I thought it was time to sample Rosemary’s, a West Village restaurant on my walking route. That, and I always find its sister place Claudette a treat.

We were seated in our own enclosed heated booth. A plus for being with people in your bubble. I started with their Manhattan made with High West’s Stiletto bourbon ($14) while my dining partner sipped their 5-ounce pour of the Soave Nardello ($10 with the prix fixe lunch).

We shared both the grilled octopus ($18) and a prix fixe 2-course lunch ($24). The octopus is what to order if you go. The large tentacle was both tender, “meaty” and charcoal-crispy, accompanied by multi-colored potatoes and thinly sliced fennel all in an herbed puree.

The chopped salad Siciliana ($14 separately) was a blend of chopped escarole, green olives, sun-dried tomatoes, crispy chickpeas, artichokes hearts, ricotta salata and sliced almonds, very lightly dressed. With that, I sipped the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Artigiano 2018, Abruzzo ($13) my dining partner Rosemary’s Falanghina ($12) Alois 2017 Campania.

Our final course was a disappointment. We chose the cavatelli ($20 separately) with mushroom ragu, imagining lots of meaty mushrooms tossed with the tender al-dente pasta. Instead, it was doughy with few mushrooms. We left most of it.

I appreciate a restaurant letting me know ahead of time about a Covid surcharge added to the bill as Rosemary’s did;  the 10% addition was listed that on their menu.

Rosemary’s
18 Greenwich Avenue
New York, New York 10011
(212) 647-1818
rosemarysnyc.com