in a kitchen formerly run by beloved chef, Christina Leicki, known for its wood-fire cooking. The Wythe is also home to the rooftop bar, Lemon’s which opened earlier this year.
As for the design—orchestrated by Neidich in collaboration LOVEISENOUGH design studio—certain details, such as flooring and ceiling lights, remain from the hotel’s original restaurant space. But rounded lightwood banquettes outfitted with sleek burgundy leather and new marble bar give the space a more 2019 feel (the total seat count is 100). The restaurant’s logo (by Aduo design), a mischievous-looking crocodile mascot, to us, is reminiscent of the acclaimed children’s book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.
It’s an auspicious time to open a restaurant attempting to be quintessentially French. It used to be that the barometer for a restaurant’s excellence was established by cooking stalwart European dishes, but in the past decade, restaurateurs have looked away from these cuisines, often seeing them as too fussy. While today’s restaurant scene thankfully offers much more diversity and nuance to dining out, Le Crocodile does seem to represent a resurgence of nostalgic flavors of the old guard without trying to fully recreate it (and its mistakes).
Le Crocodile
at the Wythe Hotel
80 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11249.
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