The Maryland seafood shack has seen upscale interpretations in the form of Butcher Bay and Choptank, but last week a slightly more pedestrian version quietly (indeed silently!) soft-opened in the space that housed Steak Frites and then Lucy Browne’s. Village Lobster and Crabhouse’s “SPORTS BAR” signage has been up for some weeks; with the doors now open, we can reveal that the man behind it is Andrew Silverman, who also operates City Crab and Duke’s. The décor here isn’t quite as over-the-top as at Duke’s (there are a few flat-screen TVs, some boat oars in a bucket, the obligatory buoys, and wood paneling reminiscent of lobster traps), but the service is just as down-home and chirpy. Expect to be called “brother” and “my man” multiple times during the course of your meal here.
The half-dozen beers on tap ($4 during happy hour, till 7 p.m.) are nothing special (Hoegaarden, Blue Moon, Bud, Bud Light, Sierra Nevada, Guinness). In addition to the preview-menu items you see below, there’s an “Our Butcher’s Blend Burger Village Hamburger” with caramelized onions, a crab-and-shrimp Cobb salad, the obligatory grouper sandwich, and an oyster loaf (essentially a po boy), as well as oyster sliders and a lobster roll.
Village Lobster and Crabhouse, 225 Varick St., nr. Downing St.; 646-861-2985
