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Capitaine, a seafood-focused restaurant from the team behind Chateau Royale, opens Friday, June 19, in the West Village at 684 Greenwich Street. The new tavern replaces Libertine and marks a deliberate move away from the pair’s former French-bistro offerings—a shift that reflects both the chefs’ changing tastes and a broader appetite for seafood-led dining in the city.
From rich bistro fare to a coastal kitchen
Owners Cody Pruitt and Jacob Cohen have reimagined the space with a menu rooted in European seafood traditions and the classic New York oyster bar. Chef Mike Gutterman, who served most recently as sous chef at Kabawa, runs the kitchen.
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The focus is clear: a prominent raw bar, small plates that highlight shellfish and fish, and larger, familiar mains adapted for a seafood-first concept. Several dishes recall regional classics while leaning into contemporary preparations.
- Raw bar & starters: East Coast oysters, shrimp cocktail, chilled razor clams and Jonah crab claws; a seafood plateau is available for sharing.
- Caviar offerings: Traditional service alongside a caviar sandwich — a toast-and-gribiche riff on an old oyster-bar staple, served on soft Japanese milk bread.
- Small bites: Deviled eggs with sea urchin and whitefish brandade croquettes.
- Mains: Lobster roll, dorade, steak frites, wagyu burger, and chicken katsu with a spicy soubise.
- Large-format options: A king crab feast and a surf-and-turf built around a whole lobster and a 40-ounce côte de boeuf — both require advance notice for service.
Drinks that lean Old World
Pruitt says the cellar favors European selections: the wine list spans more than 300 bottles, with an emphasis on French producers and a backbone of whites and sparkling wines. By-the-glass options range roughly from $14 to $21.
Cocktails are grouped into four categories — Martinis, Negronis, Bubbles and Shaken — and include a Vesper variation with ambrato vermouth and cucumber, a lychee white negroni, a pandan-infused Japanese highball and a brown-butter Old Fashioned carried over from the team’s previous restaurant.
The beverage program is intended to complement the menu’s briny, mineral-driven flavors rather than overshadow them.
Design, operations and practical details
The dining room has been refitted with new booths, banquettes and a communal table, finished in sapele wood, cognac-colored leather and brass accents. The interior nods to mid-century style and the music playlist shifts from ’90s R&B early in the night to indie rock later on.
Jacob Cohen — a partner in B’Artusi, Via Porta and Chateau Royale — will oversee operations and strategy while Pruitt focuses on the kitchen and concept direction.
- Address: 684 Greenwich Street (at Christopher Street), West Village
- Opening: Friday, June 19
- Hours: Dinner nightly; brunch Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m.; weekday lunch to begin later this summer
- Reservations: Accepted on Resy
Capitaine’s arrival is notable both for the owners’ stylistic pivot and for adding another sizable seafood-focused option to Manhattan’s dining scene, including group feasts and private-style services that require planning ahead.
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