Commerce

50 Commerce St., West Village, NY

8.7

map & more

Neighborhood
West Village

Cuisine
American

Nearby
City Winery
Highline Ballroom
Hiro
Le Poisson Rouge

212-524-2301

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
June 3, 2009

Upon entering Commerce the urge to start drinking immediately fell over me. Probably because the last time I was in this space it was the legendary NYC watering hole Grange Hall. Plus, maneuvering through the labyrinth of these West Village streets will drive even those blessed with a keen sense of direction to head straight for the bar. Commerce was warm and welcoming; we were seated within ten minutes and found the service to be spot on. The dark walnut tables, cozy throwback booths, and murals decorating the walls work to restore this classic venue. Upscale American comfort food plays very well off the decor and prompts an obvious comparison to a less hip, more authentic, west side Freemans.

Food Rundown:

Bread Basket
Talk about a first impression. DAMN! We had four dudes at our table and still had a hard time finishing off this warm bucket loaded with homemade soft pretzels, muffins, and rolls. You could come, just eat the bread, and go home happy.

Hand Cut Steak Tartar with Horseradish Celery & Pickled Ramps
This was a very well executed steak tartar, and lived up to our waitress’ claim of “best appetizer on the menu.”

Sea Scallop with White Asparagus, Cranberry Beans
Nice sized portion for a fifteen dollar appetizer. The sauce was light and fresh as compared to the usual heavy butter sauce that you see with scallops.

Whole Roasted Chicken for Two with Foie Gras Bread Stuffing & Potato Mousselini
Wow. Talk about the star of the meal. I can’t stop talking about how unbelievable this chicken was. Possibly the best Ive ever had. Commerce is known for their meats to share and for good reason. I know, I know, chicken is for girls. Chicken is safe. Chicken is boring. Not this chicken. Foie Gras bread stuffing? Seriously? You need some of that in your life.

Icelandic Cod with Mussels, Leaks, Shitaki & Red Wine
The cod was light and to the point, a reasonable compliment to the chicken but nothing that’s going to blow you away. If we weren’t eating this meal family style I wouldn’t have been happy with this as a standalone dish. I regret not sticking with our initial idea of the bacon crusted halibut. Next time.

Fettuccini with One Hour Tomato Sauce & House Made Ricotta
I don’t know if it was the greatness of the chicken bringing the rest of the food down, but this wasn’t something I’d order again. Not that we didn’t happily clean our plates; oh, we did. The pasta was very well cooked, it just seemed to be missing that extra little something and was nowhere near the same level as the various meat dishes we ate.