Little Prince

Little Prince Restaurant Review:

Chef Paul Denamiel, of the Restaurant Row stalwart Le Rivage, caters to the downtown crowd with this 38-seat SoHo venture. To know this space you need only look as far as the wine list: full of comfortable, dependable choices and short on risk and experimentation. The close proximity of tables means you should be comfortable sharing space with other people. All is forgiven, though, when the steak tartare arrives. The rough-chopped filet with a pinch of heavy mustard is one of the better versions of this dish anywhere in the city. A beet and goat cheese salad is elevated by bits of grapefruit wedge. Steak au poivre and pan-roasted poulet, seemingly boring standbys, are consistently and reliably good. If you're in a celebratory mood, there's also the showstopper of a Dover sole for two. Dessert doesn't get sweeter than a freshly baked Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie resting atop a glass of rum-spiked milk --- a very nice and naughty way to end your evening.