$$$$Price: Moderate • French • West Village
Chez Omar is a quiet, intimate dining room facing the Christopher Street Pier on the Hudson. The ambience is an antidote to the more typical Manhattan jostling, noisy restaurant scene. The endive and chèvre chaud salads were both fresh, generous and tastily dressed. The risotto au Safran was a standout, creamy and filling, stuffed with vegetables. Lamb chops (four to a serving), were a little rarer than we'd ordered and a little over-sauced but tender and tasty, served with broccoli rabe, green beans and roasted carrots. Wine choices by the glass were mostly from small producers, and inexpensive. Overall, I wish this new restaurant (it opened 9 months ago) well-deserved success, and look forward to returning.