West Village’s Capitaine Opens With Caviar Toast and Oyster Bar Dreams

There’s something deeply honest about a chef changing his mind. Cody Pruitt, the restaurateur behind the French-leaning Chateau Royale, spent years building his reputation around the holy trinity of classical bistro cooking: duck, butter, and foie gras—the latter commitment so genuine he literally has it tattooed on his body. But sometime over the last year, something shifted. “I’ve been surrounded by duck and butter for the better part of several years now,” he tells me. “For a guy with a foie gras tattoo, you’d think I would never get tired of it.”

Turns out, even the most devoted butter enthusiasts need a break. On his time off, Pruitt found himself gravitating toward something cleaner, brighter, more alive: seafood and vegetables. The kind of food that doesn’t weigh you down at the end of June, when the city is already sweltering and the thought of a buttery sauce feels less like comfort and more like a burden.

So he and partner Jacob Cohen did what ambitious restaurateurs do when they’ve outgrown their last project—they pivoted entirely. Capitaine, their new seafood tavern, opens Friday, June 19, at 684 Greenwich Street in the West Village, taking over the space where Libertine once served French bistro classics. And while some might see this as a complete about-face, it actually feels inevitable: a natural maturation in the kitchen, a move toward what feels urgent and necessary right now.

What Makes Capitaine’s Seafood Menu Different

This isn’t a casual seafood shack. Under the direction of chef Mike Gutterman—most recently sous chef at the acclaimed Kabawa—Capitaine draws its DNA from two distinctly American sources: European seafood traditions and New York’s golden age of oyster bars. It’s a combination that shouldn’t feel revelatory, but it does, because it’s executed with the kind of thoughtfulness that separates a restaurant that understands its city from one that’s just trying to capitalize on a trend.

The raw bar anchors everything: East Coast oysters (naturally), chilled razor clams that arrive briny and delicate, plump Jonah crab claws, and shrimp cocktail done right—the kind of no-nonsense appetizer that requires perfect technique and uncompromising ingredients. You can order these individually, or go full platinum with a seafood plateau designed for group indulgence and Instagram documentation.

But the real statement piece? A caviar sandwich on Japanese milk bread toast with caviar and sauce gribiche. This is a direct nod to the Grand Central Oyster Bar’s legendary version—a dish that has been feeding New Yorkers since 1913 and has earned almost mythical status in the collective memory of oyster bar culture. To serve this at a new restaurant in 2024 is either audacious or foolish. The fact that Pruitt and Cohen are doing it anyway suggests they understand what that sandwich represents: not just a luxury item, but a piece of New York’s permanent, irreplaceable dining legacy.

Beyond the Raw Bar: What’s Cooking in the Kitchen

The cooked dishes suggest that Gutterman isn’t content to live entirely in the cold appetizer zone. Starters include deviled eggs crowned with uni and whitefish brandade croquettes—a Scandinavian-leaning combination that speaks to European seafood traditions without feeling derivative. For larger plates, there’s a lobster roll (the benchmark dish for any seafood restaurant), wagyu burger, whole roasted dorade, steak frites, and chicken katsu with spicy soubise.

That last dish is particularly telling. Katsu is Japanese-fried breaded cutlet, spicy soubise is a French onion-based sauce—the combination feels contemporary without being try-hard, seasonal without gimmickry. It’s the kind of menu that works because every dish exists for a reason, not because it looked cool on a whiteboard during brainstorming.

Why This Timing Matters

Come mid-June in New York, the appetite shifts. The city’s outdoor dining scene is in full bloom, restaurants are packed with tourists and locals alike, and diners are craving food that pairs with cold wine, lingering conversation, and the particular magic of a West Village evening as the light softens around seven o’clock.

A seafood tavern that understands raw bar traditions but elevates them with European sophistication? That’s exactly what summer in Manhattan wants right now. Capitaine arrives at the precise moment when butter-forward French bistro cooking starts to feel like it belongs to a different season—which, of course, is exactly why Pruitt is opening it now.