First Taste: The John Dory

12.04.08
The John Dory

The Spotted Pig folks have a knack for creating lovable restaurants, and they’ve done it again with The John Dory, the adorably scruffy new fish place that’s squeezed in between Del Posto and Craft Steak. Decorative fish (and a very appealing leopard-spotted eel) swim in a giant aquarium as you dine on their more mundane cousins.

Although the steak should assuage carnivores, the menu is mostly fish. Not to be missed: A starter of razor clam ceviche, cod milt with parsley and lemon (think Rocky Mountain oysters in reverse), great fish stew, and the spectacularly messy, spicy, and addictive black-pepper Dungeness crab.

One caveat: at four bucks an oyster, three bucks a clam and ten dollars per langoustine, the raw bar prices quickly rise into the stratosphere.

The John Dory 85 10th Ave., New York City (212-929-4948; thejohndory.com)

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