THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The John Dory

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED The John Dory Restaurant Review:

English chef April Bloomfield has skillfully upgraded the notion of seafood shack to gastro-shack in the same manner that she brought the concept of gastropub to Manhattan with The Spotted Pig. At The John Dory, traditional seafood faves take on an English gloss of butter or cream to a large extent like the cholesterol-defying oyster pan roast enlivened with silky-smooth sea urchin butter crostini. Lightening up the menu is a fresher-than-fresh selection of simple crudo starters: the kampachi with crispy ginger and sea bream with Meyer lemon seem to melt in your mouth with just the right touch of saltiness. Breads are equally elegant with a hot Parker House roll, just the right choice for dipping into the hearty fish stew, an English take on bouillabaisse with mussels, bay scallops and black bass. The restaurant’s namesake main, John Dory, is served up for two with a salsa verde that’s an exciting blend of marjoram, tarragon, mint, parsley olive oil and lemon. The English butter-and-cream heritage is also not forgotten in one of the more daring sides, the wondrously named Jansen’s Temptation, a Swedish potato gratin with cream, butter and thyme, topped with bread crumbs and anchovies. It’s hard to leave room for dessert after the ongoing parade of rich choices but it’s a must: the grandiose treacle for two is a lush English concoction that feels a bit out of place in this crazy narrow setting of electric-blue fish kitsch. But you won’t be distracted once you tuck into the cake made with Lyle’s Golden Syrup and draped with a calorie-laced custard sauce. As one would expect, a healthy selection of beer and wine is available.