The Spotted Pig-Mixing up the Village

Over on Greenwich Street on a quiet fringe of the West Village, a pink ceramic speckled pig hangs over the door. Plants conceal the windows. But step inside and the noisy bar is filled wall to wall with people chatting over pricey bar cuisine. It seems more like a stylish keg party than a restaurant. No wonder it was so quiet outside, everyone is in here.

Based on the gastropubs of England – drinking spots offering great food -- the Spotted Pig distinguishes itself from other local taverns by offering an elegant dining experience mixed with a pub-like atmosphere. Since March 2004, chef and co-owner April Bloomfield has been preparing gourmet cuisine that has made bar nuts a thing of the past.

So are garnishes. The burger ($17) comes without lettuce, tomatoes or onions. It is simply a burger, but one as thick as a prime rib with the robust flavor to match.

“I loved the idea of being to eat great food, from a world class chef but in a bar,” said co-owner Ken Friedman on the Spotted Pig’s website. Following this, the Pig’s decor contrasts the minimalism in the food with a party-like ambiance that is distinctly West Village. Walls are adorned with a mishmash of pig paraphernalia. Dark wooden bars are illuminated by odd lighting ornaments, like chandeliers and electric Japanese lanterns.

It is a design scheme as vibrant as the scene itself. Regulars yell goodbyes across the room at waiters as the leave. The bartender jokes casually with drinkers as they tell last night’s exploits. Not something you would see matched with a classy meal on your plate.

And in the same way Bloomfield and Friedman have mixed the elegant and the familiar, the Spotted Pig attracts crowds from every angle. Walking in, you will see traditional household parents briefly escaping for a night out sitting directly across from the typical nightlife crowd that gave the village its nickname, Little Bohemia.

On one side sits, the bar crowd, the people who come in after a night of heavy clubbing for a bite and maybe a nightcap. They are the people who embody what the Village was once known for; gay liberation, art, and a sense of fun rebellion. On the other, sit the traditional parents. With the offering a fine dining experience, it is a place you mom and dad would escape to on Saturday night.

This contrast, like putting a Jackson Pollack across from a Mondrian has amounted into huge success for the Pig. But more than that, it stands as a testament that, in a place where issues on gentrification rage, these two sides of the West Village can come together. Like fine dining and a ceramic pig on the wall.