The Lion

The Waverly Inn may be one of the most celeb-packed restaurants in the city, but some of us actually went for the food. Sure, the scene is thrilling – particularly the time that Owen Wilson came out from the back room to mix with us civilians at the bar – but the thing that made the aggravating attitude at the door tolerable was the reward of those flaky, golden, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. Without fail, they would be plopped down on your table as soon as you sat down, a light at the end of the tunnel.

Turns out I must not be alone, because many patrons of the Waverly Inn have followed chef John DeLucie here to the Lion. Mick Jagger caused a stir on a recent night there, and now the flashbulbs of paparazzi outside the door greet anyone vaguely famous-looking. Alas, the Lion’s democratic touch that enraptured Jay Cheshes at Time Out is already fast disappearing, and you may find waits of two hours or more now for one of those walk-in tables in the front room.

But a plate of biscuits can go a long way, as it did the other night when we finally snagged a seat at the bar. Famished after the wait, we were immediately calmed by those biscuits, which reappear here as flaky onion biscuits. They’re not exactly the same as the Waverly Inn’s, but they’re perhaps an improvement on the original.

Though the A-list tables are in the back room, there’s a lot to recommend the bar as well, particularly if you get here early, when a quietly glamorous, Gold Coast neighborhood crowd lingers in the clubby, olde New York interior with its exposed beams, oak paneled bar and vintage prints on the wall. Later the scene is a motley mix of chic media types like Vogue’s Filipa Fino and an annoying off-duty Hamptons crowd, including one banker type who gave a lively retelling of his previous night at Scores. (And no, they do not serve Red Bull here, so please don’t ask.) The art-filled back room is much more buttoned down, with the huge skylight of erstwhile Village restaurant still bathing a moneyed downtown crowd in flattering evening light.

The brief but effective cocktail menu is a mix of classics like the blood and sand ($14) and new concoctions like “the Factory” ($14), made with gin, blackberry liquor, champagne and fresh blackberries. Home bartenders, take note: blackberries are a fantastic seasonal addition to summer cocktails. And if you’re looking for blackberry cocktails in Brooklyn, there’s a similarly delicious one at Henry Public right now.

Traditionalists like me will love DeLucie’s food. John DeLucie is definitely the man in charge here, frequently stepping out of the open kitchen to greet friends and familiar faces and cuing the staff to accommodate them. Meanwhile, the kitchen is putting out classic salads, corn soup, lobster pot pie and steaks – food that’s reassuring without being predictable, with creative twists here and there and excellent quality throughout.

Malpec oysters ($18 for a half dozen), perfectly shucked and slurped down from a pool of brine on the half shell, will take you back to olde New York oyster houses of yore, in taste and atmosphere if not in price. And if you’re looking for another bar snack, do not skip the herbed French fries ($8). Crispy, light, and laced with herbs and salt, they were the accompaniment of choice with a martini.

We didn’t expect much from the chicken, because why should you? This formerly dull menu item, however, has gotten the special treatment from a number of good chefs, including Stephen Lyle, who used to helm the kitchen at Village Restaurant in this space. So oddly, DeLucie’s succulent Amish chicken ($25), sauced in rich stock with the sweet, tangy edge of reduced vinegar and surrounded by tender mushrooms, baby leeks and corn, made us nostalgic for the old days here at Village. Fortunately we could drown our nostalgia in more upscale comfort food like the addictive spinach casserole ($8), topped with crispy breadcrumbs and mixed with a liberal amount of butter.

The fabulous burger “special blend” ($18) is like an upper-class bacon cheeseburger. Substitute pork belly and smoked cheddar for the usual ingredients and you’ve got an amazing burger on your hands, perfectly cooked to order between a squishy bun. It’s so rich it’s hard to finish, but as the patrons in the back room of The Lion could tell you, you can never be too rich.

All this eating took place as we fended off bar-goers angling for our seats: “Are you leaving soon?” But, though this was not always the case at the Waverly Inn, the friendly and attentive bartender here created an oasis of civility in the midst of it all.

The only question is how long will it take for the place to calm down and settle into itself – it’s like judging the amount of time it will take to aerate a bottle of  wine. Wait too long and it turns to vinegar; dive right in and you might get something a little too riotous. Perhaps the only solution is to keep going back to the Lion – it’ll be an entertaining ride in the meantime.

The Lion
62 West 9th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues
212-353-8400‎