NY Times' Pete Wells Praises Greenwich Village Fish & Chips Spot

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — There is no more significant voice in the New York City restaurant scene than Pete Wells, the top food critic at the New York Times. Wells reviewed a new fish and chips eatery in Greenwich Village on Monday and had some stellar things to say about its signature dish.

Dame, located at 87 MacDougal Street, has burst onto the scene in Lower Manhattan after a successful pop-up run in summer 2020 in the West Village.

The English seafood spot opened its permanent Greenwich Village location in June 2021.

It has already got a collection of positive reviews from publications such as Eater NY and TimeOut, but a positive showing in the New York Times takes it up a level.

"With a smile and a wink, though, Dame has a fresh point of view on cooking and eating seafood," Wells wrote in the Times. "Its relaxed, modern farmers’ market sensibility is propped up, as needed, by the structure of classic French technique. Like the more appealing restaurants in London, Mr. Szymanski’s (chef) hometown, it is unstuffy and refined at the same time."

Dame's indoor dining room fits around 24 people, while an additional 30 patrons can sit in its outdoor dining section.

"There’s an intelligent simplicity to the early courses, like the grilled blowfish tails that sit in melted Espelette butter under a warm spoonful of red pepper-shallot relish. Smoked whitefish croquettes are arranged around a dip of Calabrian chile jam," Wells continues in his review. "Small, tender squid and shishito peppers alternate on griddled skewers with parsley oil — an effectively understated sauce."

Wells does have critiques here and there of Dame, including the "main plates don't always feel fully realized," and a bit too much butter in its Skate wings dish.

However, Wells keeps it strictly positive when talking about the English restaurant's signature fish and chips plate.

"Each time I eat Dame’s fish and chips, made with hake briefly cured in salt, I prefer it to any other main course on the table," Wells adds. "I always try to work up some guilt about that. So far, I’ve failed."

Here are the dishes Wells recommends from Dame:

• Grilled oysters with hollandaise
• Squid and shishito pepper skewers
• Tuna tartare and bottarga on toast
• Braised beans with crab and ’nduja
• Fish and chips; lemon posset

The New York Times is still not giving out star reviews due to the pandemic, but Wells does label Dame as an NYT Critic's Pick.

You can read the full review of Dame on the Times' website.